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KEY BAGAN DATES151c 950 Evidence from the remains of Pyu-style buildings are the earliest indication of asettlement on this bend in the Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy).1057 Temple building speeds up with the sacking of the Mon city of Thaton by Bagan’swarrior king Anawrahta, a newly enthusiastic devotee of Buddhism.c 1100-70 Temples become bigger and are better lit by broader windows, with more of aneye to vertical proportions than horizontal lines.c 1170-1280 Bagan’s late period of architecture sees more intricate pyramidical spires oradorning tile work added to the buildings, with an increased Indian influence.1287 Bagan’s decline is accelerated when the Mongols over-run the area, the Bamarhaving possibly abandoned the city already.1975 An earthquake registering 6.5 on the Richter scale hits Bagan; many temples aredamaged, but major reconstruction starts almost immediately with help of Unesco.1990 Military forcibly relocate a village that had grown up in the 1970s in the middle ofthe walled area of ‘Old Bagan’ to 4km south of the main archaeological zone.1996 Bagan placed on Unesco World Heritage Tentative List.1998 Over US$1 million collected from local donations for the restoration of Bagan.2008 An imaginary recreation of the 13th-century Bagan Palace is opened on a siteopposite that of the original palace.2011 Indian government pledges $22 million for the restoration of Ananda Pahto.the military junta switched it back to Baganin 1989.GLORY DAYSBagan’s two and a half centuries of templebuilding (from the 11th century to the 13thcentury) coincided with the region’s transitionfrom Hindu and Mahayana Buddhistbeliefs to the Theravada Buddhist beliefsthat have since characterised Myanmar.Legend has it that the main players werethe monk Shin Arahan who came (sent byManuha, the Mon king of Thaton; moreon him in a bit) to convert Bamar KingAnawrahta. To call his quest a success wouldbe a landmark understatement. Inspired byhis new faith, Anawrahta ordered Manuhato give him a number of sacred Buddhisttexts and relics. When Manuha naturally refused,Anawrahta marched his army southand took everything worth carrying back toBagan, including 32 sets of the Tripitaka (theclassic Buddhist scriptures), the city’s monksand scholars and, for good measure, KingManuha himself.The self-assured Anawrahta then turnedto architects to create something that befitBuddha. They built and built, and many ofthe greatest Bagan edifices date from theirefforts, including Shwezigon Paya, considereda prototype for all later Myanmar stupas;the Pitaka Taik (Scripture Library), builtto house the Pitaka (scriptures); and the elegantand distinctive Shwesandaw Paya, builtimmediately after the conquest of Thaton.Thus began what the Myanmar people callthe ‘First Burmese Empire’, which became apilgrimage point for Buddhists throughoutSoutheast Asia.King Anawrahta’s successors, particularlyKyanzittha (r 1084–1113), Alaungsithu(r 1113–67) and Narapatisithu (r 1174–1211),continued scratching this phenomenalbuilding itch, although the constructionwork must have been nonstop throughoutthe period of Bagan’s glory.DECLINEHistorians disagree on exactly what happenedto cause Bagan’s apparently rapiddecline at the end of the 13th century.The popular Myanmar view is that hordesof Mongols sent by Kublai Khan sweptthrough the city, ransacking and looting. Acontrasting take holds that the threat of invasionfrom China threw the last powerfulruler of Bagan into a panic. Legend has itthat, after a great number of temples weretorn down to build fortifications, the citywas abandoned so that the Mongols merelytook over an already deserted city.TEMPLES OF BAGAN