Minkhaung II of Toungoo

He was born Zeya Nanda (ဇေယျနန္ဒ)[note 1] in the Toungoo Palace precincts to Mingyi Swe and the younger sister of Shin Myo Myat, royal household servants of Crown Prince Tabinshwehti.

[2] Zeya Nanda came of age at a time when his native Toungoo was in the process of building the largest polity in Burma since the late 13th century.

Although he probably joined his older brothers in Tabinshwehti's later military campaigns in the 1540s, he had not achieved a regimental commander status to be mentioned in the chronicles.

When viceroy of Toungoo Mingyi Swe died in March 1549, the king named Zeya Nanda successor with the title of Thihathu (သီဟသူ).

[3] Though it was a governorship, as opposed to a viceroyship, the appointment was still an impressive achievement for the young man as he was selected over his older and more experienced brothers Minye Sithu and Thado Dhamma Yaza II both of whom had been commanders since 1540, and over the objections of ministers concerned by handing over the ancestral home of the dynasty to a relatively inexperienced youngster.

In January/February 1550 (Tabodwe 911 ME), the king entrusted him to administer Pegu (Bago) while he went on a months-long hunting trip and Bayinnaung was on the campaign in the Irrawaddy delta to suppress a rebellion.

In September 1550, Bayinnaung's forces (9600 men, 200 horses, 20 elephants, 200 war boats) laid siege to Toungoo.

[8] Minkhaung was overcome by Bayinnaung's pardon, and proved to be a loyal brother and an effective military commander for the rest of their lives.

The new king faced an impossible task of maintaining an empire ruled by autonomous viceroys who were loyal to Bayinnaung, not the kingdom of Toungoo.

In June 1583, Thado Minsaw, the viceroy of Ava, sent secret embassies to Prome, Toungoo and Chiang Mai to launch a simultaneous revolt against Nanda.