When did the First Toungoo Empire exist?

The First Toungoo Empire existed 1510–1599. On this map it is drawn 1502–1756.

Southeast Asia · Sultanates and the spice trade

First Toungoo Empire

Empire · 1510–1599

Toungoo (Taungoo), a principality on the Sittaung River, declared independence from Ava on 16 October 1510 under Mingyi Nyo. When the Shan Confederation overran Upper Burma in 1527, Burmese refugees swelled Toungoo, making it the last independent Burmese holdout—and the nucleus of reunification.

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Type: Empire
Existed: 1510–1599
Shown on the map: 1502–1756
Peak area: c. 1,500,000 km²
Region: Southeast Asia

Origins & foundation

Political history & notable rulers

Tabinshwehti (r. 1530–1550) conquered Hanthawaddy (1534–1541), Prome (1542) and was crowned king of all Burma at Bagan in 1544, though he failed against Arakan and Ayutthaya and was assassinated in 1550. His brother-in-law Bayinnaung (r. 1550–1581)—in G.E. Harvey's phrase, "the greatest explosion of human energy ever seen in Burma"—took Ava (1555), the Shan states (1557–1563), Manipur, Lan Na, Ayutthaya (1564, 1569) and Lan Xang, assembling an empire "from Manipur to the Cambodian marches and from the borders of Arakan to Yunnan"—probably the largest in Southeast Asian history. Yet it was an "empire without an empire": a mandala of vassal kings loyal to Bayinnaung personally as cakkavatti, not to Toungoo institutions. His son Nanda (r. 1581–1599) lost Ayutthaya in five disastrous campaigns (1584–1593); manpower flight and famine gutted Lower Burma, and in 1599 Toungoo and Arakanese forces sacked Pegu, ending the First Empire. The dynasty regrouped in the Nyaungyan Restoration (1599–1752), ruling a smaller, centralised Burma until the Mon of Restored Hanthawaddy took Ava in 1752.

Economy, culture & religion

A Theravada Buddhist gunpowder-age empire enriched by the Portuguese-era trade through Pegu, with silver currency; Bayinnaung's lasting institutional legacy was his Shan policy—saophas kept office hereditarily but under royal veto, with their sons held as court pages—followed by Burmese kings until 1885.

Peak & territorial extent

c. 1580: all of modern Myanmar, the Chinese Shan states, Lan Na, Lan Xang, Siam and Manipur—about 1.5 million km², with homage claimed from states as far as Cambodia and Vietnam.

Decline & end

Overextension and personal-rule fragility destroyed the empire within 18 years of Bayinnaung's death (1599); the restored dynasty fell to Hanthawaddy in 1752, succeeded by Konbaung.

Legacy & modern connections

The First Toungoo Empire ended mainland Southeast Asia's era of petty kingdoms; its successor states, Restored Toungoo Burma and Ayutthaya Siam, dominated the mainland to the mid-18th century, and Bayinnaung remains a national hero in Myanmar.

Common questions

What was the First Toungoo Empire?: Toungoo (Taungoo), a principality on the Sittaung River, declared independence from Ava on 16 October 1510 under Mingyi Nyo. When the Shan Confederation overran Upper Burma in 1527, Burmese refugees swelled Toungoo, making it the last independent Burmese holdout—and the nucleus of reunification.
When did the First Toungoo Empire exist?: The First Toungoo Empire existed 1510–1599. On this map it is drawn 1502–1756.
How large was the First Toungoo Empire at its height?: c. 1580: all of modern Myanmar, the Chinese Shan states, Lan Na, Lan Xang, Siam and Manipur—about 1.5 million km², with homage claimed from states as far as Cambodia and Vietnam.
Who ruled the First Toungoo Empire?: Tabinshwehti (r. 1530–1550) conquered Hanthawaddy (1534–1541), Prome (1542) and was crowned king of all Burma at Bagan in 1544, though he failed against Arakan and Ayutthaya and was assassinated in 1550. His brother-in-law Bayinnaung (r. 1550–1581)—in G.E.
How did the First Toungoo Empire end?: Overextension and personal-rule fragility destroyed the empire within 18 years of Bayinnaung's death (1599); the restored dynasty fell to Hanthawaddy in 1752, succeeded by Konbaung.
What did the economy and culture of the First Toungoo Empire rest on?: A Theravada Buddhist gunpowder-age empire enriched by the Portuguese-era trade through Pegu, with silver currency; Bayinnaung's lasting institutional legacy was his Shan policy—saophas kept office hereditarily but under royal veto, with their sons held as court pages—followed by Burmese kings until 1885.
Why does the First Toungoo Empire still matter?: The First Toungoo Empire ended mainland Southeast Asia's era of petty kingdoms; its successor states, Restored Toungoo Burma and Ayutthaya Siam, dominated the mainland to the mid-18th century, and Bayinnaung remains a national hero in Myanmar.

Sources

Every source below was consulted while writing this entry.

Wikipedia: Toungoo dynasty en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toungoo_dynasty
Wikipedia: First Toungoo Empire en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Toungoo_Empire
peoplepill.com — bayinnaung peoplepill.com/i/bayinnaung
wikiwand.com — Bayinnaung www.wikiwand.com/en/Bayinnaung

This entry was written from the sources above and last updated 10 September 2026.

This entry was researched and drafted with AI from the sources above, and has not been reviewed by a historian. How entries are made

Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0: reuse it with a credit to The World Through Time and a link to this page. Passages drawing on the Wikipedia articles listed above are also licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 by their contributors.

Border geometry for the map itself comes from Cliopatria v0.12 (Seshat Global History Databank, CC-BY-4.0).

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