 record of the border war , a 1278 Burmese inscription mentions the army 's defeat at Ngasaunggyan . The Mongol accounts of the border war contain certain errors of location and numbers although the overall narrative is probably accurate .   = = = Battle of Ngasaunggyan = = =   According to the Yuan dynasty chronicle and Marco Polo 's accounts , a Burmese army " invaded " the Mongol territory of Gold Teeth , and was defeated by the Mongol army in April 1277 . The battle took place either at the Vochang valley ( in present @-@ day Baoshan Prefecture ) or 110 km southwest at Kanngai ( present @-@ day Yingjiang , Dehong Prefecture ) , which the Burmese called Ngasaunggyan .   The Yuan Chronicle reports that only 700 men defeated a Burmese army of 40 @,@ 000 to 50 @,@ 000 with 10 @,@ 000 horses and 800 elephants . It also reports only one Mongol was killed , in trying to catch an elephant . According to Marco Polo , the Mongol army consisted of 12 @,@ 000 mounted archers , and the Burmese army numbered 60 @,@ 000 men with 2000 elephants , " on each of which was set a tower of timber , well @-@ framed and strong , and carrying from 12 to 16 well @-@ armed fighting men . " Even then , the 40 @,@ 000 to 60 @,@ 000 figures of the Burmese army strength were likely eye estimates and may still be too high ; the Mongols may have erred " on the side of generosity " not to " diminish their glory in defeating superior numbers . "   According to Marco Polo 's account , in the early stages of the battle , the Turkish and Mongol horsemen " took such fright at the sight of the elephants that they would not be got to face the foe , but always swerved and turned back , " while the Burmese forces pressed on . But the Mongol commander Huthukh did not panic ; he ordered his troops to dismount , and from the cover of the nearby treeline , aim their bows directly at the advancing elephants . The Mongol archers ' arrows threw the animals into such pain that they fled .   = = = Raid of Kaungsin = = =   The Mongol army pressed on after the monsoon season . In the following dry season of 1277 – 78 , c . December 1277 , a Mongol army of 3800 led by Nasr al @-@ Din , son of Gov. Sayyid Ajjal , advanced to Kaungsin , which defended the Bhamo Pass . They occupied the fort and destroyed a large number of abandoned stockades . But they found the heat excessive and returned .   = = Interlude ( 1278 – 83 ) = =   Despite the Mongol military success , the control of the borderlands remained contested . Pagan did not relinquish its claim to the frontier regions , and the Burmese , apparently taking advantage of Mongol preoccupations elsewhere , rebuilt their forts at Kaungsin and Ngasaunggyan later in 1278 , posting permanent garrisons commanded by Einda Pyissi . But their control was short @-@ lived . The Great Khan 's attention turned to Southeast Asia once more in 1281 . He had had mixed success : his vaunted forces had finished off the last of the Song in 1279 but had again failed to take Japan in 1281 . That year , the Mongol emperor sent another mission to Pagan , demanding tribute yet again . The Burmese king was to send his ten senior ministers accompanied by one thousand cavalry officers to the emperor 's court . ( With Champa , the emperor summoned the king of Champa himself to Beijing . )   At Pagan , Narathihapate deliberated with his court for an appropriate response but ultimately refused to submit . The Burmese court