Wareru

The Wareru dynasty ruled Hanthawaddy, the Mon kingdom of lower Burma, from Martaban and later Pegu. Its founder Wareru, born Ma Gadu near Thaton, seized the governorship of Martaban in 1285 and declared independence with Sukhothai's backing in 1287. He and Pegu warlord Tarabya defeated a Pagan invasion in 1295 and 1296; Wareru then removed his ally, united the Mon provinces and won Yuan recognition in 1298.

Wareru was assassinated in 1307, but the legal code he commissioned shaped Burmese and Siamese law for centuries. The kingdom became fully independent in 1330 when Binnya E Law took power; Razadarit, ruling from 1384 to 1421, unified the Mon lands and held off Ava in the Forty Years' War.

Hanthawaddy grew rich on Indian Ocean trade and became a center of Theravada Buddhism, until Taungoo conquered Pegu in 1539 and Martaban in 1541. A Mon restoration in 1740 revived the kingdom before Alaungpaya destroyed Pegu in 1757.