Manarella Connebeth

Manarella Connebeth of Salin (8 July 1095-19 February 1128), was the first wife of Emperor Henther IV, who briefly became the Eadien empress consort.

Early years
Born on 8 July 1095, Manarella Connebeth was born in Palace of Eilinsupwa, Andaw, Duchy of Salin. She was the eldest daughter of Chandra VII, Duke of Salin, and his wife, Savannamaya, the daughter of Iringat, Queen of Jasume, the daughter of Thusuaye I, Eadien emperor, so Manarella was a great granddaughter of Thusuaye I, and her future husband, Henther IV, was her cousin. Manarella has three brothers and two sisters, including Chandra VIII and Oraj III, the future Dukes of Salin. Her sister, Madhri Connebeth, later became a nun, and her another sister, Sumanee Orajta, was Duchess of Loha by marriage.

Chandra VII and his wife raised their children separately. Manarella grew up with her younger brother Chandra VIII and received education together. They hardly met any other younger brothers and sisters before the age of 15, and they seldom met their parents, because Chandra VII was always very busy, and Savannamaya died after giving birth to her last child, Reramonsi. Because of this, Manarella and Chandra VIII were closest. Chandra VIII later helped Manarella in assisting her husband Henther to the throne.

Manarella was engaged to Prince Henther, son of Emperor Thusuaye II of Eadien, when she was very young. This marriage was concluded with the help of Henther's uncle Kratmaung. Henther's mother, Empress Ausabether, told her husband to fulfill this engagement before she died, and left her pearl necklace to Manarella. However, Thusuaye II did not take his wife's entrustment into consideration. He did not have any communication with Salin, nor did he express his intention to take Manarella to the Nanwa court. Soon after, Thusuaye II married Madhri of Bolgne, which made Salin feel uneasy. Chandra VII worried that Thusuaye II did not intend to let Manarella become the Crown Princess of Eadien, because Madhri was obviously more popular with the Emperor than Ausabether. At that time, people speculated that if Madhri gave birth to a son, then Henther would be replaced as the heir.

Crown princess
In 1111, Empress Madhri died in hemorrhage after giving birth to a daughter. In the same year, Thusuaye II planned to marry Catherine, Princess of Sayamati. At the suggestion of Empress Dowager Muhatana, he also decided to fulfill the engagement between his son and Manarella, and the two marriages were carried out at the same time. In September, Manarella came to Nanwa, but compared with the future empress Catherine, she was obviously treated coldly by the court. Catherine was very beautiful, Manarella not, let alone Catherine was the future empress, but Manarella was just the crown princess.

On 10 October 1111, Manarella and crown prince Henther married in the Little Ethong Palace. At the same time, the emperor and Catherine married. According to the records at that time, Catherine attracted almost everyone's attention at the wedding, including Prince Henther. It is said that Henther was very dissatisfied with his wife's appearance, because Ophia, a previous Eadien empress from Salin, was famous for her beauty. As her offspring, Manarella was plain, which made Henther very unhappy.

Manarella did not have much record in the period of crown princess, and her relationship with her husband was not very good in this period. Henther obviously had a special feeling for his stepmother. Although the two had never done anything out of line, Henther enjoyed spending time with Catherine. Manarella, who was left by her husband, could only live in court in a low-key way. She had no power or influence, but her relationship with Catherine was unexpectedly good, so Catherine often persuaded Henther to accompany his wife.

Duchess of Reiya
In 1113, Minsi, Duke of Thiwarik, overthrew Thusuaye II, became emperor Minsi III, and married Empress Catherine as his wife. With Catherine giving birth to her son Hsinpalay the next year, Henther also lost the status of crown prince, and he was forced to leave the court, but he was very unwilling. His main title in this period was Duke of Reiya. Manarella left the palace with her husband. Like her husband, she was not content with the title of Duchess, but she knew that Henther could not compete with the emperor at this time, so she persuaded her husband to reconcile with the emperor. At the same time, she used her friendship with Catherine, hoping that the empress could say good things for them in front of Minsi III.

All the children of Manarella were born during this period. She had two sons and three daughters. Both sons died early. One daughter was stillborn and the other daughter Princess Manarella died in infancy. Therefore, the only child of her survived was Princess Manice. Later, she married her uncle Oraj III, Duke of Salin and became Duchess of Salin.

In the late reign of Minsi III, Henther began his plan to wrest the throne. Manarella was his main supporter and adviser. Because of Manarella, he also got the secret help from Salin. In 1127, Henther officially declared himself the legitimate heir of the throne, then declared war on Minsi III. His army had won a great victory. After Henther was captured accidentally in May, Manarella started the army in Tawdaung. Under the command of her and some other advisers, Henther's army successfully surrounded the capital, Nanwa, and in August, Minsi III helplessly declared surrender, and gave his crown to Henther, which can be said that the throne was captured by Manarella for Henther.

Eadien empress
Henther became the emperor on 2 August 1127 as Henther IV. At the same time, Manarella also became the empress, whose only surviving son Henther Reramonsi replaced Hsinpalay as the crown prince.

Manarella's career as the empress was very short, but she still played a great role. Because of his wife's great help before he ascended the throne, Henther IV trusted her very much, almost to the point of obedience. Many people believed that Manarella was ruler de facto of the Empire. Henther IV had always coveted Catherine. Now he was the emperor and wanted to make Catherine his mistress. It is said that he once coerced Catherine into submission by threatening Catherine's son. Manarella stopped Henther IV. She let Catherine live in a temple on the outskirts of Nanwa and put Hsinpalay under her protection, so that the emperor could not lay hands on Catherine and her son.

Manarella died in the Nanwa Palace on 19 February 1128, may due to lack of some vitamins because she had abnormal eating habits. Henther IV was very sad about his wife's death. He ordered a grand funeral for the empress. Manarella was entombed in Yanimen on 3 April 1128. Her son, Prince Henther Reramonsi, died in the same year. Henther IV, who lost his wife and son in just a few months, has been a little bit insane since then. The next year, because of no heir, Henther IV married Catherine, so Catherine became Empress of Eadien for the third time.