Athinhkaya Saw Yun (Burmese: အသင်္ခယာ စောယွမ်း [ʔəθɪ̀ɰ̃ kʰəjà sɔ́ jʊ́ɰ̃]; also spelled Sawyun; c. 1299 – 5 February 1327) was the founder of the Sagaing Kingdom of Myanmar (Burma).
Saw Yun was born to Thihathu, co-founder of Myinsaing Kingdom, and Yadanabon, daughter of the village head of Linyin,[4] c. 1299.
[7] While Thihathu wavered, on 15 May 1315, Saw Yun took matters in his own hand, and left for Sagaing with a group of followers, a few miles west of Pinya, across the Irrawaddy.
But Saw Yun continued to consolidate his support in the north, and fortified Sagaing with a brick wall, completed on 26 March 1316.
[11] Saw Yun's position may also have been helped by an open rebellion in Toungoo (Taungoo) in 1317–18, and subsequent instabilities in Taungdwin.
In 1318, Saw Yun formed a cavalry regiment called Sagaing Htaungthin (စစ်ကိုင်း ထောင်သင်း [zəɡáɪɴ tʰàʊɴ ɵɪ́ɴ]; lit.
"Thousand-strong Regiment of Sagaing", although the numbers added up to only 830), which was maintained up till the fall of Burmese monarchy, and nine squadrons of cavalry.
[3] He had four children by his chief queen Saw Hnaung: Soe Min, Kyaswa, Nawrahta Minye, and Tarabya II.