On February 29th 1752, in the remote Mu Valley in the hills of Burma , the village headman known then as Aung Zeya declared himself to be Alaungpaya (Embryo Buddha) and the head of the newly founded Konbaung dynasty. Although this moment seemed inconsequential at the time, it heralded a new age for modern day Myanmar and that region of the world as a whole. What makes this declaration so significant is that it marked a rare moment where a local headman, without noble lineage, rose to found a dynasty that would last until British conquest more than a century later. The Konbaung dynasty’s rise laid the foundations for what is now referred to as the Third Burmese Empire, the second largest empire in Burmese history and the last before the imposition of colonial domination in Burma, ending a millennia of monarchic power in Burma.
Yet to reach this peak, Alaungpaya faced significant challenges in consolidating power and overcoming local and regional rivals.
Alaungpaya’s 1752 revolt came in a period of upheaval and chaos throughout Burma, fuelled by growing ethnic divisions. The Mon group, unhappy with heavy taxation and disillusioned with the regime, broke away from the existing expire to form their own kingdom in the south. In 1751, the Mon dynasty invaded their previous overlords in the North and overthrew the existing government in a short military campaign. At this point, Alaungpaya was a vassal and subject of the pre-existing state, but rather than supporting his rulers, he rallied the Mu valley and declared himself as leader of a new kingdom.
Initially, Alaungpaya faced stiff opposition from the Hanthawaddy (Mon) forces. Having secured Ava, the capital of the defunct northern state, they attempted to consolidate their power over the rest of Upper Burma. Anticipating resistance, Alaungpaya fortified his village and successfully withstood a siege by as many as seven thousand Mon troops, who were much better armed with French weaponry. This unlikely victory was crucial in sustaining Alaungpaya’s dream of a unified Burma and granting his infant kingdom with some vital breathing space. Recruits began to flock to his side from across northern Burma, and amongst them, former supporters of the defeated regime. By October 1752, Alaungpaya had emerged as the strongest contender to Hanthawaddy rule.
Repeated military successes against Hanthawaddy forces soon gave Alaungpaya a legendary reputation. Contemporary accounts describe his as exceptionally tall (maybe six feet) and incredibly charismatic, although how reliable these descriptions are is often difficult to discern. His growing reputation was crucial in aiding his rise to power, as communities across northern Burma, even those with little in common with him, rallied around him, driven by word of mouth and religious faith in his leadership.
By 1754, just two years after Alaungpaya’s rise, the Mon Kingdom had been driven from northern Burma. The Konbaung success was demonstrated by the capture of Ava on the 3rd January, confirming Alaungpaya’s control over the northern heartland. Strategical mistakes by Hanthawaddy forces where significant in this outcome; the most prominent of them was the withdrawal of two thirds of their forces from Upper Burma once they had captured Ava in 1752, leaving only around ten thousand men to hold the entire north of the country. They assumed that superior firepower and technology, along with the lack of precedent for resistance would suffice to secure the region
Alaungpaya, however, capitalised on regionwide hatred of the Mon occupation, caused in no small part by their ravaging of the countryside. Popular uprisings swelled his ranks and gave his movement momentum. The final effort of the Mons to retake the North ended in disaster, when, in March ’54, Alaungpaya rebuffed their entire army at Ava, and by May they had pushed them back to the south.
Once Alaungpaya had consolidated his control of the north, the conflict became increasingly ethnically driven. The Konbaung Army adopted a policy of executing any Mon soldier captured, in retaliation to the Hanthawaddy execution of the former northern King in October 1754. In January 1755, Alaungpaya launched his invasion of the south, employing rapid, coordinated tactics, which some historians have compared to the Blitzkrieg methods of the 20th century. By May, the entire Irrawaddy Delta had fallen to his control. These convincing victories persuaded the British to shift their support from the Mon court at Pegu to Alaungpaya, whose forces captured the city two years later.
The three-year period following Alaungpaya’s revolt were characterised by relentless warfare and bloody struggle, a pattern which continued until his death in 1759 during a military campaign against Siam.
Although he undertook few reforms, focusing instead on foreign affairs, he laid the foundation of a modern Burmese state and established the roots of a national identity which is still contentious to this day, due to enduring ethnic divisions within the region. Alaungpaya’s legacy is double-edged: he reinstated Burma as a significant power in the region, but in the process, he entrenched the divide between Burman and non-Burman peoples, divisions that continue to shape Myanmar’s politics centuries later.
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Bibliography:
Twiby, Lewis. “The Making of Today: Empire Building, Burmese Nationalism, and the Founding of the Konbaung Dynasty, January–March 1752.” Lewis Twiby’s Past and Present, March 20, 2022. https://lewisrhystwiby.wordpress.com/2022/03/20/the-making-of-today-empire-building-burmese-nationalism-and-the-founding-of-the-konbaung-dynasty-january-march-1752/.
Aung-Thwin, Michael, and Maitrii Aung-Thwin. A History of Myanmar Since Ancient Times: Traditions and Transformations. London: Reaktion Books, 2013.
“Alaungpaya.” Wikipedia. Last modified September 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaungpaya