Sagaing

Sagaing lies on the western bank of the Irrawaddy, opposite the site of Ava. Its hills are crowned with Buddhist stupas and monasteries, overlooking the river and the plain beyond. In the fourteenth century it was the capital of a kingdom founded by a branch of the Myinsaing dynasty, one of the powers that arose after Pagan's decline.

The Sagaing kingdom contested Upper Burma with its neighbour Pinya. In the 1360s attacks from the north weakened both, and Thado Minbya established a new capital at Ava across the river. Sagaing continued as a major religious centre. In 1636 King Thalun began the great Kaunghmudaw Pagoda northwest of the city; its broad dome became a landmark of the plain. Monks, donors and pilgrims continued to shape the hills with monasteries and shrines under later Burmese rulers.