Min Saw Hla (Burmese: မင်းစောလှ, [mɪ́ɴsɔ́l̥a̰]; 1532–1564) was king of Arakan from 1556 to 1564. At accession, he made his first wife Saw Bon-Htut the chief queen but also married his father's chief queen Saw Thanda. He ordered a massive building program which built and repaired dams, irrigation canals as well as improved the defenses of Mrauk-U and other key towns around the kingdom.[1] In 1561, he commissioned the building of Htukkanthein Temple.[note 2]
He tightened control of Chittagong and the kingdom's northern perimeter. In the early 1560s, he sent the army to Tripura, whose ruler, according to Arakanese chronicles, submitted to Mrauk-U. He died in 1564 after a long illness. He had chosen his half-brother Min Sekkya to succeed him, and married Sekkya to his own full sister Dhamma Dewi.[1]
Notes
^Based on the chronicle reporting of his age at his accession and his death (Sandamala Linkara Vol. 2 1999: 46–47), he was born between full moon of Wagaung 894 ME (17 July 1532) and 10th waning of Tabaung 894 ME (18 February 1533). Since he was born on a Tuesday, the range can be reduced to between 23 July 1532 and 17 February 1533.
^(Gutman 2001: 118) says the temple "is said to have been built in 1571 by King Min Phalaung". But the Rakhine Razawin Thit chronicle (Sandamala Linkara Vol. 2 1999: 46) says Htukkanthein was built by King Min Saw Hla in 923 ME (1561/62).
