Anawrahta is followed by a line of able kings who will cement Pagan's place in history.

The Pagan Kingdom has entered a golden age that will last for the next two centuries.

Aside from a few occasional rebellions, the kingdom will be largely peaceful during the period.

Kyansittha, who succeeded to the throne of Pagan in 1084, continues to strengthen the foundations of the Pagan Empire that Anawrahta had built.

Although he suppresses a Mon rebellion, he pursues a conciliatory policy towards the Mon.

Having spent seven years in the Mon country in exile, the king has a genuine respect for Mon culture, and maintains Mon scholars at his court.

The language of most of his epigraphs is Mon, likely because the Burmese script is still coming into its own.

The Mon language is widely used among the ruling elite, and the Pyu language continues to be a cultural force as well.

Kyansittha, guided by Shin Arahan, continues Anawrahta's policies of reforming the Buddhism of Pagan, which is a mix of Ari Buddhism, Mahayana Buddhism, Theravada Buddhism and Hinduism.

He gives sanctuary to Buddhists fleeing India (which has just come under Muslim rule).

His policy proves effective.

His reign will see no more rebellions in the south.

Elsewhere will remain largely peaceful.

(He does at some point send an expedition to northern Arakan when the tributary kingdom in the west comes under attack by the lord of southern Arakan.

His troops repel the attack but cannot catch the lord.

The layout of the Ananda Temple, built in 1105 during the reign of King Kyanzittha of the Pagan Dynasty, is in a cruciform with several terraces leading to a small pagoda at the top covered by an umbrella known as hti, which is the name of the umbrella or top ornament found in almost all pagodas in Myanmar.

The Buddhist temple houses four standing Buddhas, each one facing the cardinal direction of East, North, West and South.

The temple is a fusion of Mon and Indian architecture, showing the strong influence of tthe emples of Bengal and Orissa.

The temple has close similarity to the Pathothamya temple of the tenth and eleventh century.

One of four surviving temples in Bagan, it has also been titled the "Westminster Abbey of Burma".

Southeast Asia (1108 – 1251 CE): Monumental Kingdoms and Maritime Gateways

Between 1108 and 1251 CE, Southeast Asia stood at the height of its classical age—a landscape of radiant temples and golden stupas inland, and of spice-laden ships and cosmopolitan ports at sea. From the rice granaries of Angkor and Pagan to the entrepôts of Barus, Champa, and Java, this was an era when kingship, trade, and religion converged under the rhythm of the monsoon. The Medieval Warm Period brought stability and abundance, allowing agrarian empires and maritime polities alike to flourish across the world’s most dynamic crossroads.

Geographic and Environmental Context

Southeast Asia encompassed both the mainland deltas—the Irrawaddy, Chao Phraya, Mekong, and Red Rivers—and the insular archipelagos of Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Sulawesi, and the Philippines.
Forested uplands and volcanic coasts fed broad floodplains of rice cultivation, while maritime straits—the Malacca, Makassar, and Banda—connected the Indian Ocean and South China Sea.
To the west, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands linked Bengal and Sumatra; to the east, the Moluccas and Philippines carried the world’s most coveted spices—cloves, nutmeg, and mace.
Together, these lands formed the pivotal hinge between South Asia, East Asia, and the Indo-Pacific.

Climate and Environmental Shifts

The Medieval Warm Period stabilized monsoons, sustaining double-crop rice systems on the mainland and abundant reef fisheries in the islands.
Warm seas and fertile deltas fostered demographic expansion; temple irrigation and canal systems extended into marginal lands.
Periodic typhoons struck the South China Sea, and cyclones swept the Bay of Bengal, but the sheer environmental diversity of the region made it resilient.
Volcanic activity on Java and the Moluccas renewed soils even as it periodically displaced settlements.
Overall, favorable climate and hydrology underpinned both monumental construction and maritime commerce.

