Forces of the Burmese Toungoo dynasty led by King Tabinshwehti (depicted) departed Martaban to begin an invasion of the Ayutthaya Kingdom.

The Toungoo dynasty (Burmese: တောင်ငူမင်းဆက်, ; also spelt Taungoo dynasty, and also known as the Nyaungyan dynasty, was the ruling dynasty of Burma from the mid-16th century to 1752. At its peak, Toungoo "exercised suzerainty from present-day Assam, Manipur to the Cambodian marches and from the borders of Arakan to Yunnan" and was the largest empire and the only great power country in the history of Southeast Asia." The dynasty ruled in two periods: the First Toungoo Empire and the Nyaungyan Restoration.

Tabinshwehti was King of Burma from 1530 to 1550, and the founder of the First Toungoo Empire. His military campaigns (1534–1549) created the largest kingdom in Burma since the fall of the Pagan Empire in 1287. His administratively fragile kingdom proved to be the impetus for the eventual reunification of the entire country by his successor and brother-in-law Bayinnaung.

Mottama is a town in the Thaton District of Mon State, Myanmar. Located on the west bank of the Thanlwin river (Salween), on the opposite side of Mawlamyaing, Mottama was the capital of the Martaban Kingdom from 1287 to 1364, and an entrepôt of international repute until the mid-16th century.

The Burmese–Siamese War (1547–1549), also known as the Shwehti war was the first war fought between the Toungoo dynasty of Burma and the Ayutthaya Kingdom of Siam, and the first of the Burmese–Siamese wars that would continue until the middle of the 19th century. The war is notable for the introduction of early modern warfare to the region. It is also notable in Thai history for the death in battle of Siamese Queen Suriyothai on her war elephant; the conflict is often referred to in Thailand as the War that Led to the Loss of Queen Suriyothai (สงครามคราวเสียสมเด็จพระสุริโยไท).