Ava
| This article is part of the History of Burma series |
|---|
 |
| Early history of Burma |
| Pyu city-states (c. 100 BC–c. 840 AD) |
| Mon kingdoms (9th–11th, 13th–16th, 18th c.) |
| Bagan Dynasty (849–1287, 1st Empire) |
| Ava (1364–1555) |
| Pegu (1287–1539, 1747–1757) |
| Mrauk U (1434–1784) |
| Taungoo Dynasty (1486–1752, 2nd Empire) |
| Konbaung Dynasty (1752–1885, 3rd Empire) |
| Wars with Britain (1824–1826, 1852, 1885) |
| British Arakan (1824–1852) |
| British Tenasserim (1824–1852) |
| British Lower Burma (1852–1886) |
| British Upper Burma (1885–1886) |
| British rule in Burma (1824–1942, 1945–1948) |
| Nationalist movement in Burma (after 1886) |
| Aung San |
| Japanese occupation of Burma (1942–1945) |
| Democratic period (1948–1962) |
| U Nu and U Thant |
| 1st military rule (1962–1989) |
| Ne Win |
| 8888 Uprising (1988) |
| Aung San Suu Kyi |
| 2nd military rule (1989–present) |
| Saffron Revolution (2007) |
| [edit this box] |
Innwa (Burmese: အင္းဝမ္ရုိ့; MLCTS: ang: wa. mrui.; formerly Ava) is a city in the Mandalay Division of Myanmar, situated just to the south of Amarapura on the Ayeyarwady River. It is also called Ratanapura (ရတနာပူရ), which means City of Gems in Pali. The name Innwa means mouth of the lake, which comes from in (အင္း), meaning lake, and wa (ဝ), which means mouth. Ava is also a name.
History
Ava was capital of Burma from 1364-1841 founded by King Thadominbya on an artificial island at the confluence of the Ayeyarwady and the Myitnge created by digging a canal linking the two rivers [1]. Prior to this, Sagaing had been capital, but after Sagaing fell to the Shan, the court moved across the river to Ava. The kings of Ava set about restoring Burmese supremacy, which had disintegrated after the collapse of Pagan to the Mongol invasion under Kublai Khan that ended the First Burmese Empire founded by King Anawrahta in 1057.
A Burman Ava Dynasty hi(1364-1527) was eventually established at the city of Ava by 1364. Pagan culture was revived and a great age of Burmese literature ensued. The kingdom lacked easily defendable borders, however, and was overrun by the Shan in 1527.
The Kingdom of Ava was involved in continuous warfare with Tai (Shan) princelings to the north on the frontier with Yunnan. There were repeated Tai raids on the capital of Ava and Ava sent military northwards to attack Tai fiefdoms such as Mong Mao. The Ming dynasty that ruled China from the late fourteenth century often tried unsuccessfully to put an end to this warfare through traditional Chinese diplomacy. Ava occasionally became involved in the warfare between the Ming and Tai in Yunnan such as in the Luchuan-Pingmian Campaigns (1436-1449).
In 1555, Ava fell to the southern Burmese Kingdom of Taungoo which led to the founding of the Second Burmese Empire by King Tabinshwehti, but in 1636, the king of Taungoo relocated his own capital to Ava. In 1752, the Mon revolted against Burmese rule and sacked Ava. A couple of years later, the founder of the new Konbaung Dynasty and the Third Burmese Empire, Alaungpaya, crushed the Mon revolt, and after a period with Shwebo as his capital, re-established the court in Ava.
Following the British conquest of Lower Burma after the Second Anglo-Burmese War (1852-53), Upper Burma was commonly called the Kingdom of Ava or the Court of Ava. During the reign of King Bodawpaya (lit. Lord Royal Grandfather,1781-1819), the capital was moved to nearby Amarapura. However, his successor, King Bagyidaw (lit. Royal Elder Uncle, 1819-1837), moved the Court back to Ava in 1823. When a tremendous earthquake caused extensive damage in 1841, Ava was finally abandoned for Amarapura.[2] Little remains of the ancient capital today. Because of the earthquake that happened in 1939, most of the palaces in Ava were destroyed.
Today
The city is a popular tourist day-trip destination from Mandalay.
Sights of interest
- Maha Aungmye Bonzan – A Buddhist monastery built by Nanmadaw Mè Nu, the wife of King Bagyidaw, in 1818, in traditional style except it was masonry instead of wood (popularly known as Mè Nu Ok Kyaung)
- Nanmyin Watch Tower – a 27 meter high masonry tower, all that is left of the Ava Palace
- Judson Memorial - a stone that marks the site of Let Ma Yun (lit. no pulling punches)prison where the American missionary Adoniram Judson was incarcerated during the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824-26)
- Htihlaing Shin Paya - a stupa built by King Kyanzittha of Bagan period (11th c.)
- Ava Bridge – a 16 span cantilever bridge built by the British in 1934, and the only structure to cross the Ayeyarwady River. A new bridge is currently under construction nearby.
See also
- AVA
References
- The Post Pagan Period - Ava by Dr. Richard M. Cooler, Northern Illinois University.
- Bird, George W (1897). Wanderings in Burma. London: F J Bright & Son, 321-325.
External links
- Innwa - a short story by Theippan Maung Wa 1931 inc. audio
- Hidden Treasures of Inwa Tin Tun in Enchanting Myanmar
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; from the article "Ava". Image Credit.
