This article is about the historical princely states inhabited by the Shan (Tai) people. For the Siamese Shan states, see Lan Na. For the Laotian Shan states, see Lan Xang. For the present day successor to the Burmese Shan states, see Shan State.
Shan States
British Shan States
1215–1885 1885–1948 1948–1959
Map of the Shan States
Status
Princely state (1215–1885; 1948–1959) British Protectorate (1885–1948)
Capital
Mogaung
Common languages
Shan, Burmese
Religion
Theravada Buddhism, animism
Government
Monarchy
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Nanzhao
Pagan Kingdom
Shan State
History of Myanmar
Prehistory of Myanmar 11,000–200 BCE
Pyu city-states 200 BCE – 1050 CE
(Sri Ksetra Kingdom, Tagaung Kingdom)
Mon kingdoms 825?–1057? CE
(Thaton Kingdom)
Arakanese kingdoms 788?–1406
Pagan Kingdom 849–1297
Early Pagan Kingdom 849–1044
Warring states period
Upper Myanmar 1297–1555
Myinsaing and Pinya Kingdoms 1297–1365
Sagaing Kingdom 1315–1365
Kingdom of Ava 1365–1555
Prome Kingdom 1482–1542
Hanthawaddy Kingdom 1287–1539, 1550–1552
Shan States 1215–1563
Kingdom of Mrauk U 1429–1785
Toungoo dynasty 1510–1752
First Toungoo Empire 1510–1599
Nyaungyan Restoration 1599–1752
Restored Hanthawaddy 1740–1757
Konbaung dynasty 1752–1885
British colonial period 1824–1948
Anglo-Burmese Wars 1824–1885
Resistance movement 1885–1895
Nationalist movement 1900–1948
Japanese occupation 1942–1945
Modern era 1948–present
AFPFL government 1948–1962
Ne Win dictatorship 1962–1988
SLORC / SPDC junta 1988–2010
Political reforms 2011–2015
SAC junta 2021–present
Timeline
List of capitals
Leaders
Royal chronicles
Military history
Military rule
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The Shan States (1885–1948) were a collection of minor Shan kingdoms called muang whose rulers bore the title saopha in British Burma. They were analogous to the princely states of British India.
The term "Shan States" was first used during the British rule in Burma as a geopolitical designation for certain areas of Burma (officially, the Federated Shan States, which included the Karenni States, consisted of today's Shan State and Kayah State). In some cases, the Siamese Shan States was used to refer to Lan Na (northern Thailand) and Chinese Shan States to the Shan regions in southern Yunnan such as Xishuangbanna.
Historical mention of the Shan states inside the present-day boundaries of Burma began during the period of the Pagan dynasty; the first major Shan State of that era was founded in 1215 at Mogaung, followed by Mone in 1223. These were part of the larger Tai migration that founded the Ahom Kingdom in 1229 and the Sukhothai Kingdom in 1253.[1] Shan political power increased after the Mongols overran Pagan in 1287 and the Shans came to dominate many of the northern to eastern areas of Burma—from northwestern Sagaing Division to the present-day Shan Hills. The newly founded Shan States were multi-ethnic states that included a substantial number of other ethnic minorities such as the Chin, Palaung, Lisu, Pa-O, Kachin, Wa, and Burmans.
The Shan States were a dominant force in the politics of Upper Burma throughout the 13th to 16th centuries. The strongest Shan States, Mogaung, Mongyang and Hsenwi, constantly raided Upper Burma. Mogaung ended the kingdoms of Sagaing and Pinya in 1364. The Mohnyin-led Confederation of Shan States captured the Ava Kingdom in 1527 and ruled Upper Burma until 1555.
The Shan States were too fragmented to resist the encroachment of bigger neighbours. In the north, the Chinese Ming dynasty annexed today's Yunnan in the 1380s, stamping out the final Shan resistance by the 1440s. In the south, the Toungoo dynasty captured all those Shan States that would become known as Burmese Shan States in 1557. Though the Shan States came under the suzerainty of Burmese kingdoms based in the valley of the Irrawaddy River, the Shan saophas (chiefs) retained a large degree of autonomy.
When Burma gained independence in 1948, the Federated Shan States became Shan State and Kayah State of the Union of Burma with the right to secede from the Union. However, the Shan States and the saophas' hereditary rights were removed by Gen. Ne Win's military government in 1962.
^Maung Htin Aung (1967). A History of Burma. New York and London: Cambridge University Press. p. 66.
