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101-785: The Shan States were a collection of minor Shan kingdoms called muang whose rulers bore the title saopha in British Burma . They were analogous to the princely states of British India . The term "Shan States" was first used during the British rule in Burma as a geopolitical designation for certain areas of Burma (officially, the Federated Shan States , which included the Karenni States , consisted of today's Shan State and Kayah State ). In some cases,

202-674: A Tibeto-Burman-speaking people who established the Pyu city-states ranged as far south as Pyay and adopted Theravada Buddhism . Another group, the Bamar people , entered the upper Irrawaddy valley in the early 9th century. They went on to establish the Pagan Kingdom (1044–1297), the first-ever unification of the Irrawaddy valley and its periphery. The Burmese language and culture slowly came to replace Pyu norms during this period. After

303-666: A subsidiary alliance under the paramountcy of the British Crown . Towards the last phase of British rule the Shan and Karenni states were labeled as "Frontier Areas", a broad designation for mountainous areas bordering India, China and Laos where the British government allowed local rule. in 1922 the Shan states were joined together into a Federation, the Federated Shan States. They were administered separately by

404-600: A "minority". Thus they became one more among the other ethnic minorities in that area of present-day Yunnan such as the Lahu and the Va . Shan people 'Shan' is a generic term for all Tai-speaking peoples within Myanmar (Burma). The capital of Shan State is Taunggyi , the fifth-largest city in Myanmar with about 390,000 people. Other major cities include Thibaw (Hsipaw), Lashio , Kengtung and Tachileik . The Shan use

505-477: A Mon kingdom in Lower Burma was in 844–848 by Arab geographers. But recent research shows that there is no evidence (archaeological or otherwise) to support colonial period conjectures that a Mon-speaking polity existed in Lower Burma until the late 13th century, and the first recorded claim that the kingdom of Thaton existed came only in 1479. The Burmans who had come down with the early 9th Nanzhao raids of

606-620: A force to relieve Prome in 1539. However, the combined force was unsuccessful in holding Prome against another Toungoo attack in 1542. In 1543, the Burmese ministers assassinated Thohanbwa and placed Hkonmaing , the saopha of Thibaw, on the Ava throne. Mohnyin leaders, led by Sithu Kyawhtin , felt that the Ava throne was theirs. But in light of the Toungoo threat, Mohnyin leaders grudgingly agreed to Hkonmaing's leadership. The Confederation launched

707-417: A greater tax base. Its trade and secular administrative reforms built a prosperous economy for more than 80 years. Except for a few occasional rebellions and an external war—Burma defeated Siam's attempt to take Lan Na and Mottama in 1662–64 —the kingdom was largely at peace for the rest of the 17th century. The kingdom entered a gradual decline, and the authority of the "palace kings" deteriorated rapidly in

808-549: A group of Shan States that conquered the Ava Kingdom in 1527 and ruled Upper Burma until 1555. The Confederation originally consisted of Mohnyin, Mogaung, Bhamo, Momeik, and Kale. It was led by Sawlon , the chief of Mohnyin. The Confederation raided Upper Burma throughout the early 16th century (1502–1527) and fought a series of war against Ava and its ally Shan State of Thibaw (Hsipaw). The Confederation finally defeated Ava in 1527, and placed Sawlon's eldest son Thohanbwa on

909-596: A large presence of merchants from Mindanao, Philippines. The Lucoes , a rival to the other Filipino group, the Mindanaoans, who instead came from the island of Luzon , were also hired as mercenaries and soldiers for both Siam (Thailand) and Burma (Myanmar), in the Burmese-Siamese Wars , the same case as the Portuguese, who were also mercenaries for both sides. While the interregnum that followed

1010-642: A lasting impact in Burmese history. His social and religious reforms later developed into the modern-day culture of Myanmar . The most important development was the introduction of Theravada Buddhism to Upper Burma after Pagan's conquest of the Thaton Kingdom in 1057. Supported by royal patronage, the Buddhist school gradually spread to the village level in the next three centuries although Vajrayana Buddhist , Mahayana , Hindu , and animism remained heavily entrenched at all social strata. Pagan's economy

1111-653: A major invasion of Lower Burma in 1543 but its forces were driven back. By 1544, Toungoo forces had occupied up to Pagan . The confederation would not attempt another invasion. After Hkonmaing died in 1546, his son Mobye Narapati , the saopha of Mobye, became king of Ava. The confederation's bickering resumed in full force. Sithu Kyawhtin set up a rival fiefdom in Sagaing across the river from Ava and finally drove out Mobye Narapati in 1552. The weakened Confederation proved no match for Bayinnaung 's Toungoo forces. Bayinnaung captured Ava in 1555 and conquered all of Shan States in

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1212-403: A new humanitarian crisis. Shan civil society organisations are concerned about the lack of international response on the recent conflict. Burmese Kingdom The history of Myanmar (also known as Burma; Burmese : မြန်မာ့သမိုင်း ) covers the period from the time of first-known human settlements 13,000 years ago to the present day. The earliest inhabitants of recorded history were

1313-505: A series of military campaigns from 1556 to 1557. In 1885, following three wars that steadily added various parts of Burma to their empire, the British finally occupied all of the territory of present-day Myanmar. The area became then a Province of British India . Under the British colonial administration , the Shan States became nominally sovereign princely states . Although states were ruled by local monarchs, they were subject to

