Pathein: History
According to local history, the city was first a town called Thinsawanargara (Burmese: 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.
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-Bagan War. The raid was retaliatory against diplomatic incidents and hostility by Sithu II of Bagan, implying that Pathein was under Bagan rule by this time. 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. 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.