Inwa

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For other uses, see Inwa (disambiguation).
Inwa
?????
Ava
Ruins, Innwa, Mandalay Division, Burma.jpg
Inwa is located in Myanmar InwaInwaLocation of Ava
Coordinates 2151'N 9559'E
Country Burma
Region Mandalay Region
District Kyaukse District
Founded 26 February 1365
Population
Ethnicities Bamar
Religions Theravada Buddhism
Time zone MST (UTC+6.30)
This article contains Burmese script. Without proper rendering support, you
may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Burmese script.
Inwa or Ava (Burmese ??????????; MLCTS angwa.mrui., IPA [???wa? mjo?] or [??wa?
mjo?]; also spelled Innwa), located in Mandalay Region, Burma (Myanmar), is an
ancient imperial capital of successive Burmese kingdoms from the 14th to 19th
centuries. Throughout history, it was sacked and rebuilt numerous times. The
capital city was finally abandoned after it was completely destroyed by a series of
major earthquakes in March 1839. Though only a few traces of its former grandeur
remain today, the former capital is a popular day-trip tourist destination from
Mandalay.

Contents [hide]
1 Etymology
2 History
2.1 Foundation
2.2 Ava period (14th to 16th centuries)
2.3 Toungoo and Konbaung periods (16th to 19th centuries)
2.4 The end
2.5 Contemporary Inwa
3 Sights of interest
4 Transport
5 Gallery
6 Notes
7 References
8 External links
Etymology[edit]
The name Inwa (?????) literally means mouth of the Lake, reflecting its
geographical location at the mouth of lakes in the Kyaukse District. Another theory
states that it is derived from Innawa (??????), meaning nine lakes in the area.[1]
The city's classical name in Pali is Ratanapura (??????; City of Gems).[2][3]

The modern standard Burmese pronunciation is Inwa (IPA [???wa?]), following the
modern orthography. But the local Upper Burmese pronunciation is Awa ([??wa?]).
Indeed, the spelling of the city in the royal records, all written prior to the
modern Burmese spelling standardization drives, is ?? (Awa), the phonetic spelling
of the Upper Burmese usage.[4] The most common Western transcription Ava comes from
Awa via Portuguese.

History[edit]

Remains of the outer walls

Inwa was the capital of Burma for nearly 360 years, on five separate occasions,
from 1365 to 1842. So identified as the seat of power in Burma that Inwa (as the
Kingdom of Ava, or the Court of Ava) was the name by which Burma was known to
Europeans down to the 19th century.

Foundation[edit]
Strategically located on the confluence of Irrawaddy, and Myitnge rivers, and in
the main rice-growing Kyaukse District of Upper Burma, the location of Ava had been
scouted as a possible capital site as early as 1310 by King Thihathu. Though
Thihathu eventually built his new capital at Pinya a few miles east inland in 1313,
Thihathu's great-grandson Thado Minbya, who unified the Sagaing and Pinya kingdoms
in September 1364, chose the site of Inwa as his new capital.

Inwa was officially founded on 26 February 1365 (6th waxing of Tabaung 726 ME)[5]
on a man-made island created by connecting the Irrawaddy on the north and the
Myitnge on the east with a canal on the south and the west. The construction of the
artificial island also involved filling in the swamplands and lakes (or Ins)[1]

Shwekyabin In (?????????? ????)

Zani In (??? ????)
Nyaungzauk In (?????????? ????)
Wetchi In (??????? ????)
Ohnne In (?????? ????)
Inma In (????? ????)
Linsan In (?????? ????)
Bayme In (?????? ????)
Wunbe In (?????? ????)
Other records also include Kyaukmaw In (?????????? ????), Ngagyi In (?????? ????)
and Inbu In (??????? ????).