1414-679: A southern state in 1988), Thsipaw (Thibaw) and Momeik in present-day northern Shan State. Minor states included Kalay, Bhamo (Wanmaw or Manmaw), Hkamti Long (Kantigyi), Hopong (Hopon) , Hsahtung (Thaton), Hsamönghkam (Thamaingkan), Hsawnghsup (Thaungdut), Hsihkip (Thigyit), Hsumhsai (Hsum Hsai), Kehsi Mangam (Kyithi Bansan), Kengcheng (Kyaingchaing), Kenghkam (Kyaingkan), Kenglön (Kyainglon), Kengtawng, Kengtung (Kyaington), Kokang (Kho Kan), Kyawkku Hsiwan (Kyaukku), Kyong (Kyon), Laihka (Legya), Lawksawk (Yatsauk), Loi-ai (Lwe-e), Loilong (Lwelong), Loimaw (Lwemaw), Nyaung Shwe and many more. Mohnyin, in particular, constantly raided Ava's territory in

1515-489: A string of especially gifted monarchs, the kingdom enjoyed a long golden age, profiting from foreign commerce. The kingdom, with a flourishing the Mon language and culture, became a Centre of commerce and Theravada Buddhism. Due to the inexperience of its last ruler, the powerful kingdom was conquered by the upstart Taungoo dynasty in 1539. The kingdom was briefly revived between 1550 and 1552. It effectively controlled only Pegu and

1616-522: A substantial number of other ethnic minorities like the Chin , Palaung , Pa-O , Kachin , Akha , Lahu , Wa and Burmans . The most powerful Shan states were Mohnyin (Mong Yang) and Mogaung (Mong Kawng) in present-day Kachin State , followed by Theinni (Hsenwi), Thibaw (Hsipaw), Momeik (Mong Mit) and Kyaingtong (Keng Tung) in present-day northern Shan State. The Confederation of Shan States were

1717-661: A tumultuous time for Myanmar, the Taungoo expansions increased the international reach of the nation. Newly rich merchants from Myanmar traded as far as the Rajahnate of Cebu in the Philippines where they sold Burmese Sugar ( śarkarā ) for Cebuano gold. Filipinos also had merchant communities in Myanmar, historian William Henry Scott, quoting the Portuguese manuscript Summa Orientalis, noted that Mottama in Burma (Myanmar) had

1818-518: Is almost constantly at war with the kingdom of Ayutthaya, in present-day Thailand. Faced with revolts and Portuguese incursions, the Taungû dynasty retreated to central Burma. In the middle of the 16th century, King Tabinshwehti, originally from a southern province, and his son succeeded, with the help of the Portuguese, in reunifying the country. From 1599, the Kingdom of Pegu was under the management of

1919-640: Is an adaptation of the Mon–Burmese script via the Burmese alphabet . However, only a few Shan can read and write in their own language. Shan state is the most illiterate state with over a million illiterates in Myanmar due to lack of basic infrastructures and long ongoing civil war . The Shan are traditionally wet-rice cultivators, shopkeepers, and artisans . The Tai-Shan people are believed to have migrated from Yunnan in China . The Shan are descendants of

2020-540: The Siamese Shan States was used to refer to Lan Na (northern Thailand) and Chinese Shan States to the Shan regions in southern Yunnan such as Xishuangbanna . Historical mention of the Shan states inside the present-day boundaries of Burma began during the period of the Pagan dynasty ; the first major Shan State of that era was founded in 1215 at Mogaung , followed by Mone in 1223. These were part of

2121-640: The Ayutthaya Kingdom , which had occupied up the Tanintharyi coast to Mottama during the Burmese civil war (1740–1757), and had provided shelter to the Mon refugees. By 1767, the Konbaung armies had subdued much of Laos and defeated Siam . But they could not finish off the remaining Siamese resistance as they were forced to defend against four invasions by Qing China (1765–1769). While the Burmese defences held in "the most disastrous frontier war

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2222-627: The Burma Frontier Service by British Assistance Superintendents, later renamed as Assistant Residents. In 1935 the Frontier Areas were divided into "Excluded Areas" and "Partially Excluded Areas"—also known as "Part I Areas" and "Part II Areas"—through the Second Schedule to the 1935 Government of Burma Act. The Chinese Shan States were petty states or small territories of Shan people ruled by local monarchs under

2323-435: The Chin , Palaung , Lisu , Pa-O , Kachin , Wa , and Burmans . The Shan States were a dominant force in the politics of Upper Burma throughout the 13th to 16th centuries. The strongest Shan States, Mogaung , Mongyang and Hsenwi , constantly raided Upper Burma . Mogaung ended the kingdoms of Sagaing and Pinya in 1364. However, the Shan States were too fragmented to resist the encroachment of bigger neighbours. In

2424-692: The Dali Kingdom in Yunnan fell to the Yuan dynasty . By the 17th century the territories of these outlying Shan States had been merged into the core territories of Chinese dynasties , their rulers being allowed to retain a great measure of authority under the Tǔsī Zhìdù ( Chinese : 土司 制度 ) system of recognized chieftainship. In mid 18th century, the Konbaung dynasty 's armies led a series of wars against

2525-708: The First Mongol invasion of Burma in 1287, several small kingdoms, of which the Kingdom of Ava , the Hanthawaddy Kingdom , the Kingdom of Mrauk U and the Shan States were principal powers, came to dominate the landscape, replete with ever-shifting alliances and constant wars. From this time, the history of this region has been characterised by geopolitical struggles between the Bamar ethnic group, and

