Conclusion: "The main purpose of this paper has been to provide a narrative history charting the forces at work behind state expansion in the early Toungoo period. Both the reign of Min-gyi-nyo and the Shan invasions of Ava played important roles in this expansion. From the very beginning of Min-gyi-nyo?s reign, after seizing the throne of Toungoo in 1486, Min-gyi-nyo built an ever widening sphere of influence in Upper Burma. After conquering the Pyinmana area near Toungoo, during the 1490s Min-gyi-nyo attacked the rebellious vassal Yamethin on behalf of his overlord the king of Ava and made exploratory military probes along the frontier of Mon Ramanya to the south. In 1501-03, there was a succession struggle at Ava as well as an invasion and occupation of the northern part of the Mu River valley, an important part of Ava?s food supply. In the wake of these events, the new king of Ava attempted to draw Min-gyi-nyo closer to him through a marriage alliance and a gift of strategically important territory near Kyaukse, another important part of Ava?s food supply. Min-gyi-nyo entered into a state of rebellion for the first time, spurned Ava?s gift and depopulated the territory. Ava sent a military expedition against Toungoo in retaliation, but Min-gyi-nyo intercepted it ahead of time and defeated it. Shortly afterwards, in 1505, Toungoo joined with Prome and attacked towns in the Myingyan area near Pagan. Toungoo was defeated and humbled by a joint military expedition sent by Ava and Hsipaw. In 1505, three princes rebelled and seized the town of Pakan-gyi at the confluence of the Irrawaddy and Chindwin rivers. Instead of making an immediate move to help the rebels, Toungoo and Prome bided their time with expeditions against settlements like Magwe to the south. Their caution was vindicated when the princes were defeated and executed. During his trips from Toungoo to and from these campaigns, Min-gyi-nyo attacked and raided settlements along the way, in some instances establishing marriage alliances. In 1510, the king of Ava built a new capital and palace and Min-gyi-nyo followed his example. After 1510, while Ava was burdened by Shan raids of increasing intensity, Toungoo settled back to a period of peace. Only in 1523 did Min-gyi-nyo venture out of Toungoo again in a military expedition. During the Shan invasions of Ava (1524-27), he gained many loyal vassals in the area south of Ava. Min-gyi-nyo died in 1531. The new Shan state at Ava invaded Prome in 1532 and in 1535 Toungoo under a new king Tabinshweihti started a series of attacks against Pegu, the capital of Mon Ramanya, that led to Toungoo?s conquest and control over the southern Ramanya region and its lucrative maritime trade. Several demographic factors that played a role in state formation together with a model of state formation have been assessed for their relevance to early Toungoo state expansion (1486-1539). Although many might regard the lack of primary sources for the First Toungoo Dynasty as limiting research possibilities, it is hoped that shining the light of disciplines such as historical demography, political anthropology, the anthropology of war, as well as economic theory (Schmid, 2004; Van Tuyll and Brauer, 2004) on the evidence combined with a continued search for new primary sources will allow new advances to be made in this important but understudied period of Burmese history. Perhaps archaeological evidence will also one day supplement the evidence that is now almost entirely textual."