In 1044 Anawrahta became king of Pagan, a small state on the Irrawaddy in the dry zone of central Burma, and in the next decades united the Irrawaddy valley, conquering the Mon city of Thaton in 1057, which gave him Buddhist scholars, texts and craftsmen. He adopted Theravada Buddhism and made Pagan the first unified Burmese state. His successors built more than 10,000 temples, pagodas and monasteries on the plain of Bagan, of which over 2,200 survive, such as the golden Shwezigon and the Ananda Temple. The kingdom collapsed after a Mongol invasion in 1287.
Before and after
- from 1037 to 1194Seljuk Empire
- 18 June 1037Death of Avicenna
- from 1038 to 1227Western Xia
- from 1040 to 1147Almoravid dynasty
- 1044Anawrahta founds the Pagan Empire in Burma
- c. 1048Origins of Oslo
- 18 May 1048Birth of Omar Khayyám
- 11th centuryConstruction of Modena Cathedral
- 11th centuryConstruction of St Margaret's Church, Westminster
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- 1239Construction of Alhambra
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The era
This moment belongs to the Medieval world (500 CE to 1500 CE), kingdoms, faiths and trade routes. You can also browse everything in the 11th century.