Mainland Empires: Angkor, Pagan, Dai Viet, and Champa

The mainland was dominated by three monumental powers:

• Khmer Empire (Cambodia):
  Under Suryavarman II (r. 1113–1150), the Khmer state reached its artistic and architectural zenith with the construction of Angkor Wat, dedicated to Vishnu. The temple’s concentric galleries and celestial symbolism embodied divine kingship (devarāja). Khmer armies and engineers extended control into Laos and Thailand, while canal and reservoir systems sustained immense rice surpluses.
  After Suryavarman’s death, internal strife and external pressure from Champa gradually eroded unity, but Angkor remained the supreme architectural expression of Southeast Asia’s Hindu-Buddhist synthesis.

• Pagan (Bagan, Myanmar):
  Under Anawrahta’s successors, the Pagan kingdom consolidated upper and lower Burma, integrating Mon regions and spreading Theravāda Buddhism. By the mid-12th century, over two thousand stupas and temples adorned the Irrawaddy plain, including the grand Shwezigon and Ananda shrines. Monastic estates became centers of literacy, irrigation, and cultural patronage, making Bagan the northern counterpart to Angkor.

• Dai Viet and Champa (Vietnam):
  The Lý dynasty (1009–1225) solidified independence from China, establishing a stable capital at Thăng Long(Hanoi) and supporting Buddhist institutions.
  To the south, Champa, centered at Mỹ Sơn and Po Nagar, upheld Shaiva Hinduism and maritime power, alternating between war and trade with its northern neighbor. Their rivalry defined the political axis of the eastern mainland for two centuries.

In the uplands of Laos and northern Thailand, Tai-speaking groups began moving southward, seeding the future Lao and Thai kingdoms that would flourish in later centuries.

Maritime Realms: Java, Sumatra, Sulawesi, and the Philippines

Across the seas, a parallel order thrived—one of fleets, ports, and spices.

• Java:
  With the decline of Srivijaya after the Chola raids (c. 1025), the agrarian courts of Kediri and Panjalu ascended in central and eastern Java.
  Literary masterpieces like the Kakawin Bharatayuddha (1157) celebrated Hindu epics in local verse, while rice surpluses financed temples and trade.
  Java’s maritime fleets increasingly dominated the Strait of Malacca, shifting the region’s economic gravity eastward.

• Sumatra:
  Palembang and Jambi, remnants of Srivijaya, continued as Buddhist and mercantile hubs, exporting gold, camphor, and forest goods.
  Northern ports such as Lambri and Barus rose to prominence as independent entrepôts—famed in Song Chinese and Arab records for elephants, camphor, and spices.
  Aceh and its offshore islands—Nias, Simeulue, and the Mentawais—maintained Austronesian horticultural and ritual traditions alongside growing international trade.

• Malay Peninsula:
  Ports such as Kedah and Tambralinga competed for tin and forest exports, oscillating between Srivijayan allegiance and autonomy.
  These entrepôts served as midpoints between the Bay of Bengal and the Java Sea, crucial to the movement of goods and ideas.

• Sulawesi and the Eastern Archipelagos:
  Chiefdoms at Makassar, Buton, and Halmahera became brokers in the growing spice trade, connecting the Moluccas’ cloves and nutmeg with Javanese and Chinese merchants.
  Bali, contemporaneously, blended Indian and indigenous beliefs into a distinctive Hindu-Buddhist culture of temple kingdoms.

• Philippines:
  By this era, barangay polities under datus had matured into regional chiefdoms.
  Luzon’s goldfields and Visayan trade ports attracted merchants from China, Champa, and Borneo, while Mindanao–Sulu polities served as key intermediaries in the clove and nutmeg trade.

Andamanasia: The Northern Maritime Corridor

At the edge of the Bay of Bengal, Andamanasia linked the Indian Ocean to the Pacific.

• Andaman and Nicobar Islands:
  Small, kin-based hunter-gatherer and horticultural communities maintained autonomy, practicing forest and reef subsistence.
  Nicobarese traded coconuts, taro, and ornaments with visiting sailors.
  The isolated Andamanese continued their ancient foraging lifeways.

