Thatbyinnyu Temple

File:Well worth the view this evening (4501575121) (cropped).jpg in the foreground and the Thatbyinnyu in the background]]

Just inside the southeastern corner of the old city wall, the Thatbyinnyu Temple was founded by King Sithu I of Bagan Dynasty in 1144/45.Maha Yazawin Vol. 1 2006: 199Ishizawa, Kono 1989: 183 According to the royal chronicles, it was the king's second major temple construction after the Shwegugyi Temple,Zata 1960: 41 and the king is said to have donated "boatloads of rubies" to both temples.Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 301

The temple was constructed during "a period of rededication to Theravada Buddhism and religious scholarship", and construction was completed in the year 1150/51.Coedès 1968: 114Ishizawa, Kono 1989: 135 (Additional ornamentation work continued on the terraces but was never fully completed. The terraces contain indentations that were meant to hold a series of over 500 ceramic plaques depicting the jataka stories but the plaques apparently were never added.Fiala 2002)

File:Bagan_130.jpg

The Thatbyinnyu is a five-story brick masonry building topped by a sikhara tower with a hti at the pinnacle. "Somewhat similar to" the nearby Ananda Temple in its architectural style, the temple's exterior is covered in white stucco, and its terraces paved in stone. The temple was originally at the center of a walled enclosure, of which only the north gate remains. It sits on a platform that is approximately {{cvt|58|m}} on each side. The east side has a projected {{cvt|7.3|x|11.6|m|0|adj=on}} entry hall, while each of the north, south, and west sides has a {{cvt|3.3|m|ft|0|adj=mid|-long}} protrusion and six entry points.

The temple exterior resembles a series of square "cubes", stacked on top of each other, separated by seven receding terraces. Each corner of the terraces is adorned with stupa obelisks on square bases. The elevated central tower, or sikhara, is {{cvt|30.03|m}} on each side. The temple's architectural height (nyandaw) is {{convert|61.3|m|ft|0}} tall;Myo Nyunt Aung 2017: 32 its pinnacle height is {{convert|66|m|ft|0}}.{{cite web | url=https://www.umtanet.org/index.php/en/destination/bagan | title=Bagan | access-date=2020-05-16 | publisher=Union of Myanmar Travel Association }} It is the tallest temple in Bagan. It is not the tallest structure in Bagan, however; the tallest is the Shwesandaw Pagoda, which is at least {{cvt|100|m|0}} tall,{{cite web | url=https://luxurymyanmarrivercruises.com/shwesandaw-pagoda | title=Shwesandaw Pagoda – A "GUARDIAN" OF ANCIENT BAGAN| date=2019-06-13 | access-date=2020-04-18}} without counting the hti spire.

The five-story temple served not only as a place of worship but also as a monastery and library. The temple's first and second floors were used as the residence for monks; the third floor was used to hold images; the fourth was used as a library; and the fifth stored relics.Arch. Report 1902: Form A page 2 The interior of the temple consists of "pointed arches in the spacious hallways and barrel vaults in other areas". Each floor has two tiers of windows, creating a "vibrant and light interior". Murals filled the ceiling. Original murals with the footprints of the Buddha have survived on the ceiling of the western porch.Myo Nyunt Aung 2017: 32–33

{{multiple image

| align = right

| image1 = 19 Bagan (179a) Thatbynnyu tempelj (11).JPG

| width1 = 160

| alt1 =

| caption1 =

| image2 = 19 Bagan (179a) Thatbynnyu tempelj (12).JPG

| width2 = 160

| alt2 =

| caption2 =

| footer = Frescos within Thatbyinnyu Temple

}}

The temple "reflected the era's innovative architectural and artistic creativity" of the era. Bagan period scholar Paul Strachan calls Thatbyinnyu "an expression of the self-confident Burmese spirit of nationhood."

The temple is known to have been hit by at least two major earthquakes, occurring in the years 1975 and 2016. The 1975 earthquake left the temple with heavy damage. The top finial of the sikhara, the main Buddha statue on the 3rd floor, and the corner stupas were all damaged. Vertical cracks measuring up to {{cvt|23|cm}} in width appeared on the exterior walls of the third floor.Myo Nyunt Aung 2017: 33 The damages were repaired by 1979, and the structure was further strengthened in the early 1990s. More maintenance work such as waterproofing of terraces and repointing the exterior were undertaken in the 2000s.

