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Shin Bo-Me (Burmese: ရှင်ဘို့မယ်, [ʃɪ̀ɰ̃ bo̰ mɛ̀]; also spelled Shin Bo-Mai) was a principal queen of four kings of Ava in the early 15th century.

Brief

Considered a great beauty, Bo-Me was the favorite queen of Minkhaung I. She was also a half-niece of Minkhaung; her mother Saw Salaka Dewi and Minkhaung were half-siblings. Although the Hmannan Yazawin chronicle states she became the chief queen of Minkhaung in 1407/08, an inscription dated 28 February 1409 by Queen Shin Saw states that Saw was still the chief queen in 1409. She was also the favorite queen of Minkhaung's son and successor Thihathu until Shin Saw Pu became queen. In August 1425, Bo-Me engineered the death of Thihathu by getting Le Than Bwa of Onbaung to assassinate the king. She might have married the successor, eight-year-old Min Hla. Three months later, she poisoned the boy king and put her lover Prince Min Nyo on the Ava throne, and became the chief queen. In May 1426, Nyo was overthrown by Gov. Thado of Mohnyin, who subsequently made Bo-Me a junior queen.

Ancestry

The following is her ancestry as given in the Hmannan Yazawin chronicle. She was a granddaughter of King Swa Saw Ke of Ava, and Kyawswa I of Pinya, and a great granddaughter of King Thihathu of Pinya and King Kyawswa of Pagan.

Notes

1. (Harvey 1925: 97) says Mohnyin Thado was her "fifth crowned consort". But the chronicles do not say that Bo-Me ever married the 8-year-old Min Hla; they say only that she had him poisoned.
2. See (Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 372). Her mother Salaka Dewi may have married more than once—(Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 404) Salaka Dewi, daughter of Swa Saw Ke was married to Sithu of Myinsaing—or Salaka Dewi's husband had two titles over his career, Sithu and Theinkhathu.

References

1. ^ Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 372
2. Harvey 1925: 93–96
3. Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 373
4. Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 486
5. Than Tun 1959: 125–126
6. Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 57–58
7. Htin Aung 1967: 93–94

Bibliography

• Harvey, G. E. (1925). History of Burma: From the Earliest Times to 10 March 1824. London: Frank Cass & Co. Ltd.
• Htin Aung, Maung (1967). A History of Burma. New York and London: Cambridge University Press.
• Royal Historical Commission of Burma (2003) . Hmannan Yazawin (in Burmese). Vol. 1–3. Yangon: Ministry of Information, Myanmar.
• Than Tun (December 1959). "History of Burma: A.D. 1300–1400". Journal of Burma Research Society. XLII (II).

v t e Queens consort of Ava
Chief queens consort	Saw Omma I Khame Mi Shin Saw Gyi Min Hla Myat Shin Saw Saw Min Hla Shin Bo-Me Shin Myat Hla Min Hla Nyet Atula Thiri Maha Yaza Dewi Ameitta Thiri Maha Dhamma Dewi Atula Thiri Dhamma Dewi Salin Minthami (unknown) (unknown) (unknown) (unknown) Narapati Mibaya
Queens of the Northern Palace	Shin Saw Gyi Saw Omma II Saw Khway Shin Bo-Me Tanzaung Mibaya Salin Minthami Lat Min Taya Hnamadaw
Queens of the Central Palace	Saw Omma II Saw Taw Oo Min Pyan Shin Sawbu Dhamma Dewi
Queens of the Western Palace	Saw Taw Oo Shin Mi-Nauk Shin Bo-Me Taungdwin Mibaya
Queens of the Confederation of Shan States

• Chief queens consort of Ava
• 14th-century Burmese women
• 15th-century Burmese women
• Remarried queens consort
• Regicides