lonely-planet-myanmar-burma-11-edition

294HISTORY PRE-COLONIAL BURMAKINGRemembered asTayokpyay Min,or ‘the King whoRan Away fromthe Chinese’,Narathihapatewas also knownfor his gluttonousappetite,demanding 300varieties of dishesat his banquets.failed ‘Saffron Revolution’) and its inaction following Cyclone Nargis in2008, the worst natural disaster ever to befall the nation, have caused itto become even more despised and feared.Elections for a civilian government in 2010 and the release of AungSan Suu Kyi from house arrest have provided a glimmer of hope forsome. But for others it’s just business as usual in Myanmar, with themilitary as much in control as it has been for the past half century.Pre-Colonial BurmaThe Earliest InhabitantsArchaeologists believe humans have lived in the region as far back as75,000 BC. The limestone Padah-Lin Caves in western Shan State containpaintings that could be 13,000 years old, and there’s evidence thatlocal farmers had domesticated chickens and made bronze by 1500 BC.At least 2500 years ago, the area was a key land link between tradersfrom India and the Middle East and China. Ancient Greeks knew of thecountry too.In 2003 the BBC reported the finding of a 45-million-year-old fossil (possiblythe anklebone of a large ape-like animal) in central Myanmar thatmight just prove the area to be the birthplace of all l humans. The implica-tion of this research, written up in an academic paper by paleontologistLaurent Marivaux of the University of Montpellier II, is that our primateancestors may have had Asian rather than African origins. Not surprisingly,the military government was happy to embrace this interpretation.The First Burmese EmpireBagan was nearly 200 years old when its ‘golden period’ kicked off –signalled by an energetic, can-do King Anawrahta taking the throne in1044. His conquest of the Mon kingdom and the adoption of Buddhisminspired a creative energy in Bagan. It quickly became a city of glorioustemples and the capital of the First Burmese Empire. For more on thehistory of Bagan, see p 150 .Anawrahta’s successors (Kyanzittha, Alaungsithu and Htilominlo)lacked his vision, and the kingdom’s power slowly declined. In 1273 KingNarathihapate made the diplomatic mistake of offending the growingpower of Kublai Khan by executing his envoys. When the Mongols invadedin 1287, Narathihapate fled south to Pyay (Prome) where he committedsuicide.In the ensuing chaos, Shan tribes (closely related to the Siamese) fromthe hills to the east grabbed a piece of the low country, while the Monin the south broke free of Bamar control and re-established their ownkingdom.AD 754Nanzhao soldiersfrom Yunnan, China,conquer the hill tribesin the upper reaches ofthe Ayeyarwady Riverand challenge the Pyuwho ruled from thecity of Sri Ksetra.849Bagan is founded onthe site of a oncethrivingPyu city;its fi rst name mayhave been Pyugan,something recorded200 years later by theAnnamese of presentdayVietnam.1044Anawrahta slays hisbrother, takes thethrone in Bagan andstarts organising hiskingdom to kick off the‘golden period’ of theFirst Burmese Empire.1057Having subduedthe Shan Hills,Anawrahta’s armiessack the ancient Moncity of Thaton andbring back 30,000people to Bagan,including the Monking, Manuha.