The ShanStates (1885–1948) were a collection of minor Shan kingdoms called muang whose rulers bore the title saopha in British Burma. They were analogous...
Shan State (Shan: မိူင်းတႆး, Möng Tai; Burmese: ရှမ်းပြည်နယ်, pronounced [ʃáɰ̃ pjìnɛ̀]) is a state of Myanmar. Shan State borders China (Yunnan) to the...
question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Burmese script. The Shan people (Shan: တႆး, pronounced [táj]; Burmese: ရှမ်းလူမျိုး, pronounced [ʃáɰ̃ lùmjó])...
The Federated ShanStates (Shan: မိူင်းႁူမ်ႈတုမ်ႊၸိုင်ႈတႆး Muang Hom Tum Jueng Tai; Burmese: ပဒေသရာဇ် ရှမ်းပြည်နယ်စု) was an administrative division of...
as ShanStates. Three ranks of chiefs were recognized by the King of Burma and later by the British administration. These ranks were: Saopha (Shan for...
Look up shan in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Shan may refer to: Shan (surname), or 单 in Chinese, a Chinese surname Shan, a variant of the Welsh given...
State. In terms of land area, Shan State is the largest and Naypyidaw Union Territory is the smallest. Regions and states are divided into districts (ခရိုင်;...
the Federated ShanStates and east of British Burma. The British government recognised and guaranteed the independence of the Karenni States in an 1875 treaty...
rehabilitated many notable temples. Tilokkarat then expanded west to the ShanStates of Laihka, Hsipaw, Mong Nai, and Yawnghwe.[citation needed] After Tilokkarat...
legacy was his integration of the Shanstates into the Irrawaddy Valley-based kingdoms. After the conquest of the Shanstates in 1557–1563, the king put in...
Kingdom of Ava, the Hanthawaddy Kingdom, the Kingdom of Mrauk U and the ShanStates were principal powers, came to dominate the landscape, replete with ever-shifting...
pressed down southward into the present-day Shan Hills and into the Irrawaddy valley. Ancient city-states one by one surrendered or were overrun by the...
State and the ShanStates were to be under Thai control. The leading elements of the Thai Phayap Army crossed the border into the ShanStates on 10 May 1942...
princely states were officially recognized in the Indian subcontinent, apart from thousands of zamindari estates and jagirs. In 1947, princely states covered...
the ShanStates to secure the allegiance of the nearer ShanStates. (The farther ShanStates, in present-day northern Kachin State, northern Shan State...
almost entirely due to disease. Deaths in combat included 150 in the ShanStates, 180 on 8 December 1941 (the day of both the brief Japanese invasion...
The region is located to the northeast of the ShanStates of British Burma, in the area of present-day Shan State of northern Burma (Myanmar) and the western...
an administrative division of Thailand. It encompassed parts of the ShanStates of British Burma annexed by the Thai government after the Japanese conquest...
and the northernmost Shanstates. From 1576 onwards, he declared a large sphere of influence in westerly lands—trans-Manipur states, Arakan and Ceylon....
autonomy in their fiefdoms. In 1922, the establishment of the Federated ShanStates greatly reduced the sawbwas' autonomy. In April 1959, the sawbwas relinquished...
Confederation of ShanStates conquered Ava and ruled Upper Myanmar until 1555. Like the Pagan Empire, Ava, Hanthawaddy and the Shanstates were all multi-ethnic...
since 1287 and in incorporating the ShanStates for the first time, in addition to including Manipur, Chinese ShanStates, Siam and Lan Xang. At its peak...
and the peripheral states: Shan and Karenni sawbwas were granted a status similar to that of the rulers of the princely Indian states, with autonomy over...
region formed a de facto buffer zone between Yunnan province and the ShanStates. The Yang clan, originally Ming loyalists from Nanjing, consolidated...
revolted in 1727, and did nothing to prevent the annexation of northern ShanStates by the Manchu Qing dynasty in the 1730s. The Mu Valley was directly on...
following the collapse of the Sagaing and Pinya Kingdoms due to raids by the ShanStates to the north. In its first years of existence, Ava, which viewed itself...
Hanthawaddy and Launggyet Arakan, he was able to bring in most of cis-Salween Shanstates to the Ava orbit. The future king was born in a small village called...
years of political fragmentation in Burma and the rise of ethnic Tai-Shanstates throughout mainland Southeast Asia. The Mongols first demanded tribute...
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