Shin Saw Gyi of Sagaing

Shin Saw Gyi (Burmese: ရှင်စောကြီး, pronounced [ʃɪ̀ɴ sɔ́ dʑí]) was a chief queen consort of King Swa Saw Ke of Ava. She was also a principal queen of kings Kyawswa II of Pinya[1] and Narathu of Pinya.[2] She was a granddaughter of King Saw Yun, the founder of Sagaing Kingdom, and a sister of King Thado Minbya, the founder of Ava Kingdom. She was originally a queen consort of Swa, and was given the title of Queen of the Northern Palace and Pinya in fief. She became the chief queen after Queen Khame Mi died, and became the Queen of the Southern Palace.[3][note 3]

Shin Saw Gyi ရှင်စောကြီး
Chief queen consort of Ava
Tenure	c. 1390s – April 1400
Predecessor	Khame Mi
Successor	Min Hla Myat of Ava
Queen of the Northern Palace of Ava
Tenure	5 September 1367 – c. 1390s
Predecessor	new office
Successor	Saw Omma of Sagaing
Queen of the Northern Palace of Pinya
Tenure	19 March 1359 – May 1364
Successor	Saw Sala
Born	c. 1347 Sagaing
Died	after 1401[note 1] Ava (Inwa)
Spouse	Kyawswa II of Pinya (1357–59) Narathu of Pinya (1359–64) Swa Saw Ke (1367–1400)
Issue	Tarabya? Saw Myat Ke (daughter) Saw Swe Hnit (son)
Father	Thado Hsinhtein[note 2]
Mother	Soe Min Kodawgyi
Religion	Theravada Buddhism

In this Burmese name, Shin is an honorific, not a surname.

The queen may also be the mother of King Tarabya, the successor of Swa. The Yazawin Thit chronicle, citing a contemporary inscription, states that Tarabya was also a child of Shin Saw Gyi. But the Hmannan Yazawin chronicle rejects it anyway, saying that it was contrary to the reporting by previous chronicles.[4] Hmannan recognizes only two children by her, Saw Myat Ke[note 4] and Saw Swe Hnit.[5]

Ancestry

The following is her ancestry according to Hmannan. She was descended from Pagan and Pinya royalty. Her paternal side is unreported except that her father was of the Tagaung royal line.[6]

Ancestry of Queen Saw Gyi
8. Thado Kyaukshay 4. Thado Hsinlauk 9. 2. Thado Hsinhtein of Tagaung 10. 5. 11. 1. Saw Gyi 12. Thihathu 6. Saw Yun 13. Yadanabon of Pinya 3. Soe Min Kodawgyi 14. Kyawswa of Pagan 7. Saw Hnaung of Sagaing 15. Saw Soe of Pagan

Notes

1. (Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 435): She was still alive in 763 ME (1401/02) according to a contemporary inscription.
2. Chronicles (Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 392) say that her father's title was Thado Hsinhtein. According to an inscription dedicated on 26 June 1398 (Wednesday, 12th waxing of Waso 760 ME) per (Taw, Frorchhammer 1899: 164), her father's name is Athincha, Governor of Sagaing.
3. Per inscriptional evidence, Khame Mi was still alive on 18 December 1387 (Wed, 10th waxing of Pyatho 749 ME) per (Taw, Forchhammer 1899: 152), and Shin Saw Gyi was mentioned as the chief queen on 13 June 1398 (Wed, 12th waxing of Waso 760 ME) per (Taw, Forchhammer 1899: 164)
4. (Taw, Frorchhammer 1899: 164): Saw Myat Ke died in 1398 for whom the king and the queen dedicated a monastery near Tada-U on 26 June 1398.

References

1. Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 384–385
2. Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 170
3. Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 404
4. Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 435
5. Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 436
6. Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 392

Bibliography

• Maha Sithu (2012) [1798]. Kyaw Win; Thein Hlaing (eds.). Yazawin Thit (in Burmese). 1–3 (2nd ed.). Yangon: Ya-Pyei Publishing.
• Royal Historical Commission of Burma (1832). Hmannan Yazawin (in Burmese). 1–3 (2003 ed.). Yangon: Ministry of Information, Myanmar.
• Taw, Sein Ko; Emanuel Forchhammer (1899). Inscriptions of Pagan, Pinya and Ava: Translation, with Notes. Archaeological Survey of India.

Shin Saw Gyi of Sagaing Ava Kingdom Born: c. 1347 Died: c. 1400s
Royal titles
Preceded by Khame Mi	Chief queen consort of Ava c. 1390s–1400	Succeeded by Min Hla Myat
New title	Queen of the Northern Palace of Ava 1367–c. 1390s	Succeeded by Saw Omma of Sagaing
Preceded by	Queen of the Northern Palace of Pinya 19 March 1359 – May 1364	Succeeded by Saw Sala