Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ritories now comprising modern Myanmar into a single state and laid the foundations of the
modern nation, at the same time establishing the primacy of the Bamar people within it.
Anawrahta began by strengthening Bagan's economic base, launching ambitious irrigation
schemes whereby large swathes of formerly arid land were opened to new settlers. Canals
were constructed and villages created, establishing the Bagan area as the rice bowl and com-
mercial powerhouse of Upper Burma. Having consolidated Bagan's wealth and influence,
Anawrahta gradually expanded the territory under his control. Formerly independent Pyu
towns were taken under Bagan's rule, while expeditions were also sent south into Mon ter-
ritories. The ruler of
Bago
submitted to Bagan's authority, while in 1057 the kingdom of
Thaton
(which had resisted Anawrahta's demands for tribute) was conquered, and its king,
Manuha, taken back to Bagan as a captive.
The conquest of Thaton is traditionally seen as pivotal in the history of Bagan. Anawrahta,
it is said, returned to Bagan with over 30,000 Mon slaves, including many craftsmen and
artists,whowouldsubsequentlyplayakeyroleinhelpingcreatethethousandsofflamboyant
temples which survive to this day. Anawrahta's conversion to Theravada Buddhism by the
Thaton-bornmonk
ShinArahan
alsoprovedcrucialinestablishingthisbranchofBuddhism
as the country's dominant faith, as it continues to this day. Anawrahta also safeguarded the
religionelsewhereinSoutheastAsiabystoppingtheadvanceofthe(then)HinduKhmer,and
helped to restart Theravada ordinations in Sri Lanka, whose Buddhist monasteries had been
destroyed by the Indian Cholas.
Age of empire
The following two centuries marked the golden age of Bagan, led by a succession of capable
rulers who continued Anawrahta's grandiose building works at home and conquests abroad,
establishing the Bagan dynasty as one of the two great Southeast Asian powers, rivalled only
by the Khmer Empire of Angkor.
Anawrahta was succeeded by his eldest son,
Sawlu
(ruled 1078-84), whose brief reign
endedwhenhewaskilledduringarebellioninthesouth.SawluwassucceededinturnbyAn-
awrahta's second son,
Kyansittha
(ruled 1084-1112), and Kyansittha's grandson,
Alaung-
sithu
(aka Sithu I; ruled 1112-67), both of whom continued to push back the frontiers of
the Bagan Empire while launching into ever more spectacular temple-building projects at
home. Alaungsithu was murdered by his homicidal son,
Narathu
(ruled 1167-71;), who
was himself assassinated shortly afterwards. Order was restored under
Narapatisithu
(ruled
1174-1211), under whom the empire reached its greatest geographical extent, stretching
south to the Malay peninsula and east into present-day Thailand.
Theperiodalsosawtheemergenceofanewanddistinctive
Bamarculture
.
Bagan'stemple
architecture began to develop its own distinctive flavour, transcending earlier Mon and Pyu
models, while Burmese script became the primary vehicle for the written language, displa-