• Northern Sumatra and Offshore Islands:
  Lambri and Barus flourished as cosmopolitan ports of call, recorded by Arab, Persian, and Chinese geographers.
  Barus’ camphor and Lambri’s elephants became staples of global luxury trade.
  Inland, Nias and Mentawai developed fortified villages and megalithic rituals symbolizing rank and abundance, their stone monuments testifying to complex social order.
  Aceh’s strategic coast grew as a maritime gateway that would later anchor Islamic trade routes.

Economy and Trade

Southeast Asia’s wealth flowed along two great arteries:

• The Mainland Grain Belt, exporting rice, forest goods, and textiles from Angkor, Pagan, and Dai Viet;

• The Maritime Spice Circuit, dominated by Java, Sulawesi, and the Philippines.

Cloves, nutmeg, and mace from the Moluccas remained the cornerstone of transoceanic commerce, while gold, tin, camphor, and aromatics fed Indian and Chinese markets.
Ships from Arabia, Gujarat, and Song China converged at ports like Palembang, Barus, Champa, and Kedah.
This intricate lattice of trade, monsoon-driven and cosmopolitan, linked Buddhist monks, Hindu Brahmins, and Muslim merchants in a continuous circuit of goods and ideas.

Belief and Symbolism

Religion infused every expression of Southeast Asian life.

• Angkor Wat symbolized the cosmic Mount Meru;

• Pagan’s temples enshrined the Theravāda canon;

• Champa’s brick sanctuaries honored Shiva and the sea;

• Java’s courts harmonized Hindu-Buddhist cosmology with local spirit cults;

• Andamanasian societies venerated forests, ancestors, and sea spirits;

• Ports like Lambri and Barus blended indigenous, Hindu-Buddhist, and early Islamic practices.

Across the region, sacred architecture, pilgrimage, and ritual exchange expressed a unified vision: that kingship, cosmos, and the monsoon itself were part of the same divine cycle.

Adaptation and Resilience

Diversity and connectivity defined Southeast Asia’s resilience.

• Hydraulic engineering at Angkor and Pagan stabilized agriculture through drought and flood.

• Coastal and island polities offset ecological vulnerability through maritime redistribution.

• Decentralized trade ensured continuity when any single power waned.

• Cultural pluralism absorbed shocks—Hindu, Buddhist, and indigenous traditions merged rather than replaced one another.

From the high temples of Angkor to the sea-harbors of Sumatra, adaptation meant integration—of climate, belief, and commerce.

Long-Term Significance

By 1251 CE, Southeast Asia was the vibrant center of the medieval tropics:

• Angkor and Pagan crowned the agrarian world with stone and faith.

• Dai Viet and Champa defined the frontier between Indic and Sinic civilizations.

• Java and the Moluccas supplied the world’s spices.

• Lambri, Barus, and Aceh opened the Indian Ocean to new global circuits.

• The Philippines and Sulawesi matured into indispensable nodes of maritime exchange.

This was the Monumental Age—when Southeast Asia stood as both temple and marketplace, its inland empires radiating grandeur and its seaways carrying the wealth of the world.

Sundachina (1108 – 1251 CE): Angkor’s Monumental Age, Pagan’s Golden Stupas, Dai Viet–Champa Rivalries, and Javanese–Srivijayan Shifts

Geographic and Environmental Context

Sundachina includes southern and eastern Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra (excluding Aceh and the western offshore islands), Java, Borneo, Sulawesi, and surrounding archipelagos (Bali–Timor, Banda, Moluccas, Ceram, Halmahera, and the Philippines).

• Mainland: the Irrawaddy, Chao Phraya, Mekong, and Red River deltas supported population booms.

• Insular: the Strait of Malacca, Java Sea, and Moluccas–Philippines–Sulawesi arcs were vital to spice and luxury trade.

