Sagaing Explained

Settlement Type:City
Official Name:Sagaing
Pushpin Label Position:bottom
Pushpin Map:Burma
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Burma
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:Myanmar
Subdivision Type1:Division
Unit Pref:Imperial
Population:307,194
Population As Of:2014
Population Blank1 Title:Ethnicities
Population Blank2:Buddhism
Population Blank2 Title:Religions
Population Density Km2:auto
Coordinates:21.8822°N 95.9786°W
Leader Title:Mayor
Timezone:MST
Utc Offset:+6.30

Sagaing (in Burmese pronounced as /zəɡáɪɰ̃ mjo̰/) is the former capital of the Sagaing Region of Myanmar. It is located on the Irrawaddy River, to the south-west of Mandalay on the opposite bank of the river. Sagaing, with numerous Buddhist monasteries, is an important religious and monastic centre. The pagodas and monasteries crowd the numerous hills along the ridge running parallel to the river. The central pagoda, Soon U Ponya Shin Pagoda, is connected by a set of covered staircases that run up the hill.

Today, with about 70,000 inhabitants, the city is part of Mandalay built-up area with more than 1,022,000 inhabitants estimated in 2011. The city is a frequent tourist destination of day trippers. Within the city are the Sagaing Institute of Education, the Sagaing Education College, Sagaing University, Technological University (Sagaing), and co-operative university (Sagaing).

Sagaing University was established on 11 February 2012. It is in Pakatoe Quarter, Sagaing Township, Sagaing Region, Myanmar. It has an area of . As a result, there are now five colleges/university in Sagaing.

Name

The classical name of Sagaing is Zeyapura (; Pali: '''Jayapura'''), which literally translates to "city of victory."[1]

History

Sagaing was the capital of Sagaing Kingdom (1315–1364), one of the minor kingdoms that rose up after the fall of Pagan dynasty, where one of Thihathu's sons, Athinkhaya, established himself.[2] During the Ava period (1364–1555), the city was the common fief of the crown prince or senior princes. During the reign of King Naungdawgyi, Sagaing briefly became the royal capital between 1760 and 1763.

On 8 August 1988, Sagaing was the site of demonstrations which were concluded by a massacre in which around 300 civilians were killed.[3]

Climate

Located in the rain shadow of the Arakan Mountains, Sagaing has a borderline hot semi-arid climate (Köppen BSh) just short of a tropical savanna climate (Aw). The city receives less than a third of the rainfall that Chittagong has at a similar latitude on the Bay of Bengal. Unlike most monsoonal semi-arid climates, the rainy season is relatively long at around five to six months, while variability and extreme monthly and daily rainfalls are much lower than usual with this type of climate.[4]

People

Places of interest

The Kaunghmudaw Pagoda (Burmese: pronounced as /[káʊɴ m̥ṵ dɔ̀ pʰəjá]/; Yaza Mani Sula Kaunghmudaw ; Pali: Rājamaṇicūḷā) is a large pagoda on the northwestern outskirts of Sagaing.

See also

References

http://www.sagainguni.edu.mm/?page_id=1752&lang=en

Notes and References

  1. Book: Hardiman, John Percy. Gazetteer of Upper Burma and the Shan States. 1901. Superintendent, Government Printing, Burma. en.
  2. Book: Coedès, George. George Coedès. Walter F. Vella. trans.Susan Brown Cowing. The Indianized States of south-east Asia. 1968. University of Hawaii Press. 978-0-8248-0368-1.
  3. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=656&page=15 Irrawaddy article 1997
  4. See Camberlin . Pierre . 10.3354/cr00856. More variable tropical climates have a slower demographic growth. 2010. Climate Research. 41. 157–167. 2010ClRes..41..157C . free.