Bago, Myanmar
Encyclopedia
Bago; , həkɜ̀; (Thai) Pha-Kho พะโค; formerly Pegu, is a city and the capital of Bago Division
in Myanmar
(Burma). It is located 50 miles (80.5 km) from Yangon
.
According to legend, two Mon
princesses from Thaton
founded Bago in 573 AD. It was written in the chronicles that eight years after enlightenment, Lord Buddha
along with his disciples flew around the Southeast Asian countries. On his return journey while crossing the Gulf of Martaban
, which happened to be at low tide, he saw two golden sheldrakes sitting, female on top of male, on a peak of land protruding out of the sea just enough for a bird's perch. Viewing this strange phenomenon, he predicted to his disciples that one day a country where his doctrine would thrive would come into existence in this vast sea area. That part of the sea, when it was silted up and ready for habitation approximately 1500 years after the prediction, was colonized by Mons from the Thaton Kingdom
. Thus, the Mons became the first rulers of this country known in history as Hongsawatoi ( [hɔŋsawətɔe]; from Pali
Hamsavati). Other spelling variations on the name include Hanthawaddy, Hanthawady, Hanthawadi and Handawaddy. In Thai, it is called หงสาวดี (Hongsawadi).
The earliest mention of this city in history is by the Arab
geographer Ibn Khudadhbin around 850 AD. At the time, the Mon capital had shifted to Thaton
. The area came under rule of the Burmese from Bagan
in 1056. After the collapse of Bagan to the Mongols
in 1287, the Mon regained their independence.
In Lower Burma, a Mon dynasty established itself first at Martaban and then at Pegu. During the reign of king Razadarit, Pegu and Ava Kingdom
were engaged in the Forty Years' War
. The peaceful reign of Queen Shin Sawbu
came to an end when she chose the Buddhist monk Dhammazedi
(1472–92) to succeed her. Under Dhammazedi
Pegu became a centre of commerce and Theravada Buddhism.
From 1369-1539, Hanthawaddy was the capital of the Mon Kingdom of Hanthawaddy, which covered all of what is now Lower Burma
. The area came under Burman control again in 1539, when it was annexed by King Tabinshweti to his Kingdom of Toungoo. The kings of Taungoo
made Bago their royal capital from 1539–1599 and again in 1613-1634, and used it as a base for repeated invasions of Siam
. As a major seaport, the city was frequently visited by Europeans, who commented on its magnificence. The Burmese capital relocated to Ava
in 1634. In 1740, the Mon revolted and founded the Restored Hanthawaddy Kingdom
. But Burmese King Alaungpaya
captured the city in May 1757, ending the Mon's short-lived independence.
Bago was rebuilt by King Bodawpaya
(r. 1782-1819), but by then the river had shifted course, cutting the city off from the sea. It never regained its previous importance. After the Second Anglo-Burmese War
, the British
annexed Bago in 1852. In 1862, the province of British Burma
was formed, and the capital moved to Yangon
. The name Bago is spelt peh kou literally. The substantial differences between the colloquial and literary pronunciations, as with Burmese words, was a reason of the British corruption "Pegu".
In 1911, Hanthawaddy was described as a district in the Bago
(or Pegu) division of Lower Burma
. It lay in the home district of Yangon
, from which the town was detached to make a separate district in 1880. It had an area of 3023 square miles (7,829.5 km²), with a population of 48,411 in 1901, showing an increase of 22% in the past decade. Hanthawaddy and Henzada
were the two most densely populated districts in the province.
Hanthawaddy, as it was constituted in 1911, consisted of a vast plain stretching up from the sea between the To (or China Bakir) mouth of the Ayeyarwady River
and the Pegu Yomas. Except the tract of land lying between the Pegu Yomas on the east and the Hlaing river, the country was intersected by numerous tidal creeks; many of which were navigable by large boats and some by steamers. The headquarters of the district was in Rangoon, which was also the sub-divisional headquarters. The second sub-division had its headquarters at Insein
, where there were large railway works. Cultivation was almost wholly confined to rice, but there were many vegetable and fruit gardens.
Today, Hanthawaddy may be considered a district of the city of Bago.
