Thaton

For Thaton subdistrict in Chiang Mai, Thailand, see Tha Ton.
Thaton
သထုံ(သထံု)
Thaton

Location in Burma

Coordinates: 16°56′N 97°22′E / 16.933°N 97.367°E / 16.933; 97.367Coordinates: 16°56′N 97°22′E / 16.933°N 97.367°E / 16.933; 97.367
Country  Burma
Division Mon State
District Thaton District
Population (2007)
 • Total 130,763
 • Religions Theravada Buddhism
Time zone MST (UTC+6.30)
Area code(s) 57[1]

Thaton (Burmese: သထုံျမိဳ႕; MLCTS: sa. htum mrui.; Mon: သထံု, [kəthɜ̀m]) 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.

Etymology

Thaton is the Burmese name of Sadhuim in Mon, which in turn is from Sudhammapura (သုဓမ္မပူရ) in Pali, after Sudharma, the moot hall of the gods.[2]

History

Thaton was the capital of the Thaton Kingdom, which ruled present day Lower Burma between the 9th and 11th centuries. Like the Burmans and the Thais, some modern Mons have tried to identify their ethnicity and, specifically this kingdom at Thaton, with the semi-historical kingdom of Suwarnabhumi ("The Golden Land"); today, this claim is contested by many different ethnicities in south-east Asia, and contradicted by scholars. Historical scholarship indicates that the early usage of the term (as found in the edicts of Ashoka of India, who sent Buddhist missionaries there in the 3rd century BC) indicated a location in southern India, and not in south-east Asia.

In the kingdom of Dvaravati, Thaton was an important seaport on the Gulf of Martaban, for trade with India and Sri Lanka. Shin Arahan, also called Dhammadassi, a monk born in Thaton and raised and educated in Nakhon Pathom, an old capital of the Mon kingdom of Dvaravadi, now in Thailand, took Theravada Buddhism north to the Burmese kingdom of Bagan. In 1057, King Anawrahta of Bagan conquered Thaton.

Geography

Silting has resulted in the coastline moving 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) away from Thaton, which is now a sleepy town on the rail line from Bago to Mottama.

References

  1. ↑ "Myanmar Area Codes". Retrieved 2009-04-10.
  2. ↑ H.L. Shorto (2002). "The 32 Myos in the medieval Mon Kingdom". In Vladimir I. Braginsky. Classical civilisations of South East Asia: an anthology of articles. Routledge. p. 590. ISBN 9780700714100.
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