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Pyinbya (Burmese:ပျဉ်ပြား,pronounced[pjɪ̀ɰ̃bjá]; 817–876) was the king of thePagan Dynasty ofBurma (Myanmar) who founded the city ofPagan (Bagan) in 849 CE.^[3]: 106 Though theBurmese chronicles describe him as the 33rd king of the dynasty founded in early 2nd century CE, modern historians consider Pyinbya one of the first kings of Pagan, which would gradually take over present-day central Burma in the next two hundred years. He was the paternal great-grandfather of KingAnawrahta, the founder of thePagan Empire.

According to theBurmese chronicles, the future king was born to KingSaw Khin Hnit of Pagan. He was born in either 817 CE (or 802 CE).^[2] He was lord of Pyinbya village of Pagan prior to his accession, and known as Pyinbya Mintha. He succeeded his brother KingKhelu as king in 846 CE. He founded the city of Pagan on 23 December 849 (6th waxing of Pyatho 211 ME).^[4] He also founded a settlement ofTaungdwin in 857,^[5] perhaps the southernmost limit of his nascent kingdom. He died in 876 CE at age 59 (in his 60th year). (Note that mainBurmese chronicles do not agree on his regnal years or birth and death years. The oldest chronicleZatadawbon Yazawin is considered to be the most accurate for the Pagan period.)^{[note 1]} The table below lists the dates given by four main chronicles, as well as Hmannan's dates when anchored by the Anawrahta's inscriptionally verified accession date of 1044.^[2]

Pyinbya was succeeded by his sonTannet.^[5]

According to mainstream scholarship, Pyinbya is one of the earliest kings of Pagan, founded by theMranma (Bamar / Burmans) of theNanzhao Kingdom. Pagan is the first knownBurman settlement in theIrrawaddy valley, following the devastating raids into upper Irrawaddy valley by Nanzhao that lasted from the 750s to the 830s. After the attacks, which left the Pyu states severely weakened, large numbers ofMranma warriors of Nanzhao and their families remained in the upper Irrawaddy valley.^[6] Pagan was founded as a fortified settlement along a bend in the Irrawaddy river. The new settlement may have been designed to help the Nanzhao pacify the surrounding countryside. It was a certainly a strategic spot, close to theChindwin river and just to the west of a richly irrigated rice plain.^[7]

Pagan was one of several competing city-states until the late 10th century when it grew in authority and grandeur.^[8] Two hundred years after Pyinbya founded Pagan, his great-grandsonAnawrahta went on to create thePagan Empire, the first ever unification of the Irrawaddy valley and its periphery.

• Aung-Thwin, Michael A. (2005).The Mists of Rāmañña: The Legend that was Lower Burma (illustrated ed.). Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press.ISBN 9780824828868.
• Kala, U (1724).Maha Yazawin (in Burmese). Vol. 1–3 (2006, 4th printing ed.). Yangon: Ya-Pyei Publishing.
• Lieberman, Victor B. (2003).Strange Parallels: Southeast Asia in Global Context, c. 800–1830, volume 1, Integration on the Mainland. Cambridge University Press.ISBN 978-0-521-80496-7.
• Myint-U, Thant (2006).The River of Lost Footsteps—Histories of Burma. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.ISBN 978-0-374-16342-6.
• Royal Historical Commission of Burma (1832).Hmannan Yazawin (in Burmese). Vol. 1–3 (2003 ed.). Yangon:Ministry of Information, Myanmar.

• Pagan dynasty
• 817 births
• 876 deaths
• 9th-century Burmese monarchs

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• Short description matches Wikidata
• Articles containing Burmese-language text
• Pages with Burmese IPA
• CS1 Burmese-language sources (my)