Pyinthar

People's Republic of Pyinthar ပြည်သူ့ သမ္မတနိုင်ငံ ပြိန်ထရ (Pyinthari) Pyi Thu Samma Da Nain Ngan Pyain-ṭhar
Flag Seal
Anthem: ကမ္ဘာမကျေ Kaba Ma Kyei "Till the End of the World"
Location of Pyinthar in Abaria
Subdivisional map of Pyinthar
Capital and largest city	Hcajhan
Official languages	Pyinthari
Recognised regional languages	Thanhliênese Lanhsavanian
Ethnic groups (2022)	62.8% Pyinthari 21.4% Thanhliênese 7.1% Lanhsavanian 5.6% Hylasian 2.6% Yinese 0.5% Other
Religion (2022)	81.2% No religion 6.8% Gregorianism 4.7% Himayan 2.4% Sendou 4% Other
Demonym(s)	Pyinthari
Government	Unitary Arvidsenist one-party socialist republic under a totalitarian military junta
• Chairman	Hla Htay
• President	Moe Thiri
• Premier	Zaw Lin
Legislature	People's Assembly
History
• Hcajhan City-state	c. 200 BCE
• Kathaiwabha Kingdom	c. 1350
• Gyadhao Empire	July 1758
• Republic of Pyinthar	1 August 1899
• Establishment of the Revolutionary Council	18 September 1941
• Current constitution	13 April 1968
Area
• Total	443,322.5 km2 (171,167.8 sq mi)
• Water (%)	3.0
Population
• 2022 estimate	96,409,460 (4th)
• Density	217.47/km2 (563.2/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)	2022 estimate
• Total	$515.694 billion (11th)
• Per capita	$5,349
GDP (nominal)	2022 estimate
• Total	$165.053 billion (11th)
• Per capita	$1,712
Gini (2022)	31.7 medium
HDI (2022)	0.611 medium
Currency	Shwé (ရွှေ/Ꞩ, PYS)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Pyinthari Standard Time, PST)
Date format	dd-mm-yyyy
Driving side	right
Calling code	+68
Internet TLD	.py

Pyinthar (Pyinthari: ပြိန်ထရ; PLCTS: Pyain-ṭhar; [pjɪ̀ɰ̃.tʰa̰]), officially the People's Republic of Pyinthar (Pyinthari: ပြည်သူ့ သမ္မတနိုင်ငံ ပြိန်ထရ; PLCTS: Pyi Thu Samma Da Nain Ngan Pyain-ṭhar), is a sovereign state located in Western Abaria. It shares its only land border with Yingok to the west and its other close neighbors are X and X to the east, with the Jade Sea being located along most of the coastline. It is the third-largest country by area in Abaria and has a population of about 96 million. The country's capital and largest city is Hcajhan. The country consists of 4 Autonomous States, 2 Urban Regions, 1 Federal Union Territory, and 14 Common Regions, altogether comprising a total land area of 443,322.5 km² (171,167.8 sq mi).

Early civilizations in the area stemmed from the immigration of southern Yinese people between 1500 and 1000 BCE. These later developed into more sedentary societies that included the Pyinthari- and Thanhliênese-speaking city-states, many of which arose around the 2nd century BCE. These city-states persisted until around the 9th century CE when many formed various regional confederations, in a period known as the Three Kingdoms Period. Following the establishment of the Hcajhan Kingdom around 1050 CE, the Pyinthari culture, language and religions became the dominant forms within the region. The Hcajhan Kingdom fell to the Artuchids around the late 13th century, where it was later replaced by the 2nd Three Kingdoms Period, with the kingdoms of Kathaiwabha, Daghein, and Thiênh (from west to east respectively). By the 16th century, the Kathaiwabha had subsumed the two others, forming the Taungumein Kingdom, which reunified most of what had been under the domain of the Hcajhan Kingdom earlier on. After a brief war against Yingok the Taungumein Kingdom collapsed, giving way to the Gyadhao Kingdom in 1758, which formed the modern borders and culture of Pyinthar.

The Gyadhao Kingdom eventually collapsed due to internal socio-political strife, and a lengthy civil war ensued from the commencement of the Industrial Revolution and the introduction of foreign liberal ideals, and later combinationalist influences. With the overthrow of the monarchy in 1899, the country finally entered an unstable period of republicanism, with attempted coups in 1917, 1924, and 1927. During this period, various civil conflicts broke out, coalescing into the start of the 2nd Pyinthari Civil War that lasted from 1927 with the military seizure of power, to the 1941 coup that saw the military surrender to rebel forces. With this came the foundation of the Pyinthari Revolutionary Council (PRC) and it's "Pyinthari Way to Socialism," which involved isolationist, xenophobic, and autarkist policies. This dark age lasted until the Internationalist faction carried out a coup against the PRC in 1968, abolishing the PRC, establishing the "People's Assembly," and opening up the country internationally. While the coup was relatively well-received by the international community, it did very little to actually help the Pyinthari population as the government continues to carry out politically repressive practices and human rights abuses, in addition to an ongoing civil conflict commonly referred to as the 3rd Pyinthari Civil War.

