Prince Nokeo Koumane had been held in the Taungoo court for sixteen years, and by 1591 was about twenty years old. The sangha in Lan Xang sent a mission to King Nandabayin asking for Nokeo Koumane to be returned to Lan Xang as a vassal king. In 1591 he was crowned in Vientiane, gathered an army and marched to Luang Prabang where he reunited the cities, declared Lan Xang independence and cast off any allegiance to the Toungoo Empire. King Nokeo Koumane then marched toward Muang Phuan and then to the central provinces reuniting all the former territories of Lan Xang.^[44]

In 1593 King Nokeo Koumane launched an attack against Lanna and the Taungoo Prince Tharrawaddy Min. Tharrawaddy Min sought assistance from Burma, but rebellions throughout the empire prevented any support. In desperation a request was sent to the Burmese vassal in Ayutthaya King Naresuan. King Naresuan dispatched a large army and turned on Tharrawaddy Min, forcing the Burmese to accept Ayutthaya as independent and Lanna as a vassal kingdom. King Nokeo Koumane realized he was outnumbered by the combined strength of Ayutthaya and Lanna and called off the attack. In 1596, King Nokeo Koumane died suddenly and without an heir. Although he had united Lan Xang, and restored the kingdom to a point that it could repel an outside invasion, a succession dispute took place and a series of weak kings followed until 1637.^[44]