Myanmar

During the A.D. 500s a group of people known as the Tibeto-Burmans began to grow in power and influence in the territory that is known as present day Burma.

The Tibeto-Burmans built a civilization that was heavily based on both Hinduism and Buddhism. By A.D. 850 they had built a beautiful city which they called Pagan.

Pagan became the capital of their kingdom. It also became a center of religious worship and thought for both Hinduism and Buddhism.

In the A.D. 1200s Pagan was captured by the Mongols under the leadership of Kublai Khan. Many of the Burmans fled Myanmar to escape the brutality of the Mongols, and established small fortified settlements around their kingdom. This helped keep their culture and language alive, but their glory and power as a kingdom was ended.