Toungoo's victory over Ava and its allies gave the dynasty control of all central Burma, making it the largest polity in the region since the fall of Pagan in 1287.
Key Facts
- War duration
- 1538–1545
- Key territory ceded
- Central Burma between Pagan and Prome
- Alliance against Toungoo
- Ava-led Confederation, Hanthawaddy Pegu, Arakan
- Foreign mercenaries
- Enlisted by Toungoo by December 1543 campaign
- Prome surrendered
- May 1542
- Largest polity since
- Fall of Pagan Empire, 1287
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
In 1538, Ava intervened in the ongoing Toungoo–Pegu war by backing its vassal Prome against Toungoo. After breaking the siege of Prome in 1539, Ava secured Confederation support and formed an alliance with Arakan, seeking to contain the rapidly expanding Toungoo Dynasty. However, the coalition failed to coordinate effectively, leaving Toungoo free to conquer Martaban in 1540–41 without facing a second front.
Toungoo forces renewed their assault on Prome in November 1541, driving back the poorly coordinated Ava–Arakan alliance by April 1542 and taking Prome the following month. After an 18-month hiatus, Ava launched its largest invasion in December 1543, but Toungoo—now equipped with foreign mercenaries and firearms—repelled the numerically superior force and seized all of Central Burma up to Pagan by April 1544.
Ava formally ceded all of Central Burma between Pagan and Prome in a 1545 peace treaty, while internal Mohnyin-backed rebellions consumed the kingdom for the next six years. Emboldened by its dominance, Toungoo turned its expansionist ambitions outward, launching campaigns to conquer Arakan in 1545–47 and Siam in 1547–49.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
3 belligerents