Pagan, Burma

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]