The Pyu city-states were a group of independent cities that existed from about 200 BCE to the mid-11th century in what is now Upper Myanmar. These city-states were established by the Pyu people, who migrated from Tibet to Mainland Southeast Asia. The Pyu people were the earliest known inhabitants of Burma, and their history is recorded in historical documents. This 1,000-year period, called the Pyu millennium, connected the Bronze Age to the rise of classical states in the region, including the Pagan Kingdom, which formed in the late 9th century.
The major Pyu cities were located in three main areas of Upper Burma: the Mu River Valley, the Kyaukse plains, and the Minbu region, near where the Irrawaddy and Chindwin Rivers meet. Five large walled cities—Beikthano, Maingmaw, Binnaka, Hanlin, and Sri Ksetra—and many smaller towns have been discovered in the Irrawaddy River basin. Halin, built in the 1st century AD, was the largest and most important city until the 7th or 8th century, when it was replaced by Sri Ksetra, located near modern-day Pyay. Sri Ksetra was twice as large as Halin and became the most influential Pyu city. Only Halin, Beikthano, and Sri Ksetra are currently recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, though other sites may be added in the future.
The Pyu people were part of a trade route connecting China and India. Their culture was strongly shaped by trade with India, which introduced Buddhism and other ideas, such as architectural styles and political systems, that influenced later Burmese society. The Pyu calendar, based on the Buddhist calendar, later became the Burmese calendar. The Pyu script, which was inspired by the Brahmi script, may have been the origin of the script used to write the Burmese language.
By the 9th century, the Pyu civilization collapsed due to repeated attacks by the Kingdom of Nanzhao. The Bamar people later established a settlement at Bagan (Pagan), where the Irrawaddy and Chindwin Rivers meet. Pyu communities remained in Upper Burma for the next three centuries but were gradually absorbed into the growing Pagan Kingdom. The Pyu language was still spoken until the late 12th century. By the 13th century, the Pyu people had become part of the Burman ethnic group. Stories and traditions about the Pyu were also included in the history of the Bamar people.
Background
Based on limited archaeological findings, it is believed that the earliest cultures in Burma existed as early as 11,000 BCE, mainly in the central dry zone near the Irrawaddy River. The Anyathian, known as Burma's Stone Age, occurred around the same time as the Lower and Middle Paleolithic periods in Europe. Three caves near Taunggyi, located at the foothills of the Shan Hills, have provided Neolithic tools and objects dated to 10,000–6000 BCE.
Around 1500 BCE, people in the region began making bronze from copper, growing rice, and raising chickens and pigs. These activities made them among the first people in the world to do so. By 500 BCE, settlements where people worked with iron appeared in an area south of present-day Mandalay. Bronze-decorated coffins and burial sites with earthenware items have been found. Evidence from the Samon River Valley, south of Mandalay, shows rice-growing communities that traded with China between 500 BCE and 200 CE.
In about the 2nd century BCE, the Tibeto-Burman-speaking Pyu people started moving into the Irrawaddy River Valley from present-day Yunnan, using the Taping and Shweli Rivers. Their original home is thought to have been near Qinghai Lake, located in present-day Qinghai and Gansu provinces. The Pyu, the earliest known people in Burma with recorded history, built settlements across the plains centered on the meeting point of the Irrawaddy and Chindwin Rivers, an area inhabited since the Paleolithic era. The Pyu realm stretched from Sri Ksetra in the south to Halin in the north, Binnaka and Maingmaw in the east, and likely Ayadawkye in the west. Records from the Tang dynasty mention 18 Pyu states, nine of which were walled cities, covering 298 districts.
Archaeology
The Pyu people were the first in Southeast Asia to use and adapt Brahmic writing systems to record their language, which used tones, and they created symbols to show these tones. Their cities had different types of planning, including walled areas with water tanks either inside or outside the walls. Long ago, the Pyu lived for many years in Beikthano, located in the Yin River Valley, rather than in the Nawin River Valley at Sri Kestra. This choice showed their skill in controlling water through irrigation systems, which relied on their understanding of local conditions.
According to Stargardt’s research in From the Iron Age to early cities at Srikestra and Beikthano, Myanmar (Journal of Southeast Asian Studies), many stone inscriptions in the Pyu language have been found at Sri Kestra (Pyu), Hanlin, near Pinle (Hmainmaw), and Pagan (Bagan). These findings show that people lived in these areas between the third to sixth centuries CE. These records have been recognized by UNESCO and other historians. The article also states that the Pyu were among the earliest people in Southeast Asia. Stargardt notes that Sri Kestra had fields, irrigation canals, water tanks, iron-working sites, monuments, markets, and areas where people lived, both inside and outside the city walls. These features suggest a strong belief system, as seen in the careful treatment of the dead. The article also mentions old photos of places like nine burial terraces outside the southern city walls, ancient Buddhist monuments at Beikthano, and the queen Panhtwar cemetery.
