Hanthawaddy

   (Hongsawaddy)

   The most important citystate established by the Mons, ca. 825 CE, and now known as Pegu (Bago), on the river of the same name. According to legend, Gotama Buddha on his travels in the area saw two Brahminy ducks (hongsa in the Mon Language) perched on a rock, the male supporting the female, and prophesized that this would be the site of a great nation. The Hinthagone Pagoda marks the spot. Hanthawaddy's golden age was in the 15th century, when it was the capital of a powerful Mon state, and again in the 16th century, when the Burman (Bamar) rulers Tabinshwehti and Bayinnaung made it the capital of a unified Burma. According to 16th-century European witnesses, it was one of the richest ports in Southeast Asia, a rival of Malacca and Ayuthaya. But Alaungpaya sacked the city in 1757, and it declined in importance, not only because of the war and the depopulation of Lower Burma but also the progressive silting of the Pegu River.

   See also Binnya Dala; Dhammazedi; Kyaik; Razadarit; Shinsawbu; Shwemawdaw Pagoda; Smim Dawbuddhaketi.