Alaungpaya


Alaungpaya was the founder of the Konbaung Dynasty of Burma . By the time of his death from illness during his campaign in Siam, this former chief of a small village in Upper Burma had unified Burma, subdued Manipur, conquered Lan Na and driven out the French and the British who had given help to the Mon Restored Hanthawaddy Kingdom. He also founded Yangon in 1755.

The future king was born Aung Zeya at Moksobo, a village of a few hundred households in the Mu River Valley about 60 miles northwest of Ava onAugust 1714 to Min Nyo San and his wife Saw Nyein Oo . He was the second son of a lineage of gentry families that had administered the Mu Valley for generations. His father was a hereditary chief of Moksobo and his uncle, Kyawswa Htin , better known as Sitha Mingyi , was the lord of the Mu Valley District. Alaungpaya claimed descent from kings Narapati I and Thihathura and ultimately the Pagan royal line. He came from a large family, and was related by blood and by marriage to many other gentry families throughout the valley. In 1730, Alaungpaya married his first cousin Yun San , daughter of chief of a neighboring village, Siboktara . They went on to have six sons and three surviving daughters.

Source: Wikipedia