Archaeological surveys have uncovered 12 walled cities, including five large ones, and smaller non-fortified settlements near three major irrigated regions in precolonial Burma: the Mu River Valley in the north, the Kyaukse plains in the center, and the Minbu region in the south and west. These city-states existed at the same time as the Kingdom of Funan (Cambodia), possibly Champa (southern Vietnam), Dvaravati (Thailand), Tambralinga and Takuapa near the Kra Isthmus, and Srivijaya (southeast Sumatra). These early states helped lead to the rise of the "classical kingdoms" of Southeast Asia in the second millennium CE.
Decline of Pyu city-states
This civilization lasted for about 1,000 years until the early 9th century when a group of "swift horsemen" from the north, the Mranma (Burmans) of the Nanzhao Kingdom, entered the upper Irrawaddy valley through a series of attacks. According to records from the Tang Dynasty, the Nanzhao began attacking Upper Burma as early as around 754 or 760. By 763, the Nanzhao king Ko-lo-feng had taken control of the upper Irrawaddy Valley. Attacks by the Nanzhao increased in the 9th century, with raids happening between 800–802 and again between 808–809. Finally, by 832, the Nanzhao warriors conquered the Pyu country and took 3,000 Pyu prisoners from Halin. (In 835, Chinese records also mention the Nanzhao raiding another state, which some believe was a Pyu state, though this is not certain.)
The Pyu people and their culture did not vanish simply because 3,000 of them were captured. The size of the Pyu realm and the many walled cities across the region suggest a much larger population. No clear evidence of violence has been found at Sri Ksetra or other Pyu sites. It is more likely that the raids weakened the Pyu states, allowing the Burmans to gradually move into Pyu territories. Evidence shows that Burman migration into the Pyu realm happened slowly over time. Radiocarbon dating indicates that people lived in Halin, the site of the 832 raid, until around 870. Burmese records claim the Burmans built the fortified city of Pagan (Bagan) in 849, but the oldest evidence from Pagan, such as old walls, dates to around 980 CE, while the main walls date to about 1020 CE—just 24 years before the reign of Anawrahta, the founder of the Pagan Empire.
By the late 10th century, the Burmans had taken control of the Pyu realm and later established the Pagan Empire in the 11th century, uniting the Irrawaddy valley and its surrounding areas for the first time. However, the Pyu people left a lasting influence on Pagan, as Burman rulers adopted Pyu histories and legends. Burman kings of Pagan claimed to be descendants of the kings of Sri Ksetra and Tagaung as far back as 850 BCE, but most modern scholars disagree with this claim. Pyu settlements remained in Upper Burma for the next three centuries, but the Pyu people gradually merged with the growing Pagan Empire. The Pyu language lasted until the late 12th century, but by the 13th century, the Pyu people had adopted Burman identity and disappeared from history.
City-states
Of the 12 walled cities found so far, five were part of the largest Pyu states: Beikthano, Maingmaw, Binnaka, Halin, and Sri Ksetra.
Beikthano, located in the irrigated Minbu region (near present-day Taungdwingyi), had direct land access to the well-watered Kyaukse plains to its northeast. It is the oldest urban site discovered and scientifically studied. The remains, including buildings, pottery, tools, and human bones, date from 200 BCE to 100 CE. Named after the Hindu god Vishnu, the city may have been the first capital of a state in Burma that shared cultural and political unity. It was a large, fortified settlement, covering about 300 hectares inside walls that measured 3 km by 1 km. The walls were 6 meters thick and date from 180 BCE to 610 CE. The main entrance to the walls led to the palace, which faced east. Stupas and religious buildings were also found within the city walls.
Maingmaw, also called Mong Mao (not to be confused with another place of the same name), was located in the Kyaukse region. It was circular in shape and may have been built around the first millennium BCE. It is sometimes called Pinle, after a nearby village, but should not be confused with Pinle Pyu, a different city. Maingmaw was 2.5 km in diameter and covered 222 hectares, making it one of the largest cities on the Kyaukse plains. It had two inner walls: the outer wall was square, and the inner wall was circular. The design of a circle inside a square may represent a zodiac symbol, similar to how 19th-century Mandalay was imagined. A 19th-century temple called Nandawya Paya stands near the city’s center, possibly built on top of older ruins. A canal runs through the city, but its age is not confirmed by scientific dating. Excavations, starting in 1979, uncovered jewelry, silver coins, and funerary urns. Many of these items, like coins and urns, are similar to those found at Beikthano and Binnaka.
