The moment
Anawrahta, who took the throne of Pagan in 1044, built the first Burmese empire and gave royal backing to Theravāda monks. Chronicles say the Mon monk Shin Arahan converted him and that in 1057 he seized the scriptures of Thaton and carried them north. Over the next two centuries kings and commoners covered the plain with thousands of brick temples and stupas, each built to earn merit.
People: Anawrahta, Shin Arahan