Htilominlo

Zeya Theinkha Uzana
Htilominlo
ဇေယျသိင်္ခ ဥဇနာ ထီးလိုမင်းလို
Htilominlo Temple in Pagan (Bagan)
King of Burma
Reign18 August 1211 – 19 July 1235
PredecessorNarapatisithu
SuccessorKyaswa
(or Naratheinga Uzana)
Chief Minister and Commander-in-ChiefAnanda Thura
Born4 February 1175
Tuesday, 14th waxing of Tabaung 536 ME
Pagan (Bagan)
Died19 July 1235 (aged 60)
Thursday, 4th waxing of Wagaung 597 ME
Pagan
ConsortPwadawgyi
Myauk Pyinthe
Saw Mi Pyan
Eindawthe
IssueNaratheinga Uzana
Kyaswa
Theinpatei
Taya Mun
HouseBagan
FatherSithu II
MotherSaw Mya Kan
ReligionTheravada Buddhism

Htilominlo (Burmese: ထီးလိုမင်းလို, pronounced [tʰílò mɪ́ɰ̃lò]; also called Nadaungmya or Zeya Theinkha Uzana; 1175 – 1235) was king of Pagan dynasty of Burma (Myanmar) from 1211 to 1235. His 24-year reign marked the beginning of the gradual decline of Pagan dynasty. It was the first to see the impact of over a century of continuous growth of tax-free religious wealth, which had greatly reduced the potential tax base. Htilominlo was the last of the temple builders although most of his temples were in remote lands not in the Pagan region, reflecting the deteriorating state of royal treasury.

All the royal chronicles say he was succeeded by his son Kyaswa. But two contemporary inscriptions indicate that another son of his Naratheinga Uzana was at least acting as the regent towards the end of his reign.

Early life

Htilominlo was born to King Sithu II and his queen Saw Mya Kan. Chronicles do not agree on the birth, death and reign dates. According to the Zatadawbon Yazawin chronicle, considered the most accurate chronicle for the Pagan period, he was born on 4 February 1175. The table below lists the dates given by the four main chronicles.

Chronicles Birth–Death Age Reign Length of reign
Zatadawbon Yazawin (List of monarchs section) 1175–1234 59 1210–1234 24
Zatadawbon Yazawin (Royal horoscopes section) 26 February 1173 [sic]–1234 58 1209 [sic]–1234 22
Maha Yazawin 1178–1219 41 1197–1219 22
Yazawin Thit and Hmannan Yazawin 1175–1234 59 1211–1234 23

Reign

The king, a devout Buddhist and a scholar, gave up the command of the army, and left the day-to-day affairs to a privy council consisted of ministers, the forebear of the Hluttaw, or the supreme administrative body of government. He focused his energies on religion and temple-building. He completed the majestic Gawdawpalin Temple, begun by his father Narapatisithu, built the Mahabodhi, a replica of the Buddhagaya temple, and the Htilominlo Temple, named after himself.

His reign was largely peaceful, except for one rebellion north of Tagaung, which was put down by his commander in chief. By all accounts, he was popular with the people. Still he never really governed, and was especially oblivious to the growing problem of reduced tax base brought about continuous growth of tax free religious holdings. To be sure, his predecessors did not face the problem, and his successors also continued to ignore the problem, where by the 1280s, two-thirds of Upper Burma's cultivable land had been alienated to the religion. Thus the throne also lost resources necessary to retain the loyalty of courtiers and military servicemen, inviting a vicious circle of internal disorders and external challenges by Mons, Mongols and Shans.


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