Bago, Myanmar

Bago (formerly spelt Pegu; Burmese: ပဲခူးမြို့; MLCTS: pai: khu: mrui., IPA: [bəɡó mjo̰]; Mon: ဗဂေါ, [həkɜ̀]; Thai: พะโค, rtgs: Pha-kho), formerly known as Hanthawaddy (Burmese: ဟံသာဝတီ ; Mon: ဟံသာဝတဳ Hongsawatoi; Thai: หงสาวดี, rtgs: Hongsawadi; meaning "She Who Has Swans"), is a city and the capital of the Bago Region in Burma. It is located 50 miles (80 km) north-east of Yangon.

History

The Gulf of Martaban was colonized by Mon people from the Thaton Kingdom, who established Bago. In 825, the twin brothers Samala and Vimala founded Pegu.

The earliest mention of Bago in history is by the Arab geographer ibn Khordadbeh around 850 AD. At the time, the Mon capital had shifted to Thaton. The area came under rule of the Burmese from Bagan in 1056. After the collapse of Bagan to the Mongols in 1287, the Mon regained their independence.

In Lower Burma, a Mon dynasty established itself first at Mottama and then at Bago. During the reign of King Razadarit, Bago and Ava Kingdom were engaged in the Forty Years' War. The peaceful reign of Queen Shin Sawbu came to an end when she chose the Buddhist monk Dhammazedi (1472–1492) to succeed her. Under Dhammazedi, Bago became a centre of commerce and Theravada Buddhism.