Bayinnaung vs Kirti Sri Rajasinha

King Bayinnaung ascended the throne and began a series of military campaigns that created the largest empire in Southeast Asian history. At its peak, the Toungoo empire covered modern Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and parts of China and India.

King Bayinnaung conquered the Shan States, bringing them under Toungoo control. This expansion added significant territory and resources to the Burmese empire.

King Bayinnaung's forces captured the Siamese capital of Ayutthaya after a long siege. He installed a vassal king and made Siam a tributary state of the Toungoo empire.

King Bayinnaung implemented administrative reforms to govern his vast empire, including the appointment of governors and the standardization of laws and taxes. These reforms helped maintain control over conquered territories.

King Bayinnaung conquered the Lao kingdom of Lan Xang (modern Laos), bringing it under Toungoo control. This further expanded the Burmese empire to its greatest territorial extent.

Kirti Sri Rajasinha, with the assistance of the Siamese monk Upali, re-established the higher ordination (Upasampada) for Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka. This revived the Buddhist Sangha, which had declined under earlier Nayakkar and Portuguese rule, and restored Buddhism as the state religion of the Kandyan Kingdom.

Kirti Sri Rajasinha commissioned the construction of the current Temple of the Tooth (Sri Dalada Maligawa) in Kandy to house the sacred tooth relic of the Buddha. This temple became the most important Buddhist shrine in Sri Lanka and a symbol of Kandyan sovereignty.

Kirti Sri Rajasinha successfully repelled a Dutch invasion of the Kandyan Kingdom. The Dutch East India Company (VOC) attempted to conquer Kandy but were defeated by the Kandyan army, forcing the Dutch to sign a peace treaty in 1766 that recognized Kandyan independence.

Kirti Sri Rajasinha patronized Sinhalese literature, poetry, and traditional arts. He sponsored the composition of Buddhist texts and the revival of classical Sinhalese poetry, contributing to a cultural renaissance in the Kandyan court during his reign.