Myinsaing

Myinsaing (မြင်စိုင်း, ; also transliterated as Myinzaing) is a historical site, located in Kyaukse Township, Mandalay Region, Myanmar. It was one of the three de facto capitals of Myanmar from 1297 to 1310 during the Myinsaing period. In the present day, the historical capital area is known as the Myinsaing Old Town (မြင်စိုင်း မြို့ဟောင်း). To its north lies a settlement known colloquially as "Myinsaing Village".

Early history
According to the royal chronicles, Myinsaing in the 1170s was a small settlement that later became part of the Nine Irrigated Districts (ရေလွှဲ ကိုးခရိုင်) of Kyaukse. The settlement is mentioned in a 1266 stone inscription. It remained a small village until the 1280s when the Mongol invasions toppled the Pagan Empire, and Myinsaing's native sons—the brothers Athinkhaya, Yazathingyan and Thihathu—emerged as the main power brokers in the postwar era. By 1293, Myinsaing was a myo (မြို့) a district-level town ruled by a royal governor, Athinkhaya.

Myinsaing period
Myinsaing became one of the three de facto capitals of the rump kingdom in 1297 when the brothers overthrew King Kyawswa for having submitted to the Mongols earlier in the year. The brothers put up a puppet king in Pagan (Bagan) but they effectively ruled the kingdom out of their respective fiefs: Myinsaing, Mekkhaya and Pinle. To be sure, Myinsaing was the primary capital of the three. When the Mongols invaded again in 1301, it was at Myinsaing where the brothers made their last stand. The town's fortified defenses with triple adjoining ramparts withstood a 10-week siege by the Mongols who withdrew after receiving a bribe.

In commemoration of the victory, Athinkhaya built the Nan Oo Pagoda as well as a proper palace in 1301. Myinsaing's status as the premier de facto capital ended when Athinkhaya died in 1310. The youngest brother Thihathu, based out of Pinle, emerged as the undisputed ruler, and chose to build a new capital at Pinya, 40 km northwest of Myinsaing, in 1313.

Post-Myinsaing period
Myinsaing remained a symbolically important fief for another century. Its governorship was held by the closest members of the royal family including Gov. Sithu of Myinsaing, who served as the regent of the Pinya Kingdom between 1340 and 1344, and Prince Thray Sithu of Myinsaing (r. 1386–1426). During the Ava–Hanthawaddy War (1401–1403), Myinsaing was listed as one of the 53 or 54 fortified towns of Ava.

By 1802/03, it was no longer a royal governorship but instead was governed by a mayor, myothugyi (မြို့သူကြီး). It was still an appanage awarded to members of the royal family. Its last feudal lord was Prince Thado Minye Yanshein, better known as the "Myinsaing Prince", who after the Third Anglo-Burmese War continued the fight against the British until 1886. A 1925 British colonial era report states that the Myinsaing old town by then was "a brick-strewn area, which [contained] two large but much damaged pagodas", surrounded by "traces of the walls".

Present day
Today, Myinsaing is part of the Kyaukse Township. The historical old town is located about 7 km east of Kyaukse town. Its main attraction is the Nan Oo Pagoda, which has been partially repaired. Other areas of interest include traces of the three rings of ancient ramparts and the excavated foundation base of the old palace inside the walls.

North of the old town along the road to the Kyaukse Industrial Zone lies a settlement known colloquially as "Myinsaing Village". Neither the old town or the village appears to be incorporated as a village or ward under the name of Myinsaing. Burmese government maps of Kyaukse Township from 2019 and 2020 show the area immediately east of Kyaukse town as Taungnatha (တောင်နံ့သာ). At any rate, a 2017 article in The Irrawaddy states that the "large village" of "Myinsaing" had a post-primary school and a few district-level offices, and that new wards were being planned.

Transport
Myinsaing is part of the Kyaukse road network. The modern village is situated along side the Kyaukse–Hpyauk Seik Pin Road that connects Kyaukse in the west to the Kyaukse Industrial Zone in the east. In 2017, a 0.8 km long dirt road connected the old town and the main road, which in turn was connected to National Highway 1 via the Kyaukse 15th Street Exit.