The 1277 Battle Between King Narathihapato of Burma and the Mongolian Kublai Khan

The fifth Great Khan of Mongolia, part of the then Dynasty of China, Kublai Khan, wanted King Narathihapato of Burma, part of the Pagan Empire, to declare his allegiance to him.

In 1271, Kublai Khan sent an envoy of Yunnan ambassadors to issue this directive to King Narathihapato. King Narathihapato, who had 3000 concubines and who also insisted on having 100 dishes created for him at his every meal, sent this envoy back empty-handed.

In 1273, Kublai Khan again sent an envoy to King Narathihapato. This time, he personally wrote a letter to be given to King Narathihapato. This letter demanded that King Narathihapato submit to Mongol rule. The king of excessive concubines and excessive eating acted excessively once again. He executed every member of this envoy and had their heads sent back to the Great Khan.

So now, what were the thoughts and conclusions reached by the rulers of each side?

Kublai Khan was becoming convinced that the only way he could get the Burmese people to submit to his rule was through battle. However, he had not yet made a move in their direction.

King Narathihapato was now convinced that the Mongols would not dare to fight him. So with great bravado, he invaded the state of Kaungai, part of the Southern province of China. Naturally, Kublai Khan was now forced to react. So he sent a local garrison of Mongol troops to defend the state or province.

On the Mongolian side were 12,000 horsemen armed with metal-tipped arrows. Those arrows were their most favored weapon when they were at a distance. When they were close-up, they would use their swords. As for the metal-tipped arrows, how did they make them? The Mongols would heat these arrows until they were glowing red. Afterward, they would plunge them into salt water. These now metal-tipped arrows had the ability to penetrate armor. There was a forest of trees at their flank.

Twelve-thousand armed horsemen may sound like a lot. The Mongol army did indeed feel themselves to be invincible. Even if they did not feel invincible, the horsemen knew full well that whether they felt brave or cowardly, they would face immediate execution if they deserted, disobeyed orders, or fell asleep while on duty. So they were most determined to face the Burmese down, no matter what.

Can you imagine how they must have felt when they first saw the Burmese army? This is what they saw. The Burmese army was made up of a combination of 60,000 horsemen and infantry. So already, the Mongol army was greatly outnumbered by the Burmese army. They compounded this intimidating view by their front line.

The Burmese front line was made up of 80 to 200 war elephants. There is one source that said there were actually 2000 war elephants. The poor elephants wore no armor at all to protect themselves. On top of each elephant was a wooden tower (or 'castle') filled with 12 to 16 archers, just waiting to shoot their arrows at all opposing foes.

Needless to say, great confusion resulted. The Mongol army were all set to ride their horses toward that line of elephants, doing the best they could to defeat the Burmese army. Their horses, whose backs they rode, had an entirely different motivation. Those poor horses were absolutely terrorized at the site of so many elephants, made to look even more massive and intimidating by the towers filled with angry men carrying weapons. The horses immediately turned and ran for the trees. No matter how hard the Mongol men tried to force their horses forward, the horses made certain that retreating was the only option.

The head of the Mongol army, Khan's much-trusted Nasir al-Din, could not very well order his men to be executed as even his own horse retreated as well. He did his best to put on a false front of bravado as he must show that he was not intimidated by what was happening. He suddenly came up with a rather clever idea.

The war captain, Nasir al-Din, ordered his men to tie their horses to the trees. Next, he ordered them to walk on foot and shower those war elephants on their most vulnerable spots. Do you remember that I said that the elephants wore no armor at all? Also, do you recall what kind of arrows the Mongolians used? That's right. They were using those metal-tipped arrows that could pierce armor and most certainly had the ability to pierce the hides of the toughest elephant. As you can well imagine, those poor elephants were terrorized and in excruciating pain.

Now it was the elephants' turn to retreat. They not only retreated, they stampeded. They turned in a panic and ran toward the trees behind them. In their haste to get away, they ran right over and through the 60,000 horsemen and infantry that had been hiding behind them. Many of them were injured or killed. Once the elephants reached the trees, the towers (or castles) on their backs broke to pieces. The 12 to 16 archers riding in those towers went tumbling to the ground. Many of them were severely injured or killed outright as well.

The Mongol army then ran back toward the trees behind them, untied their horses, mounted them, and rode after what was left of the quickly retreating Burmese army.

So the outnumbered and less powerful Mongol army won the battle over the vastly stronger, more populous Burmese army. The Mongol war captain took 200 elephants back with him to Kublai Khan. From that time forward, Khan also used war elephants in the battles in which he fought.

A side note about King Narathihapato, that king of excess. The Burmese and Mongol armies fought again in 1283. The Mongols won a second time. They fought a third time in 1287. The Mongols won a third time, completely conquering the Pagan empire.

King Narathihapato was on the run after the second battle. He gained the nickname that translates to "Run-away King from Chinese," as the Burmese people considered Mongols to be Chinese. The son of King Narathihapato was so disgusted by his father's conduct that he planned to execute his father. In 1287, he presented his father with two options: either die by the sword or by eating poisoned foods. Can you guess which option his father selected? You guessed it. His father, who loved to eat more than any person perhaps you have ever met in your life, died by taking poisoned food into his mouth.

The Burmese opposition had come to an end. Kublia Kahn planned to install a "puppet government" to take command.

Much of these stories came from tales originally told by Marco Polo himself, who came to Burma in the years 1278, as the official envoy of Kublai Khan, one year after that big battle involving Burma and their war elephants opposing the Mongol army with their metal-tipped arrows and a clever plan.

Resources:

Mongol invasion of Burma at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_invasion_of_Burma

Great Mongol victories! at http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/lofiversion/index.php/t109307.html

Battle of Ngasaunggyan at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ngasaunggyan

The Mongols in South-East Asia at http://medieval2.heavengames.com/m2tw/history/events/mongol_invasion_seasia/index.shtml

Battles & maps at http://home.tiscali.nl/~t543201/web-mongol/mongol-battles.htm

Fighting Techniques of the Oriental World AD 1200-1860 at http://www.militarymodelling.com/news/article.asp?a=4160

The Mongols, A History by Jeremiah Curtin, copyright 1908 at http://www.archive.org/stream/mongolshistory00curtuoft/mongolshistory00curtuoft_djvu.txt

Pagan Kingdom at http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Pagan_Kingdom