Pathein

The name is believed to derive from the Old Mon name, {{lang|my|ဖာသီ}} ({{IPA|[pha sɛm]}}).Dictionary of Modern Spoken Mon by H.L. Shorto (1962, Oxford University Press) "pha" means great or wide and sī/sɛm means river or sea. Pha-sɛm means a big sea. The name was corrupted to Bassein during the British colonial period.

An alternate theory holds that the city's name comes from the classical name of Pathein, Kusimanagara, a name used by ancient writings and the Kalyani inscriptions. Pathein itself is a corruption of Mon "Kuthen," which itself is a contraction of Kusima or Kusimanagara, a Pali name for the city.{{cite book|title=Buddhaghosuppatti|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.279735|editor=James Gray|publisher=Luzac & Company|location=London|date=1892|pages=11}} This is supported by the fact that the Portuguese call Pathein "Cosmim."

Another theory is that modern name Pathein potentially derives from this time period based on the word Patkain, a version of the archaic Burmese word for Muslims pathi ({{langx|my|ပသီ}}), based on either the growing presence of Arab traders in Pathein during the 16th century or on a purported Muslim Indian who ruled the city around 1233 CE.

File:Bassein, late 1800s.jpg

According to local history, the city was first a town called Thinsawanargara ({{langx|my|သဉ္စဝနာဂရ}}) was founded in 325 BCE by a King "Sri Dhammasoka". The first extant record of a settlement in the location called Kusima in the Pali language comes from a Sri Lankan rock inscription dated to 1165 CE. It is often mentioned that the city was part of Buddhist Mon kingdoms prior to the expansion of the Bagan Empire, however detailed research into the city's history is not extensive.{{cite book |title=On Money and Metta: Economy and Morality in Urban Buddhist Myanmar |last=Hornig |first=Laura |year=2020 |publisher= LIT Verlag |location=Münster |isbn=9783643963406 |pages=19–20}}

Pathein was raided in 1180 CE by Parakramabahu I of the Kingdom of Polonnaruwa in modern-day Sri Lanka, as attested by the Devanagala Rock inscription during the Polonnaruwa-Pagan War.{{cite journal |title= Buddhist Connections in the Indian Ocean: Changes in Monastic Mobility, 1000-1500 |last=Blackburn |first=Anne |date=6 July 2015 |journal=Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient |volume=48 |issue=3 |pages=237–266 |doi=10.1163/15685209-12341374 |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/jesh/58/3/article-p237_1.xml?language=en |access-date=23 October 2023}} The raid was retaliatroy against diplomatic incidents and hostility by Sithu II of Bagan, implying that Pathein was under Bagan rule by this time.{{cite book|last= Coedès|first= George|author-link= George Coedès|editor= Walter F. Vella|others= trans.Susan Brown Cowing|title= The Indianized States of Southeast Asia|year= 1968|publisher= University of Hawaii Press|isbn= 978-0-8248-0368-1}} The Bagan conquest of Lower Burma occurred earlier in 1057 under the reign of Anawrahta. However, various historians disagree on the extent of the empire and his military campaigns.{{cite book | author=Kyaw Thet | author-link=Kyaw Thet | title= History of Burma | year= 1962| publisher=Yangon University Press |location= Yangon | language=my |pages=41–42}} The latest date that Pathein could have become part of the Bagan empire is in 1265 CE where we have the oldest Burmese record of the city's existence.

Until the 15th century, most of Lower Burma was largely jungle and swamp land with little development. Burmese ports like Pathein were known by traders as early as the 10th or 11th century. However, it was only in the 14th century during the rise of the Hanthawaddy Kingdom, a Mon kingdom based on Pegu that brought Lower Burma to prominence as a trading hub.

In 1852, the British established a fort and garrison in the city after the First Anglo-Burmese War. The city grew during the colonial period as the terminus of a railroad line, becoming a rice-milling and export center as a port accessible to large vehicles.{{cite encyclopedia |title=Bassein |encyclopedia=The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia |date=2022 |publisher=Columbia University Press |location=New York |url=https://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Bassein |access-date=23 October 2023}}

File:Burma 170.JPG parasols]]

Lying at the western edge of the Ayeyarwady River delta, on the Pathein (Ngawan) River {{convert|118|mi|km}} west of Yangon, Pathein is accessible to large vessels and despite its distance from the ocean, it is the most important delta port outside of Yangon. The city is also a terminus of a branch of the main railroad line which connects it to Hinthada, Letpadan and Yangon. In the 1990s, the road network along the Irrawaddy to Monywa was improved.

The coastline along the Bay of Bengal is surrounded by the Arakan Mountains. In the area is Inye Lake, {{convert|1.5|mi}} long and {{convert|1|mi}} wide, which is known for its fishing. There is also an offshore reef at Diamond Island that is popular with bathers. Diamond Island is also noted as a turtle breeding ground.

