151TEMPLES OF BAGAN
TEMPLES OF BAGANthe military junta switched it back to Bagan
in 1989.
GLORY DAYS
Bagan’s two and a half centuries of temple
building (from the 11th century to the 13th
century) coincided with the region’s transi-
tion from Hindu and Mahayana Buddhist
beliefs to the Theravada Buddhist beliefs
that have since characterised Myanmar.
Legend has it that the main players were
the monk Shin Arahan who came (sent by
Manuha, the Mon king of Thaton; more
on him in a bit) to convert Bamar King
Anawrahta. To call his quest a success would
be a landmark understatement. Inspired by
his new faith, Anawrahta ordered Manuha
to give him a number of sacred Buddhist
texts and relics. When Manuha naturally re-
fused, Anawrahta marched his army south
and took everything worth carrying back to
Bagan, including 32 sets of the Tripitaka (the
classic Buddhist scriptures), the city’s monks
and scholars and, for good measure, King
Manuha himself.
The self-assured Anawrahta then turned
to architects to create something that befi t
Buddha. They built and built, and many of
the greatest Bagan edifi ces date from their
eff orts, including Shwezigon Paya, consid-
ered a prototype for all later Myanmar stu-
pas; the Pitaka Taik (Scripture Library), built
to house the Pitaka (scriptures); and the ele-
gant and distinctive Shwesandaw Paya, built
immediately after the conquest of Thaton.
Thus began what the Myanmar people call
the ‘First Burmese Empire’, which became a
pilgrimage point for Buddhists throughout
Southeast Asia.
King Anawrahta’s successors, particu-
larly Kyanzittha (r 1084–1113), Alaungsithu
(r 1113–67) and Narapatisithu (r 1174–1211),
continued scratching this phenomenal
building itch, although the construction
work must have been nonstop throughout
the period of Bagan’s glory.
DECLINE
Historians disagree on exactly what hap-
pened to cause Bagan’s apparently rapid
decline at the end of the 13th century.
The popular Myanmar view is that hordes
of Mongols sent by Kublai Khan swept
through the city, ransacking and looting. A
contrasting take holds that the threat of in-
vasion from China threw the last powerful
ruler of Bagan into a panic. Legend has it
that, after a great number of temples were
torn down to build fortifi cations, the city
was abandoned so that the Mongols merely
took over an already deserted city.KEY BAGAN DATESc 950 Evidence from the remains of Pyu-style buildings are the earliest indication of a
settlement on this bend in the Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy).
1057 Temple building speeds up with the sacking of the Mon city of Thaton by Bagan’s
warrior king Anawrahta, a newly enthusiastic devotee of Buddhism.
c 1100-70 Temples become bigger and are better lit by broader windows, with more of an
eye to vertical proportions than horizontal lines.
c 1170-1280 Bagan’s late period of architecture sees more intricate pyramidical spires or
adorning tile work added to the buildings, with an increased Indian infl uence.
1287 Bagan’s decline is accelerated when the Mongols over-run the area, the Bamar
having possibly abandoned the city already.
1975 An earthquake registering 6.5 on the Richter scale hits Bagan; many temples are
damaged, but major reconstruction starts almost immediately with help of Unesco.
1990 Military forcibly relocate a village that had grown up in the 1970s in the middle of
the walled area of ‘Old Bagan’ to 4km south of the main archaeological zone.
1996 Bagan placed on Unesco World Heritage Tentative List.
1998 Over US$1 million collected from local donations for the restoration of Bagan.
2008 An imaginary recreation of the 13th-century Bagan Palace is opened on a site
opposite that of the original palace.
2011 Indian government pledges $22 million for the restoration of Ananda Pahto.