•However, it was in Burma where European military technology apparently had its greatest appeal, and may have made a measurable contribution to the resurgence of Burmanstrength. The founders of a new dynasty originating from Toungoo, Tabinshwehti(r. 1531-50) and his successor Bayinnaung(r. 1551-81), aimed from the outset to recreate a centralized state in the Irrawaddy basin, and the advent of the Europeans was thus timely.
•Besieged by Bayinnaung'sarmy, Ayutthaya fell in August 1569 and by 1574 Vientiane in LanSang was also in Burmanhands. For the first time in history Burmanrulers had been able to subdue the 'great arc of Tai-speaking peoples', and from Chiengmaito Ayutthaya splendid new pagodas built at Bayinnaung'sdirection proclaimed the power of the king whom the Mons referred to in awe as the 'Victor of the Ten Directions'