60 On the History of the Burma race. [No. 2, 



of the Burmese nobles fled to Toung-u, and the king of that territory 

 may now be said to have become the representative of the ancient 

 Burmese monarchy. King Ma-ha-thi-ri-dze-ya-thii-ra died in the 

 year 892 (A. D. 1530). 



The son who succeeded him was Ta-beng Shwe-hti, then only six- 

 teen years of age. He is called in the history Meng-ta-ra Shwe-hti. 

 From his birth many prodigies had announced his great destiny. In 

 the history, in accordance with the strange application of the doctrine 

 of transmigration to account for the actions of great conquerors, 

 which has been noticed before, this prince is represented as the 

 transmigrated prince of Pegu, Meng-rai-kyau-tswa, son of Dham-ma- 

 tse'-di, king of that country, who was unjustly put to death by his 

 father. "When dying, he exclaimed, " If innocent, may I be born as a 

 " Burmese prince, and subdue, rule over, and oppress the three 

 " Talaing provinces." And so it came to pass. The young king 

 from an irresistible internal influence, determined to invade and 

 conquer Pegu. 



At this time, the capital of that kingdom was at Mut-ta-ma (Mar- 

 taban). That city was occupied as the seat of power, about the year 

 713 (A. D. 1351), by a Shan chief, styled Tsheng-phyu-sheng Bi- 

 ngya-u. The ancient Talaing kingdom, which had its capital at the 

 city of Pegu, was overthrown, and the seat of government removed 

 to Mut-ta-ma. In the year 888, Thu-sheng-ta-ga-rwut-bi ascended 

 the throne. In 896 (A. D. 1534), the young king of Toung-u first 

 marched against Pegu. The city was defended by two Shan nobles. 

 Bi-ngya-lau, and Bi-ngya-kyan. They held it so obstinately that 

 Meng-ta-ra Shwe-hti was forced to retreat. In the following year he 

 again invested it. But from the walls of the city, the foreigners and 

 Muhammadans, called " Kula Pan-the," fired so incessantly with jinjals 

 and blunderbusses, and wounded and killed so many, that the kino- was 

 again obliged to retire, especially as the rainy season was nio-h. I n 

 898, he again invaded Pegu. The king of Pegu now met him in the 

 plain of Kau-la-ya to the north of the city, but was defeated. The 

 city, however, could not be taken. The king of Toung-u therefore 

 passed it by, and marched to Da-gun, the modern Rangoon, and from 

 thence, sent detachments, which took possession of Pu-thein, Myoung- 

 mya, and other cities in the delta of the Irawati. Still he could not 