Binnaka, also in the Kyaukse region, was similar to Maingmaw in many ways. Its buildings shared the same floor plan as those found at Beikthano and other Pyu sites. Excavations uncovered pre-Buddhist artifacts, gold necklaces, carved images of animals, unique Pyu pottery, terracotta tablets with writing that resembled the Pyu script, and beads made of onyx, amber, and jade. Silver coins, similar to those found at Beikthano and Binnaka, were also discovered, along with tools for making jewelry, a gold armlet with Pyu writing on a silver bowl, and funerary urns identical to those found at Beikthano and Binnaka.
Maingmaw and Binnaka may have existed at the same time as Beikthano. Ancient records do not mention Beikthano but refer to Binnaka and its ruler, who was linked to the fall of Tagaung, a city considered the original home of Burmese speakers. Binnaka was inhabited until about the 19th century, according to a record found there.
Halin, also called Halingyi, was located in the Mu valley, a large irrigated area in precolonial Burma. It is the northernmost Pyu city discovered so far. The earliest remains, wooden gates, date from 70 CE. The city was rectangular with curved corners and had brick walls. Excavated walls measured about 3.2 km long north to south and 1.6 km east to west. Covering 664 hectares, Halin was nearly twice the size of Beikthano. It had four main gates facing the cardinal directions and 12 total gates, based on the zodiac. A river or canal ran through the city, and moats surrounded it on all sides except the south, where reservoirs were built.
The design of Halin influenced later Burmese cities, such as the 11th-century Pagan and 19th-century Mandalay. Its layout was also seen in other cities, including Maingmaw, Beikthano, and later cities like Sukhothai in Thailand. Temples in Halin show that their design influenced temples in Pagan from the 11th to 13th centuries. Artifacts found in Halin indicate that the Pyu script used there was the earliest writing in the Pyu realm and in Burma. This script was based on an older version of the Brahmi script. Later versions of this script were found at Sri Ksetra.
Known for producing salt, a valuable item in the first millennium, Halin was replaced by Sri Ksetra as the leading Pyu city around the 7th century. Chinese records say Halin remained important until the 9th century, when it was attacked by the Nanzhao Kingdom. The city was destroyed in 832 CE, with 3,000 people taken away. However, evidence of human activity was found up to 870 CE, nearly 40 years after its reported destruction.
Sri Ksetra, also called Thaye Khittaya, was the last and southernmost Pyu capital. Located 8 km southeast of Prome (Pyay) near present-day Hmawza village, it was founded between the 5th and 7th centuries. Recent excavations found pottery with Buddhist symbols from about 340 CE and cremation burials from around 270 CE. Sri Ksetra likely became the leading Pyu city by the 7th or 8th century and remained so until the Mranma arrived in the 9th century. The city had at least two dynasties, possibly three. The first, the Vikrama Dynasty, created the Pyu calendar, which later became the Burmese calendar, starting on 22 March 638. The second dynasty began on 25 March 739.
Sri Ksetra covered about 1,400 hectares, with brick walls 4.5 meters high and 12 gates guarded by large statues of deities. Each corner had a pagoda. The city had curved gateways, similar to those in Halin and Beikthano. In the center was a rectangular palace site, 518 meters by 343 meters, symbolizing a mandala and a zata (horoscope), like in Maingmaw. Only the southern half
Smaller settlements
The New History of the Tang records that the kingdom of Mi-ch'en sent a group of envoys to China in 805 and was attacked by Nanchao in 835.
Many Pyu settlements have been discovered in Upper Burma, particularly in Myinmu Township, near the mouth of the Mu River. One important site is Ayadawkye Ywa, located in the Mu valley west of Halin and south of another Bronze Age site called Nyaunggan. Further south in Myingyan Township, west of Maingmaw, the Wati site (also spelled Wa Tee) is the remains of a circular walled city.
Pyu settlements were also present in Lower Burma, but historical records focused on Upper Burma may have missed these locations. The Sagara (Thagara) site in Dawei is an example of such a place, similar to Tagaung. In 2001, archaeologists found several artifacts, including terracotta urns, in rice fields southeast of the walled area at Sagara. Nearby, the Mokti site also uncovered similar items. The stupa at Sagara and votive tablets found at Mokti show many cultural traits linked to the Pyu people, while other artifacts suggest influences from different cultures.
