principality · Mainland Southeast Asia
Mohnyin
Origins
Mohnyin, Shan Mong Yang, lay in the upper Irrawaddy basin in what is now Kachin State. It emerged as a Shan principality in the 14th century, within the sphere of Mong Mao, and was later recognised by Ming China as a pacification commission called Mengyang.
Rule and society
Its saophas ruled a mix of Shan, Kachin and Burman subjects and were among the most aggressive of the Shan rulers. Under Sawlon in the early 16th century Mohnyin led a coalition of Shan states against Ava, and in 1527 they took Ava, killing its king. Sawlon's son Thohanbwa then reigned at Ava, notorious for attacking monasteries.
Decline and legacy
The Shan hold on Ava was broken by Bayinnaung of the First Toungoo Empire, who conquered Mohnyin and the other northern Shan states in the 1550s. Mohnyin later lost its hereditary rulers and became part of the Burmese provincial order; the town survives in Kachin State.
Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (1)
- Mohnyin was a vassal of First Toungoo Empire1557 CE – 1599 CE
More states of Mainland Southeast Asia →
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Mohnyin. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/mohnyin
- MLA
- “Mohnyin.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/mohnyin. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Mohnyin.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/mohnyin.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Mohnyin’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/mohnyin (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