Sagaing (, ) is a town in the
Sagaing Region of
Myanmar
Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...
. It is located on the
Irrawaddy River, to the south-west of
Mandalay on the opposite bank of the river. Sagaing, with its numerous
Buddhist monasteries, is an important religious and monastic centre. The
pagodas and monasteries crowd the numerous hills along the ridge running parallel to the river. The central pagoda, Soon U Ponya Shin Pagoda, is connected by a set of covered staircases that run up the hill.
Today, with about 70,000 inhabitants, the city is part of
Mandalay metropolitan area, home to more than 1,022,000 inhabitants as of 2011. It is a frequent tourist destination for day trippers, usually as part of the "three former capitals" itinerary alongside
Amarapura and
Innwa.
The city is home to five institutions of higher learning: the
Sagaing Institute of Education,
Sagaing Education College,
Sagaing Technological University,
Sagaing University of Co-operative and Management, and Sagaing University. The latter was established on 11 February 2012; it is located in Pakatoe Quarter,
Sagaing Township, with an area of .
Name
The classical name of Sagaing is Zeyapura (; ), which literally translates to "city of victory."
History
Sagaing was the capital of
Sagaing Kingdom (1315–1364), one of the minor kingdoms that rose up after the fall of
Pagan dynasty, where one of
Thihathu's sons, Athinkhaya, established himself.
During the
Ava period (1364–1555), the city was the common
fief
A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...
of the crown prince or senior princes. During the reign of King
Naungdawgyi, Sagaing briefly became the royal capital between 1760 and 1763.
On 8 August 1988, Sagaing was the site of mass public protests in support of the
8888 Uprising, which were brutally crushed by a massacre in which around 300 civilians were killed by local police forces.
Despite its name, the town is not the capital of Sagaing Region. However, groups including the civil society group "Steering Committee for the Return of All Regional Offices to Sagaing City in Accordance with the Constitution" object to this saying that the use of
Monywa as the regional capital is unconstitutional per the
2008 Constitution of Myanmar.
As the epicentre of the 7.7-magnitude
2025 Sagaing earthquake, the city suffered loss of life as well as extensive damage to its buildings and infrastructure alongside neighbouring Mandalay. The
Ava Bridge, one of two road-rail bridges connecting Sagaing to Mandalay, has partially collapsed.
The city's fire station also collapsed, hampering relief efforts and trapping many.
More than 100 bodies were recovered from the rubble of destroyed builings and 90 percent of structures were destroyed. An estimated over 150 Muslim worshippers in the city died across three collapsed mosques. Out of the five mosques in Sagaing, four collapsed due to the earthquake. The Min Street Mosque is feared to have collapsed with over 100 people inside. Several monastic schools and a nunnery in the city were also damaged, likely killing people in the hundreds and trapping over 900 monks across four schools.
Demographics
In 2014, the city had 81,432 people within its city limits. The broader
Sagaing Township had 307,194 people. In 2019, the city's population dropped to 79,944 people
before returning to 83,939 people in 2023. However, the broader Sagaing township area had fallen in population to 295,195 people.
Climate
Located in the rain shadow of the
Arakan Mountains, Sagaing has a borderline
hot semi-arid climate (
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
''BSh'') just short of a
tropical savanna climate (''Aw''). The city receives less than a third of the rainfall that
Chittagong has at a similar latitude on the
Bay of Bengal. Unlike most monsoonal semi-arid climates, the rainy season is relatively long at around five to six months, while variability and extreme monthly and daily rainfalls are much lower than usual with this type of climate.
[See ]
People
*
Sithu Kyawhtin, King of Ava (1552–1555)
*
Zhu Youlang, Prince of Gui, last
Ming Dynasty
The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...
claimant to China, lived in exile at Sagaing in 1661
*
Maurice Collis
Maurice Stewart Collis (10 January 1889 – 12 January 1973) was an administrator in Burma (Myanmar) when it was part of the British Empire, and afterwards a writer on Southeast Asia, China and other historical subjects.
Life
He was born in Du ...
, author of ''
Trials in Burma
''Trials in Burma'' is a memoir by Maurice Collis, an English author of Irish origin who served in Burma in the Indian Civil Service under the British Empire written in 1937 describing events in 1929-30.
After postings at Arakan, Sagaing and el ...
'', district commissioner of the Sagaing district in 1928
*
Tom Mitford, brother of the
Mitford Sisters, was killed while serving with the
Devonshire Regiment
The Devonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that served under various titles and served in many wars and conflicts from 1685 to 1958, such as the Second Boer War, the World War I, First World War and the World War II, ...
at Sagaing in 1945.
*
Zaw Hlaing Thein, politician
Places of interest
The
Kaunghmudaw Pagoda (Burmese: ; Yaza Mani Sula Kaunghmudaw (); Pali: Rājamaṇicūḷā) is a large pagoda on the northwestern outskirts of Sagaing.
Images
File:Sagaing Hill.jpg, Sagaing Hill
File:Sagaing, Myanmar.jpg, Irrawaddy River from Sagaing Hill, Sagaing
File:Sagaing, Buddhist stupas, Myanmar.jpg, Pagodas
File:Sagaing, Buddhist monks, Myanmar.jpg, Buddhist monks
File:Sagaing, View, Myanmar.jpg, Viewpoint at Sagaing Hill
File:Sagaing2.jpg, Pagodas dotting Sagaing's landscape
File:U Min Thonze exterior, Sagaing, Sagaing Division, Burma.jpg, U Min Thonze cave
File:Sone Oo Pone Nya Shin Pagoda.jpg, Sone Oo Pone Nya Shin Pagoda, Sagaing Hill
File:Umin Thonze Pagoda.JPG, U Min Thonze Pagoda
File:Two bridges of Sagaing.jpg, The Ava and Yadanabon bridges, connecting Sagaing and Mandalay
File:Sagaing hill.jpg, Panoramic view from top of Sagaing Hill
See also
*
List of kings of Sagaing Kingdom
References
{{Authority control
Township capitals of Myanmar
Populated places in Sagaing Region
Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Myanmar