The city is a rice-milling and export centre. Aside from several rice mills, the town has numerous sawmills and umbrella workshops. The colourful handmade parasols made in Pathein are widely known throughout Burma. They are known locally as Pathein hti.{{Cite web|url=http://www.journeysmyanmar.com/highlights_of_myanmar_pathein.htm|title=Pathein (Bassein)|publisher=Journeysmyanmar.com|access-date=August 21, 2009}} Pathein is also known for its pottery and colourful hand-made baskets and buckets. Among Pathein's most prominent industries also include production of salt, mats, and Pathein halawa.{{Cite web|url=https://myanmar.mmtimes.com/timeout/12379-2014-10-29-10-08-56.html|title=မြို့သမိုင်းကြောင်းစာအုပ် ရှာပုံတော်ဖွင့်ရာ အောင်မြင်မှု မရခဲ့တဲ့ ပုသိမ်|date=2014-10-29|website=The Myanmar Times|language=my|access-date=2019-11-15|archive-date=2019-11-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191115065946/https://myanmar.mmtimes.com/timeout/12379-2014-10-29-10-08-56.html|url-status=dead}} The textiles produced in Pathein Industrial Zone is, however, the largest industry economy of the city. After textiles, the main industry is the various rice mills that process agricultural produce from nearby villages and towns.{{cite report |author=Myanmar Information Management Unit |date=September 2019 |title=Pathein Myone Daethasaingyarachatlatmya|script-title=my:ပုသိမ်မြို့နယ် ဒေသဆိုင်ရာအချက်လက်များ|trans-title=Pathein Township Regional Information |url=https://themimu.info/sites/themimu.info/files/documents/TspProfiles_GAD_Pathein_2019_MMR.pdf |publisher=MIMU |access-date=October 24, 2022}}

The surrounding area outside Pathein are employed in agriculture and primarily cultivates rice. Other crops include sesames, groundnuts, jute, maize, pulse (legume)s, tobacco, chilies as well as a wide variety of fruits like banana and tamarind.

Pathein has a tropical monsoon climate (Am) according to the Köppen climate classification system. Pathein experiences a sustained period of extraordinary rainfall from June through August. The dry season which runs from December through April, begins with noticeably cooler temperatures than the remainder of the year, but becomes sweltering as the wet season approaches in March and April.

{{Weather box

|location = Pathein (1991–2020)

|single line = Y

|metric first = Y

|width = auto

|Jan record high C = 37.0

|Feb record high C = 39.7

|Mar record high C = 40.1

|Apr record high C = 41.8

|May record high C = 41.0

|Jun record high C = 36.4

|Jul record high C = 35.0

|Aug record high C = 34.5

|Sep record high C = 36.6

|Oct record high C = 37.8

|Nov record high C = 37.0

|Dec record high C = 36.3

|year record high C =

|Jan high C = 32.1

|Feb high C = 34.1

|Mar high C = 35.9

|Apr high C = 36.9

|May high C = 34.5

|Jun high C = 31.1

|Jul high C = 30.4

|Aug high C = 30.0

|Sep high C = 31.1

|Oct high C = 32.5

|Nov high C = 33.0

|Dec high C = 31.9

|year high C = 32.8

|Jan mean C = 24.9

|Feb mean C = 26.6

|Mar mean C = 28.8

|Apr mean C = 30.6

|May mean C = 29.8

|Jun mean C = 27.7

|Jul mean C = 27.1

|Aug mean C = 26.8

|Sep mean C = 27.3

|Oct mean C = 28.1

|Nov mean C = 27.4

|Dec mean C = 25.4

|year mean C = 27.5

|Jan low C = 17.6

|Feb low C = 19.1

|Mar low C = 21.8

|Apr low C = 24.3

|May low C = 25.1

|Jun low C = 24.2

|Jul low C = 23.8

|Aug low C = 23.6

|Sep low C = 23.5

|Oct low C = 23.6

|Nov low C = 21.9

|Dec low C = 19.0

|year low C = 22.3

|Jan record low C = 10.0

|Feb record low C = 11.4

|Mar record low C = 16.5

|Apr record low C = 19.2

|May record low C = 19.0

|Jun record low C = 18.8

|Jul record low C = 17.1

|Aug record low C = 17.7

|Sep record low C = 18.6

|Oct record low C = 16.5

|Nov record low C = 13.9

|Dec record low C = 13.3

|year record low C =

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 3.8

|Feb precipitation mm = 7.5

|Mar precipitation mm = 10.2

|Apr precipitation mm = 30.4

|May precipitation mm = 276.0

|Jun precipitation mm = 604.5

|Jul precipitation mm = 682.7

|Aug precipitation mm = 681.3

|Sep precipitation mm = 416.7

|Oct precipitation mm = 204.2

|Nov precipitation mm = 65.9

|Dec precipitation mm = 3.5

|year precipitation mm = 2986.9

|unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm

|Jan precipitation days = 0.3

|Feb precipitation days = 0.2

|Mar precipitation days = 0.7

|Apr precipitation days = 1.7

|May precipitation days = 12.6

|Jun precipitation days = 24.8

|Jul precipitation days = 26.2

|Aug precipitation days = 25.9

|Sep precipitation days = 22.0

|Oct precipitation days = 14.2

|Nov precipitation days = 4.0

|Dec precipitation days = 0.3

|year precipitation days = 132.8

|source 1 = World Meteorological Organization{{cite web

| url = https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/1.1/data/0-data/Region-2-WMO-Normals-9120/Myanmar/CSV/Pathein_48094.csv

