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Anawrahta (; ; reigned 1044-1077), also spelled Aniruddha or Anoarahtâ or Anoa-ra-htá-soa, was a ruler of the kingdom of Pagan
Pagan Kingdom

The Pagan Kingdom is considered to be the first Bamar empire.During the time of the Pyu kingdom, between about 500 and 950, the Bamar, people of the Burmese ethnic group, began infiltrating from the area to the north into the central region of Burma which was occupied by Pyu people that had come under the influence of Mahayana Buddhism f...
 and the first ruler of a unified Burma.

His father was Kunhsaw Kyaunghpyu, who took the throne of Pagan from Nyaung-u Sawrahan
Nyaung-u Sawrahan

Nyaung-u Sawrahan was a ruler of the kingdom of Bagan in what is now Myanmar. He is also known as Taungthugyi Min.Nyaung-u Sawrahan usurped the previous king, Theinhko....
 and in turn was overthrown by the sons of Nyaung-u Sawrahan, Kyiso and Sokka-te, who forced Kunhsaw Kyaunghpyu to become a monk
Monk

A Monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, the unconditioning of mind and body in favor of the realization of one's true nature, and does so living either alone or with any number of like-minded people, whilst always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose....
.






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Anawrahta (; ; reigned 1044-1077), also spelled Aniruddha or Anoarahtâ or Anoa-ra-htá-soa, was a ruler of the kingdom of Pagan
Pagan Kingdom

The Pagan Kingdom is considered to be the first Bamar empire.During the time of the Pyu kingdom, between about 500 and 950, the Bamar, people of the Burmese ethnic group, began infiltrating from the area to the north into the central region of Burma which was occupied by Pyu people that had come under the influence of Mahayana Buddhism f...
 and the first ruler of a unified Burma.

His father was Kunhsaw Kyaunghpyu, who took the throne of Pagan from Nyaung-u Sawrahan
Nyaung-u Sawrahan

Nyaung-u Sawrahan was a ruler of the kingdom of Bagan in what is now Myanmar. He is also known as Taungthugyi Min.Nyaung-u Sawrahan usurped the previous king, Theinhko....
 and in turn was overthrown by the sons of Nyaung-u Sawrahan, Kyiso and Sokka-te, who forced Kunhsaw Kyaunghpyu to become a monk
Monk

A Monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, the unconditioning of mind and body in favor of the realization of one's true nature, and does so living either alone or with any number of like-minded people, whilst always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose....
. 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.

He made a pilgrimage to Ceylon, returning to convert his country from Ari Buddhism
Ari Buddhism

Ari Buddhism is the name given to the religious practice common in Bagan, Burma, prior to Anawrahta's rise and the subsequent conversion of Bagan to Theravada Buddhism....
 to Theravada
Theravada

Theravada...
 Buddhism. To further this goal he appointed Arahan, a famous Mon monk of Thaton
Thaton

Thaton is a town in Mon State, in southern Burma on the Tenasserim plains....
. In 1057 he invaded Thaton
Thaton

Thaton is a town in Mon State, in southern Burma on the Tenasserim plains....
 under the premise that they had refused to lend Pagan the Pali
Páli

P?li is a village in Gyor-Moson-Sopron county, Hungary.External links...
 Tipitaka, and successfully returned with the Mon king Manuha as prisoner. From 1057-1059 he took an army to Nanzhao
Nanzhao

Nanzhao, alternate spellings Nanchao and Nan Chao was a Bai kingdom that flourished in southern China and Southeast Asia during the 8th and 9th centuries....
 to seek a Buddha's tooth relic. As he returned, Shan
Shan

The Shan are a Tai peoples ethnic group of Southeast Asia. The Shan live primarily in the Shan State of Myanmar, but also inhabit parts of Mandalay Division, Kachin State, and Kayin State, and in adjacent regions of China and Thailand....
 chiefs swore allegiance to him, and he married Saw Monhla, princess of the Shan
Shan

The Shan are a Tai peoples ethnic group of Southeast Asia. The Shan live primarily in the Shan State of Myanmar, but also inhabit parts of Mandalay Division, Kachin State, and Kayin State, and in adjacent regions of China and Thailand....
 chief of Moguang. In 1071 Anawrahta received the complete Tipitaka from Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is an island country in South Asia, located about off the southern coast of India....
. Buddhists from Dai
Dai

Dai can mean:* Dai people, one of the 56 recognized ethnic minorities of China* Dai , a traditional midwife in India, belonging to a lower caste...
 regions (southern Yunnan
Yunnan

is a political divisions of China of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately 394,000 square kilometers ....
 and Laos
Laos

Laos , officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and People's Republic of China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south, and Thailand to the west....
), Thailand
Thailand

The Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Laos and Myanmar, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Myanmar....
, and India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
 (where Buddhism had been oppressed) came to study in Pagan
Bagan

Bagan , formerly Pagan, is an ancient city in the Mandalay Division of Burma. Formally titled Arimaddanapura or Arimaddana and also known as Tambadipa or Tassadessa , it was the ancient capital of several ancient monarchy in Burma....
 as Anawrahta moved the center of Burmese Buddhism north from Thaton.

He also built the famous Shwezigon Pagoda
Shwezigon Pagoda

The Shwezigon Pagodais a famous Buddhist temple located in Nyaung Oo, a town near Bagan, in Burma. It is a prototype of Burmese stupas, and consists of a circular gold leaf-gilded stupa surrounded by smaller temples and shrines....
.

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

His rule was usurped by a general called Kyanzittha
Kyanzittha

King Kyanzittha also known as Htilein Min was king of Bagan from 1084 to 1113, known for building a large number of temples and religious monuments in Bagan, particularly the Ananda Temple....
, who allegedly fell maddly in love with Anawrahta's wife to be, the Princess of Mon Kingdom.

Anawrahta Street (Frasier Street) in Yangon
Yangon

Yangon is the largest city and a former capital of Burma. It is the capital of Yangon Division. Although the State Peace and Development Council has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial center....
 (formerly Rangoon) is named after him.