Bagan, formerly known as Pagan, is an ancient city in the Mandalay Division of Burma. The origins of Bagan date back to 849 AD, when settlements were established on the banks of the Irrawaddy River (Ayeyarwady) about 300 miles north of Yangon (Rangoon). It was not until King Pyinbya moved the capital to Bagan in 874 AD that it became a major city.

The golden age of Bagan came in the 11th century when King Anawratha ascended to the throne. Soon after his accession, King Anawratha converted to Buddhism and then in 1057 led his army into battle with the Mon town of Bago in order to take possession of the Tripitaka Pali scriptures (holy Buddhist scripts). King Anawratha had allegedly attempted to get King Manuba to surrender the scripts voluntarily to no avail. After Manuba finally surrendered and Bago was left in ruins, the Tripitaka were taken to Bagan along with 30,000 Mon prisoners, many of whom were highly skilled artisans and craftsmen. Bagan was transformed into a religious and cultural centre, with the majority of its buildings and temples being erected 11th and 12th centuries.

In 1287 Kublai Khan led hordes of Mongolian horsemen to conquer Bagan, allegedly because of a refusal to pay tribute, and many of the wooden buildings were burnt to the ground. Abandoned by the Burmese king, the city declined as a political centre, but continued to flourish as a place of Buddhist scholarship. The original town was never re-established and Bagan broke up into a number of smaller kingdoms.

Bagan is well known for the manufacture of lacquerware products. This ancient craft involves coating, drying and re-coating a frame of woven bamboo over a number of months. This painstaking task is finished with designs being hand etched onto the lacquered bamboo.

There are three main areas in Bagan - Old Bagan, New Bagan, and Nyaung U, the market district located northeast of Bagan not far from the Shwezigon Pagoda.



Sources:
Ancient Bagan.com
AsiaExplorers - Bagan Travel Guide
wikipedia-Bagan
Hoteltravel.com

Main page image by MikeRussia on flickr and is used in accordance with the GNU Free Documentation License
Bagan Map by Jacinta Khan