History of Pagan

Pagan Empire c. 1210

According to the Burmese chronicles, Bagan was founded in the second century CE, and fortified in 849 CE. Mainstream scholarship however holds that Bagan was founded in the mid-to-late 9th century by theMranma (Burmans), who had recently entered the Irrawaddy valley from the Nanzhao Kingdom. It was among several competing Pyu city-states until the late 10th century when the Burman settlement grew in authority and grandeur.

From 1044 to 1287, Bagan was the capital as well as the political, economic and cultural nerve center of the Pagan Empire. Over the course of 250 years, Bagan's rulers and their wealthy subjects constructed over 10,000 religious monuments