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Pagan


The Ananda temple, Pagan; its top portion, a restoration, was broken off in an earthquake in 1975
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The Ananda temple, Pagan; its top portion, a restoration, was broken off in an earthquake in 1975 (credit: Van Bucher — Photo Researchers)
Village, central Myanmar (Burma). Extending along the left bank of the Irrawaddy River, southwest of Mandalay, it was founded c. AD 849 and was the capital of a powerful dynasty from the 11th to the 13th century. It was conquered by the Mongols in 1287. As a centre of Buddhist learning, it is a pilgrimage destination and contains Buddhist shrines that have been restored and redecorated and are in current use. Ruins of other shrines and pagodas cover a wide area. An earthquake in 1975 severely damaged more than half of the important structures and irreparably destroyed many of them. The village also has a school for lacquerware, for which the region is noted.

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Archaeology Dictionary: Pagan, Burma

[Si]

Extensive city in northern Burma situated near the confluence of the Irrawaddy and Chindwin rivers adjacent to the irrigated rice-growing plain of Kyauskse, founded in ad 849 through the amalgamation of many small villages. Originally called Arimaddanapura, the city became the capital of the Burman kingdom. The rulers of the Pagan Dynasty in the period ad 1044 to 1287 built more than 5000 Buddhist temples in the area. Pagan was captured by the Mongols in ad 1287.

[Sum.: M. Aung Thwin, 1985, Pagan: the origins of modern Burma. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press]
 
Buddhism Dictionary: Pagān

Ancient capital city of Burma situated at the centre of the country, along the Irrawaddy river, best known for the some 13,000 temples and other religious structures that once covered its region, only about 2,000 of which are still standing. Although inhabited since the beginning of the Christian era, it entered its golden age in the 11th century with the conversion to Theravāda Buddhism of King Anawrahtā, who initiated a great programme of building monuments. This was continued by his successors until the 13th century when the city started to decline rapidly, possibly as a consequence of Kublai Khan's invasion of the region (see Mongolia).

 
Columbia Encyclopedia: Pagan
(pəgän') , ruined city, Mandalay div., central Myanmar, on the Ayeyarwady River. Covering an area c.40 sq mi (100 sq km), it is one of the great archaeological treasures of Southeast Asia and a holy place of pilgrimage. Founded c.849, it became in the 11th cent. the seat of King Anawratha, who, under the influence of the Mon civilization in the south, introduced Theravada Buddhism into upper Myanmar, previously dominated by a Mahayana Buddhist sect. Under his rule and that of his descendants, Pagan was adorned with thousands of Buddhist shrines and temples, principally in stone and brick. Occupied by the Mongols in 1287, Pagan was sacked and burned by the Shans in 1299. The thousands of surviving temples, pagodas, and monasteries are massive and imposing structures, built with a knowledge of the true arch and showing strong Indian influence. In 1975 an earthquake damaged much of the architecture. A large restoration project was begun in the mid-1990s.

 
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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Archaeology Dictionary. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology. Copyright © 2002, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.  Read more
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