Thaton facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Thaton Burmese: သထုံ Mon: သဓီု
Town
Thaton Location in Myanmar
Country	Myanmar
Division	Mon State
District	Thaton District
Population  (2007)
• Total	130,763
• Religions	Theravada Buddhism
Time zone	UTC+6.30 (MST)
Area code(s)	57

Thaton is a town in Mon State, located in southern Myanmar. It sits on the Tenasserim plains. Thaton is connected by important roads, including National Highway 8 and National Road 85. It is about 230 kilometres (140 mi) southeast of Yangon and 70 kilometres (43 mi) north of Mawlamyine. Thaton was once the capital of the Thaton Kingdom, a powerful kingdom that existed from at least 400 BC to the mid-1000s AD.

What Does the Name Thaton Mean?

The name Thaton comes from the Mon language word Sathuim. This word itself comes from Sudhammapura in the Pali language. Sudhammapura was the name of a special hall of the gods called Sudharma. This name has a deep meaning in Buddhism. According to ancient texts, it was the city where the Śobhita Buddha was born. It was also the name of his father. The name "Sudhammavati" was also used for a city where the Sujāta Buddha held his first meeting of monks.

Where is Thaton Located?

Thaton is built on a "fan-like" area at the base of a long mountain range. The coast is to the west. The city itself has a noticeable slope, going from 43 meters (141 feet) above sea level in the northeast to 9 meters (30 feet) in the southwest.

Just south of Thaton, the mountains open up into a valley about 20 kilometers (12 miles) long. This valley provides a path to Hpa-an and eventually to central Thailand through the Three Pagodas Pass. Besides the main mountain range, eight smaller hills form a low curve around the city. Seven of these hills are on the west and south, protecting the city from floods coming from the sea. The eighth hill, Neimindara, is in the northeast. It was likely a very important spot for defense in ancient times.

There is a fault line on the west side of Thaton, which the railway follows. To the south, you can find the Gawt and Waba streams.

Southern Myanmar has a lot of laterite, which is a reddish-yellow soil rich in iron. In Thaton, this soil is found as a "clay layer" about 10 centimeters (4 inches) below the ground. In the past, laterite was a common building material in southern Myanmar. Today, it is also mined for iron north of Thaton.

Over time, silt has built up, causing the coastline to move about 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) away from Thaton. This has made Thaton a quieter town on the railway line that runs from Bago to Mawlamyine.

What is the Climate Like?

A Brief History of Thaton

Thaton was the capital of the Thaton Kingdom, a Mon Kingdom that ruled parts of Lower Burma between the 4th and 11th centuries. Some modern Mon people believe this kingdom was the semi-historical "Golden Land" (Suwarnabhumi). However, many different groups in south-east Asia claim this, and experts disagree.

Thaton was an important seaport on the Gulf of Martaban during the time of the Dvaravati kingdom. It was a key place for trade with India and Sri Lanka. A monk named Shin Arahan, who was born in Thaton, later helped bring Theravada Buddhism north to the Burmese kingdom of Bagan. In 1057, King Anawrahta of Bagan conquered Thaton.

However, some historians, like Michael Aung-Thwin, question this traditional story. They point out that no ancient writings from that time mention a "Thaton Kingdom" or its conquest by Anawrahta. The full story of the conquest only appears in later histories written in the 1700s. Aung-Thwin also suggests that the area where Thaton is located might have been under the ocean during the first 1000 years AD, as the coastline was likely much further inland.

What Do Old Writings Tell Us?

The first clear mention of Thaton is found in the Kalyani Inscriptions from 1479. These writings were in the Middle Mon language and were made by Dhammazedi. They use the name "Sudhuim," which is the usual Mon name for Thaton.

Thaton is not mentioned in earlier writings, even though other inscriptions from Bagan and Ava kings talk about places further south. Later, in 1486, the name Sudhammapura appears in three Mon inscriptions. There is one inscription supposedly from 1067 that talks about a temple built by a king Manuho of Thaton. But experts believe this inscription was made much later, possibly in the 1500s, because of the way certain words are spelled.

The oldest dated inscriptions found near Thaton (but not mentioning it directly) are the Kyaik Talan and Kyaik Te inscriptions from 1098. These were made under King Kyanzittha. They were found at stupas (Buddhist shrines) in Ayetthema, near Kelasa Mountain. These inscriptions record that the stupas were repaired under Kyanzittha.

What Have Archaeologists Found?

An archaeological dig took place in Thaton between 1975 and 1977. The site is quite small, covering about 1,250 square meters (1,500 square yards), and has at most three main stupas. A large building, possibly a palace, has been partly uncovered in the center of the site. Parts of the city walls also still remain.

The walled area of Thaton is mostly rectangular, measuring about 2010 meters (6,594 feet) from north to south and 1290 meters (4,232 feet) from east to west. The walls are not perfectly straight; the northeast and southeast corners have rounded parts that helped drain water from streams coming down from the mountains. This layout is similar to the ancient city of Halin, which also had a rectangular shape.

The lower parts of Thaton's city walls contain many bricks with finger marks on them. These "fingermarked bricks" are common in ancient buildings from the first millennium AD across Myanmar, India, and Thailand. Because of this, some experts believe the walls of Thaton also date back to the first millennium.

Remains of city gates have been found on the north and south walls, but none have been found on the east or west walls.

Archaeologists also found three carved stone reliefs of Hindu gods in Thaton in the 1800s. These carvings are thought to be from the 9th, 10th, or 11th centuries. One shows Shiva and Parvati. The other two are reddish sandstone carvings, each over a meter (3 feet) tall, showing the god Vishnu resting on the serpent Ananta Shesha. Three lotus stems are shown growing from Vishnu's belly button, with smaller figures of Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva sitting on them. These carvings suggest that different religions were practiced in Thaton during the first millennium. Sadly, all three were destroyed during the Second World War.

Another carving found in Thaton is a 1.2-meter (4-foot) tall image of Shiva sitting down, with his bull Nandi below his right leg.

There are also special boundary stones called sema at the Kalyani Thein ordination hall near the Shweyazan stupa. These sema are over a meter tall and have carvings showing scenes from the life of Gautama Buddha and flower designs. Their exact age is not certain.

The archaeological dig in the 1970s did not use radiocarbon dating, so the exact age of the site is still unknown. However, the fingermarked bricks suggest that people lived in Thaton during the first millennium AD.

Places to Visit in Thaton

• Shwesayan Pagoda: This is the main Buddhist pagoda in Thaton, located near the town's Myoma Market.
• Myathabeik Pagoda: This pagoda sits on a hilltop east of the town, offering great views.
• U Pho Thi Library: Located at the Saddhammajotikārāma Monastery, this library has a large collection of ancient palm-leaf manuscripts.

Health and Education

• Thaton District Hospital: Provides healthcare services to the community.
• Computer University (Thaton): Offers five-year bachelor's degree programs in computer science and computer technology.
• Thaton Institute of Agriculture: An institute focused on agricultural studies.