2626-522: The Irrawaddy valley. Various Shan states fought Ava for the control of Upper Burma . The states of Monyhin (Mong Yang) and Mogaung were the strongest of the Shan States. Monhyin-led Confederation of Shan States defeated Ava in 1527, and ruled all of Upper Burma until 1555. The Burmese king Bayinnaung conquered all of the Shan states in 1557. Although the Shan states would become a tributary to Irrawaddy valley based Burmese kingdoms from then on,

2727-589: The Kangleipak State and the Kingdom of Pong. This quasi-legendary kingdom is also mentioned among the conquests of Anoratha , the King of Pagan . Some scholars identify the Kingdom of Pong with Mong Mao as well as with the kingdom of Luh Shwan mentioned in Chinese chronicles. Vassal states to more powerful empires of China, these Shan States gained a measure of independence in the power vacuum left after

2828-682: The National Museum . }} Beginning in the 1480s, Ava faced constant internal rebellions and external attacks from the Shan States, and began to disintegrate. In 1510, Taungoo, located in the remote southeastern corner of the Ava kingdom, also declared independence. When the Confederation of Shan States conquered Ava in 1527, many refugees fled southeast to Taungoo, the only kingdom in peace, and one surrounded by larger hostile kingdoms. Taungoo, led by its ambitious king Tabinshwehti and his deputy general Bayinnaung , would go on to reunify

2929-633: The Pagan Kingdom in the Shan Hills and Kachin Hills and accelerated after the fall of the Pagan Kingdom to the Yuan dynasty in 1287. The Shans, including a new migration that came down with the Mongols, quickly came to dominate an area from northern Chin State and northwestern Sagaing Region to the present-day Shan Hills. The newly founded Shan States were multi-ethnic states that included

3030-596: The Restored Hanthawaddy Kingdom , and by 1745 controlled much of Lower Burma. The Siamese also moved their authority up the Tanintharyi coast by 1752. Hanthawaddy invaded Upper Burma in November 1751, and captured Ava on 23 March 1752, ending the 266-year-old Taungoo dynasty. Soon after the fall of Ava, a new dynasty rose in Shwebo to challenge the authority of Hanthawaddy. Over the next 70 years,

3131-407: The Shan Hills and other parts of northern modern-day Burma as far back as the 10th century AD. The Shan kingdom of Mong Mao (Muang Mao) existed in Yunnan as early as the 10th century CE but became a Burmese vassal state during the reign of King Anawrahta of Pagan (1044–1077). The historical relevance of the Shan states inside the present-day boundaries of Burma increased during the period of

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3232-754: The Shan State Army/Special Region 3 and Shan State Army/Restoration Council of Shan State . In 2005 the Shan State National Army (SSNA) was effectively abolished after its surrender to the Burmese government. Some SSNA units joined the SSA/RCSS, which has yet to sign any agreements, and is still engaged in guerrilla warfare against the Burmese Army . During conflicts, Shan civilians are often burned out of their villages and forced to flee into Thailand. Some of

3333-702: The Shan State War Council (SSWC) and the Shan State Army (SSA) , becoming chair of the SSWC, and taking the Shan rebellion that started in 1958 to a new phase. Sao Nang Hearn Kham died on 17 January 2003 in exile in Canada at the age of 86. Prince Hso Khan Pha (sometimes written as Surkhanfa in Thai ), son of Sao Nang Hearn Kham of Yawnghwe lived in exile in Canada . He was campaigning for

3434-811: The Strait of Malacca to Pagan's realm. By the early 12th century, Pagan had emerged as a major power alongside the Khmer Empire in Southeast Asia, recognised by Song China and the Chola dynasty of India. Well into the mid-13th century, most of mainland Southeast Asia was under some degree of control of either the Pagan Empire or the Khmer Empire. Anawrahta also implemented a series of key social, religious and economic reforms that would have

3535-555: The 10th century CE. The Shan kingdom of Mong Mao (Muang Mao) existed as early as the 10th century CE but became a Burmese vassal state during the reign of King Anawrahta of Pagan (1044–1077). After the Pagan Kingdom fell to the Mongols in 1287, the Shan chiefs quickly gained power throughout central Burma, and founded: Many Ava and Pegu kings of Burmese history between the 13th–16th centuries were of (partial) Shan descent. The kings of Ava fought kings of Pegu for control of

3636-682: The 13th century, the Pyu had assumed Bamar ethnicity. The histories/legends of the Pyu were also incorporated to those of the Bamars. According to the colonial era scholarship, as early as the 6th century, another people called the Mon began to enter the present-day Lower Burma from the Mon kingdoms of Haribhunjaya and Dvaravati in modern-day Thailand . By the mid 9th century, the Mon had founded at least two small kingdoms (or large city-states) centred around Bago and Thaton . The earliest external reference to

3737-564: The 1480s. In the late 15th century, the Prome Kingdom and its Shan States successfully broke away, and in the early 16th century, Ava itself came under attacks from its former vassals. In 1510, Taungoo also broke away. In 1527, the Confederation of Shan States led by Mohnyin captured Ava. The Confederation's rule of Upper Burma, though lasted until 1555, was marred by internal fighting between Mohnyin and Thibaw houses. The kingdom