Economy
The economy of the Pyu city states relied on farming and trading. Important Pyu settlements were located in three major farming areas in Upper Burma, where the Irrawaddy and Chindwin rivers meet. These areas included Halin in the Mu valley, Maingmaw and Binnaka in the Kyaukse plains, and Beikthano and Sri Ksetra near the Minbu district. Later, the Burmans, including King Anawrahta of Pagan, built irrigation systems in these regions around the 1050s to create major rice-producing areas. These systems helped Upper Burma develop a strong economy that supported its dominance over the Irrawaddy valley for many years. The Pyu people grew rice, possibly a type called Japonica.
The Pyu states were important trading centers between China and India during the first millennium CE. Two main trade routes passed through their lands. An overland route connected China and India through northern Burma as early as 128 BCE. In 97 CE and 120 CE, an embassy from the Roman Empire traveled this route to reach China. However, most trade happened by sea through the southern Pyu states, which were close to the ocean at the time. These states included areas near the upper Tenasserim coast, such as Winga, Hsindat-Myindat, Sanpannagon, and Mudon, where Pyu artifacts have been found. (It is not clear if the Pyu controlled these coastal towns.) The ports linked the overland route to China through present-day Yunnan.
The trading area of the Pyu states covered parts of modern-day Southeast Asia, South Asia, and China. Artifacts from the 2nd century, such as those from northwest India and Java, have been found in Beikthano. Pyu items have also been discovered along the coasts of Arakan, Lower Burma, and as far east as Óc Eo in southern Vietnam. The Pyu traded with China, and in 800 CE and 801–802 CE, Sri Ksetra sent an official delegation to the Tang court, including 35 musicians. Chinese records mention that the Pyu used gold and silver coins, but only silver coins have survived.
A key feature of the Pyu states was the creation and use of silver coins. These coins were first made in the Pegu area around the 5th century and influenced coin designs in mainland Southeast Asia during the first millennium. Early coins had no writing and showed a conch on one side and a Srivatsa symbol on the other. Many coins had a small hole, which may have allowed them to be worn as charms. After the Pyu period ended in the late 9th century, silver coins were not used again in Burmese kingdoms until the 19th century.
Culture
The culture of the Pyu city states was strongly influenced by Indian traditions. Indian culture was most visible in the southern Pyu region, where most trade with India happened by sea. The names of the southernmost cities, such as Sri Ksetra (Thaye Khittaya) and Vishnu (Beikthano), were written in Pali or Sanskrit. The kings of Sri Ksetra called themselves Varmans or Varma. This influence was not only in the south. Northern Pyu cities and towns also showed signs of Indian culture. Burmese records say the founders of Tagaung were descendants of the Sakya clan, which was related to the Buddha.
By the 4th century, most Pyu people had become mainly Buddhist. However, archaeological discoveries show that their earlier religious practices remained important for many years. Excavated texts and Chinese records say the main religion of the Pyu was Theravada Buddhism. This school of Buddhism likely came from the Andhra region in southeast India, where a famous Theravada scholar named Buddhagosa lived. Theravada Buddhism was the main tradition in Burma until the late 12th century, when Shin Uttarajiva changed the practices to align with the Mahavihara school of Ceylon.
Archaeological findings also show the presence of other religions, such as Tantric Buddhism, Mahayana Buddhism, and Hinduism. Figures like Avalokiteśvara (Lokanatha), Tara, Manusi Buddhas, Vaiśravaṇa, and Hayagriva, who are important in Mahayana Buddhism, were often shown in Pyu art. Hindu symbols, such as the Hindu trinity (Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva), Garuda, and Lakshmi, were also found, especially in Lower Burma.
Non-Theravada practices, such as ceremonial cattle sacrifices and drinking alcohol, were common in Pyu life. The greater number of nuns and female students compared to later times may suggest earlier ideas about women's independence. When combining their old traditions with Buddhism, the Pyu placed the remains of cremated people in pottery or stone urns and buried them near or in isolated stupas. This practice matched early Buddhist traditions of placing holy people’s remains in stupas.
Although the Pyu religion mixed influences from many cultures, it was likely peaceful, similar to the early Pagan period. Chinese records from the Tang dynasty describe the Pyu as a kind and peaceful people who rarely fought. They wore silk cotton instead of silk to avoid harming silkworms. Many Pyu boys entered monastic life between the ages of seven and twenty. These descriptions, however, may only reflect a snapshot of Pyu life and not all city-states.
