lonely-planet-myanmar-burma-11-edition

The Second Burmese EmpireIt would be another 200 years before the Bamar were able to regroup tofound their second empire. During this time a settlement of Bamar refugeesin central Taungoo survived between Mon to the south and the Shanto the north and east, by playing the larger forces off against each other.In the 16th century, a series of Taungoo kings extended their powernorth, nearly to the Shan’s capital at Inwa, then south, taking the Monkingdom and shifting their own capital to Bago. In 1550 Bayinnaungcame to the throne, reunified all of Burma and defeated the neighbouringSiamese so convincingly that it was many years before the long-runningfriction between the two nations resurfaced.Following Bayinnaung’s death in 1581 the Bamar’s power again declined.The capital was shifted north to Inwa in 1636. Its isolation fromthe sea – effectively cutting off communication around the kingdom –ultimately contributed to Myanmar’s defeat by the British.The Third Burmese EmpireWith all the subtlety of a kick to the groin, King Alaungpaya launched thethird and final Burmese dynasty by contesting the Mon when the latterORIGINAL KINGDOMSThant Myint-U’sRiver of LostFootsteps is amust-read historicalreview thatrecounts kings’blunders andsuccesses, whileadding occasionalfamily anecdotesof Burma’s earlydays ofindependence.295HISTORY PRE-COLONIAL BURMAFour major precolonial ethnic groups peppered Burma’s flatlands with their kingdomsfor centuries, while smaller ethnic groups lived – mostly untouched – in the remote hillsbeyond. The early histories that are attached to these groups are a mix of fact and legend:see p 157 for an archaeologist’s perspective.Pyu Arriving from the Tibeto-Burman plateau and/or from India around the 1st centuryBC, the Pyu established the first major kingdom of sorts, with city-states in centralMyanmar including Beikthano, Hanlin and Sri Ksetra (Thayekhittaya). In the 10th century,Yunnanese invaders from China enslaved or scared off most Pyu.Rakhaing Also known as Arakanese, these people claim their kingdom was well under wayby the 6th century BC. Certainly it was in full force by the 15th century, when their Buddhistkingdom was based in Mrauk U and their navy controlled much of the Bay of Bengal.Bamar Also known as Burmans, these people arrived from somewhere in the easternHimalaya in the 8th or 9th century, supplanting the vanquished Pyu and establishingthe cultural heartland of Myanmar as it’s still known. Centuries of conflict with the Monerupted after their arrival. Although the Bamar came out on top, the result was really amerger of the two cultures.Mon This race, who may have originated from eastern India or mainland Southeast Asia,settled fertile lowlands on the Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) River delta across Thailand to Cambodia.They developed the area as Suvannabhumi (Golden Land), with their Burmese kingdomcentred around present-day Thaton coming into existence around the 9th century.1084Kyanzittha continuesthe reforms started byhis father Anawrahta,including developingthe Burmese writtenlanguage; he’ssucceeded in 1113by his grandson,Alaungsithu who rulesuntil 1167.1273In a curious gestureof diplomacy againstfar-superior forcesto the north, theBurmese in Bagan slayTartar ambassadors,prompting a peevedKublai Khan to invade14 years later.1290sMarco Polo becomespossibly the fi rstWesterner to travel incentral Burma (thenknown to foreigners asMien), and publishesan account of histravels in 1298.1315After the collapseof Bagan, Sagaingbecomes the capitalof a Shan kingdom.The capital moves toInwa in 1364 and staysthere intermittentlyuntil 1841.