First Mongol invasion of Burma

The Mongol campaign against the Pagan Kingdom in 1277 culminated in victory over Burmese forces at the Battle of Ngasaunggyan.

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Battle of Ngasaunggyan: A 1277 battle in which Mongol forces defeated Pagan troops near the kingdom’s northern frontier. This battle was the campaign’s decisive military encounter.
Yuan dynasty: The Mongol-led Chinese dynasty established by Kublai Khan, ruling China from 1271 to 1368. Yuan expansion supplied the political framework for the campaign against Pagan.
Pagan Kingdom: A Burmese kingdom centered on the Irrawaddy basin that flourished from the ninth to the thirteenth century. The invasion targeted Pagan and intensified its existing political strains.
Ngasaunggyan: A frontier settlement in present-day Yunnan associated with the 1277 battle between Mongol and Pagan forces. The battle took its name from this location near Pagan’s northern approaches.
Kublai Khan: The Mongol ruler who founded China’s Yuan dynasty and expanded Mongol power across East Asia. His court directed the pressure on Pagan that produced the campaign.
Dali Kingdom: A kingdom centered in present-day Yunnan that the Mongols conquered in 1253. Its former territory became the Mongol base bordering Pagan’s northern lands.
Second Mongol invasion of Burma: The later Mongol campaign against Pagan that culminated in the kingdom’s defeat in 1287. It followed the first campaign and brought Mongol intervention to a decisive stage.
Bhamo: A town in northern Myanmar near the Irrawaddy River and the historic route between Burma and Yunnan. The campaign operated in the frontier zone connected by routes through this region.
Narasathihapate: The Pagan king who ruled from 1256 to 1287 during the Mongol invasions of Burma. His confrontation with Mongol demands shaped Pagan’s military response.
Yunnan: A province of southwestern China whose mountain frontier borders mainland Southeast Asia. Mongol forces operating from Yunnan pressed Pagan to acknowledge Mongol authority.