Maha Saw Lagun Ein (, ; also spelled Lagunein; d. March 1413) was a key frontline commander of the Hanthawaddy military from the 1380s to 1413. The commander led the military's vanguard land and naval forces as well as notable assassination missions against the enemies of his lord King Razadarit. He is best remembered in Burmese history for his battles against the northern Ava Kingdom in the Forty Years' War as well as his bravery and honesty.
Lagun Ein was mortally wounded and captured by the Ava navy in the first battle after he was promoted to the rank of general. He had gained the deep respect of the Ava high command, which sent his body on a raft down the Irrawaddy with full military honors.
Military career
Coming to prominence
Chronicles provide no information about his early life except that his personal name was Ma Than-Lon (မသံလုံ, ). His first mention in the Razadarit Ayedawbon chronicle comes as an officer in the Hanthawaddy military under the command of Minister-General Thamein Than-Byat in 1387–1388. According to the Burmese encyclopedia Myanma Swezon Kyan, he was from a place called Atut, in the Than-Lan township.
At any rate, Than-Lon took part in King Razadarit campaign against the Martaban province (present-day Mon State and southeastern Bago Region.) Than-Lon first made his name in the second battle of Tari when he successfully led the defense of the town against the forces of Martaban. Impressed, the king ordered him to lead a mission to assassinate Ma Gyaing, governor of nearby Thanmaung town. Than-Lon returned with Ma Gyaing's head.
Razadarit went on to conquer the entire Martaban province in 1388. After a brutal campaign that left the conquered region starving and ravaged, the victorious king handed out lavish awards and fiefdoms to his key officers. He appointed Than-Byat governor of Donwun with the title of Thamein Byat Za. The king also appointed Than-Lon governor of Taikkala, with the title of Lagun Ein ("He Who Is Powerful Like Sakra"). The king also gave him May Hnin Kaythaya, daughter of the rebellious viceroy Sam Lek of Donwun.
List of military campaigns
From then on, Lagun Ein became a key commander in the Hanthawaddy military. He was recognized for his bravery and entrusted to command the vanguard forces of the army as well as the navy. By his death, he had gained the deep respect of the Ava military.
Notable events
The Razadarit Ayedawbon chronicle paints him as a brave and frank warrior whose straight-talk got him into trouble more than once with his superiors. The chronicle reports several episodes involving Lagun Ein.
Thuddhamaya episode
The first episode took place in 1389–90, during the delta campaign. For months, Razadarit's forces could not overcome the well fortified cities of Myaungmya and Bassein (Pathein). The Hanthawaddy command then devised a plan to lure the Bassein navy out of their entrenched position to an area downstream at Pan-Hlaing. There, the Hanthawaddy navy had planted stakes across the river from one side to another with enough space that only small war boats of Hanthawaddy could pass through. The plan was to attack the larger Bassein boats as they rammed into the stakes. The task of luring the Bassein navy fell to Lagun Ein. The king himself selected Lagun Ein to lead the mission.
On the day of the mission, Lagun Ein failed to report for duty. When his generals—Byat Za and Dein–went over to his quarters, he bluntly told them that he had not been able to focus on anything since he inadvertently saw Queen Thuddhamaya's bosoms the day before. Even after his superiors sternly reminded him that lusting after the king's queens was high treason, he was unmoved. When his superiors reluctantly reported the predicament to the king, Razadarit ultimately decided that he needed Lagun Ein more than his queen. The king reportedly pronounced that he did "not value the queen but value him [Lagun Ein]". Over Thuddhamaya's objections, he ordered the queen sent in a golden royal litter to Lagun Ein's quarters. By then, Lagun Ein apparently had regained his senses, and sent the queen back to the king. He went on to lead the mission, successfully luring the Bassein navy to Pan-Hlaing where it was ambushed by Hanthawaddy forces.