3838-504: The 1720s. From 1724 onwards, the Meitei people began raiding the upper Chindwin River . In 1727, southern Lan Na ( Chiang Mai ) successfully revolted, leaving just northern Lan Na ( Chiang Saen ) under an increasingly nominal Burmese rule. Meitei raids intensified in the 1730s, reaching increasingly deeper parts of central Burma. In 1740, the Mon in Lower Burma began a rebellion, and founded

3939-500: The 4th century, many in the Irrawaddy valley had converted to Buddhism. Of the many city-states, the largest and most important was the Sri Ksetra Kingdom southeast of modern Pyay, also thought to once be the capital city. In March 638, the Pyu of Sri Ksetra launched a new calendar that later became the Burmese calendar . Eighth-century Chinese records identify 18 Pyu states throughout the Irrawaddy valley, and describe

4040-531: The Ava throne. Thibaw and its tributaries Nyaungshwe and Mobye also came over to the confederation. The enlarged Confederation extended its authority down to Prome (Pyay) in 1533 by defeating their erstwhile ally Prome Kingdom because Sawlon felt that Prome did not provide sufficient help in their war against Ava. After the Prome war, Sawlon was assassinated by his own ministers, creating a leadership vacuum. Although Sawlon's son Thohanbwa naturally tried to assume

4141-559: The British commanders acknowledged. In the latter half of the 19th century Shan people migrated into Northern Thailand reaching Phrae Province . The Shan population in Thailand is concentrated mainly in Chiang Rai , Chiang Mai , Mae Hong Son , Mae Sariang , Mae Sai and Lampang , where there are groups which settled long ago and built their own communities and temples. Shan people are known as "Tai Yai" in north Thailand, where

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4242-476: The Burmese Army indefinitely, or enslaved to do road work for a number of months—with no wages and little food. The horrific conditions inside Burma have led to a massive exodus of young Shan males to neighbouring Thailand, where they are not given refugee status. Shan people in Thailand often work as undocumented labourers. Males typically find low-paid work in construction, while many Shan females fall in

4343-543: The Burmese regime to leave the Federated Shan States and return to their own country, to respect the traditional culture and indigenous lands of the Shan people. He worked with the interim Shan Government, with Shan exiles abroad, and the Burmese regime to regain his country. Opinion has been voiced in the Shan State, in neighboring Thailand , and to some extent in distant exile communities, in favor of

4444-403: The Chinese Qing dynasty following which eight of the Chinese Shan states were briefly occupied by the Kingdom of Burma , but all of these northernmost Shan States remained under Chinese rule after that. The former Chinese Shan States are now part of Yunnan Province . Under the Chinese administration the status of the Shan people in the Chinese Shan States was reduced when they were labelled as

4545-421: The Eastern Portuguese Empire. She reunified the country again in 1613 and definitively repelled attempts at Portuguese conquest. But the revolt of the Mons in the south of the country, encouraged by the French in India, weakened the kingdom which finally collapsed in 1752. His successor Anaukpetlun defeated the Portuguese at Thanlyin in 1613. He recovered the upper Tanintharyi coast to Dawei and Lan Na from

4646-453: The Irrawaddy valley from present-day Yunnan, c. 2nd century BCE, and went on to found city-states throughout the Irrawaddy valley. The original home of the Pyu is reconstructed to be Qinghai Lake in present-day Qinghai and Gansu . The Pyu were the earliest inhabitants of Burma of whom records are extant. During this period, Burma was part of an overland trade route from China to India. Trade with India brought Buddhism from South India . By

4747-472: The Pegu and the Irrawaddy Delta . The energetic reign of Razadarit (1384–1421) cemented the kingdom's existence. Razadarit firmly unified the three Mon-speaking regions together, and successfully held off Ava in the Forty Years' War (1385–1424). After the war, Hanthawaddy entered its golden age whereas its rival Ava gradually went into decline. From the 1420s to the 1530s, Hanthawaddy was the most powerful and prosperous kingdom of all post-Pagan kingdoms. Under

4848-408: The Pyu as a humane and peaceful people to whom war was virtually unknown and who wore silk cotton instead of actual silk so that they would not have to kill silkworms . The Chinese records also report that the Pyu knew how to make astronomical calculations, and that many Pyu boys entered the monastic life at seven to the age of 20. It was a long-lasting civilisation that lasted nearly a millennium to

4949-408: The Pyu states remained in Upper Burma. (Trickles of Burman migrations into the upper Irrawaddy valley might have begun as early as the 7th century. ) In the mid-to-late 9th century, Pagan was founded as a fortified settlement along a strategic location on the Irrawaddy near the confluence of the Irrawaddy and its main tributary the Chindwin River . It may have been designed to help the Nanzhao pacify

5050-540: The Qing dynasty had ever waged", the Burmese were preoccupied with another impending invasion by the world's largest empire for years. The Qing kept a heavy military line-up in the border areas for about one decade in an attempt to wage another war while imposing a ban on inter-border trade for two decades. The Ayutthaya Kingdom used the Konbaung preoccupation with the Qing to recover their lost territories by 1770 , and in addition, went on to capture much of Lan Na by 1775 , ending over two centuries of Burmese suzerainty over

5151-421: The Shan Saophas retained a large degree of autonomy. Throughout the Burmese feudal era, Shan states supplied much manpower in the service of Burmese kings. Without Shan manpower, it would have been harder for the Burmans alone to achieve their victories in Lower Burma , Siam , and elsewhere. Shans were a major part of Burmese forces in the First Anglo-Burmese War of 1824–1826, and fought valiantly—a fact even

