Kanboza Thadi
The palace of King Bayint Naung

The original Kanbawzathadi Palace was built by King Bayint Naung in AD
1551 and it was the regal splendour of what was once the center
of the largest empire in mainland Southeast Asia.
During the battle between the King of Rakhine and the King of
Toungoo, the palace was destroyed by fire. During the excavation of
 the palace site, brick foundations of the ancient buildings, teak pillars,
ancient Buddha images and artifacts were found. The palace was
rebuilt in accordance with the Myanmar traditional style architecture
of the 16th century Hanthar-waddy period.
 

King Bayint Naung

King Bayint Naung also called BRAGINOCO or known by Thais as Burengnong ,  better
known as Bayint Naung Kyawhtin Nawrahtha and also as Hanthawaddy Shinbhyushin, which literally translates as Lord of the White Elephant, was not only considered the great king of Burma but also a legendary ruler in Southeast Asia’s popular history. He is mentioned in Thai literature. The king of the Toungoo dynasty (reigned 1551-81) in Myanmar. He unified his country and conquered the Shan States and Siam (now Thailand), making Myanmar the most powerful kingdom in mainland Southeast Asia.

In 1550 a revolt broke out among the Mons of southern Myanmar, and Bayint Naung's brother-in-law, Tabinshwehti, was assassinated at Pegu in 1551 by a Mon prince. Bayint Naung marched to Toungoo, eliminated a pretender to the throne, and proclaimed himself king; then he marched south, captured the city of Pegu, and executed the rebel leader, Smim Htaw. The other Mon rulers then surrendered, and the revolt was at an end. Bayint Naung made Pegu his capital, as Tabinshwehti had.

In 1554 Bayint Naung set out against Shan chiefs, who occupied the ancient Myanmar capital of Ava. He captured it the following year. The Shans were placed under Myanmar suzerainty, and Bayint Naung was consequently in a position to attack his most powerful enemy, Siam. In 1563 Bayint Naung took as a pretext for war the refusal of the Siamese to acknowledge his suzerainty.

An artist's rendition of King
Bayint Naung based on the bronze
statue at the National Musuem.

The following year he captured the Siamese capital of Ayutthaya and brought the Siamese royal family to Myanmar as hostages. Bayint Naung was the king whose army razed Ayutthaya. Some historical accounts say his savage invasion was provoked by the king of  Siam's refusal to gift him a white elephant.  In 1568, when a revolt flared up, Bayint Naung again invaded Siam. Because the Siamese put up fierce resistance, Ayutthaya was not captured until August 1569. Thai Princess Suphankalya,
who is believed to be the elder sister of King Naresuan of Ayutthya. She is believed to have given herself as a prisoner in exchange for her captive younger brother. She eventually became a wife of the powerful Burmese King Burengnong (in Burmese, Bayinnaung) and after his death, a wife of his son, the new Burmese ruler.
  Princess Suphankalya Devi of Ayuthaya was born as a princess in the Ayuthaya period to King Pra Maha Thammaja and Queen Wisutkatri, along with her two brothers, namely, Prince Naresuan and Prince Ekatosarot. She and her brothers were taken as the virtual hostage to Bago in Myanmar (Hansawaddy ) by King Bayint Naung after Ayuthaya fell to Myanmar invading forces in 1568.
She become a Burmese royal consort and later on married to Bayint Naung. The Myanmar king installed a new vassal on the throne and deported thousands of Siamese into Myanmar as slaves. The Myanmar dominated Siam for more than 15 years; they were expelled by a liberation movement led by a Siamese prince, Naresuan (reigned 1590-1605).
Bayint Naung was a patron of Buddhism; he built pagodas, gave generous donations to monasteries, and maintained extensive diplomatic relations with the Buddhist kingdom of Ceylon. Another great pagoda in Bago is Mahaceti built by Bayinnaung, most probably
the wealthiest king in Myanmar history. According to historical records, fabulous treasures including the life-size gold statues of the extended imperial family were enshrined in it in addition to the usual sacred relics. Whether these treasures still remain intact inside the pagoda is a million dollar question. The sad fact is that the pagoda had lain in ruins for
centuries before it was restored to its old grandeur recently. When Pegu was burned in a Mon revolt in 1564, he rebuilt it on an even grander scale, making one of the richest cities in Southeast Asia.