Smin Ye-Thin-Yan

The minister-general held several key defensive commands during the Forty Years' War against the northern kingdom of Ava until he fell in action in 1414.

Little is known about Ye-Thin-Yan's early life except that he was a childhood friend and comrade of Viceroy Sam Lek of Donwun,[3] who was appointed to the post in 1371.

[6] He initially belonged to the court faction led by the king's sister Princess Maha Dewi, the de facto power behind the throne.

[6] When the king's eldest son Prince Binnya Nwe raised a rebellion, Ye-Thin-Yan dutifully served as a deputy commander in Maru's expedition force sent to put it down.

The scheme called for Ye-Thin-Yan to deceive his childhood friend and thwethauk[note 1] comrade Sam Lek, the viceroy of Donwun.

By then, the tide of war had decidedly turned to Ava's favor under the leadership of Crown Prince Minye Kyawswa,[17] and two senior Hanthawaddy commanders Byat Za and Lagun Ein had fallen.

[18] Ye-Thin-Yan was assigned to defend Khebaung, Hanthawaddy's main frontline fort that guarded the invasion route to the Irrawaddy delta.

Meanwhile, Ye-Thin-Yan motivated his troops by "handing out awards, and making displays with swords and shield at every portal to the stirring sound of war drums.