Smim Htaw Buddhaketi

Smim Htaw Buddhaketi သမိန်ထောဗုဒ္ဓကိတ္တိ
King of Restored Hanthawaddy
Reign	8 December 1740 – January 1747
Successor	Binnya Dala
Prime Minister	Binnya Dala
Born	Pagan?
Died	Chiang Mai?
Consort	Thiri Seitta of Chiang Mai[1]
Full name Tha Hla သာလှ[1]
House	Toungoo
Father	Lord of Pagan
Mother	Thupappa
Religion	Theravada Buddhism

Smim Htaw Buddhaketi (Burmese: သမိန်ထောဗုဒ္ဓကိတ္တိ [θəmèɪɴ tʰɔ́ boʊʔda̰ keɪʔtḭ]) was the first king of the Restored Kingdom of Hanthawaddy which overthrew Toungoo Dynasty's rule in Lower Burma. From 1740 to 1747, the ethnic Burman king was a nominal figurehead of the ethnic Mon rebellion. He was selected to be king by the leaders of the Mon insurrection for his royal lineage.

Styled with the Mon title Smim Htaw Buddhaketi (lit. "Lord of the Striped Elephant"; "ဆင်ကျားရှင်") the former Buddhist monk found it difficult to adjust himself to the life of king. As an ethnic Burman, he was reluctant to take charge of the government or command of the army, and usually absent from the capital.^[2] Much of the governance and fighting was left to his prime minister Binnya Dala, an ethnic Shan. Forced to abdicate, he left for Chiang Mai, but was later imprisoned by Borommakot and sent to China, where he made his way back to Chiang Mai.^{[3]:284–290}

Background

He was reputedly a son of lord of Pagan who fled to east of Pegu after his unsuccessful revolt against King Taninganway in 1714.^[4] This would make the Burmese king Mahadhammaraza Dipadi a nephew of his. Smim Htaw Buddhaketi grew up among Shans and Karens of the region, and spoke Mon.

Accession and abdication

He was put on the throne on 8 December [O.S. 27 November] 1740.^{[note 1]}

He was forced to abdicate in January 1747.^[5]

Notes

1. Zatadawbon Yazawin (Zata 1960: 44) says he came to power in Nadaw 1102 ME (19 November 1740 to 17 December 1740 NS). Per (Lieberman 1984: 215–216), his forces attacked Syriam on 15 December [O.S. 4 December] 1740, a week after his accession; it means he came to power on 8 December [O.S. 27 November] 1740.

References

1. Hmannan Vol. 3 2003: 373
2. Htin Aung 1967: 153
3. Rajanubhab, D., 2001, Our Wars With the Burmese, Bangkok: White Lotus Co. Ltd., ISBN 9747534584
4. Harvey 1925: 207–213
5. Lieberman 1984: 221

Bibliography

• Harvey, G. E. (1925). History of Burma: From the Earliest Times to 10 March 1824. London: Frank Cass & Co. Ltd.
• Htin Aung, Maung (1967). A History of Burma. New York and London: Cambridge University Press.
• Lieberman, Victor B. (1984). Burmese Administrative Cycles: Anarchy and Conquest, c. 1580–1760. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-05407-X.
• Royal Historians of Burma (c. 1680). U Hla Tin (Hla Thamein), ed. Zatadawbon Yazawin (1960 ed.). Historical Research Directorate of the Union of Burma.
• Royal Historical Commission of Burma (1832). Hmannan Yazawin (in Burmese) 1–3 (2003 ed.). Yangon: Ministry of Information, Myanmar.