Key Facts
- Duration
- 1740–1757 (17 years)
- Toungoo dynasty ended
- 266-year-old dynasty fell in March 1752
- Capital captured
- Pegu (Bago) fell to Konbaung forces, May 1757
- Foreign support
- French military support, including defense of Thanlyin port
- Predecessor kingdom
- Original Hanthawaddy Kingdom (1287–1539)
Imperial Zenith Metrics
Historical Trajectory
Phase I: Rise
In 1740, the Mon-led population of Pegu rose in rebellion against the weakening Toungoo dynasty based in Ava, drawing in Delta Burmans and Karens of Lower Burma. The rebels expelled Toungoo loyalists and proclaimed the restoration of the historic Mon kingdom of Hanthawaddy. With French backing, the kingdom rapidly consolidated control over Lower Burma and pushed northward, culminating in the capture of Ava and the destruction of the Toungoo dynasty in March 1752.
Phase II: Zenith
At its height the Restored Hanthawaddy controlled all of Lower Burma and had struck deep into Upper Burma, eliminating the long-ruling Toungoo dynasty. The kingdom claimed dual legitimacy — as heir to the original Mon Hanthawaddy and to the Pegu-based Toungoo Empire of Bayinaung — securing the allegiance of non-Mon subjects. French commercial and military partnership gave the kingdom access to European firearms and fortified its key port at Thanlyin.
Phase III: Decline
The rise of Alaungpaya and his Konbaung dynasty in Upper Burma reversed Hanthawaddy's gains. After a failed Hanthawaddy invasion in 1754, internal reprisals — including the killing of the Toungoo royal family and persecution of ethnic Burmans — alienated subjects and bolstered Alaungpaya. Konbaung forces swept through the Irrawaddy delta in 1755, took the French-held port of Thanlyin in 1756, and captured the capital Pegu in May 1757, extinguishing the kingdom entirely.
Notable Imperial Reigns
Selected rulers mapping the empire’s trajectory