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Saw Myat Lay

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Saw Myat Lay
စောမြတ်လေး
Chief Queen Consort of Prome
Tenure1482 – ?
Predecessorherself (as Vicereine of Prome)
SuccessorShwe Zin Gon
Vicenreine of Prome
Tenurec. 1450s–1482
PredecessorAtula Thiri Maha Yaza Dewi of Ava
Successorherself (as Queen consort of Prome)
Bornc. late 1430s
Prome (Pyay)?
Ava Kingdom
Died?
Prome
Prome Kingdom
SpouseMingyi Swa of Prome (c. 1450s–1482)
Thado Minsaw of Prome (1482–?)
Issue
among others...
11 children including Shwe Zin Gon
HouseAva
FatherSaw Shwe Khet
MotherSaw Min Phyu
ReligionTheravada Buddhism

Saw Myat Lay (Burmese: စောမြတ်လေး, pronounced [sɔ́ mjaʔ lé]) was the chief queen consort of King Thado Minsaw of Prome. Prior, she had been the chief wife of Viceroy Mingyi Swa of Prome since c. 1450s.

Brief

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Saw Myat Lay was the second child of Princess Saw Min Phyu and Saw Shwe Khet,[1] who was governor of Prome (r. 1417–1422; 1442–1446) and Tharrawaddy (r. 1422–1427; 1446–1460). Likely born in the late 1430s,[a] the princess was a granddaughter of the famous crown prince Minye Kyawswa of Ava, and a great granddaughter of King Minkhaung I of Ava from her mother's side, and a descendant of King Kyawswa of Pagan from both sides. She had two full siblings: Gov. Minye Kyawswa I of Kalay and Myat Hpone Pyo;[1] and three half-siblings.[b]

Though the royal chronicles do not state her place of birth, Myat Lay was raised in Prome where her father was governor between 1442 and 1446,[2] and in Tharrawaddy, the southernmost district of Prome to which her father was reassigned, from 1446 onwards until her marriage.[3][2] She returned to Prome, perhaps in the 1450s, when she was married to Viceroy Mingyi Swa, the second son of then King Narapati I of Ava. She became the vicereine of Prome, and had 11 children with Swa.[4]

Myat Lay became the chief queen consort in 1482. That year, Viceroy Swa died, and his younger brother Gov. Thado Minsaw of Tharrawaddy seized the viceroyalty of Prome, and declared Prome's independence from Ava. In the process, he also raised his sister-in-law Myat Lay as his chief queen.[4] Thado Minsaw's rebellion was successful; Prome became an independent state with territories that included Tharrawaddy in the south and Myede in the north.[5] It was the last mention of Myat Lay in the chronicles. Thado Minsaw lived until 1526[6] but it is unclear if Myat Lay survived him until then.

Family

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Myat Lay and her first husband Swa had 11 children (four sons and seven daughters).[4] She did not have any children with her second husband.[6]

Husband Title Issue Reference
Mingyi Swa of Prome Viceroy of Prome Pyu Saw
Khin Hpone Gyi, queen consort of King Minkhaung II
Mingyi Yaukkhamadaw (daughter)
Minye Kyawswa
Soe Min (daughter)
Khin Hpone Htut, wife of Minye Kyawswa II of Kalay
Min Taya Hnamadaw
Minye Theingathu of Kandwin, husband of Mi Hpone Gyi and Mibaya Khaung Medaw of Tharrawaddy
Min Hla Myat, wife of Minye Nawrahta of Tharrawaddy
Mingyi Khamedaw, husband of Bodaw Hnamadaw
Shwe Zin Gon, Queen of Prome
[4]
Thado Minsaw of Prome King of Prome none [6]

Ancestry

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The following is the queen's ancestry according to the royal chronicles.

Notes

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  1. ^ Given that her mother Saw Min Phyu was born only in 1415 per (Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 54), and that her first husband Mingyi Swa was born c. 1435, Myat Lay may have been born in the late 1430s.
  2. ^ Per (Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 84, 90), Shwe Khet had two children by his first wife Saw Myo Ke; and per (Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 53), he had a daughter with Min Hla Htut.

References

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  1. ^ a b Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 83–84
  2. ^ a b Hmannan Vol. 2 3003: 84, 86
  3. ^ Hmannan Vol. 2 3003: 88
  4. ^ a b c d Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 327
  5. ^ Maha Yazawin Vol. 2 2006: 93–97
  6. ^ a b c Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 328

Bibliography

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  • Kala, U (1724). Maha Yazawin (in Burmese). Vol. 1–3 (2006, 4th printing ed.). Yangon: Ya-Pyei Publishing.
  • Maha Sithu (2012) [First published 1798]. Kyaw Win; Thein Hlaing (eds.). Yazawin Thit (in Burmese). Vol. 1–3 (2nd ed.). Yangon: Ya-Pyei Publishing.
  • Royal Historical Commission of Burma (1832). Hmannan Yazawin (in Burmese). Vol. 1–3 (2003rd ed.). Yangon: Ministry of Information, Myanmar.
Saw Myat Lay
Born: c. late 1430s
Royal titles
Preceded by
herself
as Vicereine of Prome
Chief Queen Consort of Prome
1482–?
Succeeded by