A Brief History of Burma

A Brief History of Burma 

Pyu City-States
Although there are signs of cultures existing as early as 11,000 BCE (a long, long time ago..!) with findings of stone tools, domesticated animals and also following evidence of bronze age and iron age up until 200 BCE. The first inhabitants on record were the Pyu (arriving in Yunnan in the 2nd century BCE), who had their origins in present-day Qinghai and Gansu (China). They also established trade routes between China and India which introduced Buddhism to the area from South India. They founded most of the central city-states of Burma, creating roughly 18 states in the Irrawaddy valley.

According to early Chinese records, they were peaceful people who wore cotton-silk, rather than pure silk, so they weren’t harming the silkworms (they sound like our kind of people!). The Pyu remained part of the area until they became merged into the Burman kingdom of Pagan in the 11th century.

Pagan Dynasty to Taungoo Kingdom (849 – 1752)
The Burmans joined smaller raids on the Pyu states with the Nanzhao, and remained in upper Burma, creating small strategic settlements around the Chindwin River in the Irrawaddy valley by the mid-9th century to pacify the other inhabitants of the region over time. Over the next few hundred years, these settlements grew, allowing the Nanzhao to become part of the area with minimum conflict.

This led to the Pagan Empire’s rising in 1044 with the ascension of a new leader, Anawrahta Minsaw, uniting several kingdoms into one empire within 30 years. By the 12th century, Pagan had become a dominant power in south-east Asia alongside the Khmer Empire, Song dynasty of China, and Chola dynasty of India. Anawrahta – considered the Father of Burma – was responsible for developing Burma’s social, religious and economic foundations, which are still part of today’s culture. However, in 1277, the Mongols began to invade and weaken the area after seeing cracks in the crown’s control of the country and by 1297 the Myinsaing Kingdom, a neighbouring kingdom who had managed to fend off the Mongol invasions, had taken over.

The Myinsaing Kingdom was to be short-lived, and the area was split into four smaller kingdoms: Ava, Hanthawaddy, Shan States and Arakan. This became a turbulent period, with rebellions and external attacks. There was little stability in the region until 1599, where the country was reunified as a Restored Taungoo Kingdom (which included some areas of current Thailand and China). The then King, Thalun, rebuilt the chaotic country and ordered the first census in 1635, introduced a legal and political system, as well as appointing governorships to the Irrawaddy valley. This stability created a prosperous economy for almost a century, and the kingdom was at peace for the most of what remained of the 17th century.