|
|
 
About Myanmar
Early civilization in Myanmar dates back to the 1st century with
archaeological evidence of the Pyu Kingdoms of Thayekhittaya (Sri
Ksetra), Beikthano (Vishnu) and Hanlin. The first Myanmar Empire
was founded in early 11th century by King Anawrahta who unified
the country through his strong leadership and intellect. The
Empire with its capital at Bagan lasted until the end of 13th
century with the invasion of the Mongols. To put it into
perspective this was more than 20 years before the Norman conquest
of England in 1066. The second Myanmar Empire, with its capital in
Bago (Pegu), was founded in the mid 16th century by King
Bayinnaung. The third and last Myanmar Empire was founded by King
Alaungpaya in 1752.
In the 19 th century, during the peak period of colonialism,
Myanmar was annexed in three stages by the British after the three
Anglo - Myanmar wars of 1825, 1852 and 1885. During the Second
World War, Myanmar was occupied by the Japanese for nearly three
years until the Allied Forces' reoccupation in 1945. Myanmar
became a sovereign independent state on January 4, 1948.
Virtually nothing is known of Myanmar's prehistoric inhabitants,
though archaeological evidence suggests the area has been
inhabited since at least 2500 BC. It may originally have been
sparsely populated by Negritos or Proto-Malays who are thought to
have inhabited the lowland and coastal areas of Myanmar (Burma),
Thailand and Malaysia. The remnants of this race appear today in
only a few isolated pockets in the interior of the Thai-Malay
peninsula and on a sprinkling of islands in the Andaman Sea. If
these Negritos were indeed Myanmar's original inhabitants, one
theory holds that they were displaced by peoples who migrated into
the area from other parts of South East Asia. At any rate,
Myanmar's nation building history really begins with the struggle
for supremacy between the various peoples who inhabited different
regions of the country approximately 1000 years ago.
A group known as the Pyu, which possibly hailed from the
Tibeto-Burman plateau or from India, created city states in
central Myanmar at Beikthano, Hanlin and Thayekahittaya between
the first century BC and the ninth century AD. Little is known
about these people but the art and architecture they left behind
indicate they practiced Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism mixed with
Hinduism and also that they have their own alphabet. The Pyu were
dispersed or enslaved by Yunnanese invaders during the 10th
century AD, leaving central Myanmar without any clear political
succession.
Around the 6th century the Mon may either have originated in
eastern India or were indigenous to main land South East Asia.
They settled in an area stretching from the fertile lowlands of
the Ayeyarwady River delta through present day Thailand into
western Cambodia. Inscriptions left behind by their civilization
refer to this area as Suvanna Bhumi (Golden Land). According to
official Burmese history, the Mon capital was located near Thaton
in present day Myanmar, but foreign scholars argue more
convincingly that Suvanna Bhumi was centered around Thailand's
Nakhon Pathom.
The Bamar came south into Myanmar from the eastern Himalayas
around the 8th or 9th century. Once the Pyu were vanquished by the
Yunnanese, the Bamar supplanted them in central Myanmar, a region
that has since been the true cultural heartland of Myanmar.
Shortly after they took over the central region, the Bamar came
into conflict with the Mon in a long and complicated struggle for
control of the whole country. By the time the Bamar had
irrevocably ended up on top, the two cultures had merged together.
|
