Binnya Waru

Binnya Waru (Burmese: ဗညားဗရူး, pronounced [bəɲá bəjú]; Mon: ဗညားဗရောဝ်; c. 1415 – 1450) was the twelfth king of Hanthawaddy Kingdom who reigned from 1446 to 1450. He was a nephew and adopted son of King Binnya Ran I after whom he succeeded to the Hanthawaddy throne. The king was known for his strict disciplinary rule. He reportedly liked to travel around the kingdom disguised as a commoner to observe the affairs firsthand, and meted out justice even to those who committed petty crimes.^[1]

Binnya Waru was killed by his first cousin Binnya Kyan, son of King Binnya Dhammaraza, in 1450. Three years after his death and two kings later, his mother Shin Sawbu herself ascended to the throne, and became the first and only queen regnant in the history of Burma. He was about 35.

Early life

Binnya Waru was born circa 1415 to Shin Sawbu, a daughter of King Razadarit and Binnya Bye, Razadarit's nephew. He had two sisters Netaka Taw and Netaka Thin. His father died in 1419. In 1423, his mother Shin Sawbu was sent to Ava as a present to King Thihathu of Ava by his uncle Crown Prince Binnya Ran. A year later, after Binnya Ran became king after poisoning King Binnya Dhammaraza, another one of his uncles, Binnya Ran adopted the parent-less Waru as his own.^[2] In 1430, his mother Shin Sawbu fled Ava and returned to Pegu. But none of her children, Waru included, recognized her since she had been away for seven years.^[1]

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