Bayinnaung Crowned in Toungoo Burma

1554

Bayinnaung, a warlord sometimes called the conqueror of the ten directions, ascended the throne of the Burmese Toungoo dynasty. He would build Southeast Asia's largest land empire, swallowing Lan Na, Lan Xang, and briefly the Siamese kingdom of Ayutthaya. His white elephants became a regional obsession. His brief conquest of Ayutthaya demonstrated both the potential and fragility of Southeast Asian imperial ambitions.