may have been counting on another limited border war but the emperor now ordered an invasion of northern Burma . ( He also ordered an invasion of Champa , whose king too had refused to submit . ) The Burmese king 's troubles did not go unnoticed elsewhere in the kingdom . In the same year , a usurper named Wareru seized the southern port city of Martaban ( Mottama ) by killing its Pagan @-@ appointed governor . Although the king 's three sons were viceroys of the nearby Lower Burma cities ( in Bassein ( Pathein ) , Prome ( Pyay ) , and Dala ) , the king , preoccupied with much more serious threat in the north , did not ( or could not ) take any action on Martaban .   Throughout 1282 , the Mongol command made preparations for the upcoming invasions of Champa and northern Burma . The objective of the Burma campaign was to take over northern Burma but no further ; the emperor did not sanction an attack on
Ġrecord Ġof Ġthe Ġborder Ġwar Ġ, Ġa Ġ12 78 ĠBur m ese Ġinscription Ġmentions Ġthe Ġarmy Ġ' s Ġdefeat Ġat ĠN gas aun gg yan Ġ. ĠThe ĠMongol Ġaccounts Ġof Ġthe Ġborder Ġwar Ġcontain Ġcertain Ġerrors Ġof Ġlocation Ġand Ġnumbers Ġalthough Ġthe Ġoverall Ġnarrative Ġis Ġprobably Ġaccurate Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠBattle Ġof ĠN gas aun gg yan Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠAccording Ġto Ġthe ĠYuan Ġdynasty Ġchron icle Ġand ĠMarco ĠPolo Ġ' s Ġaccounts Ġ, Ġa ĠBur m ese Ġarmy Ġ" Ġinvaded Ġ" Ġthe ĠMongol Ġterritory Ġof ĠGold ĠTe eth Ġ, Ġand Ġwas Ġdefeated Ġby Ġthe ĠMongol Ġarmy Ġin ĠApril Ġ12 77 Ġ. ĠThe Ġbattle Ġtook Ġplace Ġeither Ġat Ġthe ĠV och ang Ġvalley Ġ( Ġin Ġpresent Ġ@ - @ Ġday ĠBa osh an ĠPre fecture Ġ) Ġor Ġ110 Ġkm Ġsouthwest Ġat ĠKan ng ai Ġ( Ġpresent Ġ@ - @ Ġday ĠYing jiang Ġ, ĠDe h ong ĠPre fecture Ġ) Ġ, Ġwhich Ġthe ĠBur m ese Ġcalled ĠN gas aun gg yan Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠYuan ĠChronicle Ġreports Ġthat Ġonly Ġ700 Ġmen Ġdefeated Ġa ĠBur m ese Ġarmy Ġof Ġ40 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġto Ġ50 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġwith Ġ10 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġhorses Ġand Ġ800 Ġelephants Ġ. ĠIt Ġalso Ġreports Ġonly Ġone ĠMongol Ġwas Ġkilled Ġ, Ġin Ġtrying Ġto Ġcatch Ġan Ġelephant Ġ. ĠAccording Ġto ĠMarco ĠPolo Ġ, Ġthe ĠMongol Ġarmy Ġconsisted Ġof Ġ12 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġmounted Ġar chers Ġ, Ġand Ġthe ĠBur m ese Ġarmy Ġnumbered Ġ60 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġmen Ġwith Ġ2000 Ġelephants Ġ, Ġ" Ġon Ġeach Ġof Ġwhich Ġwas Ġset Ġa Ġtower Ġof Ġtimber Ġ, Ġwell Ġ@ - @ Ġframed Ġand Ġstrong Ġ, Ġand Ġcarrying Ġfrom Ġ12 Ġto Ġ16 Ġwell Ġ@ - @ Ġarmed Ġfighting Ġmen Ġ. Ġ" ĠEven Ġthen Ġ, Ġthe Ġ40 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġto Ġ60 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġfigures Ġof Ġthe ĠBur m ese Ġarmy Ġstrength Ġwere Ġlikely Ġeye Ġestimates Ġand Ġmay Ġstill Ġbe Ġtoo Ġhigh Ġ; Ġthe ĠMong ols Ġmay Ġhave Ġer red Ġ" Ġon Ġthe Ġside Ġof Ġgenerosity Ġ" Ġnot Ġto Ġ" Ġdiminish Ġtheir Ġglory Ġin Ġdefeating Ġsuperior Ġnumbers Ġ. Ġ" Ġ Ġ ĠAccording Ġto ĠMarco ĠPolo Ġ' s Ġaccount Ġ, Ġin Ġthe Ġearly Ġstages Ġof Ġthe Ġbattle Ġ, Ġthe ĠTurkish Ġand ĠMongol Ġhorse men Ġ" Ġtook Ġsuch Ġfright Ġat Ġthe Ġsight Ġof Ġthe Ġelephants Ġthat Ġthey Ġwould Ġnot Ġbe Ġgot Ġto Ġface Ġthe Ġfoe Ġ, Ġbut Ġalways Ġsw erved Ġand Ġturned Ġback Ġ, Ġ" Ġwhile Ġthe ĠBur m ese Ġforces Ġpressed Ġon Ġ. ĠBut