Konbaung Dynasty

The Konbaung dynasty, sometimes called the Third Burmese Empire, was the final royal dynasty to rule Burma, governing from 1752 to 1885 and founded by Alaungpaya after he suppressed a rebellion that had destroyed the preceding Toungoo dynasty. Konbaung rulers built the second-largest empire in Burmese history and continued administrative reforms begun under the Toungoo dynasty, work that laid important foundations for the modern Burmese state, while also engaging in repeated wars with neighboring Siam, including the destruction of the Ayutthaya Kingdom's capital in 1767. Despite these reforms, the dynasty's military and administrative capacity proved unable to withstand the pressure of the expanding British Empire, which fought and won all three Anglo-Burmese Wars against Konbaung forces across a span of roughly six decades from 1824 to 1885. The final Anglo-Burmese War in 1885 ended the millennium-old Burmese monarchy, with the last king, Thibaw Min, deposed and exiled, and Burma fully annexed into British India.