Swa Saw Ke

  • Swa Saw Ke
  • စွာစော်ကဲ
King of Ava
Reign5 September 1367 – April 1400
Coronation16 March 1368[1]
(or 29 March 1368)[2]
PredecessorThado Minbya
SuccessorTarabya
Chief MinisterMin Yaza
Governor of Amyint
Reign1351 – 5 September 1367
SuccessorTuyin Theinzi
Governor of Yamethin
Reign1351
PredecessorThihapate
SuccessorThilawa
Governor of Talok
Reignc. 1344–1351
SuccessorYazathu
Born
  • 16 July 1330
  • Monday, 1st waxing of Wagaung 692 ME

Thayet, Pinya Kingdom
Died
  • April 1400 (aged 69)
  • c.Kason 762 ME

Ava (Inwa), Ava Kingdom
Consort
Issue
among others...
HousePinya
FatherMin Shin Saw
MotherShin Myat Hla
ReligionTheravada Buddhism

Mingyi Swa Saw Ke (Burmese: မင်းကြီး စွာစော်ကဲ, pronounced [mɪ́ɰ̃dʑí swà sɔ̀ kɛ́]; also spelled Minkyiswasawke or Swasawke; 1330–1400) was king of Ava from 1367 to 1400. He reestablished central authority in Upper Myanmar (Burma) for the first time since the fall of the Pagan Empire in the 1280s. He essentially founded the Ava Kingdom that would dominate Upper Burma for the next two centuries.

When he was elected by the ministers to succeed King Thado Minbya, Swa took over a small kingdom barely three years old, and one that still faced several external and internal threats. In the north, he successfully fought off the Maw raids into Upper Burma, a longstanding problem since the waning days of Sagaing and Pinya kingdoms. He maintained friendly relations with Lan Na in the east, and the Launggyet Kingdom in the west, placing his nominees on the Arakense throne between 1373 and 1385. In the south, he brought semi-independent kingdoms of Toungoo (Taungoo) and Prome (Pyay) firmly into Ava's orbit. But his attempts to extend control farther south touched off the first of the decades long wars between Ava and Pegu. After three defeats, Swa had to agree to a truce with King Razadarit of Pegu in 1391.

For the most part, his long reign was peaceful. In contrast to the short reigns by various kings since the fall of Pagan, Swa's 32-year reign brought much needed stability to Upper Burma. He redeveloped the economy of the kingdom by repairing the irrigation system and reclaiming much of the arable land which had lapsed into wilderness for nearly a century due to Mongol invasions and repeated Maw raids. Under Swa's leadership, Upper Burma centered in Ava, finally achieved stability it had lacked for much of the past hundred years.

  1. ^ (Mani Yadanabon 2009: 35) Thursday, 12th waning of Tabaung 729 ME = Thursday, 16 March 1368
  2. ^ (Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 402): New year's day of 730 ME = 29 March 1368