| title = World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991–2020

| publisher = World Meteorological Organization

| access-date = 16 October 2023}}

|source 2 = NOAA (extremes){{cite web

| url =https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=global-summary-of-the-day&stations=48094099999&startDate=1700-01-01&endDate=2023-12-31&dataTypes=MAX,MIN,PRCP

| title = Global Surface Summary of the Day - GSOD

| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

| accessdate = January 26, 2023

}}

}}

{{Historical populations

|title = Historical Population

|type =

|align =

|direction =

|width =

|state =

|shading =

|pop_name =

|percentages =

|footnote =

|source = Ministry of Labor, Immigration, and Population and General Administration Department data

|1973 |

|1983 |

|2014 | 169,773

|2019 | 172,923

}}

The 2014 Myanmar Census reported that Pathein had a population of 169,773, representing 59.1% of Pathein Township's total population.{{Cite web|url=http://www.dop.gov.mm/sites/dop.gov.mm/files/publication_docs/pathein_0.pdf|title=Pathein Township Report|date=October 2017|website=2014 Myanmar Population and Housing Census}} In 2019, the population was reported as 172,923. Pathein is subdivided into 25 urban wards

File:Patheinbuckets.jpg

Pathein has a scenic waterfront and many Buddhist temples, including the main sight of Shwemokhtaw Pagoda.

• Tagaung Mingala Pagoda{{Cite news|url=https://www.lonelyplanet.com/myanmar-burma/pathein/attractions/tagaung-mingala-zeditaw/a/poi-sig/1448965/357100|title=Tagaung Mingala Zeditaw in Pathein, Myanmar (Burma)|last=Planet|first=Lonely|work=Lonely Planet|access-date=2017-09-09|language=en}}
• Settawya pagoda
• Phaung Daw U Pagoda
• Clock Tower
• St Peter's Cathedral
• Pathein University
• Pathein Cultural Museum
• Pathein Bridge No.2

File:Patheingirl.jpg

The city is home to the Pathein Education College for elementary teachers and Pathein University for arts and science students. The Computer University (Pathein) which is administered by Ministry of Science and Technology offers both undergraduate and graduate programs in computer science, and computer technology. Technological University (Pathein) which was founded in 1999, offers engineering courses.

The 6,000-seat Ayar Stadium is one of the main venues for popular local football tournaments. The stadium is the home of Ayeyawady United F.C., a Myanmar National League (MNL) football club.

File:Pathein, Myanmar (Burma) - panoramio (4).jpg

Pathein General Hospital serves people in Pathein and its surrounding districts.

• Ba U, 1st Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Burma and 2nd president of Myanmar (1952–1957) was born in Pathein in 1887.{{cite book |title=My Burma: The Autobiography of a President |author=Ba U |year=1958 |publisher=Taplinger Publishing |location=New York |isbn=978-1258087005}}
• 8th president Thein Sein was born in a village nearby Hainggyikyun Subtownship in 1945{{cite news|url=http://keller.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/30/a-conversation-with-president-u-thein-sein-of-myanmar/|title=A Conversation with President U Thein Sein of Myanmar|last=Keller|first=Bill|date=30 September 2012|work=The New York Times|access-date=1 October 2012}} and studied his high school education in Pathein.{{cite news |title=Thein Sein Visit to Native Village Highlights Humble Beginnings |author=Salai Thant Zin |date=2 December 2014 |work=The Irrawaddy |language=en |url=https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/thein-sein-visit-native-village-highlights-humble-beginnings.html}}
• 10th president Win Myint was born in Danubyu in 1945 and started his political life in Pathein, winning the Pathein Township seat within the Pyithu Hluttaw in a 2012 by-election.{{cite news |title=Backgrounder:Myanmar's newly-elected President U Win Myint |date=28 March 2018 |work=Xinhua |url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-03/28/c_137071848.htm |language=en}}

• Phaung Daw U Pagoda
• Pathein Airport
• Ngwesaung Beach
• Chaungtha Beach

{{Wikivoyage|Pathein}}

{{Commons category}}

{{EB1911 poster|Bassein}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Ayeyarwady Division}}

{{Most populous cities in Myanmar}}

Category:Populated places in Ayeyarwady Region

Category:Township capitals of Myanmar