Crowning of Bayinnaung

Date: January 12, 1554 • Location: Rome, Italy

Bayinnaung, who later assembled what was probably the largest empire in the history of mainland Southeast Asia, was crowned as the king of the Burmese Toungoo dynasty.

Bayinnaung Kyawhtin Nawrahta was King of Burma from 30 April 1550 until his death in 1581, during the Toungoo dynasty. His reign is considered one of the most momentous in Burmese history, famously described as "the greatest explosion of human energy ever seen in Burma". During his rule, he assembled the largest empire in Southeast Asian history, which encompassed much of present-day Myanmar, as well as the Shan States, Lan Na, Lan Xang, Manipur, and the Ayutthaya Kingdom.