Saw Hnit (Burmese: စောနှစ်, pronounced [sɔ́ n̥ɪʔ]; also spelled စောနစ်, [sɔ́ nɪʔ], Saw Nit or Min Lulin; 1283–1325) was a viceroy of Pagan (Bagan) from 1297 to 1325 under the suzerain of Myinsaing Kingdom in central Burma (Myanmar). He was a son of the Mongol vassal king Kyawswa, and a grandson of Narathihapate, the last sovereign king of Pagan dynasty. Saw Hnit succeeded as "king" after his father was forced to abdicate the throne by the three brothers of Myinsaing in December 1297.[6]

Saw Hnit
စောနှစ်
Viceroy of Pagan
Reign1299–1325[1]
Coronation8 May 1299[2]
PredecessorKyawswa
SuccessorUzana II
Born1283 (Saturday born)
Pagan (Bagan)
Died1325 (aged 42)
Pagan
ConsortSaw Thitmahti[3]
IssueUzana II
Atula Sanda Dewi[4]
Yazathura of Pinle[note 1]
HousePagan
FatherKyawswa
MotherSaw Soe[5]
ReligionTheravada Buddhism

The brothers put him on the throne, officially styled as the king of Pagan, but essentially their viceroy.[7] His authority amounted to the region around the Pagan city.[8] The viceroy gave his first audience on 8 May 1299.[2] He raised his father's chief queen Saw Thitmahti as his own chief queen.[9] Two days later, the three brothers executed his brother Theingapati and his father Kyawswa.[7]

King Swa Saw Ke of Ava (r. 1367–1400) was a grandnephew of Saw Hnit.[8]

Dates

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Saw Hnit was a son of King Kyawswa. The table below lists the dates given by the four main chronicles.[10]

Chronicles Birth–Death Age Reign Length of reign
Zatadawbon Yazawin 1285/86–1331/32 46 1300/01–1331/32 31
Maha Yazawin 1285/86–1322/23 37 1300/01–1322/23 22
Yazawin Thit 1279/80–1330/31 51 1298/99–1330/31 32
Hmannan Yazawin 1283/84–1325/26 42 1298/99–1325/26 27

Ancestry

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The following is the ancestry of Saw Hnit as reported by the Hmannan Yazawin chronicle (Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 360, 402–403). He was descended from Pagan kings from both sides. His parents were second cousins, once removed.[5]

Notes

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  1. ^ (Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 82): Yazathura was the younger brother of Atula Sanda. His children were Min Letya of Nyaungyan and Yandathu I of Lanbu.

References

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  1. ^ Harvey 1925: 79
  2. ^ a b Than Tun 1959: 122
  3. ^ Maha Yazawin Vol. 1 2006: 234 (fn#3), 257 (fn#1)
  4. ^ Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 380
  5. ^ a b Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 360
  6. ^ Than Tun 1959: 119–120
  7. ^ a b Coedès 1968: 210-211
  8. ^ a b Htin Aung 1967: 65–71
  9. ^ Maha Yazawin Vol. 1 2006: 257
  10. ^ Maha Yazawin Vol. 1 2006: 349

Bibliography

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  • Coedès, George (1968). Walter F. Vella (ed.). The Indianized States of Southeast Asia. trans.Susan Brown Cowing. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-0368-1.
  • 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.
  • Kala, U (2006) [1724]. Maha Yazawin (in Burmese). Vol. 1–3 (4th printing ed.). Yangon: Ya-Pyei Publishing.
  • Royal Historical Commission of Burma (2003) [1832]. Hmannan Yazawin (in Burmese). Vol. 1–3. Yangon: Ministry of Information, Myanmar.
  • Than Tun (December 1959). "History of Burma: A.D. 1300–1400". Journal of Burma Research Society. XLII (II).
Saw Hnit
Born: 1283 Died: 1325
Royal titles
Preceded byas Mongol vassal (1297) Viceroy of Pagan
1299–1325
Succeeded by