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5252-812: The Shan are called Tai Yai (ไทใหญ่, lit.   ' Great Tai ' ) or Ngiao ( Thai : เงี้ยว ) in Tai yuan language . The Shan also have a number of exonyms in other minority languages, including Pa'O : ဖြဝ်ꩻ, Western Pwo Karen : ၥဲၫ့, and Mon သေံဇၞော် listen ( seṃ jnok) . The major groups of Shan people are: The speakers of Shan, Lue, Khun and Nua languages form the majority of Dai nationality in China . There are various ethnic groups designated as Tai throughout Shan State , Northern Sagaing Division and Kachin State . Some of these groups in fact speak Tibeto-Burman and Mon-Khmer and Assamese language , although they are assimilated into Shan society. The majority of Shan are Theravada Buddhists , and Tai folk religion . The Shan constitute one of

5353-434: The Siamese by 1614. He also captured the trans-Salween Shan states (Kengtung and Sipsongpanna) in 1622–26. His brother Thalun rebuilt the war-torn country. He ordered the first ever census in Burmese history in 1635, which showed that the kingdom had about two million people. By 1650, the three able kings–Nyaungyan, Anaukpetlun, and Thalun–had successfully rebuilt a smaller but far more manageable kingdom. More importantly,

5454-406: The ancestral home of the dynasty. In 1599, the Arakanese forces aided by Portuguese mercenaries, and in alliance with the rebellious Taungoo forces, sacked Pegu. The country fell into chaos, with each region claiming a king. Portuguese mercenary Filipe de Brito e Nicote promptly rebelled against his Arakanese masters, and established Goa -backed Portuguese rule at Thanlyin in 1603. Despite being

5555-449: The arrest of Sao Shwe Thaik of Yawnghwe in the Burmese coup d'état in March 1962 by the Revolutionary Council headed by General Ne Win , his wife Sao Nang Hearn Kham fled with her family to Thailand in April 1962 and Sao Shwe Thaik died in prison in November the same year. In exile, his wife took up the cause of the independence struggle of the Shan State . In 1964 Sao Nang Hearn Kham with her son Chao-Tzang Yawnghwe helped to form

5656-420: The border to Thailand, caused an evacuation of the surviving members across the Mekong River to Laos . This evacuation was aided by members of the Shan State Army, and in turn brought tighter measures restricting foreign aid in the area as violence increased. Whether or not there is an ongoing conflict, the Shan are subject to depredations by the Burmese regime; in particular, young men may be conscripted into

5757-404: The chief town in the region. They played a precarious game of paying allegiance to more powerful states, sometimes simultaneously. Smaller states such as Loi-ai , Monghsat and Monghsu paid allegiance to more powerful Shan states like Yawnghwe , Kengtung and Hsenwi . The larger Shan States in turn paid tribute to larger neighbours such as the Ava , the Burmese Kingdom and China. Some of

5858-403: The declaration, the Burmese Army is rumoured to have used it as a reason to crack down on Shan civilians. Shan people have reported an increase in restrictions on their movements and an escalation in Burmese Army raids on Shan villages. The October 2015 Burmese military offensive in Central Shan State has displaced thousands of Shan people, as well as Palaung , Lisu and Lahu people , causing

5959-409: The early 13th century, the Shan began to encircle the Pagan Empire from the north and the east. The Mongols , who had conquered Yunnan, the former homeland of the Bamar, in 1253, began their invasion in 1277 in response to an embassy crisis, and in 1287 sacked Pagan, ending the Pagan Kingdom's 250-year rule of the Irrawaddy valley and its periphery when the Pagan king of that time abandoned his palace on

6060-440: The early 16th century. The Monhyin-led Confederation of Shan States, in alliance with Prome Kingdom , captured Ava itself in 1527. The Confederation defeated its erstwhile ally Prome in 1532, and ruled all of Upper Burma except Taungoo. But the Confederation was marred by internal bickering, and could not stop Taungoo, which conquered Ava in 1555 and all of the Shan States by 1563. Although Arakan had been de facto independent since

6161-419: The early 9th century until a new group of "swift horsemen" from the north, the Bamars, entered the upper Irrawaddy valley. In the early 9th century, the Pyu city-states of Upper Burma came under constant attacks by Nanzhao (in modern Yunnan ). In 832, the Nanzhao sacked Halingyi , which had overtaken Prome as the chief Pyu city-state and informal capital. Archaeologists interpret early Chinese texts detailing

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6262-422: The endonym Tai (တႆး) in reference to themselves, which is also used in Chinese ( Chinese : 傣族 ; pinyin : Dǎizú ). Shan (ရှမ်း) is an exonym from the Burmese language ; the term itself was historically spelt သျှမ်း ( MLCTS : hsyam: ), and is derived from the term Siam , the former name of Thailand. The term has been borrowed into Chinese ( Chinese : 掸族 ; pinyin : Shànzú ). In Thai ,

6363-429: The fall of Pagan Empire lasted over 250 years (1287–1555), that following the fall of First Taungoo was relatively short-lived. One of Bayinnaung's sons, Nyaungyan Min , immediately began the reunification effort, successfully restoring central authority over Upper Burma and nearer Shan states by 1606. In 1535, King Tabinshwehti reunified Burma and founded the second Burmese Empire (Taungû dynasty, 1535–1752). This empire

