The Restored Toungoo kings, now based in Ava (Inwa), created a legal and political system whose basic features would continue under the Konbaung dynasty well into the 19th century.

King Mingyi Nyo founded the First Toungoo Empire (1510–1599) at Taungoo far up the Sittaung River south of Inwa towards the end of the Ava Kingdom in 1510.

Mingyi Nyo's son, King Tabinshwehti, unified most of Burma, consolidating his power and pushing southward, over-running the Irrawaddy Delta and crushing the Hanthawaddy capital of Bago.

With the coming of European traders, Burma was once again an important trading centre, and Tabinshwehti moved his capital to Bago due to its strategic position for commerce.

Tabinshwehti's brother-in-law, Bayinnaung, succeeded to the throne in 1550 and reigned 30 years, launching a campaign of conquest invading several states, including Manipur (1560) and Ayutthaya (1564).

An energetic leader and effective military commander, he made Taungoo the most powerful state in Southeast Asia and extended his borders from Laos to Ayutthaya.

The downfall of the Taungoo dynasty has been more broadly ascribed to institutional weaknesses in the capital, which intensified factionalism and succession disputes, and the uneven impact of growing trade and potential price inflation, on the elite's income streams.

[3] Senior princes of these principalities were required to live at the Burmese capital under close supervision, and the ceremonial insignia of these provincial rulers was downgraded.