Key Facts
- Period
- c. 200 BCE – 1050 CE (~1,250 years)
- Major walled cities
- 5 (Beikthano, Maingmaw, Binnaka, Hanlin, Sri Ksetra)
- UNESCO World Heritage Sites
- 3 (Halin, Beikthano, Sri Ksetra)
- Largest city
- Sri Ksetra (near modern Pyay), superseding Halin c. 7th–8th century
- Trade route
- Overland route between China and India
Imperial Zenith Metrics
Historical Trajectory
Phase I: Rise
Tibeto-Burman-speaking Pyu settlers migrated from Tibet into present-day Upper Myanmar from around the 2nd century BCE, founding a series of walled city-states in the irrigated river valleys of the Mu, Kyaukse, and Minbu regions. These settlements, established along the Irrawaddy basin, became the earliest recorded inhabitants of Burma. Halin emerged as the dominant centre from the 1st century AD, anchoring an interconnected network of urban polities across Upper Burma.
Phase II: Zenith
At their height, the Pyu city-states formed a vital link on the overland trade route between China and India. Intensive contact with India introduced Theravada Buddhism, the Brahmi-derived Pyu script, and new architectural and political models. Sri Ksetra eventually surpassed Halin as the largest and most influential centre. The Pyu calendar, rooted in the Buddhist calendar, and the Pyu script both laid foundations that directly shaped the later Burmese calendar and writing system.
Phase III: Decline
Repeated invasions by the Kingdom of Nanzhao in the 9th century destroyed the major Pyu city-states, ending the Pyu millennium. The Bamar people established a garrison town at Bagan, which grew into the Pagan Kingdom. Pyu communities persisted in Upper Burma for three more centuries, but were gradually absorbed into Pagan's expanding polity. The Pyu language survived until the late 12th century, and by the 13th century the Pyu had fully merged into the Burman ethnic identity.