The restored Hanthawady kingdom also claim heritage to Bayinaung's early Toungoo Empire whose capital was based in Pegu and guaranteed the loyalty of the non-Mon population of Lower Burma.

Its leadership in self-defeating measures killed off the Toungoo royal family, and persecuted loyal ethnic Burmans in the south, both of which only strengthened Alaungpaya's hand.

Konbaung forces captured the Irrawaddy delta in May 1755, the French defended port of Thanlyin in July 1756, and finally the capital Pegu in May 1757.

[3] By the early 19th century, assimilation, inter-marriage, and mass migration of Burman families from the north had reduced the Mon population to a small minority.

Its weak kings had been unable to stem the constant raids on the Chindwin river valley by the Meiteis since 1724, or put down a nagging rebellion in Lan Na in the east since 1727.

[4] The court elected a Mon-speaking Burman of royal lineage with the Mon title of Smim Htaw Buddhaketi, as king of Hanthawaddy on 8 December [O.S.

The low grade warfare continued until November 1751 when Binnya Dala, who succeeded Smim Htaw as king in 1747, launched a full-scale invasion of Upper Burma.

In March 1752, a village headman of Moksobo named Aung Zeya founded the Konbaung Dynasty with the title of Alaungpaya to resist the Mon occupation.

It executed all Avan captives, including the last king of Toungoo, and began requiring all Burmans in the south to wear an earring with a stamp of the Pegu heir-apparent and to cut their hair in Mon fashion as a sign of loyalty.