Bagan, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2019, is credited to King Anawrahta who ruled from 1044–1077. Anawrahta embarked on a religious and political reformation, marking the beginning of a golden era.
He unified the whole of present-day Myanmar, converted to Theravada Buddhism, and initiated a massive religious construction project that led to the creation of Bagan’s remarkable landscape.
However, it was the kings who followed Anawrahta, notably King Kyanzittha (1084–1113) and King Alaungsithu (1113–1163), who were responsible for much of the building during the Bagan Empire's height. These rulers and their successors constructed over 10,000 religious monuments within an area of 104 square kilometres over the next 230 years, solidifying Bagan's place in history.
Today, about 2,000 of these monuments, including stupas, temples, and monasteries, still exist, representing the cultural and historical richness of the Burmese heartland.