Legend of King Naresuan II: No Muang Khang in Burma

No.10 - 2/2007
24 February 2007
Thai-Burma Relations
 
Legend of King Naresuan II: No Muang Khang in Burma
 
Muang Khang, a Shan garrison town said to be conquered by King Naresuan the Great (1555-1605), as depicted in the epic movie now in theaters all over Thailand, could not be located in Burma, according to Shan scholars.

Mongkeung, also spelled Mongkung, located in the heart of today's Shan State, was once believed by some as Muang Khang. However, Mongkeung, that used to be part of Laikha princedom, has never been recorded as a warlike principality. "In fact, had it shown any defiance to an established tradition, such as refusal to pay tributes, it would have been easily subdued by its more powerful neighbors, such as Hsipaw and Hsenwi in the north, and Yawnghwe, Laikha and Mongnai in the south," the late Chao Tzang Yawnghwe (1939-2004) a noted historian and resistance leader, was quoted as saying.
 
The most likely challenger, they said, would be Mong Kawng (Land of Drums), now known as Mogaung in Kachin State. Both Mogaung and its southern cousin Mongyang, now known as Monyin, had been known throughout the early history of Burma as militaristic princedoms. Mogaung's greatest prince, Hsarm Long Fa (1291-1322), had conquered Assam, now in India.
 
In fact, the late Sao Noi (1922-1996), who first raised the banner of resistance in 1958, also claimed to have seen Mogaung chronicles in which the battle with Burmese forces led by King Naresuan had bested the Shans in 1581.
 
According to Our Wars with the Burmese (1539-1767), written by Phraya Damrong Rajanupharb, King Naresuan was at Pegu to attend the royal funeral of King Bayinnaung (1551-1581) and the ascension to the throne of Nanda Bayin (1581-1599), when it was discovered that the Prince of Muang Khang had failed to grace the auspicious occasion with his presence. The new king then dispatched three forces, two Burmese and one Thai, to Muang Khang on a punitive mission. But it was the Thai force that finally brought the garrison to its knees.

Mogaung and Mongkeung:
Which one is Muang Khang?