6464-631: The first people in the world to do so. By 500 BCE, iron-working settlements emerged in an area south of present-day Mandalay . Bronze-decorated coffins and burial sites filled with earthenware remains have been excavated. Archaeological evidence at Samon Valley south of Mandalay suggests rice growing settlements that traded with China between 500 BC and 200 CE. During the Iron Age, archaeological evidence also out of Samon Valley reveal changes in infant burial practices that were greatly influenced by India. These changes include burying infants in jars in which their size depict their family status. The Pyu entered

6565-739: The four main Buddhist ethnic groups in Burma; the others are the Bamar , the Mon and the Rakhine . The Mon were the main source of early Shan Buddhism and Shan scripts . Most Shan speak the Shan language and are bilingual in Burmese . The Shan language, spoken by about 5 or 6 million, is closely related to Thai and Lao , and is part of the family of Tai languages . It is spoken in Shan State , some parts of Kachin State , some parts of Sagaing Division in Burma, parts of Yunnan , and in parts of northwestern Thailand, including Mae Hong Son Province and Chiang Mai Province . The two major dialects differ in number of tones : Hsenwi Shan has six tones, while Mongnai Shan has five. The Shan alphabet

6666-421: The goal of "total independence for the Shan State." This came to a head when, in May 2005, Shan elders in exile declared the independence of the Federated Shan States . The declaration of independence was rejected by most other ethnic minority groups, many Shan living inside Burma, and the country's leading opposition party, Aung San Suu Kyi 's National League for Democracy . Despite the domestic opposition to

6767-468: The hands of human trafficking gangs and end up in the prostitution business or bride trafficking. Despite the hardships, Shan people in Thailand are conscious of their culture and seek occasions to gather in cultural events. Although the Government of Burma does not recognise Wa State , the Burmese military has frequently used the United Wa State Army (UWSA) as an ally for the purpose of fighting against Shan nationalist militia groups. Following

6868-449: The highly militaristic Konbaung dynasty went on to create the largest Burmese empire, second only to the empire of Bayinnaung . By 1759 , King Alaungpaya 's Konbaung forces had reunited all of Burma (and Manipur), extinguished the Mon-led Hanthawaddy dynasty once and for all, and driven out the European powers who provided arms to Hanthawaddy—the French from Thanlyin and the English from Cape Negrais . The kingdom then went to war with

6969-464: The history of these petty Tai (Dai) Kingdoms is obscure. Existing chronicles and traditions regarding the northernmost outlying Shan States include conflicting names and dates which have led to different interpretations. According to ancient tradition there was a State of Pong that had its origin in the legendary kingdom of Udiri Pale, founded in 58 BC. The Cheitharol Kumbaba Manipuri Kingdom chronicle—written much later—mentions an alliance between

7070-445: The larger Tai migration that founded the Ahom Kingdom in 1229 and the Sukhothai Kingdom in 1253. Shan political power increased after the Mongols overran Pagan in 1287 and the Shans came to dominate many of the northern to eastern areas of Burma—from northwestern Sagaing Division to the present-day Shan Hills. The newly founded Shan States were multi-ethnic states that included a substantial number of other ethnic minorities such as

7171-406: The late 12th century had extended their influence farther south into the upper Malay Peninsula , at least to the Salween River in the east, below the current China border in the farther north, and to the west, northern Arakan and the Chin Hills . The Burmese Chronicles claim Pagan's suzerainty over the entire Chao Phraya Valley , and the Thai chronicles include the lower Malay Peninsula down to

7272-580: The late Pagan period, the Laungkyet dynasty of Arakan was ineffectual. Until the founding of the Mrauk-U Kingdom in 1429, Arakan was often caught between bigger neighbours, and found itself a battlefield during the Forty Years' War between Ava and Pegu. Mrauk-U went on to be a powerful kingdom in its own right between 15th and 17th centuries, including East Bengal between 1459 and 1666. Arakan

7373-493: The leadership of the Confederation, he was never fully acknowledged as the first among equals by other saophas. An incoherent confederation neglected to intervene in the first four years of Toungoo–Hanthawaddy War (1535–1541) in Lower Burma . They did not appreciate the gravity of the situation until 1539 when Toungoo defeated Hanthawaddy, and turned against its vassal Prome. The saophas finally banded together and sent in

7474-478: The lower and middle Paleolithic in Europe. The Neolithic or New Stone Age, when plants and animals were first domesticated and polished stone tools appeared, is evidenced in Burma by three caves located near Taunggyi at the edge of the Shan plateau that are dated to 10000 to 6000 BC. About 1500 BCE, people in the region were turning copper into bronze, growing rice, and domesticating chickens and pigs; they were among

7575-473: The major Shan States were. Early history of the Shan states is clouded in myth. Most states claimed having been founded upon a predecessor state with a Sanskrit name Shen/Sen . Tai Yai chronicles usually begin with the story of two brothers, Khun Lung and Khun Lai, who descended from heaven in the 6th century and landed in Hsenwi, where the local population hailed them as kings. The Shan people have inhabited

7676-766: The majority Bamar leadership at the Panglong Conference , and agreed to gain independence from Britain as part of Union of Burma . The Shan states were given the option to secede after 10 years of independence. The Shan states became Shan State in 1948 as part of the newly independent Burma. General Ne Win 's coup d'état overthrew the democratically elected government in 1962, and abolished Shan saopha system. A Shan independence movement has been active and engaged in armed struggle, leading to intermittent civil war within Burma for decades. Currently two main Shan armed insurgent forces operate within Shan State:

7777-480: The multitude of smaller ethnic groups surrounding them. In the second half of the 16th century, the Toungoo dynasty (1510–1752) reunified the country, and founded the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia for a brief period. Later Taungoo kings instituted several key administrative and economic reforms that gave rise to a smaller, more peaceful and prosperous kingdom in the 17th and early 18th centuries. In

7878-416: The new dynasty proceeded to create a legal and political system whose basic features would continue under the Konbaung dynasty well into the 19th century. The crown completely replaced the hereditary chieftainships with appointed governorships in the entire Irrawaddy valley, and greatly reduced the hereditary rights of Shan chiefs. It also reined in the continuous growth of monastic wealth and autonomy, giving

7979-579: The news of the Mongol march. Pagan's rule of central Burma came to an end ten years later in 1297 when it was toppled by the Myinsaing Kingdom of Shan rulers. After the fall of Pagan, the Mongols left the searing Irrawaddy valley but the Pagan Kingdom was irreparably broken up into several small kingdoms. By the mid-14th century, the country had become organised along four major power centres: Upper Burma, Lower Burma, Shan States and Arakan. Many of

8080-541: The north, the Chinese Ming dynasty annexed today's Yunnan in the 1380s, stamping out the final Shan resistance by the 1440s. The Mohnyin-led Confederation of Shan States captured the Ava Kingdom in 1527 and ruled Upper Burma until 1555. In the south, the Toungoo dynasty captured all those Shan States that would become known as the Burmese Shan States in 1557. Though the Shan States came under

8181-545: The oldest branch of the Tai-Shan, known as Tai Luang ('Great Tai') or Tai Yai ('Big Tai'). The Tai-Shan who migrated to the south and now inhabit modern-day Laos and Thailand are known as Tai Noi (or Tai Nyai ), while those in parts of northern Thailand and Laos are commonly known as Tai Noi ('Little Tai' – Lao spoken) The Shan have inhabited the Shan Plateau and other parts of modern-day Burma as far back as

8282-431: The once-agrarian society. British rule highlighted out-group differences among the country's myriad ethnic groups. Since independence in 1948, the country has been in one of the longest running civil wars involving insurgent groups representing political and ethnic minority groups and successive central governments. The country was under military rule under various guises from 1962 to 2010 and again from 2021–present, and in

8383-542: The petty kingdoms that had existed since the fall of the Pagan Empire, and found the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia . First, the upstart kingdom defeated a more powerful Hanthawaddy in the Taungoo–Hanthawaddy War (1534–41) . Tabinshwehti moved the capital to newly captured Bago in 1539. Taungoo had expanded its authority up to Pagan by 1544 but failed to conquer Arakan in 1545–47 and Siam in 1547–49 . Tabinshwehti's successor Bayinnaung continued

8484-463: The plundering of Halingyi in 832 to detail the capturing of 3000 Pyu prisoners, later becoming Nanzhao slaves at Kunming . While Pyu settlements remained in Upper Burma until the advent of the Pagan Empire in the mid 11th century, the Pyu gradually were absorbed into the expanding Burman kingdom of Pagan in the next four centuries. The Pyu language still existed until the late 12th century. By

8585-617: The policy of expansion, conquering Ava in 1555, Nearer/Cis-Salween Shan States (1557), Lan Na (1558), Manipur (1560), Farther/Trans-Salween Shan states (1562–63), the Siam (1564, 1569), and Lan Xang (1565–74), and bringing much of western and central mainland Southeast Asia under his rule. Bayinnaung put in place a lasting administrative system that reduced the power of hereditary Shan chiefs, and brought Shan customs in line with low-land norms. But he could not replicate an effective administrative system everywhere in his far flung empire. His empire

8686-562: The power centres were themselves made up of (often loosely held) minor kingdoms or princely states. This era was marked by a series of wars and switching alliances. Smaller kingdoms played a precarious game of paying allegiance to more powerful states, sometimes simultaneously. Founded in 1364, Kingdom of Ava (Inwa) was the successor state to earlier, even smaller kingdoms based in central Burma: Taungoo (1287–1318), Myinsaing – Pinya Kingdom (1297–1364), and Sagaing Kingdom (1315–64). In its first years of existence, Ava, which viewed itself as

8787-403: The present day). The wealthy donated tax-free land to religious authorities. The Burmese language and culture gradually became dominant in the upper Irrawaddy valley, eclipsing the Pyu and Pali norms by the late 12th century. By then, the Bamar leadership of the kingdom was unquestioned. The Pyu had largely assumed the Bamar ethnicity in Upper Burma. The Burmese language, once an alien tongue,

8888-535: The rightful successor to the Pagan Kingdom, tried to reassemble the former empire. While it was able to pull the Taungoo-ruled kingdom and peripheral Shan states ( Kalay , Mohnyin , Mogaung , Hsipaw ) into its fold at the peak of its power, it failed to reconquer the rest. The Forty Years' War (1385–1424) with Hanthawaddy left Ava exhausted, and its power plateaued. Its kings regularly faced rebellions in its vassal regions but were able to put them down until