Ġthe ĠMongol Ġcommander ĠH uth uk h Ġdid Ġnot Ġpanic Ġ; Ġhe Ġordered Ġhis Ġtroops Ġto Ġdis mount Ġ, Ġand Ġfrom Ġthe Ġcover Ġof Ġthe Ġnearby Ġtre eline Ġ, Ġaim Ġtheir Ġbows Ġdirectly Ġat Ġthe Ġadvancing Ġelephants Ġ. ĠThe ĠMongol Ġar chers Ġ' Ġarrows Ġthrew Ġthe Ġanimals Ġinto Ġsuch Ġpain Ġthat Ġthey Ġfled Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠRaid Ġof ĠK aun gs in Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠMongol Ġarmy Ġpressed Ġon Ġafter Ġthe Ġmon soon Ġseason Ġ. ĠIn Ġthe Ġfollowing Ġdry Ġseason Ġof Ġ12 77 ĠâĢĵ Ġ78 Ġ, Ġc Ġ. ĠDecember Ġ12 77 Ġ, Ġa ĠMongol Ġarmy Ġof Ġ38 00 Ġled Ġby ĠNas r Ġal Ġ@ - @ ĠDin Ġ, Ġson Ġof ĠGov . ĠSay y id ĠAj j al Ġ, Ġadvanced Ġto ĠK aun gs in Ġ, Ġwhich Ġdefended Ġthe ĠB ham o ĠPass Ġ. ĠThey Ġoccupied Ġthe Ġfort Ġand Ġdestroyed Ġa Ġlarge Ġnumber Ġof Ġabandoned Ġstock ades Ġ. ĠBut Ġthey Ġfound Ġthe Ġheat Ġexcessive Ġand Ġreturned Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠInter lude Ġ( Ġ12 78 ĠâĢĵ Ġ83 Ġ) Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠDespite Ġthe ĠMongol Ġmilitary Ġsuccess Ġ, Ġthe Ġcontrol Ġof Ġthe Ġborder lands Ġremained Ġcontested Ġ. ĠPagan Ġdid Ġnot Ġrelinqu ish Ġits Ġclaim Ġto Ġthe Ġfrontier Ġregions Ġ, Ġand Ġthe ĠBur m ese Ġ, Ġapparently Ġtaking Ġadvantage Ġof ĠMongol Ġpre occup ations Ġelsewhere Ġ, Ġrebuilt Ġtheir Ġfor ts Ġat ĠK aun gs in Ġand ĠN gas aun gg yan Ġlater Ġin Ġ12 78 Ġ, Ġposting Ġpermanent Ġgar ris ons Ġcommanded Ġby ĠE inda ĠPy iss i Ġ. ĠBut Ġtheir Ġcontrol Ġwas Ġshort Ġ@ - @ Ġlived Ġ. ĠThe ĠGreat ĠKhan Ġ' s Ġattention Ġturned Ġto ĠSoutheast ĠAsia Ġonce Ġmore Ġin Ġ12 81 Ġ. ĠHe Ġhad Ġhad Ġmixed Ġsuccess Ġ: Ġhis Ġv aunted Ġforces Ġhad Ġfinished Ġoff Ġthe Ġlast Ġof Ġthe ĠSong Ġin Ġ12 79 Ġbut Ġhad Ġagain Ġfailed Ġto Ġtake ĠJapan Ġin Ġ12 81 Ġ. ĠThat Ġyear Ġ, Ġthe ĠMongol Ġemperor Ġsent Ġanother Ġmission Ġto ĠPagan Ġ, Ġdemanding Ġtribute Ġyet Ġagain Ġ. ĠThe ĠBur m ese Ġking Ġwas Ġto Ġsend Ġhis Ġten Ġsenior Ġministers Ġaccompanied Ġby Ġone Ġthousand Ġcavalry Ġofficers Ġto Ġthe Ġemperor Ġ' s Ġcourt Ġ. Ġ( ĠWith ĠCh ampa Ġ, Ġthe Ġemperor Ġsummoned Ġthe Ġking Ġof ĠCh ampa Ġhimself Ġto ĠBeijing Ġ. Ġ) Ġ Ġ ĠAt ĠPagan Ġ, ĠNar ath ih ap ate Ġdeliber ated Ġwith Ġhis Ġcourt Ġfor Ġan Ġappropriate Ġresponse Ġbut Ġultimately Ġrefused Ġto Ġsubmit Ġ. ĠThe ĠBur m ese Ġcourt Ġmay Ġhave Ġbeen Ġcounting Ġon Ġanother Ġlimited Ġborder Ġwar Ġbut Ġthe Ġemperor Ġnow Ġordered Ġan Ġinvasion Ġof Ġnorthern ĠBurma Ġ. Ġ( ĠHe Ġalso Ġordered Ġan Ġinvasion Ġof ĠCh ampa Ġ, Ġwhose Ġking Ġtoo Ġhad Ġrefused Ġto Ġsubmit Ġ. Ġ) ĠThe ĠBur m ese Ġking Ġ' s Ġtroubles Ġdid Ġnot Ġgo Ġunnoticed Ġelsewhere Ġin Ġthe Ġkingdom Ġ. ĠIn Ġthe Ġsame Ġyear Ġ, Ġa Ġusur per Ġnamed ĠWare ru Ġseized Ġthe Ġsouthern Ġport Ġcity Ġof ĠMart aban Ġ( ĠM ott ama Ġ) Ġby Ġkilling Ġits ĠPagan Ġ@ - @ Ġappointed Ġgovernor Ġ. ĠAlthough Ġthe Ġking Ġ' s Ġthree Ġsons Ġwere Ġv icer oys Ġof Ġthe Ġnearby ĠLower ĠBurma Ġcities Ġ( Ġin ĠBas sein Ġ( ĠPat he in Ġ) Ġ, ĠP rome Ġ( ĠPy ay Ġ) Ġ, Ġand ĠD ala Ġ) Ġ, Ġthe Ġking Ġ, Ġpre occupied Ġwith Ġmuch Ġmore Ġserious Ġthreat Ġin Ġthe Ġnorth Ġ, Ġdid Ġnot Ġ( Ġor Ġcould Ġnot Ġ) Ġtake Ġany Ġaction Ġon ĠMart aban Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThroughout Ġ12 82 Ġ, Ġthe ĠMongol Ġcommand Ġmade Ġpreparations Ġfor Ġthe Ġupcoming Ġinv asions Ġof ĠCh ampa Ġand Ġnorthern ĠBurma Ġ. ĠThe Ġobjective Ġof Ġthe ĠBurma Ġcampaign Ġwas Ġto Ġtake Ġover Ġnorthern ĠBurma Ġbut Ġno Ġfurther Ġ; Ġthe Ġemperor Ġdid Ġnot Ġsanction Ġan Ġattack Ġon