Bagan is a plain in the middle of
King Pyinbya was the builder of the present-day Bagan city wall. King Pyinbya was the 34th king of the dynasty, who in 874 A.D. transferred the capital from Tampawaddy, now known as Pwasato. The latter was built by Thaiktaing, the 12th king, and there were two other capitals, namely, Thiripyitsaya' built by Thelegyaung, the 7th king and Paukkan built by Thamudrit, the founder of the dynasty in 108 A.D.
But the authentic history of the dynasty as supported by epigraphic evidence begins only with, the reign of Anawrahta (1044-77 A.D.). In 1057 Anawrahta conquered Thaton and brought back to his capital the Theravada scriptures in Pali, a large number of Buddhist monks, and artists and craftsmen of every description. From the Mon monks the Bagan people received their alphabet, religion and scriptures. It was from this momentous date that there began the extraordinary architectural and artistic activity which, in a little more than two centuries, covered the city and its environs with thousands of splendid monuments of every shape and size, the inner walls of most of which are decorated with incredible frescoes.
The square temples dominated by Mon influence are distinguished by their dark corridors which are dimly lighted by perforated windows and the bright frescoes of variegated colour with Mon writing on the walls. The typical Bagan Style temples are bright and airy within, with imposing plan and height. But there are also some temples with intermediate forms.
The end of the thirteenth century witnessed the fall of the Bagan dynasty. Thousands of pagodas were despoiled by the invaders and vandals and the king, who fled from the Chinese, is believed to have dismantled a considerable number of the monuments to collect materials for building forts. Since then the great mass of the religious edifices were left to decay and ruin and today we see no more than a hundred splendid monuments which attract and retain attention and since their foundation, have remained as places of worship.
While the kingdoms of Bagan date back to the early 2nd century A.D., Bagan only entered its golden age with the conquest of Thaton by King Anawrahta in 1057 A.D. From this time, until Bagan was overrun by Kublai Khan's forces in 1287 A.D., more than 13,000 temples, pagodas and other religious structures were built. Today, seven centuries later, approximately 2,200 temples remain standing. The river
■Gawdawpalin, built in the 12th century by King Narapatisithu, the 60 meter temple was badly damaged in a 1975 earthquake but has been completely reconstructed.
■Dhammayangyi, the
largest temple in Bagan, it was built by King Narathu who reigned from 1167 to 1170.
■Shwesandaw, built in 1057 by King Anawahta, the stupa enshrines hairs of the Buddha. It is sometimes called the
■Mahabodhi, this temple is an exact, though smaller, replica of the famous Bodhi temple in
■Shwezigon, this pagoda was built as the most important reliquary shrine in Bagan. Begun by King Anawrahta and completed by King Kyanzittha in 1089, it contains several bones and hairs of the Buddha. Pilgrims from throughout
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