The brick fortifications of Inwa do not follow the conventions of the earlier
rectilinear city plans. Instead, the zigzagged outer walls are popularly thought to
outline the figure of a seated lion. The inner enclosure or citadel was laid out
according to traditional cosmological principles and provided the requisite twelve
gates. (The inner city was reconstructed on at least three occasions in 1597, 1763,
and 1832.)[6]

Ava period (14th to 16th centuries)[edit]

The kingdom Thado Minbya founded with the capital at Inwa became known as the Ava
Kingdom, the main polity of Upper Burma until 1555. During this period, the city
was the center of a flourishing literary scene in which Burmese literature grew
more confident, popular, and stylistically diverse, chiefly through the efforts of
monks who chose to write in the vernacular rather than, or in addition to, in Pali.
[7] The period also saw the second generation of Burmese law codes (dhammathats),
which critiqued earlier compilations, new poetic genres, and the perfection of
older verse forms as well as the earliest pan-Burma Burmese language chronicles.[7]
The city got a new exquisite golden palace in February 1511 by which King
Shwenankyawshin is posthumously remembered.[8]

During this period, the capital city was the target of the kingdom's rivals. It
came under siege in 14041405 during the Forty Years' War. Over a century later, on
25 March 1527, the city finally fell to the repeated attacks by the Confederation
of Shan States and the Prome Kingdom.[9] It then became the capital of the unruly
and often disunited coalition until 22 January 1555 when it was captured by King
Bayinnaung. The city's 190-year run as the capital of Upper Burma came to an end.

Toungoo and Konbaung periods (16th to 19th centuries)[edit]

Stupa ruins
The city became the capital of all Burma during Toungoo and Konbaung periods
(15991613, 16351752, 17651783, 18211842). The city was the base from which
kings Nyaungyan and Anaukpetlun restored the kingdom which had temporarily
disintegrated in December 1599. In January 1635, King Thalun moved the capital back
to Ava from Pegu (Bago).[10] The city was sacked on 2123 March 1752, and
subsequently burned down on 3 January 1753 by the forces of Restored Hanthawaddy
Kingdom. King Hsinbyushin began the reconstruction of the city in March 1764, and
moved the capital back to a newly rebuilt Ava on 23 July 1765.[11] King Bodawpaya
moved the capital to Amarapura in May 1783 but his grandson King Bagyidaw moved it
back to Ava in November 1821.

The end[edit]

MalNu Monastery
The end of the city came via a natural disaster. Starting on 22 March 1839 (7th
waxing of Tagu 1201 ME) the InwaAmapura region was hit by a series of earthquakes.
The main earthquake hit the region, as far west as Sagaing, the next day, at five
o'clock in the morning on 23 March 1839, and many tremors followed for days
afterwards. The entire region was left in shambles in their wake. The capital was
hardest hit everything was leveled; many people and livestock perished.[12] The
city was not rebuilt. King Tharrawaddy chose instead to rebuild a new palace in
Amarapura, and moved the seat of his government there in February 1842.[13]

Contemporary Inwa[edit]
The former capital city site is a popular tourist day-trip destination from
Mandalay. Tourists can still observe a few remnants of the capital, including
Nanmadaw Me Nu Ok Kyaung, the Nanmyin Tower, the inner and outer brick city walls,
etc.

Sights of interest[edit]
Name Picture Built Sponsor(s) Notes
Ava Bridge Ava and Sagaing bridges.jpg 1934 The British This 16 span cantilever
bridge was the only structure to span the Irrawaddy until recently. Although now
superseded by a parallel 2005 road bridge, it is still in use for railway and local
road traffic.
Ava Palace site Inwa -- Nanmyin Tower.JPG 1821 King Bagyidaw The site of
the deserted Palace of Ava is now marked by a solitary masonry 27 metres (89 ft)
high watchtower, an example of early 19th century Burmese architecture.[14] It is
all that remains of the stately Palace reared by King Bagyidaw.[14]
Bagaya Monastery Inwa -- Bagaya Monastery, front.JPG 1770s Maha Thiri Zeya
Thinkhaya Monastic college where the royals were educated
Htihlaing Shin Pagoda A stupa built by King Kyansittha of Pagan
Dynasty (late 11th century)
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