Byat Za
[3] The Pak Lat Chronicles say that he was already a senior minister and commander with the title Smin Than-Byat (သမိန်သံဗြတ်)[note 5] in 1387 when he was posted at Tari.
[note 6] At any rate, neither mentions him as a senior commander or minister during the first two invasions of Hanthawaddy (1385–1387) by the northern Ava Kingdom.
Than-Lan and one of his deputies Than-Lon made their name early in the campaign in the battles in the northern part of the province that led to the capture of Donwun, a key town about 100 kilometres (62 mi) north of Martaban.
[6][7] After the improbable victory, an overjoyed Razadarit gave Than-Lan a princely title of Smin Byat Za, (lit.
[10] The chronicle Razadarit Ayedawbon portrays Byat Za and Dein as the adults who guided and tempered the ambitious, brash young king.
The chronicle reports a didactic episode in which Byat Za politely lectured the young king about statecraft.
Lauk Shein of Bassein (Pathein) had escaped with "ten elephant loads of gold and silver", he ordered Byat Za and Dein to go after him and recover the loot.
With 700 troops and 10 war elephants, Byat Za (and Dein as his deputy) pursued Lauk Shein all the way to the gates of Sandoway (Thandwe), in the neighboring kingdom of Arakan (modern Rakhine State).
The governor of Sandoway handed over Lauk Shein, along with his family and loot, to Byat Za, who in turn lifted the siege.
[13] Byat Za and his commanders then learned from Lauk Shein's men that Sandoway was starving and had only four or five days' worth of food left.
[16] Byat Za's and Dein's role in the long running war with Ava was not just to be military commanders but also be the king's chief advisers.
Indeed, soon after listening to Byat Za's lecture about limited warfare, Razadarit ordered an occupation of Gu-Htut inside Ava territory.
[21] While the invasion fleet penetrated deep into Upper Burma, they could not break through Ava's defenses, and had to retreat before the next rainy season began.
[22] By the start of the dry season in November 1402, Ava was now on the offensive, trying to relieve its southern port town of Prome (Pyay), which had been under siege by Pegu forces for a year.
[23] After the hard fought victory, Byat Za recognized that Pegu positions inside Ava territory were increasingly untenable.
Though it lost no territory, Pegu agreed to share the customs revenue of Bassein (Pathein), and supply 30 elephants annually to Ava.
Byat Za was not part of the Arakan invasion force; he led the defensive operations at home against the certain Ava reprisal.
He and Dein successfully defended their respective fortified port cities of Myaungmya and Bassein against Ava land and naval forces led by Crown Prince Minye Kyawswa.
His health deteriorated rapidly afterwards, and was no longer able to go to the front in the next two dry season campaigns (1411–1412 and 1412–1413) though he remained in charge of Myaungmya, his fief and home.
Razadarit was greatly shaken by the deaths of Lagun Ein and Byat Za, and ordered an immediate withdrawal from the Prome front.
