King Anawrahta's Dynasty of Kings Part 2 (AD 1084-1167)

AD 1084-1112 - When King Kyanzittha rose to power, my great grandfather decided to step away from the military. Under King Kyanzittha's leadership, my great grandparents assisted in constructing the Ananda Temple. My great grandfather recalls this temple as one of the most significant because it was designed to be a monument for King Kyanzittha as a representation of his success as King. My great grandmother remembers the design of the temple because it was so unique compared to others that were constructed. She notes that this temple was built in the shape of a cross, which was special due to the receding terraces and curved roofs. When talking about King Kyanzittha's rule, my great grandparents always spoke about how art, architecture, religion, and language came together and how it started to finally seem like they were living in a cohesive environment. One of the things that were most important to King Kyanzittha was to bring together diverse cultures, especially the ones that were brought into the kingdom of Pagan after King Anawrahta's conquests. My great grandparents thought that this was evident during King Kyanzittha's ruling

because he emphasized the importance of unity. They recall attending large gatherings to learn more about the different cultures that were brought to the kingdom of Pagan in order to integrate their teachings and culture into the Pagan mixing pot.

AD 1112-1167- King Alaungsithu chose to follow the work of King Anawrahta and King Kyanzittha.
My grandfather became a general of King Alaungsithu's military. He recalled King Alaungsithu's focus to be standardizing systems. This includes establishing standardized measurements and currency. This resulted in more efficient trade. During King Alaungsithu's reign of power, my grandparents noticed a positive shift in agriculture production and trade. However, they also realized that most of the money that the kingdom of Pagan made was contributed to building more religious temples. After seeing my great grandparents helping to build the Ananda Temple for King Kyanzittha, my grandmother also wanted to take part in building temples as a way to be a part of the community. Significant things that my grandfather noticed while being a general of King Alaungsithu's military was that the culture was more unified, the government worked more efficiently and the economy was booming. However, my grandparents recalled that the population was slowly increasing and it was starting to get harder to balance the land. One moment that they remember is going to a religious gathering and seeing more people than usual and it was hard to find a place to sit. They also noticed that is was difficult to hear the monks talking because of how many people attending. People were trying to figure out how to utilize the land effectively, whether it was to use it for business or for housing the newcomers.

My great grandparents and grandparents recall this time period as a the "Dynasty of Kings". During this period, many religious temples were built with the help of both generations and Theravada Buddhism was spreading to the Shan and Khmer.