The Pyu language was a Tibeto-Burman language related to Old Burmese. It was used alongside Sanskrit and Pali in court settings. Chinese records mention that 35 musicians from the Pyu court played and sang in the Fan (Sanskrit) language during a visit to the Tang court between 800–802 CE. Many important inscriptions were written in Sanskrit or Pali, along with the Pyu script. Some scholars believe the Pyu script, based on the Brahmi script, may have influenced the Burmese script used today. Pyu sites have uncovered various Indian scripts, including those from King Ashoka’s edicts in north Indian Brahmi and Tamil Brahmi (from 3rd–2nd century BCE), as well as Gupta and Kannada scripts (from 4th–6th century CE).
In addition to religion, the Pyu adopted scientific and astronomical knowledge from India. Chinese records note that the Pyu could perform astronomical calculations. Their calendar was based on the Buddhist calendar. Two eras were used: the Sakra Era, introduced in the Pyu realm in 80 CE (two years after its use began in India), and a second calendar adopted in 638 CE at Sri Ksetra. This second calendar, starting on March 22, 638, later became the Burmese calendar, still used in modern Myanmar. The existence of two Pyu calendars has caused debates among scholars trying to interpret dates on ancient finds.
Architecture
The architectural methods used during the Pyu era had a major impact on later Pagan and Burmese styles. Techniques for building dams, canals, and weirs in pre-colonial Upper Burma began during the Pyu and Pagan eras. Burmese people may have introduced new water management methods, especially canal-building techniques, which became the main way to irrigate fields during the Pagan era.
Pyu city designs combined square or rectangular shapes with circles. These plans mixed local traditions with Indian influences. Circular areas inside the cities were likely Pyu in origin, while the outer walls’ square or rectangular shapes and the use of 12 gates probably came from Indian designs. Historian Cooler explained that the use of Indian city planning ideas included a belief that connecting a city’s center to the gods’ city (Tavatimsa heaven) would bring prosperity to the kingdom below. Pyu city planning methods influenced Burmese city and palace designs until the 19th century in Mandalay.
Starting around the 4th century, the Pyu built many Buddhist stupas and religious buildings. The styles, layouts, brick sizes, and construction methods of these buildings resemble those from the Andhra region in southeastern India, especially Amaravati and Nagarjunakonda. Some evidence of contact with Ceylon is found in the discovery of Anuradhapura-style "moonstones" at sites like Beikthano and Halin. By about the 7th century, tall cylindrical stupas such as Bawbawgyi, Payagyi, and Payama appeared at Sri Ksetra.
Pyu architecture influenced later Burmese Buddhist temple designs. For example, temples at Sri Ksetra, like Bebe and Lemyethna, were early models for the hollow (gu) temples of Pagan. The floor plan of the 13th-century Somingyi Monastery in Pagan closely matched that of a 4th-century monastery at Beikthano. Solid stupas from Sri Ksetra became models for Pagan stupas such as Shwezigon, Shwehsandaw, and Mingalazedi. These designs later influenced the Shwedagon Pagoda in modern Yangon.
Demography
The city-states were mainly inhabited by the Tibeto-Burman-speaking Pyu people, who, like the Burmans, are thought to have moved from what are now Qinghai and Gansu provinces in north-central China, traveling through Yunnan. Large-scale trade brought many Indians and the Mon people, especially in the southern regions. In the north, small groups of Burmans may have arrived from Yunnan as early as the 7th century. However, modern studies suggest that large numbers of Burmans arrived much later, around the mid-to-late 9th century, or as late as the 10th century, based on dating of walls in Pagan.
The Pyu realm likely had a population of a few hundred thousand, since 17th and 18th century Burma (similar in size to modern Myanmar) had about 2 million people.
Administration
The Pyu settlements were led by independent chiefs. As these city-states grew larger, their leaders began to call themselves kings and created courts based on Indian (Hindu) ideas of monarchy. However, not all Hindu ideas, such as the belief that kings were divine, were fully used because Theravada Buddhism was also present. It is unclear whether the larger city-states had a relationship of control over smaller towns. Burmese records describe alliances between some states, such as between Beikthano and Sri Ksetra. Overall, each Pyu city-state seemed to control only the city itself.
The size of Pyu cities (660 to 1400 hectares) compared to Pagan (140 hectares) suggests that many people lived inside the city walls. This is supported by Chinese records. Archaeological findings in Pagan show Pyu artifacts in several settlements within the enclosed area dating to the first millennium. By about 1100 C.E., there was a shift to a state with many monuments and a movement of people beyond the city walls.
Current status of the finds
Most of the other Pyu sites have not been studied in detail. The responsibility for protecting these sites belongs to the Ministry of Culture's Department of Archaeology. In November 2011, the department planned to build a museum at Sri Ksetra and worked with UNESCO to get recognition for Sri Ksetra, Beikthano, and Halin as World Heritage Sites. These three cities were named World Heritage Sites in 2014.