Why go
Taungoo rose from a former Ava dependency in the sixteenth century, and Bayinnaung’s conquests briefly created an enormous mainland empire. Later rulers rebuilt a smaller state with appointed governors in the Ayeyarwady valley. The Konbaung dynasty then expanded west toward Arakan, Manipur and Assam. Those moves brought the kingdom into sharper contact and conflict with British power.
The full story
Taungoo rose in the sixteenth century after the weakening of Ava. Tabinshwehti defeated Hanthawaddy, and Bayinnaung extended his authority across a large part of mainland Southeast Asia. That vast empire fragmented soon after Bayinnaung died. Restored Taungoo rulers rebuilt a smaller kingdom and changed its administration, replacing many hereditary local offices in the Ayeyarwady valley with appointed governors. In the eighteenth century, renewed warfare ended Taungoo rule. Alaungpaya’s Konbaung dynasty reunited much of Myanmar and then pressed outward. Its campaigns reached Arakan, Manipur and Assam, bringing the kingdom into disputed frontier zones beside British India. The result was a different political map from Bagan’s temple-centered heartland or Mrauk U’s coastal kingdom. Following those shifts helps explain the later Anglo-Burmese wars and why Mandalay became the final royal capital under threat from Britain.