File:Thatbyinnyu (28574551197).jpg]]

The temple was badly damaged after a 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit the Bagan region August 24, 2016. It was one of the 36 worst-hit structures,{{cite news | url=https://www.mmtimes.com/national-news/mandalay-upper-myanmar/26212-thatbyinnyu-temple-to-start-restoration-in-2018.html | title=Thatbyinnyu temple to start restoration in 2018 | date=1 June 2017 | publisher=The Myanmar Times | author=Ei Ei Thu}} and sustained several horizontal and vertical cracks throughout the structure across all floors and terraces. Masonry works at the bottom were further damaged by rain. The temple's structure was reinforced with Chinese assistance in 2017.{{cite news | url=http://en.people.cn/n3/2019/0910/c90000-9613780.html | title=China assists Myanmar city with temple restoration | date=2019-09-10 | publisher=The People's Daily}} In April 2019, a Chinese archaeological team began working on a nine-year project to restore the temple.

On July 6, 2019, the Bagan Archaeological Area became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Thatbyinnyu Temple's UNESCO designation is Monument #1597.UNESCO WHC: Bagan

{{-}}

File:A view of That Byin Nyu Temple from Shwe Gu Gyi Old Bagan Myanmar.jpg| As seen from the Shwegugyi Temple

File:Bagan, Myanmar, Thatbyinnyu Temple.jpg

File:Bagan, Myanmar, The walls of Thatbyinnyu Temple.jpg

File:Glimpse_of_Buddha_(8404493413).jpg

File:Thatbyinnyu temple (122635).jpg

File:009 Thatbyinnyu, Bagan (8786279433).jpg

File:Old_Bagan,_Myanmar_(Burma)_-_panoramio_-_mohigan_(3).jpg

File:Old Bagan, Myanmar (Burma) - panoramio - mohigan (5).jpg

File:Thatbyinnyu temple (123055).jpg

• List of tallest structures built before the 20th century

{{Reflist|group=note}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{citation| 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}}
• {{citation | last=Fiala | first=Robert D. | title=Thatbyinnyu Phaya Temple, Bagan, Myanmar | url=https://www.orientalarchitecture.com/sid/538/myanmar/bagan/thatbyinnyu-phaya-temple | publisher=Oriental Architecture | access-date=2020-05-09 | year=2002}}
• {{citation| last1=Ishizawa | first1=Yoshiaki | author2=Yasushi Kōno | title=Study on Pagan | pages=239 | publisher=Institute for Asian Cultures | location=Sophia | year=1989}}
• {{citation |last=Kala|first=U|author-link=U Kala|title=Maha Yazawin|publisher=Ya-Pyei Publishing|location=Yangon|orig-year=1724|year=2006|edition=4th printing|language=my|volume=1–3}}
• {{citation | author=Myo Nyunt Aung | title=Archaeological Conservation of Bagan Ancient Monuments in Myanmar | url=https://so04.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/NAJUA-Arch/article/download/131284/99595/ | date=16–17 December 2017 | location=Bangkok | publisher=Waseda University and Silpakorn University}}
• {{citation |author=Royal Historians of Burma|title=Zatadawbon Yazawin|orig-year=c. 1680|year=1960|editor=U Hla Tin (Hla Thamein)|publisher=Historical Research Directorate of the Union of Burma}}
• {{cite book | author=Royal Historical Commission of Burma | author-link=Royal Historical Commission of Burma | title=Hmannan Yazawin | volume=1–3 | year=1832 | location=Yangon | language=my | edition=2003 | publisher=Ministry of Information, Myanmar}}
• {{citation | title=Report on Archaeological Work in Burma For the Year 1902–03 | publisher=The Superintendent, Government Printing, Burma | location=Rangoon | year=1902 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RWNBAQAAIAAJ}}
• {{citation | title=Pictorial Guide to Pagan | orig-year=1955 | year=1975 | publisher=Ministry of Culture | location=Rangoon}}
• {{citation | title=Bagan: UNESCO World Heritage Site | url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1588/ | publisher=UNESCO | access-date=2020-05-09}}

{{S-start}}

{{S-ach|rec}}

{{S-bef|before=Ananda Temple}}

{{S-ttl|title=Tallest Building in Myanmar|years=1150/51–1996}}

{{S-aft|after=Sule Shangri-La Hotel}}

{{s-end}}

Category:Buddhist temples in Myanmar

Category:12th-century Buddhist temples

Category:Bagan

Category:Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Myanmar