Bagan (Burmese: ပုဂံ) is an ancient city in the Mandalay Region of Myanmar. During the reign of the Bagan Kingdom, Buddhist temples were constructed everywhere on the Bagan plains. Choimeizai will talk about Thatbyinnyu Temple.
Thatbyinnyu Temple (Burmese: သဗ္ဗညု ဘုရား) is a Theravada Buddhist temple. The temple is recognized as a monument in the Bagan Archeological Area, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
At the pinnacle height of 66 meters, the five-story Thatbyinnyu is known as the tallest temple in Bagan.
Thatbyinnyu Temple was founded by King Alaungsithu or Sithu I (အလောင်းစည်သူ) of Bagan Dynasty in 1144-45, the temple was then completed in 1150–51.
Alaungsithu engaged in a massive building campaign throughout the kingdom during his reign, besides Buddhist temples, many livelihood facilities such as reservoirs and dams have also been built.
The five-story temple served not only as a place of worship but also as a monastery and library.The temple has been hit by two major earthquakes, in 1975 and 2006, but its overall structure is still solid.