Bago Division
Bago Region is an administrative region of Burma, located in the southern central part of the country. It is bordered by Magway Region and Mandalay Region to the north; Kayin State, Mon State and the Gulf of Martaban to the east; Yangon Region to the south and Ayeyarwady Region and Rakhine State...
in Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
(Burma). It is located 50 miles (80.5 km) from Yangon
Yangon
Yangon is a former capital of Burma and the capital of Yangon Region . Although the military government has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of over four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial...
.
History
Mon people
The Mon are an ethnic group from Burma , living mostly in Mon State, Bago Division, the Irrawaddy Delta, and along the southern Thai–Burmese border. One of the earliest peoples to reside in Southeast Asia, the Mon were responsible for the spread of Theravada Buddhism in Burma and Thailand...
princesses from Thaton
Thaton
Thaton is a town in Mon State, in southern Myanmar on the Tenasserim plains. Thaton lies along the National Highway 8 and is also connected by the National Road 85.-Etymology:...
founded Bago in 573 AD. It was written in the chronicles that eight years after enlightenment, Lord Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
along with his disciples flew around the Southeast Asian countries. On his return journey while crossing the Gulf of Martaban
Gulf of Martaban
The Gulf of Martaban is an arm of the Andaman Sea in the southern part of Burma. The gulf is named after the port city of Mottama . The Salween Sittaung and Yangon rivers empty into it....
, which happened to be at low tide, he saw two golden sheldrakes sitting, female on top of male, on a peak of land protruding out of the sea just enough for a bird's perch. Viewing this strange phenomenon, he predicted to his disciples that one day a country where his doctrine would thrive would come into existence in this vast sea area. That part of the sea, when it was silted up and ready for habitation approximately 1500 years after the prediction, was colonized by Mons from the Thaton Kingdom
Thaton Kingdom
The Thaton Kingdom or Thuwunnabumi was a Mon kingdom, believed to have existed in Lower Burma from at least the 9th century to the middle of the 11th century. One of many Mon kingdoms that existed in modern-day Lower Burma and Thailand, the kingdom was essentially a city-state centered around the...
. Thus, the Mons became the first rulers of this country known in history as Hongsawatoi ( [hɔŋsawətɔe]; from Pali
Páli
- External links :* *...
Hamsavati). Other spelling variations on the name include Hanthawaddy, Hanthawady, Hanthawadi and Handawaddy. In Thai, it is called หงสาวดี (Hongsawadi).
The earliest mention of this city in history is by the Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
geographer Ibn Khudadhbin around 850 AD. At the time, the Mon capital had shifted to Thaton
Thaton
Thaton is a town in Mon State, in southern Myanmar on the Tenasserim plains. Thaton lies along the National Highway 8 and is also connected by the National Road 85.-Etymology:...
. The area came under rule of the Burmese from Bagan
Bagan
Bagan , formerly Pagan, is an ancient city in the Mandalay Region of Burma. Formally titled Arimaddanapura or Arimaddana and also known as Tambadipa or Tassadessa , it was the capital of several ancient kingdoms in Burma...
in 1056. After the collapse of Bagan to the Mongols
Mongols
Mongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
in 1287, the Mon regained their independence.
In Lower Burma, a Mon dynasty established itself first at Martaban and then at Pegu. During the reign of king Razadarit, Pegu and Ava Kingdom
Ava Kingdom
The Ava Kingdom was the dominant kingdom that ruled upper Burma from 1364 to 1555. Founded in 1364, the kingdom was the successor state to the petty kingdoms that had ruled central Burma since the collapse of Pagan Empire in the late 13th century...
were engaged in the Forty Years' War
Forty Years' War
The Forty Years' War was a military conflict fought between the Burmese-speaking Kingdom of Ava and the Mon-speaking Kingdom of Hanthawaddy Pegu. The war was fought during two separate periods: 1385 to 1391 and 1404 to 1424, interrupted by two truces of 1391–1404 and 1406–1407...
