Alaungpaya

Alaungpaya (ulong'pāyä) [key], 1711–60, Burmese king, founder of the Konbaung dynasty, which ruled until 1885. His name, also given as Alompra, means “the coming Buddha.” The son of a village headman, he rallied the Burmese and led them against their Mons rulers. He seized the important town of Ava in 1753 and moved south, uniting upper and lower Myanmar under his rule. Pursuing the Mons, he invaded Siam but was wounded in a siege of Ayuthia and died while returning to Myanmar.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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