The valley that carries the second road from Yunnan into Burma, down the Shweli and over to the Irrawaddy at Katha, longer than the Bhamo road but open when the Bhamo road is not.
Caravans of cotton, silk and salt use both. The valley's upper end, Mong Mao, is Dehong ground (Yunnan); the lower reaches on the Burmese side are Tai valleys under their own chiefs, with Dali's claim from Tengchong and Yongchang and Pagan's from Katha. No lord is named, no document; Tai presence on the Shweli by 1200 is likely but not shown.
Who he is
- Name
- not known (Mong Mao across the border in Dehong belongs to the Yunnan researcher; its ruler line begins 1256 on one modern reading and the Ahom departure is dated 1215 or 1228 in the Buranji)
- 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, Mong Mao: Tai chronicles date its founding to 568 or 835 (legend); dated external evidence is the Yuan record of 1260 (allegiance of Tai polities) and 1276 (the Luchuan Route); scholars disagree whether significant Tai polities existed in Yunnan and northern Burma before the Mongol invasions.
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 road and its tolls
- The valley floor of the Shweli on the Burmese side
How things stand that morning
A road and a string of valleys; no lord known.
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 or 1228 (Buranji)Sukaphaa leaves Mong Mao for Assam.Depends on: A chronicle date; modern scholars place the Ahom founding later. Stopped by: The story is late.
Places of note
- Namhkam: Shweli road town.
Where the sources disagree
- The campaign board entry shweli-namhkam: used; the campaign board's 'neither side collects' reading is mine too.
Evidence: Chinese records of 1260 and 1276 are later; Tai chronicles later still.
"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.