Kyaswa of Pagan

Kyaswa (1198–1251) ruled the Pagan kingdom of Burma from 1235, succeeding his father Htilominlo. A devout Buddhist scholar, he left most administration to his son Uzana and devoted himself to religious writing and patronage of orthodox Theravada monks.

His peaceful reign saw the royal treasury drained by vast tax-free monastic estates; his attempt to reclaim land from forest-dwelling monks was reversed under public pressure. Kyaswa refused to use forced labour in building temples, so his Pyathada Temple at Pagan was smaller than many built by his predecessors.

In 1249 he had stone edicts erected in the empire's villages ordering humane punishments and banning the impaling of thieves. He died in 1251.