Burmese War Elephants: the Culture, Structure and Training

Burmese War Elephants: Military Analysis & Battlefield Performance

Wars and Warriors: Royal Burmese Armies: Introduction and Structure

Wars and Warriors: The Burmese Praetorians: The Royal Household Guards

Wars and Warriors: The Ahmudan System: The Burmese Royal Militia

The Myin Knights: The Forgotten History of the Burmese Cavalry

Myanmar's Geographic Challenge

The history of Myanmar, also known as Burma, covers the period from the time of first-known human settlements 13,000 years ago to the present day. The earliest inhabitants of recorded history were a Tibeto-Burman-speaking people who established the Pyu city-states ranged as far south as Pyay and adopted Theravada <a href="https://history-maps.com/story/History-of-Buddhism" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Buddhism</a>. Another group, the Bamar people, entered the upper Irrawaddy valley in the early 9th century. They went on to establish the Pagan Kingdom (1044–1297), the first-ever unification of the Irrawaddy valley and its periphery. The Burmese language and Burma culture slowly came to replace Pyu norms during this period. After the First Mongol invasion of Burma in 1287, several small kingdoms, of which the Kingdom of Ava, the Hanthawaddy Kingdom, the Kingdom of Mrauk U and the Shan States were principal powers, came to dominate the landscape, replete with ever-shifting alliances and constant wars. In the second half of the 16th century, the Toungoo dynasty (1510–1752) reunified the country, and founded the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia for a brief period. Later Taungoo kings instituted several key administrative and economic reforms that gave rise to a smaller, more peaceful and prosperous kingdom in the 17th and early 18th centuries. In the second half of the 18th century, the Konbaung dynasty (1752–1885) restored the kingdom, and continued the Taungoo reforms that increased central rule in peripheral regions and produced one of the most literate states in Asia. The dynasty also went to war with all its neighbours. The Anglo-Burmese wars (1824–85) eventually led to <a href="https://history-maps.com/story/History-of-England" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">British</a> colonial rule. British rule brought several enduring social, economic, cultural and administrative changes that completely transformed the once-agrarian society. British rule highlighted out-group differences among the country's myriad ethnic groups. Since independence in 1948, the country has been in one of the longest running civil wars involving insurgent groups representing political and ethnic minority groups and successive central governments. The country was under military rule under various guises from 1962 to 2010 and again from 2021-present, and in the seemingly cyclical process has become one of the least developed nations in the world.

Visual Timelines

History of Myanmar Timeline

History of Myanmar Timeline

Prehistory of Myanmar

Pyu city-states

Kingdom of Dhanyawaddy

Waithali

Mon Kingdoms

Bagan

Pagan Kingdom

Shan States

Hanthawaddy Kingdom

Kingdom of Ava

Forty Years' War

Mrauk U Kingdom

Toungoo

First Toungoo Empire

Confederation of Shan States

Toungoo–Hanthawaddy War

Toungoo–Ava War

First Burmese–Siamese War

Burmese Conquest of Lan Na

War over the White Elephants

Nandric War

Siam Invasion of Burma

Restored Taungoo Kingdom

Restored Hanthawaddy Kingdom

Konbaung

Konbaung Dynasty

Konbaung–Hanthawaddy War

Fall of Ayoudhia

Qing Invasions of Burma

Anglo-Burmese Wars

British Rule in Burma

British Rule

Burmese Resistance Movement

Burma during World War II

Post-Independent Burma

Independent Burma

Burmese Independence

Burmese Way to Socialism

1962 Burmese coup d'état

8888 Uprising

State Peace and Development Council

Cyclone Nargis

Myanmar Political Reforms

Rohingya Genocide

2021 Myanmar coup d'état

Myanmar Civil War

Shop Now

Support HM Project

History of Ireland

Migration of Early Modern Humans

Geopolitical Theories

Life in a Medieval Village

Logistics during the American Civil War

Art of War of the Byzantine Empire

Naval Warfare during the American Revolution

Feedback