Tabinshwehti era (1534–1550) He participated in the
Toungoo–Hanthawaddy War (1534–1541), and by 1540 had achieved the rank of regimental commander with the style of
Nanda Yawda (). He was appointed governor of Thamyindon () in the
Irrawaddy delta in 1541 by Tabinshwehti. He served as a regimental commander in Toungoo's campaigns against
Prome (1541–1542), led a naval squadron in the
Arakan campaign (1546–1547), and commanded an elephant battalion in the
invasion of Siam (1548–1549). In January 1550, he joined his brothers Bayinnaung and
Minye Sithu on the campaign to suppress the rebellion of
Smim Htaw.
Bayinnaung era (1550–1581) He was a key member of Bayinnaung's drive to restore the Toungoo Empire which had fallen apart after Tabinshwehti was assassinated on 30 April 1550. He led a regiment in Bayinnaung's 1550–1551 assault on the city of Toungoo, whose ruler
Minkhaung II was their own half-brother. He was given a royal title of
Thado Dhamma Yaza on 11 January 1551 by Bayinnaung after Minkhaung II surrendered and was pardoned on the same day. He commanded the
Irrawaddy flank in the Prome campaign (March–August 1551). Prome was taken on 30 August 1551, and Bayinnaung appointed him as the viceroy of Prome. Thado Dhamma Yaza II was one of the four deputies of Bayinnaung in the king's campaigns between 1552 and 1565 that greatly expanded the Toungoo Empire. The original four were Bayinnaung's four brothers: Minye Sithu, Thado Dhamma Yaza, Minkhaung and Thado Minsaw. After Minye Sithu's death in 1556, Bayinnaung's eldest son Nanda took his place. Thado Dhamma Yaza participated in every campaign except for Manipur (1560) and
Lan Xang (1565). Bayinnaung had built the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia. After a brief respite, he faced serious rebellions in Lan Xang and Siam in 1568, later joined by northern Shan states in the 1570s. Thado Dhamma Yaza along with the other three deputies of the king were called upon to suppress the rebellions. The following is a list of campaigns in which he participated during the reign of Bayinnaung. He proved to be a loyal brother. He built the Prome gate of
Pegu (Bago) when the capital was rebuilt between 1565 and 1568. (Each of the twenty gates of the new capital was built by key vassal rulers.) For their loyal service, Thado Dhamma Yaza II, Minkhaung II and Thado Minsaw were all honored by their brother the king on 3 March 1580.
Nanda era (1581–1588) Bayinnaung died on 10 October 1581, and was succeeded by his son
Nanda. The new king faced an impossible task of maintaining an empire ruled by autonomous viceroys who were loyal to Bayinnaung, not the kingdom of Toungoo. Nanda particularly distrusted his uncle Thado Minsaw of Ava. When two Chinese Shan states Sanda and Thaungthut revolted in August/September 1582, the high king asked Thado Dhamma Yaza II and Nawrahta Minsaw of Lan Na to lead two 8000-strong armies to quell the rebellion. (The king conspicuously did not ask Thado Minsaw to take part in the campaign although Ava contributed troops and the Shan states were closer to Ava.) The two armies laid siege to Sanda (present-day
Baoshan prefecture) for nearly five months until the starving city surrendered. The armies arrived back to Pegu in April 1583. Nanda's slight of Thado Minsaw did not go unnoticed. In June/July 1583, Thado Minsaw sent secret embassies to Prome, Toungoo and Chiang Mai to launch a simultaneous revolt against Nanda. He also sent missions to Shan states for their support. Thado Dhamma Yaza and the other viceroys sided with Nanda. When Nanda marched to Ava in March 1584, he along with the rulers of Toungoo and Chiang Mai also marched to Ava. Ava turned out to be Thado Dhamma Yaza's last campaign. He did not participate in the ensuing
campaigns against Siam, which revolted in May 1584. Thado Dhamma Yaza II died in November/December 1588. He was succeeded by Mingyi Hnaung, one of Nanda's sons, styled as
Thado Dhamma Yaza III of Prome. ==Family==