Greatest Bagan Empire of Myanmar
197
Thiri Khit Oo (NP News) - May 6
Long live the kingdom of the Bagan Empire has a great legendary history. Dating back from 1044 to 1287, the Bagan City was the capital as well as the center for politics, economics, and culture of the Bagan Empire. Over 10,000 religious monuments (approximately 1,000 stupas, 10,000 small temples, and 3,000 monasteries) are the witnesses to the glory of Bagan’s lords and the civilians' wealth.
After Pyu era was ended by wars, the Pyu people gathered in the plain lands which is the mainland of Myanmar. The Pyu people later established community which descended the Bamar ethnics. In the new land, the Bamar people survived with original Pyu’s successive literature, agriculture, and culture. Years later, the Bamar people who were well known as the great warriors developed a union with villages building a solid strong empire with high socioeconomic status.
Verifiable Myanmar history began with accession to the Bagan throne by Anawratha King who is the founder of the Bagan Empire in 1044. During his administration, Buddhism, culture, economics, and politics flourished with blossoming golden time. That period is considered as the first Myanmar Empire in the history. During those eras, mainland of the Southeast Asia was ruled by two great kingdoms: Bagan Empire and Khmer Empire .
Since the Bagan era, cultures and traditions of the Bamar people have been rooted with and dominated by Buddhism as people exercised beliefs and practices of Buddhism in their daily life.
The Bagan Empire was gradually developed with literature which also derived from Pyu era especially in Pali for grammar and philosophical-psychological (Abhidhamma) studies as well as languages on prosody, phonology, astrology, alchemy, medicine, and legal studies. Therefore, Bagan was very attractive and interesting for the monks and students from India, Sri Lanka, and the Khmer Empire.
Unfortunately, the Bagan Empire was concluded when the ferocious Mongol invaded in 1287. The city was once home to 50,000 to 200,000 people. However, the great warriors of Bamar people combatted those Mongol barbarians gaining victory by Myinsaing King in 1297. Then, the Myinsaing Kingdom became holding the new power in Upper Myanmar.
Nowadays, Bagan has become one of the world heritages and is recorded as archeological zone by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). In addition, Bagan is a pilgrimage destination throughout the imperial period to these days. The old capital, Bagan remained thousands of prominent temples and pagodas such as Ananda, Shwezigon, Sulamani, Htilominlo, and Dhammayazika are famous for carvings, frescos, and statues of Buddha.
Tourists from different countries are interested in the history of Bagan and love to enjoy the scenes of Bagan. Most tourists enjoy the sunset scenery. The things that must to try in Bagan are hot air balloon rides, mountain bike tours, private sightseeing tours, and countless things to mention.
Bagan exists on the basin of the Ayeyawady River and is a four-hour journey from Mandalay Region in the central plain of Myanmar.
Still, the Bagan City is still a realm with full of picturesque scenery to visitors.
Data References –
Tourism Myanmar
Ministry of Hotel and Tourism Myanmar
UNESCO
Tripadvisor
Crazy Ent
Wikipedia