Pyu City-States: Map & History
The Pyu city-states were a group of city-states that existed from about the 2nd century BCE to the mid-11th century in present-day Upper Myanmar.
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The Pyu city-states were a group of city-states that existed from about the 2nd century BCE to the mid-11th century in present-day Upper Myanmar. These city-states were founded as part of the migration of the Pyu people from Tibet to Mainland Southeast Asia by the Tibeto-Burman-speaking Pyu settlers, the earliest inhabitants of Burma of whom records are extant. The thousand-year period, often referred to as the Pyu millennium, linked the Bronze Age to the beginning of the classical states period when the Pagan Kingdom emerged in the late 9th century.
Modern Countries Once Part of Pyu City-States
At its mapped extent, Pyu City-States covered territory in 1 present-day country. The period shown is when the mapped borders include that country, and the note says how much of it.
States and Provinces
Largest Present-Day Cities in Its Territory
Each opens on the live map inside Pyu City-States's borders of that time.
Derived by testing mapped cities against this polity's dated territorial polygons, so the list is indicative and follows the borders in the source dataset.
Pyu City-States in Depth
Economy
The economy of the Pyu city states was based on agriculture and trade. All important Pyu settlements were located in the three main irrigated regions of Upper Burma, centred on the confluence of the Irrawaddy and Chindwin rivers: Halin in the Mu valley, Maingmaw and Binnaka in the Kyaukse plains, finally Beikthano and Sri Ksetra at or near the Minbu district. (The irrigation projects of the Pyu were later picked up by the Burmans. King Anawrahta of Pagan would build irrigation projects in these three regions in the 1050s to turn them into the main rice granaries of Upper Burma. They would give Upper Burma an enduring economic base from which to dominate the Irrawaddy valley and its periphery in the following centuries.) The Pyu grew rice, perhaps of the Japonica variety.
Culture
The culture of Pyu city states was heavily influenced by India. Indian culture was most visible in the southern Pyu realm through which most trade with India was conducted by sea. The names of southernmost cities were in Pali or Sanskrit derived like Sri Ksetra (Thaye Khittaya) and Vishnu (Beikthano). The kings at Sri Ksetra titled themselves as Varmans and Varma. It was not just a southern phenomenon. To varying degrees, northern Pyu cities and towns also became under the sway of Indian culture. The Burmese chronicles claim that the founding kings of Tagaung were descended from no less than the Sakya clan of the Buddha himself.
Decline of Pyu city-states
It was a long-lasting civilisation that lasted nearly a millennium to the early 9th century until a new group of "swift horsemen" from the north, the (Mranma) (Burmans) of the Nanzhao Kingdom entered the upper Irrawaddy valley through a series of raids. According to the Tang Dynasty chronicles, the Nanzhao began their raids of Upper Burma starting as early as 754 or 760. By 763, the Nanzhao king Ko-lo-feng had conquered the upper Irrawaddy Valley. Nanzhao raids intensified in the 9th century, with the Nanzhao raiding in 800–802, and again in 808–809. Finally, according to the Chinese, in 832, the Nanzhao warriors overran the Pyu country, and took away 3000 Pyu prisoners from Halin.
Background
Based on limited archaeological evidence, it is inferred that the earliest cultures existed in Burma as early as 11,000 BCE, mainly in the central dry zone close to the Irrawaddy. The Anyathian, Burma's Stone Age, existed around the same time as the Lower Paleolithic and Middle Paleolithic eras in Europe. Three caves located near Taunggyi at the foothills of the Shan Hills have yielded Neolithic artefacts dated to 10,000–6000 BCE.
About 1500 BCE, people in the region were turning copper into bronze, growing rice, and domesticating chickens and pigs. By 500 BCE, iron-working settlements emerged in an area south of present-day Mandalay.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Pyu city-states (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Pyu City-States: Key Facts
| Religion | Theravāda |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2nd century BCE |
| Dissolved | 1050 |
Facts from Wikidata Q1627675 (CC0).
Pyu City-States Map Over Time
Dated world maps on which Pyu City-States appears, with the other states of the time.
Pyu City-States Timeline
Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion
Expansion to peak recorded area of 116,187 km² in 466 CE.
Pyu City-States: Frequently Asked Questions
When did Pyu City-States exist?
Pyu City-States is dated to 84 CE – 1045 CE, in the Classical Antiquity era.
What was the capital of Pyu City-States?
The capital of Pyu City-States was Sri Ksetra, Halin, Beikthano, Pinle, Binnaka.
How large was Pyu City-States at its peak?
At its peak in 466 AD Pyu City-States covered about 116,187 km².
How did the map of Pyu City-States change over time?
Pyu City-States appears on 9 dated world maps in the atlas, from 117 CE to 1000 CE. Each shows its borders in that year next to the other states of the time.