Pyay

Pyay, and formerly anglicised as Prome, is the principal town of Pyay Township in the Bago Region in Myanmar. Pyay is located on the bank of the Irrawaddy River, 260 km (160 mi) north-west of Yangon. It is an important trade center for the Ayeyarwady Delta, Central and Upper Myanmar and the Rakhine (Arakan) State. The British Irrawaddy Flotilla Company established the current town in the late 19th century on the Irrawaddy as a transshipment point for cargo between Upper and Lower Burma. Pyay is also the terminus of Yangon-Pyay Railway which is the first railway line in Burma (Myanmar) opened on 1 May 1877. The English novelist Jane Austen's brother Rear Admiral Charles Austen died here in 1852. Shin Raṭṭhasāra, a Buddhist monk and prominent classical poet during the Kingdom of Ava also died here in 1529 and a mausoleum was constructed to honor him.

The district of Pyay encompasses the valley of the Irrawaddy, located between Thayet, Hinthada and Tharrawaddy districts. Along the western side of Pyay District are the Arakan Mountains and along the eastern side are the Pegu Range. Pyay District's main towns are Pyay, Shwetaung, and Paungde.

The name "Pyay" means "Country" in Burmese, and refers to the ruins of the main city of the Pyu city-states, Sri Ksetra (Burmese: သရေခေတ္တရာ, Sanskrit Śrīkṣetra "blessed place, country"), which is located 8 km (5.0 mi) to the south-east of modern Pyay and is in the village of Hmawza.

The north and north-east of the district is forest-covered, and contains numerous valleys and ravines, which unite in one large stream called the Nawin. The most important of the plains lie in the south and south-west portions of Pyay, and extend along the whole length of the railway that runs between. There are, in addition large tracts of land covered by jungle, which are available for cultivation. The principal river is the Irrawaddy River, which intersects the district from north to south; next in importance are the Thani and its tributaries and the Nawin system of rivers. In the hills near the capital the soil is of Tertiary formation, and in the plains it is an alluvial deposit.

Historical Context: Historically, Pyay encompassed an area of approximately 18 square miles (47 square km) within its walled city. This made it one of the largest walled cities in Southeast Asia during its peak. Present Day: The total area of Pyay City is now 34.48 square kilometers. The urban area has expanded rapidly since 1990, growing from 21.76 square kilometers to 34.48 square kilometers in 2018. This urban expansion has been concentrated in the eastern and southern parts of the city. Location and Importance: Pyay is located on the eastern bank of the Ayeyarwady River, 260 kilometers northwest of Yangon. It serves as an important trade center for the Ayeyarwady Delta, Central and Upper Myanmar, and the Rakhine (Arakan) State.

Mucate surrounds the construction of Sri Ksetra. Htin Aung suggests that Pyu might have been founded in 78 CE, based on the Sanskrit / Pyu Era. D. G. E. Hall and Gordon Luce, however, claim that civilisation of the Irrawaddy Valley could not have been possible before the 4th century, thus, attributing the founding of Sri Ksetra to 638, from which the current Burmese Kawza Era begins.

Sri Ksetra was the capital of the Pyu dynasty of Vikrama. The city was circular with walls enclosing about 46 km² (18 sq mi), making it the largest walled city in Southeast Asia during its peak. The city contained both housing and farms, as is evident from the remains of waterways and tanks which have been discovered.

The Chinese pilgrims Xuanzang and Yijing mentioned Sri Ksetra in their mid-7th-century accounts. It is not known when precisely the Pyu abandoned Sri Ksetra and moved northward. It is speculated that their decline was due to the growth of the Irrawaddy river delta, cutting it off from coastal trade, and also from Mon and later Tai Shan incursions. Burmese chronicles state that when Anawrahta invaded the southern parts of modern-day Myanmar in 1057, he ordered the ruins of Sri Ksetra to be destroyed to prevent rebels from sheltering there. The Burmese came to call the old Pyu center Pyi. The extensive ruins have been the subject of intensive archaeological investigation.