Kyaswa of Sagaing

Kyaswa of Sagaing (, ; also known as Kyawswa; 1323–1349) was king of Sagaing from 1339 to 1349. The eldest son of the founder of the kingdom Saw Yun (r. 1315−27) was placed on the throne by Chief Minister Nanda Pakyan who ran the country.

Early life Kyaswa was born to Queen Saw Hnaung and King Saw Yun of Sagaing on 9 April 1323. He was the second of the couple's four children, and a grandson of kings Thihathu of Pinya and Kyawswa of Pagan. His father died in February 1327. Because Kyaswa, the eldest son, was not yet four years old, his half-uncle Tarabya I succeeded the throne, marrying Saw Hnaung as his chief queen. Though it is unclear if Tarabya ever planned to hand over the reins to Kyaswa when the latter became an adult, Kyaswa, as the eldest son of Saw Yun and as the eldest son of Tarabya's chief queen Saw Hnaung, was at least the heir presumptive.

The arrangement lasted until 1335/36 when Tarabya's own son Shwetaungtet overthrew his father and seized the throne.

Accession Then a series of events led Kyaswa to the throne. In 1339, Shwetaungtet, having discovered their whereabouts, came to Mindon with an expeditionary force, and brought them back to Sagaing. Kyaswa took the reign name of Thiri Tri Bhawanaditya Pawara Dhamma Yaza at his accession. (The peace between the two kingdoms was maintained even after Uzana I was pushed out by Kyawswa I between 1340 and 1344.) In the north, the Shan states were still fighting a war of independence against their Mongol overlords, and were not yet the threat they would become to Central Burmese states in the late 1350s.

His reign lasted over nine years. Surviving inscriptions from the era report no particular issues during his reign. Kyaswa left an inscription in 1343/44 at the Thamanda Pagoda (on the route between Mindon and Sagaing) where he and his two queens donated land and a monastery. He died March 1349.

Family Kyaswa had at least two queens. Maha Yazawin 1324–1344/45 1339/40–1344/45 Yazawin Thit

Hmannan Yazawin

Ancestry