Thus the throne lost resources needed to retain the loyalty of courtiers and military servicemen, inviting a vicious circle of internal disorders and external challenges by Mons, Mongols and Shans.[6]. When the Hanthawaddy Kingdom of Lower Burma became a vassal of Sukhothai in 1294, it was the brothers, not Kyawswa, that sent a force to reclaim the former Pagan territory. He appeased the Pyus by linking his genealogy to the real and mythical ancestors of Sri Ksetra, the symbol of the Pyu golden past, and by calling the kingdom Pyu, even though it had been ruled by a Burman ruling class. [75], As reconstructed by Michael Aung-Thwin, G.H. The origins of the Pagan kingdom have been reconstructed using archaeological evidence as well as the Burmese chronicle tradition. (Though Anawrahta is said to have driven out the Aris from his court, they were certainly back at the court by the late Pagan period, and continued to be a presence at the later Burmese courts down to the Ava period.) The collapse was followed by 250 years of political fragmentation that lasted well into the 16th century.[6][7]. Though the army was driven back, it left no doubt as to who held the real power in central Burma. [94][95] It was the predominant Theravada school in Burma until the late 12th century when Shin Uttarajiva led the realignment with Ceylon's Mahavihara school. [100] (Unfortunately, the vaulting techniques of the Pagan era were lost in the later periods. As another sign of delegation of power, Sithu II also appointed a chief justice and a chief minister.[68]. The male side of Pagan ended there although the female side passed into Pinya and Ava royalty. )[81] Pagan was the most populous city with an estimated population of 200,000 prior to the Mongol invasions. [71], Various sources and estimates put Pagan's military strength anywhere between 30,000 to 60,000 men. [80], Various estimates put the population of Pagan Empire as anywhere between one and two and a half million[81] but most estimates put it between one and a half and two million at its height. It came to manage not only day-to-day affairs but also military affairs of the kingdom. However a corresponding growth in population also put pressure on "the fixed relationship between productive land and population", forcing the later kings to expand. He supported and favoured Theravada Buddhism while tolerating other religious groups. [42], Pagan reached the height of political and administrative development during the reigns of Narapatisithu (Sithu II; r. 1174–1211) and Htilominlo (r. 1211–1235). "conquered lands", နိုင်ငံ, [nàiɴŋàɴ]). [67] A follow-up collection of judgments was compiled during the reign of Sithu II (r. 1174–1211) by a Mon monk named Dhammavilasa. [33] The city was one of several competing city-states until the late 10th century when it grew in authority and grandeur. In the present-day village of Bagan in central Myanmar (formerly Burma), ancient spires from 12th and 13th-century Buddhist temples still stretch skyward near the shores of the Irrawaddy River in Southeast Asia. [83] The notion of ethnicity continued to be highly fluid, and closely tied to political power. The earliest Pagan stupas such as the Bupaya (c. 9th century) were the direct descendants of the Pyu style at Sri Ksetra. Other metals were also in use. [34] The size of the principality is about 6% of that of modern Burma/Myanmar. [69][70] In an era of limited military specialisation, when the number of conscripted cultivators offered the best single indication of military success, Upper Burma with a greater population was the natural centre of political gravity. [24] Estimates of the extent of his empire vary greatly. The chronicles date these early kings to between the 2nd and 5th centuries CE, scholars to between the 8th and 10th centuries CE. Sri Ksetra lasted nearly six centuries, and was succeeded in turn by the kingdom of Pagan. [87], Of the three bonded (non-athi) classes, royal bondsmen and religious bondsmen were hereditary while private bondsmen were not. Repeated Mongol invasions (1277–1301) toppled the four-century-old kingdom in 1287. After their 1287 invasion, the Mongols moved farther south to Tagaung but refused to fill in the power vacuum they had created. [10][14][15], The Abhiraja myth notwithstanding, more recent research does indicate that many of the places mentioned in the royal records have indeed been inhabited continuously for at least 3500 years. The first such unification came with the foundation of the Pagan Dynasty in 1044 AD, which is considered the "Golden Age" in Burmese history. First, royal servicemen were bondsmen (kyundaw, ကျွန်တော်) of the king, and were often assigned to individual headmen and officials who acted as the king's representatives. [107][108] The convergence of cultural norms around existing Pagan-centered norms, at least in the Irrawaddy valley core, in turn facilitated the latter-day political reunification drives of Toungoo and Konbaung dynasties. [51] As a result, Northern Burma to Tagaung was conquered by the Yuan dynasty. Early Christians often used the term to refer to non-Christians who worshiped multiple deities. [96], To be sure, the Theravada Buddhist scene of the Pagan era had little semblance to those of Toungoo and Konbaung periods. After the fight, the Pagan Kingdom lost all its power. But the new "king" controlled just a small area around the capital, and had no real army. (Both religious lands and cultivators