Pyu city-states
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| Early history of Burma |
| Pyu City-states (100 BC-840 AD) |
| Mon Kingdoms (9th-11th, 13th-16th, 18th c.) |
| Pagan Kingdom (849-1287) first Burmese empire |
| Ava (c. 1364-1555) |
| Pegu (to 1752) |
| Toungoo Dynasty (1486-1752) second Burmese empire |
| Konbaung Dynasty (1753-1885) third Burmese empire |
| War with Britain (1824-1852) |
| British Arakan (after 1824) |
| British Tenasserim (1824-1852) |
| British Lower Burma (1852-1886) |
| British Upper Burma (1885-1886) |
| British rule in Burma (1886-1948) |
| Nationalist Movement in Burma (after 1886) |
| Aung San |
| Japanese occupation of Burma (1942-1945) |
| Post-Independence Burma, 1947-1962 (1947-1962) |
| Military era (1962-1989) |
| 8888 Uprising (1988) |
| Military era II (1989-present) |
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Pyu (also written Pyuu, or Pyus) refers to an ancient series of city-states (and their language) found in the central and northern regions of what is now Myanmar (Burma), between the 1st century BC and the 9th century AD, approximately 100 BC-840 AD. The history of the Pyu is known to us from two main historical sources: the remnants of their civilization found in stone inscriptions (some in Pali, but rendered in the Pyu script, or a Pyu variant of the Gupta script) and the brief accounts of some Chinese travellers and traders, preserved in the Chinese imperial history.
The people of Pyu are believed to have been ethnically different from the Bamar (Burmans), although they may have inter-married with the Sino-Tibetan migrants who later became part of the Bamar ethnicity.
The Pyu arrived in Myanmar in the 1st century BC and established city kingdoms at Binnaka, Mongamo, Sri Ksetra, Peikthanomyo, and Halingyi. During this period, Myanmar was part of an overland trade route from China to India. In 97 and 121 AD, Roman embassies to China chose the overland route through Myanmar for their journey. The Pyu, however, provided an alternative route down the Irrawaddy to Shri Ksetra and then by sea westward to India and eastward to insular Southeast Asia.
Chinese historical sources state that the Pyu controlled 18 kingdoms and describe them as a humane and peaceful people, and note the elegance and grace of Pyu life. War was virtually unknown amongst the Pyu, and disputes were often solved through duels by champions or building competitions. They even wore silk cotton instead of actual silk so they would not have to kill silk worms. Crime was punished by whippings and jails were unknown, though serious crimes could result in the death penalty. The Pyu practised Theravada Buddhism, and all children were educated as novices in the temples from the age of seven until the age of 20.
The Pyu city-states never unified into a Pyu kingdom, but the more powerful cities often dominated and called for tribute from the lesser cities. The most powerful city by far was Sri Ksetra, which archaeological evidence indicates was the largest city that has ever been built in Burma. The exact date of its founding is not known, though likely to be prior to a dynastic change in A.D. 94 that Pyu chronicles speak of. In the 7th century the Pyu shifted their capital northward to Halingji in the dry zone, leaving Shri Ksetra as a secondary centre to oversee trade in the south. Sri Ksetra was apparently abandoned around A.D. 656 in favour of a more northerly capital, though the exact site is not known. Some historians believe it was Halingyi. Wherever the new capital was located, it was sacked by the kingdom of Nanzhao in the mid-9th century, ending the Pyu's period of dominance.
[edit] References
- Janice Stargardt: The ancient Pyu of Burma, Cambridge 1990, ISBN 1-873178-01-8
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