Thaton

Thaton is an old centre of the Mon country near the Gulf of Martaban. Its Shwezayan Pagoda and other Buddhist monuments preserve inscriptions, sculpture and traditions of royal patronage. The town lay close to the routes linking the coast with the interior, and its religious culture formed part of a wider world of exchange around the Bay of Bengal.

Burmese and Mon chronicles tell that King Anawrahta of Pagan attacked Thaton in 1057 after its ruler Manuha refused to send Buddhist scriptures. In the story the victorious king carried Manuha, monks, craftsmen and sacred texts north to Pagan. The tale became central to later accounts of Buddhism in Burma, although the details of the conquest remain debated. Mon inscriptions and the town's shrines attest to its enduring religious importance. In later centuries Thaton formed part of the lands ruled by the kings of Hanthawaddy and their Burmese successors.