A valley at the head of the jade road where the track from the Uru diggings meets the road down to the Irrawaddy.
A Tai lordship forms here in the next two centuries; the chronicles say Mong Kawng is founded in 1215, fifteen years after this date, so on 1 January 1200 the place is a gathering ground in the country of Kachin, Rawang, Kadu and other hill peoples, with Tai settlers beginning to arrive. The Burmese chronicle's Mogaung and the Pong of the Manipur chronicle are later.
Who he is
- Name
- not known (the Tai chronicles place the founding of Mong Kawng in 1215; English Wikipedia gives a legendary 58 BC and Chinese occupations from 1479)
- Title
- Lord of the valley (chao muang; called saopha in the later records)
- Since
- not known
- Born
- not known
- Family
- not known
- Confidence
- low
English Wikipedia (Mogaung; Shan States): the founding is 'according to legend in 58 BC' under the name Udiri Pale, and the Tai chronicles give Mong Kawng 1215; the Pong kingdom is 'identified with' Mogaung (English Wikipedia, Kabaw Valley); the first dated events on the page are the Chinese occupations of 1479 to 1483.
Overlord
None shown. Pagan claims and the nearer valleys may pay tribute in some years; Dali claims on the Shweli side.
What it holds
- The Mogaung valley floor and the market where jade and amber come down
- A claim on the Hukawng road to Assam
How things stand that morning
A valley with no named lord; not yet the Tai muang that the chronicles later describe.
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- 1215 (Tai chronicles)Mong Kawng founded.Depends on: The Tai migration the chronicles describe. Stopped by: The chronicle's date is late and doubtful.
Places of note
- Mogaung: Valley town and market.
Where the sources disagree
- The campaign board entry mogaung: 'A Tai lordship forms here over the next two centuries; on this board it is a gathering point': agreed.
- Gazetteer Mogaung (25.355, 96.933) is a municipality centre; the campaign board's 25.30, 96.94 is used.
Evidence: Legend plus the late Tai chronicles.
"The campaign board" is OMNIA's working map. These notes record where its earlier claims were checked against the sources.
Primary sources for Shan and Kachin valley lordships
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- The Glass Palace Chronicle of the Kings of Burma, The Royal Historical Commission of King Bagyidaw (Monywe Sayadaw and others), drawing on U Kala's Maha Yazawin (about 1724) and earlier chronicles (1829 to 1832). The standard Burmese court chronicle, compiled six centuries after 1200 from older chronicles now lost. Read online
- Inscriptions of Pagan, Pinya and Ava; Inscriptions of Burma, Various (the Pagan kings, queens, ministers and donors), edited by Tun Nyein, Taw Sein Ko, G. H. Luce and Pe Maung Tin (inscriptions of the 11th to 14th centuries; editions 1899 and 1933 to 1956). The dedicatory inscriptions of Pagan are the only contemporary texts for the kingdom of Narapatisithu (reigning 1174 to 1211). Read online
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.