For a large number of travelers, Bagan (or Pagan) has been the main reason for a stay in Myanmar, former Burma. Archeology, religion, culture and legends intermingle. Its monuments extend over 41 km2 of a vast plain, arid or greenish depending on the seasons of the year, located on the terraces of the eastern slope of the Irrawady, a great river that crosses the country from north to south.
Experts have calculated that 2,826 buildings remain from the 11th and 13th centuries. They know there were many more, although they do not know the exact number. If we pay attention to Burmese tradition, Bagan housed 5,000 in its heyday. The changes in the course of the Irrawady over the centuries swept away many of them.
Bagan existed before its impressive buildings were erected in the 11th century. Although its origins are shrouded in legend, it is believed that the Pyu, a people of unknown origin to some and proto-Burmese to others, founded it at the beginning of the 2nd century. It was not until the 8th century that another population from the north, the Burmese, settled in the central regions of the country to which they gave their name.
Over time, the newcomers took control of the territory. And in the 11th century, monarch Anawrahta launched a series of campaigns that unified the different Burmese domains. He thus promoted the birth of the first Burmese empire, whose capital, precisely, he established in Bagan.
For the construction of the new capital, Anawrahta and his immediate successors relied on slave labor obtained during their military campaigns. And from the economic point of view, with the tributes of the subject nations and the benefits of maritime trade maintained with the rest of Southeast Asia, the Indian world, China, Persia and Arabia.
Bagan, like other capitals in the region, was a walled city with a rectangular plan and surrounded by a moat covered with waters, those of the Irrawady. Over time, the river has swallowed part of the western half of the ancient city and its walls. It is not the only loss. Eleven of the twelve doors that, according to tradition, gave access to the enclosure have also disappeared. Only the one located on the eastern wall remains standing.
In the time of the first great Burmese king, the intramural area was inhabited by the monarch and the court; Common people lived around it; and in a more distant area, the clergy. Most of the urban space was located on the banks of the Irrawady, the center of economic life. People of different ethnicities and backgrounds made up the population. From Burmese and other peoples of the country, such as the Môn and the Shan, to Indians, Siamese (Thai) and Chinese, among many others.
Society was organized following a feudal structure. The king was at the peak of power. He was followed by citizens who served at court and ordinary citizens, who practiced a profession not linked to the monarchy. The last link was occupied by slaves. In addition, there was a group of enormous power that received the consideration of the entire population: the clergy.
The political unification of the Burmese territory was followed by the establishment of Buddhism as the official religion of the Empire. It is not surprising, therefore, that most of the buildings in Bagan are stupas, pagodas and temples.
Stupas, called zedi in Burmese, are monuments erected to commemorate the memory of Buddha (they contain relics and objects of him or Buddhist saints) or a sacred event (such as a historical battle). Pagodas are multi-level buildings of worship. And the temples, spaces of worship and meditation with a complex interior structure. In Bagan they were made of brick; The stone was only used on sporadic occasions as a decorative element. The kings ordered the most important ones to be built, and they are recognized, in part, by being in a clearly defined area.
The interior of all of them consists of a multitude of galleries that lead to different rooms. Some were used for the ordination of priests. Others, the most relevant, contained a sculpture of Buddha (although it is not surprising that there were more). These rooms were decorated with sculptures and wall paintings. The themes of the latter were varied: generally, they focused on events from the teacher’s life; and, occasionally, it referred to some deed or action of the monarch who had ordered the construction of the temple.
These types of buildings were also the centers of knowledge, as they housed study rooms and libraries. That of Pitakataik became the most important, as it contained the Buddhist scriptures brought by Anawrahta in 1058 on the back of 23 white elephants.
The rest of the monuments in Bagan were monasteries and civil buildings. It is also known that the king lived in wooden palaces. They are not preserved, but there are descriptions of them. Archaeologists have found evidence revealing that Anawrahta was in the heart of the walled city. Finally, all the buildings had steles at their entrances erected by their promoters in order to glorify their patronage.
The fall of Bagan has been historically documented: the Mongols invaded it in 1287. However, the causes that led to its abandonment have been the subject of discussion to this day. One of the two most accepted theories indicates desertification as the cause. Those who support it argue that the systematic and secular deforestation of the area, a consequence of the need to bake the bricks with which the buildings were built, caused climate change in the area.
In recent decades, some experts have refuted this interpretation. They believe that it was the impoverishment of the royal dynasty that led to the disaster. It seems that the immense donations granted to the Buddhist clergy, who in exchange ensured the reincarnations of the kings, turned the religious establishment into a true de facto power to the point that at the end of the 13th century the Burmese king could not even pay for an army. The Mongol invasion was only limited, according to this hypothesis, to dealing the final blow.
Aside from theory, the first archaeological work in Bagan took place during the first years of the 20th century, although it was not until the 1930s that it was carried out exhaustively. Since Burma’s independence in 1948, there have been no spectacular advances. The lack of training of local archaeologists in the early days and the political circumstances from the beginning of the sixties – with the establishment of a military dictatorship that has basically lasted until today – have meant that excavations in Bagan have been limited for the most part. general to the unearthing of stupas and various parts of the temples. In most cases, clean the interior of buildings of debris. In parallel, part of the work has focused on the restoration of the monuments.
The excavations have been affected by political and social circumstances. In the first case, the poor international image of the Burmese government prevented Bagan from being declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site until 2019, although archaeological work that is questionable to the scientific community is also cited. In the second case, the enormous extension of the site has prevented exhaustive surveillance, which is why looting was frequent between the end of the 19th century and the 1970s. Until the 1990s, the entire archaeological site was not inhabited.
Today, Bagan has become a kind of large open-air museum, witness to the originality of Burmese architecture. But the site is in danger. The Burmese military junta, in its desire to intensify tourism, has promoted a controversial reconstruction policy. The use of materials that are not always in accordance with the originals, such as bathroom tiles, has altered the appearance of the temples. And not only that; The construction of tourist facilities at the site has been authorized. With these actions, the Burmese government, which refuses to be advised by UNESCO, is only threatening one of the most impressive archaeological legacies in Southeast Asia.
This text is part of an article published in number 463 of the magazine Historia y Vida. Do you have something to contribute? Write to us at redaccionhyv@historiayvida.com.
