Binnya Dala (minister general)

Agga Maha Thenapati Binnya Dala was a Burmese statesman, general and writerscholar during the reign of King Bayinnaung of Toungoo Dynasty. He was the kings most trusted adviser and general, and a key figure responsible for the expansion, defense and administration of Toungoo Empire from the 1550s to his fall from grace in 1573. He oversaw the rebuilding of Pegu . He is also known for his literary works, particularly Razadarit Ayedawbon, the earliest extant chronicle of the Mon people. He died in exile after having failed to reconquer Lan Xang.

Little is known about his early life except that he was an ethnic Mon born in 15181519 in Hanthawaddy Kingdom. His birth name is unknownthe name Binnya Dala was a senior title of the Hanthawaddy court, . Judging by his later literary works, he was highly educated, and fluent in both his native Mon and Burmese. Likewise, based on his senior ministerial and military leadership roles first achieved in the mid1550s, he was likely a juniortomidlevel officer in the service of King Tabinshwehti of Toungoo Dynasty in the 1540s, and may have begun his career in the service of King Takayutpi of Hanthawaddy in the late 1530s. The first confirmed record of him as a senior commander came in 1555 when he and three other Toungoo commanders drove out the retreating forces of the Confederation of Shan States from Singu.

Source: Wikipedia