were permanently tax exempt.) Anawrahta's line continued to rule Pagan as governors under Myinsaing, Pinya and Ava kingdoms until 1369. After thirteen years' wandering King Thamokdarit founded New Pagan in … The governors and taik-leaders lived off apanage grants and local taxes. In the late 11th century, ethnic Burmans were still "a privileged but numerically limited population", heavily concentrated in the interior dry zone of Upper Burma. Evidence shows that Pagan imported silver from Yunnan, and that traded upland forest products, gems and perhaps metals with the coast. [75], Secondly, the need to accumulate land for endowments, as well as for awards for soldiers and servicemen, drove the active development of new lands. With the Burman leadership of the kingdom now unquestioned, the term Mranma (Burmans) was openly used in Burmese language inscriptions. Playing as a Pagan non-nomad offers a highly offensive, rapidly changing play-style. Cham and Mon inscriptions first mentioned Pagan in 1050 and 1093, respectively.[30]. Anawrahta was followed by a line of able kings who cemented Pagan's place in history. The 250-year rule left a proven system of administrative and cultural norms that would be adopted and extended by succe… For example, some scholars such as Victor Lieberman argue that Pagan did not have any "effective authority" over Arakan.[41]). The newly irrigated regions attracted people, giving him with an increased manpower base. Luce and Than Tun, the main driver for this agriculture-based economic expansion was the practice of donating tax-free lands to the Buddhist clergy. After unifying China, the Mongol ruler Kublai Khan sent envoys to neighbouring kingdoms, obliging them to accept Mongol vassalage. [91] But recent research by Aung-Thwin argues that the Burmese script may instead have been derived from the Pyu script in the 10th century, and that the Burmese script was the parent of the Burma Mon script. Such institutions in turn stimulated associated artisan, commercial, and agricultural activities critical to the general economy. The peoples who lived in the highland perimeter were collectively classified as "hill peoples" (taungthus, တောင်သူ) although Shan migrants were changing the ethnic makeup of the hill region. The kingdom of Pagan, the "charter polity"of Burma, had a lasting impact on Burmese history and the history of mainland Southeast Asia. On the other hand, Aung-Thwin continues, the latest archaeological evidence dates the Burmese script 58 to 109 years ahead of the Burma Mon script. Pagan wedding at Avebury, attended by Emma Restall Orr, Chief Druid of the British Druid Order This section explores the spirituality of Britain, from pre-Christian Paganism to … The real power in Upper Burma now rested with three brothers, who were former Pagan commanders, of nearby Myinsaing. The younger son Kanyaza Nge (ကံရာဇာငယ်) succeeded his father, and was followed by a dynasty of 31 kings, and then another dynasty of 17 kings. Titles, ranks, insignia, fiefs and other such rewards helped maintain the loyalty-patronage structure of the court.[66]. While several Mahayana, Tantric, Hindu and animist elements have remained in Burmese Buddhism to the present-day, in the Pagan era, however, "Tantric, Saivite, and Vaishana elements enjoyed greater elite influence than they would later do, reflecting both the immaturity of Burmese literary culture and its indiscriminate receptivity to non-Burman traditions". Many Pagan traditions are intentionally reconstructionist in that they aim to revive many of the lost rituals of the ancient traditions, including holy days and seasonal celebrations. [33] By Anawrahta's accession in 1044, Pagan had grown into a small principality—about 320 kilometres (200 mi) north to south and about 130 kilometres (81 mi) from east to west, comprising roughly the present districts of Mandalay, Meiktila, Myingyan, Kyaukse, Yamethin, Magwe, Sagaing, and the riverine portions of Minbu and Pakkoku. [55][59], By then, the city of Pagan, once home to 200,000 people,[60] had been reduced to a small town, never to regain its preeminence. Burmese chronicles do not agree on the origins of the Pagan kingdom. The origins of the Pagan kingdom have been reconstructed using archaeological evidence as well as the Burmese chronicle tradition. It served as the capital of the Pagan Kingdom of Myanmar from the 9th to 13th centuries. major reference In Myanmar: The kingdom of Pagan (849–c. Because of the irrigated hubs, the region supported the largest population in the kingdom, which translated into the largest concentration of royal servicemen who could be called into military service. Manuscripts were rare and extremely costly. [78], Surviving records provide a glimpse of the kingdom's economic life. It served as the capital of the Pagan Kingdom of Myanmar from the 9th to 13th centuries. The Mongols of the Yuan dynasty demanded tribute, in 1271 and again in 1273. The one-face style grew out of 2nd century Beikthano, and the four-face out of 7th-century Sri Ksetra. [46][83], Another important development in Burmese history and Burmese language was the rise of Pali, the liturgical language of Theravada Buddhism. In fact, no evidence of royal censuses or direct contact between the Pagan court and headmen beneath the governors has been found. [99], Originally, an Indian/Ceylonese stupa had a hemispheric body (Pali: anda, "the egg") on which a rectangular box surrounded by a stone