Myanmar

The Pagan Empire — Burma's golden age of pagodas

The Pagan Empire (849–1297 CE) was the first kingdom to unify most of modern Myanmar — under King Anawrahta and his successors, Pagan became the most significant Buddhist kingdom in Southeast Asia, building over 10,000 pagodas on the Irrawaddy plain in a 200-year building programme whose ruins still dominate the landscape.

The Konbaung Dynasty — Burma's last kingdom

The Konbaung Dynasty (1752–1885 CE) was Burma's last and most expansionist royal house — at its peak controlling Burma, most of modern Thailand (briefly), Manipur, and Arakan, before three wars with Britain stripped it of territory until the final annexation of upper Burma in 1885 ended the monarchy forever.

British Burma — the colony that gave the world Orwell

British Burma (1824–1948 CE) was absorbed into British India through three wars over 60 years — the three Anglo-Burmese Wars progressively dismantled the Konbaung dynasty — and became the colonial posting that shaped George Orwell's understanding of empire, producing Burmese Days and the essays "Shooting an Elephant" and "A Hanging."

The Burma Road — supplying China through the jungle

The Burma Road (1937–1942 CE) was the 1,154 km mountain highway built by 200,000 Chinese labourers through some of the world's most difficult terrain to supply Nationalist China after Japan blocked the coast — one of the most remarkable engineering feats of the 20th century.

Military rule and Aung San Suu Kyi — Myanmar's long struggle

Myanmar's military (Tatmadaw) seized power in 1962, creating one of Asia's most isolated dictatorships — the democracy movement led by Aung San Suu Kyi (Nobel Peace Prize, 1991) achieved a partial transition (2011–2021) before the military's February 2021 coup restored full authoritarian control and triggered civil war.

The Saffron Revolution — monks versus the military

The 2007 Saffron Revolution, when tens of thousands of monks led street protests against Myanmar's military junta, was the largest anti-government movement since 1988 — drawing global attention to the role of Theravada Buddhism as a force of political resistance in Burmese society.