Despite a brief period of alliance with Pinya (1357−59), Sagaing had to face near-annual raids by the northern Shan state of Mong Mao (Maw) on its own.
Then in late 1351/early 1352,[note 3] he married a recently widowed Princess Soe Min, daughter of the founder of the kingdom Saw Yun.
By 1355, the northern Shan state of Mong Mao had essentially achieved independence from the Mongols, and begun to look southward for expansion.
[3] While Sagaing defenses held this time, Thihapate and Soe Min appeared to have recognized the eminent danger posed by the determined foe.
In 1357/58, they sent Princess Shin Saw Gyi, Soe Min's eldest daughter and Thihapate's stepdaughter, to King Kyawswa II of Pinya in a marriage of state.
Kyawswa II, who did not control much beyond the core Kyaukse capital region, simply did not have enough manpower to assist Sagaing and hold his southern vassals at the same time.
He did not accept Thado Minbya warning that the season's raid was far larger, and sent his stepson to prison at Kya-Khat-Wa-Ya, south of Sagaing.
While panicked people of Sagaing crossed the Irrawaddy toward Pinya, Thihapate and the royal family slipped away by boat to Kya-Khat-Wa-Ya.