Ava 2156441 222934517 2008-07-01T20:26:13Z Hintha 111392 Converted Burmese text to Unicode 5.1 {{otheruses}} {{History of Myanmar}} [[Image:MyanmarMandalay.png|right]] '''Innwa''' ({{MYname|MY=အင်းဝမြို့|MLCTS=ang: wa. mrui.}}; formerly '''Ava''') is a city in the [[Mandalay Division]] of [[Myanmar]], situated just to the south of [[Amarapura]] on the [[Ayeyarwady River]]. It is also called '''Ratanapura''' ({{my|ရတနာပူရ}}), which means City of Gems in Pali. The name ''Innwa'' means mouth of the lake, which comes from ''in'' ({{my|အင္‌း}}), meaning lake, and ''wa'' ({{my|ဝ}}), which means mouth. Ava is also a name. ==History== [[Image:-Burma1300sAvaThu Ye Gyee.jpg|left|140px]] Ava was capital of Burma from 1364-1841 founded by King [[Thadominbya]] on an artificial island at the confluence of the Ayeyarwady and the [[Myitnge]] created by digging a canal linking the two rivers <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.seasite.niu.edu/burmese/cooler/Chapter_4/Part1/post_pagan_period__part_1.htm| title=The Post Pagan Period - Ava by Dr. [[Richard M. Cooler]], Northern Illinois University}}</ref>. Prior to this, [[Sagaing]] had been capital, but after Sagaing fell to the [[Shan]], the court moved across the river to Ava. The kings of Ava set about restoring Burmese supremacy, which had disintegrated after the collapse of [[Bagan|Pagan]] to the [[Mongol]] invasion under [[Kublai Khan]] that ended the First Burmese Empire founded by King [[Anawrahta]] in 1057. A Burman [[Ava Dynasty]] hi(1364-1527) was eventually established at the city of Ava by 1364. Pagan culture was revived and a great age of [[Literature of Myanmar|Burmese literature]] ensued. The kingdom lacked easily defendable borders, however, and was overrun by the [[Shan people|Shan]] in 1527. The Kingdom of Ava was involved in continuous warfare with [[Tai peoples|Tai]] (Shan) princelings to the north on the frontier with [[Yunnan]]. There were repeated Tai raids on the capital of Ava and Ava sent military northwards to attack Tai fiefdoms such as [[Mong Mao]]. The [[Ming dynasty]] that ruled China from the late [[fourteenth century]] often tried unsuccessfully to put an end to this warfare through traditional Chinese diplomacy. Ava occasionally became involved in the warfare between the Ming and Tai in Yunnan such as in the [[Luchuan-Pingmian Campaigns]] (1436-1449). In 1555, Ava fell to the southern Burmese Kingdom of [[Taungoo]] which led to the founding of the Second Burmese Empire by King [[Tabinshwehti]], but in 1636, the king of Taungoo relocated his own capital to Ava. In 1752, the [[Mon (ethnic group)|Mon]] revolted against Burmese rule and sacked Ava. A couple of years later, the founder of the new [[Konbaung Dynasty]] and the Third Burmese Empire, [[Alaungpaya]], crushed the Mon revolt, and after a period with [[Shwebo]] as his capital, re-established the court in Ava. Following the [[Kingdom of Great Britain|British]] conquest of [[Lower Burma]] after the [[Second Anglo-Burmese War]] (1852-53), [[Upper Burma]] was commonly called the '''Kingdom of Ava''' or the '''Court of Ava'''. During the reign of King [[Bodawpaya]] (lit. Lord Royal Grandfather,1781-1819), the capital was moved to nearby Amarapura. However, his successor, King [[Bagyidaw]] (lit. Royal Elder Uncle, 1819-1837), moved the Court back to Ava in 1823. When a tremendous earthquake caused extensive damage in 1841, Ava was finally abandoned for Amarapura.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://dlxs.library.cornell.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=sea;cc=sea;sid=c19d1d00582443e926ed2a35918fa664;rgn=full%20text;idno=sea282;view=image;seq=473|title=Wanderings in Burma|first=George W|last=Bird|year=1897|publisher=F J Bright & Son|location=London|pages=321-325}}</ref> Little remains of the ancient capital today. Because of the earthquake that happened in 1939, most of the palaces in Ava were destroyed. ==Today== [[Image:Ruin Ava(Innwa) Myanmar(Burma).jpg|thumb|160px|One of the many ruins at Ava.]] The city is a popular tourist day-trip destination from [[Mandalay]]. ===Sights of interest=== # Maha Aungmye Bonzan – A [[Buddhist]] monastery built by Nanmadaw Mè Nu, the wife of King Bagyidaw, in 1818, in traditional style except it was masonry instead of wood (popularly known as Mè Nu Ok Kyaung) # Nanmyin Watch Tower – a 27 meter high masonry tower, all that is left of the Ava Palace # Judson Memorial - a stone that marks the site of Let Ma Yun (lit. no pulling punches)prison where the American missionary [[Adoniram Judson]] was incarcerated during the [[First Anglo-Burmese War]] (1824-26) # Htihlaing Shin Paya - a [[stupa]] built by King [[Kyanzittha]] of [[Bagan]] period (11th c.) # Ava Bridge – a 16 span [[cantilever bridge]] built by the British in 1934, and the only structure to cross the Ayeyarwady River. A new bridge is currently under construction nearby. ==See also== *[[AVA]] ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== *[http://www.seasite.niu.edu/Burmese/literature/Short_Stories/INNWA/Innwa1.htm Innwa - a short story by Theippan Maung Wa 1931] inc. audio *[http://www.yangonmetro.com/enchantingmyanmar/enchantingmyanmar3-2/hiddentreasure.htm Hidden Treasures of Inwa] Tin Tun in ''Enchanting Myanmar'' {{coor title dm|21|52|N|96|01|E|region:MM-04_type:city_source:dewiki}} [[Category:Cities, towns and villages in the Mandalay Division]] [[Category:History of Burma]] [[de:Ava (Myanmar)]] [[es:Ava]] [[fr:Ava (Birmanie)]] [[gl:Ava]] [[it:Ava (Birmania)]] [[la:Ava]] [[nl:Ava (stad)]] [[ru:Ава (город)]] [[sv:Ava]] [[vi:Innwa]] [[zh:阿瓦]]