Pyinthar consistently ranks amongst the lowest in its region, and internationally, in terms of human development and economic development; it is considered one of the least developed countries. The country is a member of both the Global Socialist League and the United Congress, as well as a signatory (but not a ratifier) of the Treaty of Hellnafjord. The country is very rich in natural resources such as jade, gemstones, oil, natural gas, teak, and other minerals, as well as also endowed with renewable energy, having one of the highest solar power potentials in its region. However, Pyinthar has suffered longstanding political instability, factional violence, corruption, poor infrastructure, and conflict, resulting in it being poorly developed. The income gap in Pyinthar is among the widest in the world, as a large proportion of the economy is controlled by cronies of the military junta. Since the 2010s, an estimated 1.2 million people have been displaced across Pyinthar due to various ongoing conflicts and insurgencies, with an estimated 4 million being in need of humanitarian assistance.

Etymology

The etymology of the word "Pyinthar" is believed to be derived from the ancient Pyinthari words Pyin (ပြိန်) and Thar (ထရ). Pyin suggested a sort of connection, union, or harmony, with Thar implying a further sense of grandeur or significance. Over time, it is believed that these two words conjoined into some vague "Land/People of Harmony," though this particular etymology is disputed with one of Yinese origin.

Alternatively, others have linked it to the earlier Yinese readings of the early Pyin (or 平, pìng) people who inhabited much of central and southern Pyinthar between 1,000-500 BCE. This name is often expanded to 平土 (pìng tou), vaguely translating to "peaceful land" or "flat land." However, this view is quite niche amongst scholars, with the former often being the academically accepted etymology.

History

Prehistory

Archaeological evidence shows that Homo erectus lived in the region now known as Pyinthar as early as 750,000 to 800,000 years ago, with no more erectus finds after 75,000 years ago. The first evidence of Homo sapiens is dated to between 45,000 and 50,000 years ago with discoveries of stone tools in central Pyinthar. Evidence of Neolithic age domestication of plants and animals and the use of polished stone tools dating to sometime between 10,000 and 6,000 BCE has been discovered in the form of cave paintings in Bhatah-Pyin Caves.

The Bronze Age arrived c. 1500 BCE when people in the region were turning copper into bronze, growing rice and domesticating poultry and pigs; they were among the first people in the world to do so. Human remains and artefacts from this era were discovered in Thayeba District in the Inngyi Region. The Iron Age began around 500 BCE with the emergence of iron-working settlements in an area south of present-day Minthada. Evidence also shows the presence of rice-growing settlements of large villages and small towns that traded with their surroundings as far as Yingok between 500 BCE and 200 CE. Iron Age Pyinthari cultures also had influences from outside sources such as X and X, as seen in their funerary practices concerning child burials. This indicates some form of communication between groups in Pyinthar and other places, possibly through trade.

Pyinthari City-States

The early city-states organized as confederations.

Around the second century BCE the first-known city-states emerged in central Pyinthar. The city-states were founded as part of the southward migration by the Yinese-speaking Pyin (or 平, pìng) people, the earliest inhabitants of Pyinthar of whom records are extant, from present-day Zhongdei Prefecture, Yingok. The Pyinthari culture was heavily influenced by trade with X, importing X as well as other cultural, architectural and political concepts, which would have an enduring influence on later Pyinthari culture and political organization.

Thanhliên Kingdom

The Thanhliên Invasion of Yingok (132 BCE) was a significant military campaign that led to the establishment of the Sin Dynasty throughout southern Yingok, marking the beginning of a century-long period of Thanhliênese rule over the region. The invasion, initiated by Thanhliênese forces in 132 BCE, resulted in the rapid defeat of Yinese defenses and the subsequent overthrow of the existing Yinese Chiu dynasty.

The Sin Dynasty, established by the Thanhliênese invaders, governed Yingok for over 4 centuries, from 132 BCE to the end of the 3rd century BCE. During this period, the dynasty implemented significant political and cultural changes, blending Thanhliênese and Yinese traditions. The Sin rulers consolidated their power through a combination of military prowess and strategic alliances, maintaining control over the vast and diverse territories of Yingok. This era is notable for the exchange of ideas, technology, and governance practices between the two cultures, leaving a lasting impact on the history and development of Western Abaria.

This period also influenced the later Three Kingdoms Period of Pyinthar, by establishing the Thanhliên confederation as a dominant and unified political and military power within Pyinthar.

Later developments

By the 9th century, several city-states had sprouted across the land: the Thanyeba in the central dry zone, Thanlyin along the southwestern coastline and the not-to-be-confused Thanhliên along the eastern littoral. The balance was upset firstly when the Pyinthari confederations came under repeated attacks from !Nanzhao between the 750s and the 830s. In the mid-to-late 9th century the Thanlyin people founded a small settlement at modern-day Hcajhan. It was one of several competing city-states until the late 10th century, when it grew in authority and grandeur.