balustrade (harmika) was set. For much of the Pagan period, written materials needed to produce large numbers of literate monks and students in the villages simply did not exist. Indeed, European scholars of the British colonial period were even more sceptical, dismissing outright the chronicle tradition of early Burmese history as "copies of Indian legends taken from Sanskrit or Pali originals",[14] and the Abhiraja story as a vain attempt by Burmese chroniclers to link their kings to the Buddha. His immediate successors Htilominlo and Kyaswa (r. 1235–1249) were able to live off the stable and bountiful conditions he passed on with little state-building on their part. Some three and a half centuries later, in 483 BCE, scions of Tagaung founded yet another kingdom much farther down the Irrawaddy at Sri Ksetra, near modern Pyay (Prome). The conquest of Lower Burma checked the Khmer Empire's encroachment into the Tenasserim coast, secured control of the peninsular ports, which were transit points between the Indian Ocean and China, and facilitated growing cultural exchange with the external world: Mons of Lower Burma, India and Ceylon. This was the first ever unification of Irrawaddy valley and its periphery. 6 talking about this. Ring in the new year with a Britannica Membership, https://www.britannica.com/place/Pagan-kingdom, Myanmar: The kingdom of Pagan (849–c. The court was also the chief justice of the land. Silver came from domestic mines as well as Yunnan. When gay marriage bills pass for the first time in state ballots, it is obvious that a new day has dawned in America. (The size of population in medieval times tended to stay flat over the course of many centuries. [73] But assuming that the precolonial population of Burma was relatively constant, the estimates of 40,000 to 60,000 of the entire military are not improbable, and are in line with figures given for the Burmese military between the 16th and 19th centuries in a variety of sources. Much of the wealth was devoted to temple building. The brothers placed one of Kyawswa's sons as the governor of Pagan. Pagan's early iconography, architecture and scripts suggest little difference between early Burman and Pyu cultural forms. [38], Archaeological evidence however confirms only a smaller empire of the Irrawaddy valley and nearer periphery. These new lands included both irrigable wet-rice areas and non-irrigable areas suitable for rain-fed rice, pulses, sesame, and millet. 1300). [93] At any rate, local illiteracy probably prevented the sort of detailed village censuses and legal rulings that became a hallmark of post-1550 Toungoo administration. When the throne lost this essential resource, it was the beginning of the en… [16] Archaeological evidence shows that as early as the 2nd century BCE the Pyu had built water-management systems along secondary streams in central and northern parts of the Irrawaddy basin and had founded one of Southeast Asia's earliest urban centres. This design grew out of hybrid (between one-face and four-face designs) designs. [13], Modern scholarship, however, holds that the Pagan dynasty was founded by the Mranma (Burmans) of the Nanzhao Kingdom in the mid-to-late 9th century CE; that the earlier parts of the chronicle are the histories and legends of the Pyu people, the earliest inhabitants of Burma of whom records are extant; and that Pagan kings had adopted the Pyu histories and legends as their own. Construction of a large temple in the reign of Sithu II cost 44,027 kyats while a large "Indian style" monastery cost 30,600 kyats. Private bondsmen (kyun, ကျွန်) owed labour only to their individual patron, and lay outside the system of royal obligation. [80], At Pagan and at main provincial centres, Buddhist temples supported an increasingly sophisticated Pali scholarship, which specialised in grammar and philosophical-psychological (abhidhamma) studies, and which reportedly won the admiration of Sinhalese experts. [78] Manuscripts were rare and extremely costly. [36], Anawrahta proved an energetic king. The Buddhist clergy was not a class in the secular society but nonetheless represented an important social class. As elsewhere in Southeast Asia, homosexuals or transvestites (who already inhabited two "incompatible" realms) as well as women who provided a shamanic bridge from the human world to the that of the spirits.[97]. The success and longevity of Pagan's dominance over the Irrawaddy valley enabled the ascent of Burmese language and culture, and the spread of Burman ethnicity in Upper Burma and laid the foundation for their continued spread elsewhere in later centuries. The first invasion in 1277 defeated the Burmese at the battle of Ngasaunggyan, and secured their hold of Kanngai (modern-day Yingjiang, Yunnan, 112 kilometres (70 mi) north of Bhamo). [102], Although the Burmese temple designs evolved from Indic, Pyu (and possibly Mon) styles, the techniques of vaulting seem to have developed in Pagan itself. But in the Pagan era, key 19th century elements were not yet in place. The site of an old capital city of Myanmar, Pagan is a pilgrimage centre and contains ancient Buddhist shrines that have been restored and redecorated and are in current use. The area became the center of Buddhist learning. Geopolitically, Pagan checked the Khmer Empire's encroachment into the Tenasserim coast and upper Menam valley. In general, the crown's authority diffused away with the increasing distance from the capital.