Myanmar operates de jure as a unitary assembly-independent republic under its 2008 constitution. The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Myanmar an "authoritarian regime" in 2019. This is following the military having given up some, but not all, power following the dismantlement of the Burmese military dictatorship, which ruled from 1962 to 2011.
The Mon language is an Austroasiatic language spoken by the Mon people. Mon, like the related Khmer language, but unlike most languages in mainland Southeast Asia, is not tonal. The Mon language is a recognised indigenous language in Myanmar as well as a recognised indigenous language of Thailand.
The Mon are a Southeast Asian ethnic group who inhabit Myanmar's Mon State, Bago Region, the Irrawaddy Delta, the southern Myanmar border with Thailand, and Thailand's Thon Buri District, Pakret District, Phra Pradaeng District and Lat Krabang District.
The Shan people, also known as the Dai or Tai Yai, are a Tai ethnic group of Southeast Asia. The Shan are the biggest minority of Burma (Myanmar) and primarily live in the Shan State of this country, but also inhabit parts of Mandalay Region, Kachin State, and Kayin State, and in adjacent regions of China, Laos, Assam and Thailand. Though no reliable census has been taken in Burma since 1935, the Shan are estimated to number 4–6 million, with CIA Factbook giving an estimate of five million spread throughout Myanmar which is about 10% of the overall Burmese population.
Thaton is a town in Mon State, in southern Myanmar on the Tenasserim plains. Thaton lies along the National Highway 8 and is also connected by the National Road 85. It is 230 km south east of Yangon and 70 km north of Mawlamyine. Thaton was the capital of Thaton Kingdom from at least the 4th century BC to the middle of the 11th century AD.
Mon kingdoms were political establishments by the Mon-speaking people that ruled large sections of present-day Burma (Myanmar) at various times in the last 1200 years. The kingdoms in chronological order are the Thaton Kingdom, the Hanthawaddy Kingdom (1287–1539), and the Restored Hanthawaddy Kingdom (1740–1757).
The Kingdom of Pagan was the first kingdom to unify the regions that would later constitute modern-day Burma (Myanmar). Pagan's 250-year rule over the Irrawaddy valley and its periphery laid the foundation for the ascent of Burmese language and culture, the spread of Burman ethnicity in Upper Burma, and the growth of Theravada Buddhism in Burma and in mainland Southeast Asia.
The internal conflict in Myanmar is a series of insurgencies in Myanmar that began shortly after the country, then known as Burma, gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1948. The conflict has largely been ethnic-based, with several ethnic armed groups fighting Myanmar's armed forces, the Tatmadaw, for self-determination. Despite numerous ceasefires and the creation of autonomous self-administered zones in 2008, many groups continue to call for independence, increased autonomy, or the federalisation of the country. The conflict is also the world's longest ongoing civil war, having spanned more than seven decades.
Smim Htaw Buddhaketi was the first king of the Restored Kingdom of Hanthawaddy which overthrew Toungoo Dynasty's rule in Lower Burma. From 1740 to 1747, the ethnic Burman king was a nominal figurehead of the ethnic Mon rebellion. He was selected to be king by the leaders of the Mon insurrection for his royal lineage.
Wareru was the founder of the Martaban Kingdom, located in present-day Myanmar (Burma). By using both diplomatic and military skills, he successfully carved out a Mon-speaking polity in Lower Burma, during the collapse of the Pagan Empire in the 1280s. Wareru was assassinated in 1307 but his line ruled the kingdom until its fall in the mid-16th century.
Hkun Law was king of Martaban from 1307 to 1311. He succeeded the throne after the death of his brother Wareru, who left no male heir.
The Restored Hanthawaddy Kingdom was the kingdom that ruled Lower Burma and parts of Upper Burma from 1740 to 1757. The kingdom grew out of a rebellion by the Mon people, who then formed the majority in Lower Burma, against the Burman Toungoo Dynasty of Ava in Upper Burma. The rebellion succeeded in restoring the fallen Mon-speaking Kingdom of Hanthawaddy, which ruled Lower Burma from 1287 to 1539. Supported by the French, the upstart kingdom quickly carved out a space for itself in Lower Burma, and continued its push northward. In March 1752, its forces captured Ava, and ended the 266-year-old Toungoo dynasty.
Smim Sawhtut was a pretender to the Hanthawaddy throne, who assassinated King Tabinshwehti of Toungoo. The ethnic Mon governor of Sittaung was a minister in the court of Tabinshwehti, who had conquered the Mon-speaking Hanthawaddy Pegu in 1539. He became a close confidant of the king. On 30 April 1550, he lured the king to the region near Pantanaw in the Irrawaddy delta to search for a white elephant—considered auspicious by the Burmese, and there assassinated him.
The Konbaung–Hanthawaddy War was the war fought between the Konbaung Dynasty and the Restored Hanthawaddy Kingdom of Burma (Myanmar) from 1752 to 1757. The war was the last of several wars between the Burmese-speaking north and the Mon-speaking south that ended the Mon people's centuries-long dominance of the south.
Ceasefires in Myanmar have been heavily utilized by the Burmese government as a policy to contain ethnic rebel groups and create tentative truces. The first ceasefire was arranged by the State Law and Order Restoration Council in 1989, specifically spearheaded by Khin Nyunt, then the Chief of Military Intelligence, with the Kokang-led National Democratic Alliance Army, which had recently split from the Communist Party of Burma due to internal conflicts.
Yayway Cemetery is a cemetery located in North Okkalapa Township, Yangon, Myanmar. The cemetery is the final resting place of many prominent Burmese. The cemetery is maintained by the Yangon City Development Committee's environmental maintenance department. Yayway Cemetery also consists of various ethnic and religious cemeteries, including those of the Burmese Indians, Sino-Burmese, Karen, Japanese, Baháʼís, Hindus, Christians, Muslims, Parsis, and Jews.
Razadarit Ayedawbon is a Burmese chronicle covering the history of Ramanya from 1287 to 1421. The chronicle consists of accounts of court intrigues, rebellions, diplomatic missions, wars etc. About half of the chronicle is devoted to the reign of King Razadarit, detailing the great king's struggles in the Forty Years' War against King Minkhaung I and Crown Prince Minye Kyawswa of Ava.
Mon State is an administrative division of Myanmar. It lies between Kayin State to the east, the Andaman Sea to the west, Bago Region to the north and Tanintharyi Region to the south, also having a short border with Thailand's Kanchanaburi Province at its south-eastern tip. The land area is 12,155 km2 (4,693 sq mi). The Dawna Range, running along the eastern side of the state in a NNW–SSE direction, forms a natural border with Kayin State. Mon State includes some small islands, such as Kalegauk, Wa Kyun and Kyungyi Island, along its 566 km (352 mi) of coastline. The state's capital is Mawlamyine.
Burmese nationalism is a form of nationalism that asserts Myanmar is a nation and promotes the cultural identity of the Burmese people.
