Placed on the throne by his half-sister Queen Sanda Min Hla, this son of King Hkun Law defeated Sukhothai's invasion in 1330–1331, ending Martaban's tributary status to the Siamese kingdom.
[note 1] E Law only three years old in March 1311 when his father was assassinated in a coup organized by his aunt Princess Hnin U Yaing and her husband Gov.
The king's chief queen Sanda Min Hla staged a counter coup a week later, and had the usurper executed.
The chronicle Razadarit Ayedawbon relates that E Law was wary of his sister, and reluctantly came to Martaban (Mottama) by ship.
The 22-year-old king also raised his other half-sister Tala Shin Saw Bok (Sanda Min Hla's younger sister) as queen.
King Loe Thai of Sukhothai was greatly angered by the assassination of his grandson, and considered the brief truce achieved during E's short reign null and void.
[2][4] (Prior to E's restoration of ties,[note 3] Martaban had been at war with its erstwhile overlord throughout the 1320s over the control of the Tenasserim coast.
The regime ordered defensive preparations along the expected invasion route: Sittaung, Donwun and Martaban.
According to the Razadarit, when four Sukhothai regiments invaded along the expected route, they faced heavy resistance from Martanban defenses.
[note 5] But Upper Burma itself was divided into multiple power centers, and was in no position to pose an existential threat to E Law's Mon-speaking fully independent kingdom.