The Ancient City of Mokti in the Tenth to Thirteenth Century CE Bagan Period

Abstract

Abstract:The history of Mokti during the tenth to thirteenth century CE is generally framed by two votive tablets inscribed by officials of the Bagan King Kyanzittha. This article documents additional evidence from Mokti to put the site in the context of other polities in Lower Myanmar, rather than consigning it to a provincial garrison that merited the sending of governors from the distant court. Terracotta votive tablets and stone and bronze objects include Buddhist and Brahmanic styles that reflect local and regional interchange. When understood in relation to the neighbouring polities of Wei Di, Thaton and Tanintharyi, rather than the distant capital at Bagan, Mokti exemplifies the localization of the many sites in Myanmar dating to this period. Taken in aggregate at sites throughout Myanmar, Mokti highlights a variability that is lost when places with objects or structures dating to the Bagan period are homogenized into outposts rather than taken on their own terms and within local networks.