. The peaceful reign of Queen Shin Sawbu
Shin Sawbu
Shin Sawbu was the queen of Hanthawaddy from 1453 to 1472. Queen Shin Sawbu was also known as Binnya Thau or Old Queen in Mon. Queen Shin Sawbu and Queen Jamadevi of Haripunjaya are the two most famous queens among the small number of queens who ruled in mainland Southeast Asia...
came to an end when she chose the Buddhist monk Dhammazedi
Dhammazedi
Dhammazedi was the 16th king of Hanthawaddy, who reigned from 1472 to 1492, and is considered one of the most enlightened rulers in Burmese history, and by some accounts "the greatest" of all Hanthawaddy kings. The former Buddhist monk, educated in the rival kingdom of Ava in his youth, was a...
(1472–92) to succeed her. Under Dhammazedi
Dhammazedi
Dhammazedi was the 16th king of Hanthawaddy, who reigned from 1472 to 1492, and is considered one of the most enlightened rulers in Burmese history, and by some accounts "the greatest" of all Hanthawaddy kings. The former Buddhist monk, educated in the rival kingdom of Ava in his youth, was a...
Pegu became a centre of commerce and Theravada Buddhism.
From 1369-1539, Hanthawaddy was the capital of the Mon Kingdom of Hanthawaddy, which covered all of what is now Lower Burma
Lower Burma
Lower Burma is a geographic region of Burma and includes the low-lying Irrawaddy delta , as well as coastal regions of the country ....
. The area came under Burman control again in 1539, when it was annexed by King Tabinshweti to his Kingdom of Toungoo. The kings of Taungoo
Toungoo Dynasty
The Toungoo Dynasty was the ruling dynasty of Burma from the mid-16th century to 1752. Its early kings Tabinshwehti and Bayinnaung succeeded in reunifying the Pagan Empire for the first time since 1287, and in incorporating the Shan States for the first time...
made Bago their royal capital from 1539–1599 and again in 1613-1634, and used it as a base for repeated invasions of Siam
Ayutthaya kingdom
Ayutthaya was a Siamese kingdom that existed from 1350 to 1767. Ayutthaya was friendly towards foreign traders, including the Chinese, Vietnamese , Indians, Japanese and Persians, and later the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and French, permitting them to set up villages outside the walls of the...
. As a major seaport, the city was frequently visited by Europeans, who commented on its magnificence. The Burmese capital relocated to Ava
Ava
Innwa is a city in the Mandalay Division of Burma , situated just to the south of Amarapura on the Ayeyarwady River. Its formal title is Ratanapura , which means City of Gems in Pali. The name Innwa means mouth of the lake, which comes from in , meaning lake, and wa , which means mouth...
in 1634. In 1740, the Mon revolted and founded the Restored Hanthawaddy Kingdom
Restored Hanthawaddy Kingdom
The Restored Hanthawaddy Kingdom was the kingdom that ruled Lower Burma and parts of Upper Burma from 1740 to 1757. The kingdom grew out of a rebellion by the Mon people, who then formed the majority in Lower Burma, against the Burman Toungoo Dynasty of Ava in Upper Burma...
. But Burmese King Alaungpaya
Alaungpaya
Alaungpaya was king of Burma from 1752 to 1760, and the founder of the Konbaung Dynasty. By his death in 1760, the former chief of a small village in Upper Burma had reunified all of Burma, subdued Manipur, recovered Lan Na, and driven out the French and the English who had given help to the...
captured the city in May 1757, ending the Mon's short-lived independence.
Bago was rebuilt by King Bodawpaya
Bodawpaya
Bodawpaya was the sixth king of the Konbaung Dynasty of Burma. Born Maung Shwe Waing and later Badon Min, he was the fourth son of Alaungpaya, founder of the dynasty and the Third Burmese Empire. He was proclaimed king after deposing his nephew Phaungkaza Maung Maung, son of his oldest brother...
(r. 1782-1819), but by then the river had shifted course, cutting the city off from the sea. It never regained its previous importance. After the Second Anglo-Burmese War
Second Anglo-Burmese War
The Second Anglo-Burmese War was the second of the three wars fought between the Burmese and the British Empire during the 19th century, with the outcome of the gradual extinction of Burmese sovereignty and independence....
