Anawrahta (reigned 1044-1077), also spelled Aniruddha or Anoarahtâ or Anoa-ra-htá-soa, was a ruler of the kingdom of Bagan and the first ruler of a unified Burma. Events King Anawrahta seizes the throne of Pagan, Myanmar Births Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, known as The Cid (d. ... Events Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor begs Pope Gregory VII to remove sentence of excommunication Robert Curthose instigates his first insurrection against his father, William the Conqueror Seljuk Turks capture Nicaea Süleyman I of Rüm becomes the leader of the Sultanate of Rüm in modern Turkey Anush... Jump to: navigation, search Temples in Pagan. ...

His father was Kunhsaw Kyaunghpyu, who took the throne of Pagan from Nyaung-u Sawrahan and in turn was overthrown by the sons of Nyaung-u Sawrahan, Kyiso and Sokka-te, who forced Kunhsaw Kyaunghpyu to become a monk. When Anawrahta came of age, he challenged the surviving brother Sokka-te to single combat and slew him. Anawrahta offered to return rulership to his father, who refused and remained a monk, so he took the throne in 1044. Jump to: navigation, search A Roman Catholic monk A monk is a person who practices monasticism, adopting a strict religious and ascetic lifestyle, usually in community with others following the same path. ...

He made a pilgrimage to Ceylon, returning to convert his country from Ari Buddhism to Theravada Buddhism. To further this goal he appointed Arahan, a famous Mon monk of Thaton. In 1057 he invaded Thaton under the premise that they had refused to lend Pagan the Pali Tipitaka, and successfully returned with the Mon king Manuha as prisoner. From 1057-1059 he took an army to Nanzhao to seek a Buddha's tooth relic. As he returned, Shan chiefs swore allegiance to him, and he married Saw Monhla, princess of the Shan chief of Moguang. In 1071 Anawrahta received the complete Tipitaka from Sri Lanka. Buddhists from Dai regions (southern Yunnan and Laos), Thailand, and India (where Buddhism had been oppressed) came to study in Pagan as Anawrahta moved the center of Burmese Buddhism north from Thaton. Ari Buddhism is the name given to the religious practice common in Pagan, Myanmar prior to Anawrahtas rise and the subsequent conversion of Pagan to Theravada Buddhism. ... Jump to: navigation, search Theravada (Pali; Sanskrit: Sthaviravada) is one of the eighteen (or twenty) Nikāya schools that formed early in the history of Buddhism. ... The Mon are an ethnic group in Southeast Asia. ... Thaton is a town in southern Myanmar on the Tenasserim plains. ... Events King Macbeth I of Scotland is killed in battle against Malcolm Canmore. ... Thaton is a town in southern Myanmar on the Tenasserim plains. ... . Pāli (ISO 639-1: pi; ISO 639-2: pli) is a Middle Indo-Aryan dialect or prakrit. ... The Tripitaka (Sanskrit, lit. ... Events King Macbeth I of Scotland is killed in battle against Malcolm Canmore. ... Events Anselm of Canterbury settles at the Benedictine monastery of Le Bec in Normandy. ... Nanzhao (Traditional Chinese: 南詔, Simplified Chinese: 南诏, pinyin: Nánzhāo, Alternate spellings: Nanchao， Nan Chao) was a Bai kingdom that flourished in East Asia during the 8th and 9th centuries. ... Jump to: navigation, search A stone image of the Buddha. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Shan are an ethnic group of Southeast Asia. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Shan are an ethnic group of Southeast Asia. ... Events Byzantine Empire loses Battle of Manzikert to Turkish army under Alp Arslan. ... The Dai is the officially recognized name of an ethnic group living in southern Yunnan Province of China, and also in Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, and Myanmar. ... Jump to: navigation, search Yunnan (Simplified Chinese: 云南; Traditional Chinese: 雲南; pinyin: ; Vietnamese: Vân Nam) is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, located in the far southwestern corner of the country. ... Pagan (also known as Bagan) was an important ancient kingdom in Myanmar. ...

He also built the famous Shwezigon pagoda.

In the end, Anawrahta was successful in his quest, and Theravada became the dominant religion in Myanmar within two centuries.

His rule was usurped by a general called Kyanzittha, who allegedly fell in love with Anawrahta's wife to be, the Princess of Mon Kingdom.

Anawrahta Street in Yangon (formerly Rangoon) is named after him. Yangon, Myanmar Yangon (Burmese: ရန္‌ကုန္‌, formerly Rangoon, is the capital and largest city of Myanmar (formerly Burma). ...

References

• Maung Htin Aung, A History of Burma. 1967.
• G. E. Harvey, History of Burma. 1967.