• The monsoon system continued to govern agriculture and sailing, while volcanic activity shaped Java and the eastern islands.

Mainland Southeast Asia

Myanmar (southern & eastern)

• Pagan (Bagan) reached its golden age.

• Anawrahta’s successors (Kyanzittha, 1084–1112; Alaungsithu, 1112–1167) continued expansion, securing irrigation and integrating Mon regions.

• Bagan became a center of Theravāda Buddhism, building over 2,000 stupas and temples across the plain.

• Monks and monasteries accumulated land, tying agrarian surplus to Buddhist patronage.

Thailand & Laos

• The Mon Dvaravati polities faded, increasingly drawn into Pagan and Khmer spheres.

• In the uplands of Laos, smaller Tai-speaking groups began pressing southward, laying early groundwork for future Lao polities.

Cambodia (Khmer Empire)

• The Khmer Empire reached its architectural zenith.

• Suryavarman II (1113–1150) constructed Angkor Wat, the world’s largest Hindu temple, dedicated to Vishnu.

• Khmer influence extended into Laos and central Thailand.

• After Suryavarman II’s death, internal instability weakened Khmer control, and pressure from Champa mounted.

Vietnam

• The Lý dynasty (1009–1225) consolidated Vietnamese independence with its capital at Thăng Long (Hanoi).

• Buddhism remained the ideological center of the state, supported by royal patronage.

• Champa pressed northward, leading to frequent wars with Dai Viet.

• Maritime ports in northern and central Vietnam grew in significance in China–Southeast Asia trade.

Champa (Central Vietnam)

• The Cham kingdom thrived as a Shaiva Hindu state, building brick towers like Po Nagar and Mỹ Sơn.

• Cham fleets engaged in both warfare and commerce, sometimes raiding Khmer and Vietnamese coasts.

• The Cham polity became a key node for Indian Ocean and South China Sea exchange.

Insular Southeast Asia

Malay Peninsula

• Kedah, Tambralinga, and other ports competed for control of Malacca trade.

• Influence shifted between Srivijayan suzerainty and local independence.

• Tin, forest products, and rice supplied merchant vessels between India and China.

Sumatra (excluding Aceh & western islands)

• Srivijaya, once hegemonic, faced decline after Chola raids (c. 1025) weakened Palembang’s fleets and prestige.

• By the 12th century, Srivijaya’s authority fragmented; smaller Sumatran ports asserted autonomy.

• Nonetheless, Palembang and Jambi remained influential, continuing Buddhist patronage and straits control.

Java

• Central and eastern Javanese courts gained prominence as Srivijaya waned.

• Agrarian states like Kediri (11th–13th c.) flourished, producing literature (e.g., Kakawin Bharatayuddha, 1157).

• Rice surpluses supported temple construction, Hindu-Shaiva cults, and maritime ventures.

• Javanese fleets increasingly competed for straits dominance.

Borneo

• Coastal settlements exported camphor, forest resins, and gold to China and India.

• Srivijayan decline gave these ports more independence.

• The Dayak interior maintained swidden cultivation and ancestor cults.

Sulawesi

• Maritime chiefdoms at Makassar, Buton, and northern Sulawesi grew into major spice brokers.

• Sulawesi navigators connected Moluccas and Banda cloves/nutmeg to Java and Philippines markets.

• Political structures remained clan-based but increasingly tied to maritime power.

Eastern Archipelagos (Bali–Timor, Banda, Moluccas, Ceram, Halmahera, Philippines)

• Bali became a Hindu-Buddhist kingdom, linked to Javanese culture but retaining local traditions.

• Moluccas (Spice Islands): clove and nutmeg polities organized through chiefly alliances, guarded spice groves, and managed long-distance distribution.

• Philippines: barangay polities became more hierarchical; datus consolidated power, controlling gold mines in Luzon and Visayas, and conducting trade with China, Champa, and Borneo.