, the British
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
annexed Bago in 1852. In 1862, the province of British Burma
British rule in Burma
British rule in Burma lasted from 1824 to 1948, from the Anglo-Burmese Wars through the creation of Burma as a province of British India to the establishment of an independently administered colony, and finally independence...
was formed, and the capital moved to Yangon
Yangon
Yangon is a former capital of Burma and the capital of Yangon Region . Although the military government has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of over four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial...
. The name Bago is spelt peh kou literally. The substantial differences between the colloquial and literary pronunciations, as with Burmese words, was a reason of the British corruption "Pegu".
In 1911, Hanthawaddy was described as a district in the Bago
Bago Division
Bago Region is an administrative region of Burma, located in the southern central part of the country. It is bordered by Magway Region and Mandalay Region to the north; Kayin State, Mon State and the Gulf of Martaban to the east; Yangon Region to the south and Ayeyarwady Region and Rakhine State...
(or Pegu) division of Lower Burma
Lower Burma
Lower Burma is a geographic region of Burma and includes the low-lying Irrawaddy delta , as well as coastal regions of the country ....
. It lay in the home district of Yangon
Yangon
Yangon is a former capital of Burma and the capital of Yangon Region . Although the military government has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of over four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial...
, from which the town was detached to make a separate district in 1880. It had an area of 3023 square miles (7,829.5 km²), with a population of 48,411 in 1901, showing an increase of 22% in the past decade. Hanthawaddy and Henzada
Henzada
Hinthada is a city located on the Irrawaddy River in Ayeyarwady Region, Burma . In the 1983 census the city itself had a population of 82,005. By 2010 it had grown to 170,312...
were the two most densely populated districts in the province.
Hanthawaddy, as it was constituted in 1911, consisted of a vast plain stretching up from the sea between the To (or China Bakir) mouth of the Ayeyarwady River
Ayeyarwady River
The Irrawaddy River or Ayeyarwady River is a river that flows from north to south through Burma . It is the country's largest river and most important commercial waterway. Originating from the confluence of the N'mai and Mali rivers, it flows relatively straight North-South before emptying through...
and the Pegu Yomas. Except the tract of land lying between the Pegu Yomas on the east and the Hlaing river, the country was intersected by numerous tidal creeks; many of which were navigable by large boats and some by steamers. The headquarters of the district was in Rangoon, which was also the sub-divisional headquarters. The second sub-division had its headquarters at Insein
Insein
Not to be confused with Insein, KaleInsein Township is located in the northern Yangon. The township comprises 21 wards, and shares borders with Shwepyitha township in the north, Hlaingthaya township in the west, and Mingaladon township in the east and south...
, where there were large railway works. Cultivation was almost wholly confined to rice, but there were many vegetable and fruit gardens.
Today, Hanthawaddy may be considered a district of the city of Bago.
Places of interest
- Shwethalyaung BuddhaShwethalyaung BuddhaThe Shwethalyaung Buddha is a reclining Buddha in the west side of Bago , Burma . The Buddha, which has a length of 55 m and a height of 16 m , is the second largest Buddha in the world, after the 74 m reclining Buddha in Dawei . The Buddha is believed to have been built in 994, during...
(Reclining Buddha) - Shwemawdaw PayaShwemawdaw PayaThe Shwemawdaw Paya is a stupa located in Bago, Myanmar. It is often referred to as the Golden God Temple. At 375 feet in height, the Shwemadaw holds the record for the tallest pagoda in the country although the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon is usually credited as the tallest pagoda in Myanmar...
- Kyaik Pun PayaKyaik Pun PayaKyaikpun Paya is a temple in the Bago Division of Burma, several miles from the city of Bago. Most notably, Kyaik Pun Paya is the home to the Four Seated Buddha shrine, a 90 ft statue depicting the Buddha seated in four positions, sitting back to back. The Four Seated Buddha was erected in...
- Kanbawzathadi PalaceKanbawzathadi PalaceKanbawzathadi Palace is a palace in Bago, Myanmar. The original palace, built for King Bayinnaung in 1556, consisted of 76 apartments and halls. It was burned down in 1599. It was reconstructed in 1990 and finished in 1992....
site and museum - Maha Kalyani Sima
- Mahazedi Paya
- Shwegugale Paya
- Bago Degree College
- Bago Sittaung Canal