Alaungpaya

In 1752, the Toungoo dynasty collapsed, and Upper Burma fractured into chaos. From this disorder rose Alaungpaya, the chief of a small village called Moksobo. Charismatic and fiercely ambitious, he rallied local forces, declared himself king, and began a campaign of conquest that was breathtaking in its speed and scope. He first unified the Burmese heartland, then turned his well-organized armies outward. He subjugated the Manipur kingdom, absorbed the northern Thai state of Lan Na, and crushed a southern rebellion backed by the French and British East India Companies. His campaigns were marked by strategic cunning and, often, brutal force. He also laid the foundations for modern Myanmar, expanding the small settlement of Dagon and renaming it Yangon, meaning 'End of Strife.' He died suddenly in 1760 while on campaign in Siam, but the Konbaung Dynasty he founded would rule Burma for over a century, its borders defined by his relentless will.