Yazathingyan (15th-century minister)

Yazathingyan (Burmese: ရာဇသင်္ကြန်, pronounced [jàza̰ θɪ́ɴdʑàɴ]; c. 1380s–c. 1470s) was chief minister of Ava (now Upper Myanmar) from 1426 to 1468. He served over 67 years as a senior royal army officer and court minister under seven kings of Ava from Minkhaung I to Narapati I. He also held several governorships, most prominently at Sagaing (1413–1450).

His career in the royal service began soon after Minkhaung I's accession in 1400. Starting out as a cavalry battalion officer in the royal army, he fought against the southern Hanthawaddy Kingdom in the decades-long war, and rose to become part of the Ava high command as well as a senior minister at the Ava court by the mid-1410s. After the assassinations of kings Thihathu and Min Hla in 1425, he and his elder brother Baya Gamani supported the usurper Prince Min Nyo of Kale. Near the end of the ensuing civil war in 1426, Yazathingyan, in a rare break with his brother, switched sides, and became the chief minister of the incoming power, Gov. Thado of Mohnyin.

Yazathingyan led the Ava court throughout King Thado's 13-year reign but his influence over the king waned drastically towards the end of the reign. He could not stop the eccentric king from recalibrating the Burmese calendar in 1438. The chief minister fully backed Thado's successor King Minye Kyawswa's policy to forcefully regain the vassal states in revolt. He and Gamani even co-commanded an expedition that captured the rebel states of Taungdwin and Toungoo (Taungoo) in 1441. When Minye Kyawswa died without a male heir in 1442, Yazathingyan felt powerful enough to offer the throne to the late king's brother-in-law Gov. Thihapate of Mohnyin. Only when Thihapate declined the offer, did the powerful minister offer the throne to the rightful heir, the king's younger brother, who succeeded as King Narapati.

Despite his bungled attempt as kingmaker, Yazathingyan managed to retain his powerful post throughout Narapati's 26-year reign. His notable policy successes include the 1445 truce negotiations with the Chinese during the Chinese invasions, and the 1455 border demarcation treaty with Arakan between Narapati and King Min Khayi of Arakan. His last act came in 1467 when he and his son had to transport a severely wounded Narapati, who had just survived an assassination attempt, to Prome (Pyay). The old minister's long career most probably ended with the death of the king in 1468 as he is not mentioned in the royal chronicles again.

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