Myanmar - Mon - First Hongsawatoi Dynasty - AD 573-781

By the ninth century AD the nations had consolidated themselves - the Burmans in the greater part of what is now Upper Burma; the Mon on the Lower Irrawaddy, the Sittang, and the Salween; while the Khmer were at the height of their power, with magnificent towns and temples in Cambodia. A number of Mon cities flourished, among them Thuwannabhumi (Suvannabhumi, "Land of Gold") of the Mons [825-1043].

In the fourteenth century the Tai moved from Tali, and overran Northern Burma, forcing the Burmese down on the Mon, and occupying the delta of the Menam, thus finally separating the two chief nations of the Mon-Khmer family. In the sixteenth century the Burmans and Mons may be said to have merged. They fought as vigorously as ever, and first one and then the other had the upper hand, until in the end Alaungpayah crushed the Mon, and founded Rangoon to punctuate his victory.

The ancient books recording the history of the kingdom of Pegu were destroyed when the kingdom was conquered by the Burmans, and only a list of kings remains, ending with the name of King Titha, who ruled from 761 to 781 AD. But it is believed that Buddhaghosa brought the Tripitaka or Buddhist Scriptures to Thaton about the year 450 AD. From that time onward the disputes between Buddhists and Brahmins must have become more acute, and the country was probably much disturbed by their quarrels. Buddhist doctrine finally won the day.