• Mindanao–Sulu polities expanded as key waystations for Moluccas–Philippines–China exchange.

Economy and Trade

• Mainland: Angkor, Pagan, and Dai Viet exported rice, forest goods, and handicrafts; Champa exported aromatics, textiles, and pottery.

• Insular: Srivijaya’s weakened control allowed Java, Sulawesi, and the Philippines to take larger shares of spice commerce.

• Spices (cloves, nutmeg, mace) from Moluccas remained the linchpin of global demand.

• Gold (Philippines, Sumatra), tin (Malay Peninsula), camphor (Borneo, Sumatra), and rice (Java) all entered Indian Ocean and South China Sea trade.

Belief and Symbolism

• Angkor Wat epitomized Khmer divine kingship and cosmological symbolism.

• Pagan’s temples enshrined Theravāda Buddhism as state orthodoxy.

• Lý Vietnam promoted Buddhist monasteries as centers of learning and diplomacy.

• Champa expressed Hindu identity through its brick sanctuaries and rituals.

• Java blended Hindu-Buddhist cosmology in literature and temple culture.

• Philippines–Moluccas: ancestor and sea-spirit cults prevailed, but Indic motifs entered through trade shrines.

Adaptation and Resilience

• Angkor & Pagan harnessed hydraulic systems to mitigate flood/drought cycles.

• Maritime redistribution ensured spice, rice, and luxury goods moved across seas even when one polity declined.

• Multiple centers of power (Angkor, Pagan, Dai Viet, Champa, Java, Srivijaya, Sulawesi, Philippines) created redundancy, allowing the region to remain resilient despite warfare and piracy.

Long-Term Significance

By 1251 CE, Sundachina was a multi-centered world:

• Mainland rice empires (Angkor, Pagan, Dai Viet) anchored agrarian economies with monumental temple states.

• Maritime powers (Java, Srivijaya remnants, Sulawesi chiefdoms, Philippine barangays, Spice Islands) controlled sea-lanes and spice flows.

• The age marked the apogee of Angkorian and Pagan monumentality, the literary flowering of Java, the consolidation of Dai Viet, and the rise of Philippine and Sulawesi chiefdoms as indispensable spice brokers.

Sundachina in this age stood as both a granary of the monsoon world and the crossroads of the global spice trade, balancing monumental kingship inland and maritime federations across its seas.

King Kyansittha has successfully melded the diverse cultural influences introduced into Pagan by Anawrahta's conquests.

He has patronized Mon scholars and artisans who have emerged as the intellectual elite.

He has appeased the Pyus by linking his genealogy to the real and mythical ancestors of Sri Ksetra, the symbol of the Pyu golden past, and by calling the kingdom Pyu, even though it had been ruled by a Burman ruling class.

He supports and favors Theravada Buddhism while tolerating other religious groups.

To be sure, he has pursued these policies all the while maintaining the Burman military rule.

By the end of his twenty-eight-year reign, Pagan has emerged a major power alongside the Khmer Empire in Southeast Asia, recognized as a sovereign kingdom by the Chinese Song Dynasty, and the Indian Chola Dynasty.

Several diverse elements—art, architecture, religion, language, literature, ethnic plurality—have begun to synthesize.

His grandson and successor was born Zeyathura Sithu to Sawyun (son of King Sawlu) and Shwe Einthi (daughter of King Kyansittha) on December 13, 1089.

At Sithu's birth, Kyansittha, who had thought that he had no son, had been so delighted that he had crowned the infant as king, and presented the baby to the people saying "Behold your king!

Henceforth, I reign only as his regent."

(It turned out that Kyansittha did have a son by a wife during one of his exiles in the 1070s.

That son, Yazakumar, makes no claims of the throne.)

Following the death of Kyansittha in 1112 or 1113, Sithu faces no opposition to the throne.

His coronation is presided over by an aging Primate Shin Arahan who had also presided over the coronations of the two predecessor kings, and has been adviser to three previous kings.