Saw Shwe Khet

Minye Kyawswa Saw Shwe Khet (Burmese: မင်းရဲကျော်စွာ စောရွှေခက်, pronounced [mɪ́ɴjɛ́ tɕɔ̀zwà sɔ́ ʃwè kʰɛʔ]) Tai name Sao Hswe Kaew (ၸဝ်ႈသႂၺ်ႇၵႅဝ်ႈ) was governor of Prome (Pyay), a major vassal state of Ava, from 1417 to 1422, and from 1442 to 1446.

[3] The first mention of Shwe Khet in the royal chronicles was his appointment as governor of Prome (Pyay) by his half cousin King Minkhaung I.

Shwe Khet, now styled as Minye Kyawswa, succeeded Thihathu, who was recalled to Ava (Inwa) to become the crown prince.

[note 1] Shwe Khet tried to curry favor with his new overlord by sending a white elephant, a propitious symbol of Burmese sovereigns.

[5] Thihathu accepted the gift but nonetheless demoted Shwe Khet to become a district-level governor at Tharrawaddy (Thayawadi), southernmost district of Prome.

At Tharrawaddy, Shwe Khet made an alliance with the new governor of Prome, Min Maha by giving his daughter Shin Yun.

Ava ceded the region in 1431 in a peace treaty that also sent Shwe Khet's sister Soe Min Wimala Dewi to wed Ran in a marriage of state.

[note 4] The king also married Thado Minsaw with Shwe Khet's daughter Myat Hpone Pyo.

Thihathura laid siege to Prome in the dry season of 1472–73, and the brothers and Shwe Khet all submitted to the king in February 1473.

[19] The following is his ancestry as given in the Hmannan Yazawin chronicle, based on a contemporary inscription left by his sister Queen Atula Thiri of Ava.