Yazadarit the Unifier
Said to have been crowned king “on the spot” as Yazadarit (1383-1423), he was to become one of the most politically and militarily accomplished rulers of the First Pegu Dynasty. Not only did he unify much of Lower Myanmar for the first time--which allowed Pegu to compete effectively with Ava (to eventually become its nemesis)--he was also militarily so successful that he established his kingdom’s territorial integrity for decades more to come. Yet, he was not universally honored by Pegu’s chroniclers who, being monks, judged him by religious rather than political and administrative criteria. But in the end, he had the “last say” as the records regarding his life and achievements are the most voluminous and well known. Without Yazadarit, the First Pegu Dynasty would never have materialized to become part of Myanmar’s historiography.