King Tabinshwehti

Tabinshwehti was born on April 16, 1516, in Toungoo. Ascending the throne in 1530 at age fourteen, Tabinshwehti and his brilliant general Bayinnaung launched audacious campaigns south into the Irrawaddy and Sittaung deltas, capturing the wealthy maritime Mon port of Pegu in 1538.

Rather than ruling as a foreign oppressor, Tabinshwehti famously cut his hair in Mon style and was crowned at Pegu as a joint Burman-Mon sovereign. He recruited Portuguese mercenaries and firearm units, expanding his realm north to Prome. He was assassinated in 1550 during an elephant hunt, succeeded by his brother-in-law Bayinnaung.