Kingdom of Pinya: Map & History
The Pinya kingdom, also known as the Vijaia state (၀ိဇယတိုင်း) or Kingdom of Pinya, was the kingdom that ruled Central Myanmar (Burma) from 1313 to 1365.
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The Pinya kingdom, also known as the Vijaia state (၀ိဇယတိုင်း) or Kingdom of Pinya, was the kingdom that ruled Central Myanmar (Burma) from 1313 to 1365. It was the successor state of Myinsaing, the polity that controlled much of Upper Burma between 1297 and 1313. Founded as the de jure successor state of the Pagan empire by Thihathu, Pinya faced internal divisions from the start. The northern province of Sagaing led by Thihathu's eldest son Saw Yun successfully fought for autonomy in 1315−17, and formally seceded in 1325 after Thihathu's death.
Modern Countries Once Part of Kingdom of Pinya
At its mapped extent, Kingdom of Pinya covered territory in 1 present-day country. The period shown is when the mapped borders include that country, and the note says how much of it.
States and Provinces
Largest Present-Day Cities in Its Territory
Each opens on the live map inside Kingdom of Pinya's borders of that time.
Derived by testing mapped cities against this polity's dated territorial polygons, so the list is indicative and follows the borders in the source dataset.
Kingdom of Pinya in Depth
History
Pinya was the successor state of Myinsaing, the polity that succeeded the Pagan Empire in Upper Burma. After the Mongol invasions (1277–87), the Mongols seized northern Burma to Tagaung, and the rest of the empire broke up into several petty states. Pagan was left holding only a small region around the capital. In 1297, the three former Pagan commanders—Athinkhaya, Yazathingyan and Thihathu—overthrew King Kyawswa of Pagan (r. 1289–97), who had become a Mongol vassal nine months earlier. The brothers placed a puppet king, and ruled from their base in Kyaukse. The Mongols invaded once again in 1300–01 but could not break through. They withdrew altogether from northern Burma in 1303.
The brothers went on to reassemble the core regions of the fallen empire.
Government
Pinya kings continued to employ Pagan's administrative model of solar polities in which the high king ruled the core while semi-independent tributaries, autonomous viceroys, and governors actually controlled day-to-day administration and manpower.
The court, Hluttaw, was the center of administration, representing at once executive, legislative and judiciary branches of the government. The court administered the kingdom at three general levels: taing (တိုင်း, province), myo (မြို့, town), and ywa (ရွာ, village). Unlike the Pagan government, the Pinya court's reach was limited mainly to the Kyaukse region and its vicinity. The majority of the vassal states reported in the chronicles lay within a 250 km radius from Pinya.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Pinya kingdom (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Kingdom of Pinya: Key Facts
| Founded | 1310 |
|---|---|
| Dissolved | 1364 |
Facts from Wikidata Q3446213 (CC0).
Kingdom of Pinya Timeline
Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion
Expansion to peak recorded area of 193,597 km² in 1320 CE.
Kingdom of Pinya: Frequently Asked Questions
When did the Kingdom of Pinya exist?
The Kingdom of Pinya is dated to 1314 CE – 1374 CE, in the High & Late Middle Ages era.
What was the capital of the Kingdom of Pinya?
The capital of the Kingdom of Pinya was Pinya.
How large was the Kingdom of Pinya at its peak?
At its peak in 1320 AD the Kingdom of Pinya covered about 193,597 km².
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