Bayinnaung in the context of "First Toungoo Empire"

The Toungoo dynasty (Burmese: တောင်ငူမင်းဆက်, [tàʊɰ̃ŋù mɪ́ɰ̃ zɛʔ]; also spelt Taungoo dynasty, and also known as the Nyaungyan dynasty after 1599, was the ruling dynasty of Burma (Myanmar) from the mid-16th century to 1752. At its peak, Toungoo "exercised suzerainty from present-day Assam, Manipur to the Cambodian marches and from the borders of Arakan to Yunnan" and was the largest empire and the only great power country in the history of Southeast Asia." The dynasty ruled in two periods: the First Toungoo Empire (1510–1599) and the Nyaungyan Restoration (1599–1752).

Its early kings Tabinshwehti and Bayinnaung succeeded in reunifying the territories of the Pagan Kingdom for the first time since 1287 and in incorporating the Shan States for the first time, in addition to including Manipur, Chinese Shan States, Siam and Lan Xang. The empire collapsed in the 18 years following Bayinnaung's death in 1581. The dynasty quickly regrouped under the leadership of Nyaungyan Min and his son, Anaukpetlun, who succeeded in restoring a smaller, more manageable kingdom, encompassing Lower Burma, Upper Burma, Shan States and Lan Na by 1622. The Restored Toungoo kings, now based in Ava (Inwa), created a legal and political system whose basic features would continue under the Konbaung dynasty well into the 19th century. The crown completely replaced the hereditary chieftainships with appointed governorships in the entire Irrawaddy valley and greatly reduced the hereditary rights of Shan chiefs. Its trade and secular administrative reforms built a prosperous economy for more than 80 years.

Hsinbyushin (Burmese: ဆင်ဖြူရှင်, IPA: [sʰɪ̀ɰ̃ pʰjú ʃɪ̀ɰ̃], lit. 'Lord of the white elephant'; Thai: พระเจ้ามังระ; 12 September 1736 – 10 June 1776) was the third emperor of the Konbaung dynasty of Burma (Myanmar) from 1763 to 1776. The second son of the dynasty founder Alaungpaya is best known for his wars with Qing China and Siam, and is considered the most militaristic king of the dynasty. His successful defense against four Qing invasions preserved Burmese sovereignty. His 1765 invasion of Ayutthaya brought an end to the Ayutthaya Kingdom. The near simultaneous victories over Qing and Siam has been referred to as testimony "to a truly astonishing elan unmatched since Bayinnaung." He also raised the Shwedagon Pagoda to its current height in April 1775.

The deputy commander-in-chief during his father's reunification campaigns (1752–1759), Hsinbyushin as king pursued an expansionist policy against his neighbors. By 1767, his armies had put down a rebellion in Manipur, captured the Laotian states, sacked and destroyed Ayutthaya, and driven back two invasions by China. However, his reckless decision to wage two simultaneous wars against China and Siam nearly cost the kingdom its independence. The third Chinese invasion forced Hsinbyushin to hastily withdraw from Siam, until an uneasy truce in 1769.

Tabinshwehti (Burmese: တပင်‌ရွှေထီး, [dəbɪ̀ɰ̃ ʃwè tʰí]; 16 April 1516 – 30 April 1550) was King of Burma from 1530 to 1550, and the founder of the First Toungoo Empire. His military campaigns (1534–1549) created the largest kingdom in Burma since the fall of the Pagan Empire in 1287. His administratively fragile kingdom proved to be the impetus for the eventual reunification of the entire country by his successor and brother-in-law Bayinnaung.

Based out of their small landlocked principality in the Sittaung valley, Tabinshwehti and his deputy Bayinnaung began their military campaigns in 1534 against the Hanthawaddy kingdom, and had conquered the wealthier but disunited kingdom by 1541. He then leveraged the coastal kingdom's wealth, manpower and access to Portuguese mercenaries and firearms, and extended his rule to the ancient capital of Pagan (Bagan) in 1544. However, his attempts to build an East-West empire fell short in Arakan (1545–1547) and in Siam (1547–1549). He actively courted the support of ethnic Mons of Lower Burma, many of whom were appointed to the highest positions in his government and armed forces. His chief queen and chief primate were Mons. He moved the capital to Pegu (Bago). The king was assassinated on his 34th birthday on the orders of Smim Sawhtut, one of his close advisers. The kingdom he had built up fell apart right after his death, which Bayinnaung had to restore in the next two years.

Nyaungyan Min (Burmese: ညောင်ရမ်းမင်း [ɲàʊɰ̃jáɰ̃ mɪ́ɰ̃]; 8 November 1555 – 5 November [O.S. 26 October] 1605) was king of the Toungoo dynasty of Burma (Myanmar) from 1599 to 1605. He is also referred to as the founder of the restored Toungoo dynasty or Nyaungyan dynasty for starting the reunification process following the collapse of the First Toungoo Empire.

A son of King Bayinnaung by a minor queen, Nyaungyan gradually emerged as a power in Upper Burma in the mid-1590s. When major vassal rulers renounced their ties with King Nanda in 1597, he too broke away by seizing Ava (Inwa). But he stayed out of myriad wars in the low country. Instead, he methodically consolidated his base in the upcountry, and went on to acquire the surrounding cis-Salween Shan states until his death in 1605. He also rebuilt the economy of Upper Burma, and (re-)established several social, financial and military standards, many of which would be retained to the end of the Toungoo dynasty in 1752. His efforts paved the way for his eldest son and successor Anaukpetlun to restore major portions of the Toungoo Empire in the next two decades.