Mindon

(born 1814, Amarapura, Myanmar — died Oct. 1, 1878, Mandalay) King of Myanmar (Burma; r. 1853 – 78). He came to power after the Second Anglo-Burmese War. He was unable to persuade the British to return Pegu (in southern Myanmar) and was also forced to make large economic concessions. Domestically, his reign was a time of numerous reforms and great cultural and religious flowering. In 1857 he built the new capital, Mandalay, with palaces and monasteries that are masterpieces of traditional Myanmar architecture. He held the Fifth Buddhist Council there in 1871 in an effort to revise and purify the Pali scriptures.

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