The Bagan Dynasty was a feudal dynasty (849-1287 or 1370) established by the ancient Burmese people in what is now Myanmar in Southeast Asia, with a total of fifteen generations of kings. The Bagan Dynasty was the first unified feudal dynasty in Myanmar.
Bagan City (English: Bagan, formerly known as Pagan) is the capital of the Kingdom of Bagan, located at the confluence of the west bank of the Ayeyarwady River and the Chintun River, 145 kilometers southwest of Mandalay. The history of Bagan’s establishment is earlier than that of the Bagan Kingdom. In 105, the Pyu people built the small town of Bagan. In 847, Phiinbia built a fortress in Bagan and made great construction projects, making Bagan gradually become a big city and later the capital of a country.
In 849, Phiinbia established the Kingdom of Bagan. In 1004, the Kingdom of Bagan sent an envoy to China to pay tribute to the Northern Song Dynasty. In 1044, Anuruddha became king. At that time, the countries in Burma were competing for hegemony, and the Kingdom of Bagan was very backward. The people believed in the Ari, a branch of Mahayana Buddhism.
Anuradha has the heart to rejuvenate the country and actively develop outwards. Before Anuradha ascended the throne, the Kingdom of Bagan had experienced nearly 200 years of development, preparing favorable conditions for the war launched by Anuradha to unify Burma.
The Kingdom of Bagan was established in the vast area east of the confluence of the Chindun River and the Ayeyarwady River. This area is fertile and rich in products, and was called the “Hometown of Daze” at that time. The Kyauksy region became a granary before the 11th century AD. Judging from the inscriptions in the Bagan period, 61 kinds of crops such as rice, sorghum, beans, winter melon, eggplant, pepper, grape, sugar cane, and betel nut were planted in the vicinity of Bagan at that time, and agricultural production had reached a considerable level of development.
The economic development of the Kingdom of Bagan laid the material foundation for Anuradha to launch the war to unify Burma. The Burmese were adept at riding, and Anuradha used war elephants on a large scale for the first time, and the cavalry became part of the Bagan army. The Bagan army later galloped across Burma, and the cavalry played an important role in the southern expedition to the west. At the same time, Anuradha ruled the army very strictly, and anyone who violated his orders was sentenced to death.
After more than 10 years of operation, Bagan’s national strength has become quite strong, so Anuruddha first sent his troops south in 1057 to attack the Mon people. Then Bago and other Mon countries also belonged to Bagan. The conquest of the south enabled the Kingdom of Bagan to gain access to the sea, and Anuradha brought back to Bagan many of the Theravada Buddhist scriptures and treasures obtained through the direct access, as well as many monks, which had a significant impact on the development of Burmese culture. influences.
After occupying the Zhitong Kingdom, Anuradha introduced Theravada Buddhism to the Kingdom of Bagan and established it as the state religion. Afterwards, Anuradha expanded everywhere: he conquered Arakan in the west and occupied the northern part of Arakan. Then, they marched southward to Bago, and their power was in the South Dalindayi area (the former translation of “Danashalin”, English Tenasserim, that is, near the Delindayi Mountains).
After Anuradha invaded northwards, his army crossed Bhamo and hit Dali in Yunnan, China, after which the two countries reconciled. On the way back to the army, Anuruddha stopped by the Shan State area and asked the chiefs in the area to pay tribute to him.
Then Anuradha also provided material assistance to Ceylon, allowing it to repel the invasion of the South Indian state. After Anuradha conquered the Mon area in the south, he expanded his territory to the west and led his army to cross the Arakan Mountains to conquer the northern part of Arakan. In the northeast, Anuradha extended his rule to the junction with the present-day Shan State area, and built 43 fortresses in Jessa, Taigong, Mandalay, Bhamo and other places. He also conquered the Thai territory in the Chao Phraya River Valley and defeated Chen La, and his influence even extended to Ceylon and Java.
In terms of cultural governance, Anuradha built a large number of pagodas in order to promote Buddhism, among which the Shwezigon Pagoda is the most famous. Anuruddha also referenced the writings of the Mon and Pyu peoples and created his own writing. Anuruddha also spent three years digging the Kyaukse Canal to facilitate irrigation.
