Wareru
Wareru (died c. 1296) was a Thai chieftain of humble origins who founded the Martaban Kingdom in Lower Burma following the collapse of the Pagan Empire amid Mongol invasions in the late 13th century.[1] Having married a daughter of Sukhothai's King Ramkhamhaeng, he leveraged this alliance to seize the governorship of Martaban around 1285, initially allying with Mon prince Tarabya to expel Burmese forces from the Irrawaddy Delta before assassinating his partner to claim sole rule in 1287.[2][3] As king, with his capital at Martaban (Mottama), Wareru maintained nominal vassalage to Sukhothai while pursuing independent diplomacy, including overtures to Kublai Khan's Yuan court, and oversaw the compilation of the Wareru Dhammathat, the earliest surviving legal code in Myanmar.[2][1] His reign laid the foundations for subsequent Mon-dominated states in the region, such as Hanthawaddy, though he was ultimately murdered by his grandsons.[2][1]