8989-535: The second half of the 18th century, the Konbaung dynasty (1752–1885) restored the kingdom, and continued the Taungoo reforms that increased central rule in peripheral regions and produced one of the most literate states in Asia. The dynasty also went to war with all its neighbors. The Anglo-Burmese wars (1824–85) eventually led to British colonial rule. British rule brought several enduring social, economic, cultural and administrative changes that completely transformed

9090-484: The seemingly cyclical process has become one of the least developed nations in the world. The earliest archaeological evidence suggests that cultures existed in Burma as early as 11,000 BCE. Most indications of early settlement have been found in the central dry zone, where scattered sites appear in close proximity to the Irrawaddy River. The Anyathian , Burma's Stone Age, existed at a time thought to parallel

9191-425: The surrounding countryside. Over the next two hundred years, the small principality gradually grew to include its immediate surrounding areas— to about 200 miles north to south and 80 miles from east to west by Anawrahta 's accession in 1044. Over the next 30 years, Anawrahta founded the Pagan Kingdom, unifying for the first time the regions that would later constitute the modern-day Burma. Anawrahta's successors by

9292-713: The suzerainty of Burmese kingdoms based in the valley of the Irrawaddy River , the Shan saophas (chiefs) retained a large degree of autonomy. When Burma gained independence in 1948, the Federated Shan States became Shan State while the southern portion became Kayah State within the Union of Burma with the right to secede from the Union. However, the Shan States and the saophas' hereditary rights were removed by General Ne Win 's military government in 1962. Most Shan States were just little principalities organised around

9393-475: The suzerainty of China. They were also known as Koshanpye or "Nine Shan States". The main states were Mönglem (Mainglengyi, Maing-ying, Mong Lien), Möngmāu ( Mong Mao ), Hsikwan (Si-gwin), Möngnā (Ganya), Sandā (Zhanda, Mong-Santa), Hosā (Ho Hsa, Hotha), Lasā (Mong Hsa, La Hsa), Möngwan (Mong Wan, Mo-wun), Möngmyen ( Mong Myen , Momien, Momein/Tengyue) and Köng-ma (Küngma, Kaing-ma, Kengma, Gengma), among others, in addition to Keng Hung ( Chiang Hung ). Most of

9494-609: The word Shan is very seldom used to refer to them. After the Third Anglo-Burmese War in 1885, the British gained control of the Shan states. Under the British colonial administration, the Shan principalities were administered separately as British protectorates with limited monarchical powers invested in the Shan Saophas . After World War II , the Shan and other ethnic minority leaders negotiated with

9595-741: The worst fighting in recent times occurred in 2002 when the Burmese army shelled the Thai border town of Mae Sai , south of Tachileik , in an attempt to capture members of the SSA 's Southern Faction who had fled across the Nam Ruak . While in July of that same year, in the Shan Township of Mong Yawng , the killing of a member of an NGO by the Burmese Tatmadaw , and the subsequent closure of

9696-465: Was a loose collection of former sovereign kingdoms, whose kings were loyal to him as the Cakkavatti ( စကြဝတေးမင်း , [sɛʔtɕà wədé mɪ́ɰ̃] ; Universal Ruler), not the kingdom of Taungoo. The overextended empire unravelled soon after Bayinnaung's death in 1581. Siam broke away in 1584 and went to war with Burma until 1605. By 1597, the kingdom had lost all its possessions, including Taungoo,

9797-410: Was crushed by Taungoo in 1552. The Shans , ethnic Tai peoples who came down with the Mongols, stayed and quickly came to dominate much of northern to eastern arc of Burma, from northwestern Sagaing Division to Kachin Hills to the present day Shan Hills. The most powerful Shan states were Mohnyin and Mogaung in present-day Kachin State , followed by Hsenwi (Theinni) (split up in a northern and

9898-454: Was now the lingua franca of the kingdom. The kingdom went into decline in the 13th century as the continuous growth of tax-free religious wealth—by the 1280s, two-thirds of Upper Burma's cultivable land had been alienated to the religion—affected the crown's ability to retain the loyalty of courtiers and military servicemen. This ushered in a vicious circle of internal disorders and external challenges by Mons, Mongols and Shans . Beginning in

9999-523: Was primarily based on the Kyaukse agricultural basin northeast of the capital, and Minbu , south of Bagan, where the Bamars had built a large number of new weirs and diversionary canals. It also benefited from external trade through its coastal ports. The wealth of the kingdom was devoted to building over 10,000 Buddhist temples in the Pagan capital zone between 11th and 13th centuries (of which 3000 remain to

10100-460: Was the only post-Pagan kingdom not to be annexed by the Taungoo dynasty. |image1 = Burma (Myanmar) in 1530.png|caption1=Political Map of Burma (Myanmar) in 1530 CE at Tabinshwehti 's accession. |image2 = Tabinshwehti Nat.jpg|caption2= Tabinshwehti was the founder of Toungoo Empire . |image3 = Map of Taungoo Empire (1580).png|caption3=Toungoo Empire under Bayinnaung in 1580 CE. |image4 = Bayinnaung.JPG|caption4=Statue of King Bayinnaung in front of

10201-570: Was toppled by Taungoo forces in 1555. The Burmese language and culture came into its own between the last period of the Pagan Kingdom (Old Burmese starts in the XII° century) and the Ava period. The Mon - kingdom was founded as Ramannadesa right after Pagan's collapse in 1297. In the beginning, the Lower-Burma-based kingdom was a loose federation of regional power centre in the Mottama ,

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