Pagan

Pagan, on the Irrawaddy in central Burma, was the capital of the first kingdom to unite the lands that became Myanmar. Burman settlers from Nanzhao founded the walled city in the ninth century; from 1044 it served as the seat of the Pagan kings.

From the mid-eleventh century the rulers patronised Theravada Buddhism. Over two and a half centuries they and their wealthy subjects raised more than ten thousand stupas, temples and monasteries across the plain. Pagan became a centre of Pali learning, although Mahayana, Hindu and nat traditions continued alongside Theravada.

Mongol invasions from 1277 brought the kingdom down in 1287, and in 1297 Pagan ceased to be the capital of Upper Burma. It lived on as a pilgrimage town: great temples such as Ananda and Shwezigon kept their devotees, and Konbaung kings sponsored renovations.