A hill valley on the road between the Chinese border and the Irrawaddy, controlling the approach to the gem tract above it.
The page on the state dates its founding to about 1238 and its list starts at 939, so for 1200 there is no secure ruler and the state itself may not yet be founded on the chronicle's own date. The ruby-gravel story of 1217 (hunters take rubies to the saopha of Momeik) presupposes a lord here at that date, seventeen years after this one, and is a founding tale.
Who he is
- Name
- not known (the later Mongmit list names Hkun Ta Ka, 1168 to 1185, and Hkun Kome, 1185 to 1250, for these years: back projection with a 65-year reign)
- 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, Mongmit State: descent from Gandhalarattha before 1000 (tradition), founding of Mongmit about 1238, a ruler list from 939; Mongmit becomes a Hsenwi district in 1413; the first dated external record is a Burmese bell inscription of 1557. English Wikipedia, Mogok: founding in 1217 by three Shan hunters who brought rubies to 'the local saopha' at Momeik (tradition, not evidence).
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 Mong Mit valley and the Shweli road
- The way up to the Mogok gravels (a claim)
How things stand that morning
A valley lordship; no ruler known; tradition places a lord here by 1217.
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.
- 1217 (tradition)Hunters find rubies and take them to the lord of Momeik; a village is founded at Mogok.Depends on: A lord already at Momeik. Stopped by: The tale is a later founding story.
Places of note
- Mong Mit (Momeik): Valley town.
Where the sources disagree
- The campaign board entry mong-mit-momeik: used. Gazetteer Mongmit is the municipality centre at 23.16, 96.54 rather than the town.
Evidence: A later list and a founding tale; no document of 1200.
"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.