A large two-storeyed temple in the old city near the river.
English Wikipedia says its construction began in 1203, in Sithu II's reign, and that it was completed on 26 March 1227, in Htilominlo's reign; it names no builder and cites Coedes and the Maha Yazawin. The campaign board and the brief say it is 'begun and unfinished' or 'going up now' on 1 January 1200 and add that the inscriptions do not date the start. The two statements cannot both be right: on the page's date the site is empty on 1 January 1200 and the work begins three years later; on the campaign board's it is already rising.
We follow the page, because it is the only dated statement, and flag the campaign board.
Who holds it
- Name
- Narapatisithu (start) and Htilominlo (finish), by the page's reign dates; the page names no builder
- Title
- Patron
- Since
- 1203 on English Wikipedia; not pinned on the campaign board
- Born
- not pinned
- Family
- See Narapatisithu (Sithu II).
- Confidence
- low
English Wikipedia, Gawdawpalin Temple (citing Coedes, the Maha Yazawin and Fiala).
What it holds
- The site and the work, once begun
How things stand that morning
Either a foundation not yet laid (the page) or a building site (the campaign board).
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- 1203Construction of the Gawdawpalin begins in Sithu II's reign (English Wikipedia).Depends on: The king has the means and wishes to build; nothing in the realm has changed his programme. Stopped by: A fiscal strain, a war or the king's death.
- 26 March 1227The temple is finished in Htilominlo's reign (English Wikipedia).Depends on: Htilominlo succeeds in 1211 and carries on. Stopped by: A different succession or a collapse of the building programme.
Places of note
- The Gawdawpalin: Site of the temple (board coordinates).
Where the sources disagree
- The campaign board entry gawdawpalin: 'begun in Narapatisithu's reign and still rising on this board... the year the scaffolding went up is not recoverable'. The page dates the start to 1203. The brief says begun and unfinished. Treat the start as undated in the campaign notes and, if a date is wanted, 1203.
Evidence: One page with a start date and a finish date and no inscription; the campaign board contradicts it without a date.
"The campaign board" is OMNIA's working map. These notes record where its earlier claims were checked against the sources.
Primary sources for Kingdom of Pagan
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- The Glass Palace Chronicle of the Kings of Burma, The Royal Historical Commission of King Bagyidaw (Monywe Sayadaw and others), drawing on U Kala's Maha Yazawin (about 1724) and earlier chronicles (1829 to 1832). The standard Burmese court chronicle, compiled six centuries after 1200 from older chronicles now lost. Read online
- The later Tai, Lao and Mon chronicles of the north, Ratanapanna (Jinakalamali); Bodhiramsi (Chamadevivamsa); anonymous monks and court scribes (the Chamadevivamsa about 1410; the Jinakalamali 1516 to 1528; the Chiang Mai Chronicle in its surviving form 1827; the Nithan Khun Borom 16th to 17th century). There is no text of 1200 for the Mon kingdom of Haripunjaya, the Tai muang of Ngoenyang (Chiang Saen), Chiang Rung, the Yom and Nan valleys, or the Lao middle Mekong.
- History of Song, chapters 488 and 489: Jiaozhi, Dali, Champa, Zhenla, Pagan, Srivijaya, Java, Brunei, Chola and Tambralinga, Toqto'a (Tuotuo) and the Yuan history office, from the Song court records (1343 to 1345, from Song veritable records and court diaries). The Chinese court's record of its southern neighbours, compiled from Song archives. Read online
- Epigraphia Birmanica, being lithic and other inscriptions of Burma, Various, edited by Taw Sein Ko, C. Duroiselle and C. O. Blagden (inscriptions of the 11th to 15th centuries; the series ran from 1919 to 1936). The Archaeological Survey of Burma's series of edited inscriptions with full translations. Read online
- Inscriptions of Pagan, Pinya and Ava; Inscriptions of Burma, Various (the Pagan kings, queens, ministers and donors), edited by Tun Nyein, Taw Sein Ko, G. H. Luce and Pe Maung Tin (inscriptions of the 11th to 14th centuries; editions 1899 and 1933 to 1956). The dedicatory inscriptions of Pagan are the only contemporary texts for the kingdom of Narapatisithu (reigning 1174 to 1211). Read online
- A Description of the Foreign Peoples (Records of Foreign Nations), Zhao Rukuo (Zhao Rugua) (1225 at Quanzhou). The best single text for the island world around 1200, written by the superintendent of maritime trade at Quanzhou from merchants' reports a generation after the date. Read online
- Notes in Answer to Questions about the Lands beyond the Passes, Zhou Qufei (周去非) (1178, after service in Guangxi). A Guangxi official's notes, written twenty years before 1200, on the south-western frontier of the Song and the countries beyond. Read online
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.