Pagan

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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pagan

Traditional designation of a practitioner of classical polytheisms. The early Christians often used the term to refer to non-Christians who worshiped multiple deities. Christian missionaries frequently sought to stamp out pagan practices by building churches on the sites of pagan shrines or by associating Christian holidays with pagan rituals (e.g., linking Christmas with the celebration of the winter solstice). The term pagan was also used to refer to non-Christian philosophers, and in the 20th century it was used to identify members of certain new religious movements. See Neo-paganism.

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Pagan

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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pagan

a member of a group professing a polytheistic religion or any religion other than Christianity, Judaism, or Islam
www.paganfed.demon.co.uk/
www.pagansunite.com/

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Pagan 

the first Burmese kingdom, an early feudal state that existed from the 11th to the 13th century. The kingdom was founded by Anawrahta, who united under his rule almost all the territory of modern Burma. After the Mon states in southern Burma were annexed in 1057, Pagan became one of the largest states in Southeast Asia. The region of Kyaukse, a rice granary, was its economic center. Pagan conducted a lively trade with China, Ceylon, and India. Its rulers had unlimited power. The dominant class consisted of Burmese tribal notables and the ruling elite of the Mon city-states, which was transformed into a bureaucracy. Buddhism was the state religion. Temple construction flourished (nearly 5,000 temples and pagodas were built), especially during the reign of Kyanzittha (1084–1112).

In the 13th century internal contradictions within Pagan society led to the state’s decline. As a result of the Burmese-Mon struggle for hegemony in Burma, the Mon-dominated south seceded from Pagan at the end of the 13th century. The consolidation of large private landholdings, chiefly by the church, reduced the amount of state land and weakened the central government. The attempts of rulers to secularize church lands in the 13th century ended in failure. The raids of Mongol cavalry completed the destruction of Pagan; after the defeat of Burmese troops at Kaungzin in 1283, the kingdom ceased to exist.

REFERENCES

Mozheiko, I. 5000 khramov na beregu Iravadi. Moscow, 1967.
Luce, G. H. Old Burma-Early Pagan, vols. 1–3. New York, 1969–70.

M. G. KOZLOVA

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Pagan 

a town in Burma, on the left bank of the Irrawaddy River (middle course), near Mandalay. Founded in the ninth century, Pagan was the capital of the kingdom of Pagan, the first Burmese state, which lasted from the 11th to the 13th century. It is a place of pilgrimage for Buddhists.

The nucleus of ancient Pagan was a walled town with a square layout (1 km × 1 km). Among the remains of ancient Pagan are sections of the town’s brick walls and gates, built between the ninth and 13th centuries, and some 2,000 religious buildings within and outside the town. The most famous stupas are the Bupaya (9th-10th century), Shwe Sandaw (11th century), Shwe Zigon (11th century), and Mangalacetiya (1284). Outstanding temples include the Nagayon (1090), Ananda (1091), Dhammayangyi (12th century), Lokatheipan (c. 1125; frescoes from the same period), Thatbyinnyu (c. 1150), Gawdawpalin (1173–1210), Culamani (1183), Nandaminya (1248, 13th-century frescoes), and Upali Thein (mid-13th century; reconstructed and painted in the early 18th century). Today Pagan is a center for the production of lacquered objects.

REFERENCES

Pictorial Guide to Pagan. Rangoon, 1963.
Luce, G. H. Old Burma—Early Pagan, vols. 1–3. New York, 1969–70.