1st Three Kingdoms Period

As these confederations suffered attacks from northern Yinese and !Nanzhou attacks, they cemented themselves into three kingdoms. The Thanlyin confederation turned into the Hcajhan Kingdom around 840 when the latter city conquered Thanlyin. The Thanyeba confederation maintained its name as it transitioned into a loosely aligned kingdom in the heart of the country, meanwhile the Thanhliên returned to its earlier Sin dynasty, though this time under the name of the Thanh Dynasty.

These three kingdoms fought on and off for nearly 150 years. The Unification Wars as they are called today saw the Hcajhan kingdom seize all other southern city-states and the Thanyeba Kingdom by 947 CE. After that, a series of wars, forceful displacements, and political maneuverings saw the Thanh-Hcajhan Wars culminate in the end of the three kingdoms, with the Hcajhan Kingdom successfully seizing the entirety of the Thanh kingdom in 991 CE.

Hcajhan Kingdom

Having gradually subsumed its neighbors through the previous century and a half, the Hcajhan Kingdom managed to exert total control over most of modern-day Pyinthar, the first such political authority to do so. This period is considered a golden age for Pyinthari culture. Pyinthari literature "grew more confident, popular, and stylistically diverse", and the second generation of Pyinthari law codes as well as the earliest pan-Pyinthari chronicles emerged. Hcajhan monarchs introduced religious reforms that later spread to the rest of the country.

Pagodas near Minthada.

This period saw the institutionalization of various folk religions worshipping the Nat Sein (နတ်စိမ်း), or ancestral gods. Hcajhan's rulers and wealthy built over 10,000 temples in the Hcajhan capital zone alone.

In addition to the spread of the Pyinthari folk religions, often influenced by X and Sendou, the Pyinthari language also became widespread, with the local dialects and languages of the centrally located Thanyeba city states being overtaken by that of the ruling Hcajhan rulers and settlers. Such happened to a lesser effect in the Thanhliên regions, with Thanhliênese maintaining its prominence. This led to 300 years of relative peace and prosperity, with the dominant Pyinthari culture blossoming into a golden age.

Artuchid Invasions

Repeated Artuchid invasions in the late 13th century gravely damaged the Hcajhan Kingdom's ability to govern. The immediate result of the war was the collapse of the Hcajhan Empire; however, the war merely accelerated the collapse but did not cause it. Hcajhan's disintegration was "in fact more prolonged and agonized." The kingdom had been in long gradual decline since the early 13th century. It is believed that had Hcajhan possessed a stronger central government, the collapse could have been temporary, and the country “could have risen again”. But the dynasty could not recover, and because the Artuchids refused to fill the power vacuum, no viable center emerged in the immediate aftermath.

The Pax Artuchidia, established in the aftermath of the Artuchid invasions did however have a somewhat positive effect, as it allowed for a flow of ideas and trade from more eastern areas and that of Pyinthar. This period allowed for the country to open up under Mongol rule, and saw many emergent city-states adopt new ideas of governance.

2nd Three Kingdoms Period

The 2nd Three Kingdoms Period was drawn broadly along the lines of the first, with the Artuchid invasions leaving much of the country in a sort of political unrest. This time in the southern coastal regoions, including the city of Hcajhan were ruled by the Kathaiwabha Dynasty, meanwhile the central regions were controlled by the Daghein Kingdom and the eastern Thanhliên regions were ruled over by the Thiênh Dynasty.

Taungumein delegates visiting the Saan Dynasty, c. 1711.

This period saw the consolidation of the Kathaiwabha through nearly two centuries of political maneuvering and warfare, much akin to the first three kingdoms period. These wars lasted from 1365 to 1555, though the exact start is contested amongst scholars. These wars ended with yet another victory by the southwestern kingdom, in this instance being the Kathaiwabha Kingdom, in which it established itself as the Taungumein Empire, a polity which heavily shaped the path to where the country is at today.

Kathaiwabha and Taungumein Empire

Having reunified the former territories of the Hcajhan Kingdom, the Taungumein established themselves as a stable polity, fielding a strong army and maintaining a heavily centralized government bureaucracy. From the 1550s onwards, the restored Taungumein kings created a legal and political framework whose basic features continued well into the 19th century. The crown completely replaced the hereditary chieftainships with appointed governorships in the entirety of the central valleys and greatly reduced the hereditary rights of formerly Daghein chiefs. Its trade and secular administrative reforms built a prosperous economy for more than 180 years.

Taungumein-Yingok War

TBD

Gyadhao Kingdom

Flag of the Gyadhao Kingdom, c. 1777.

In the aftermath of the Taungumein-Yingok War, the Taungumein Kingdom had essentially guaranteed its independence; however, it was left in a substantially weakened state. Internal divisions within the nation led to yet another revolt from the Thanhliên, and with the capital undefended, a new dynasty came to power in a coup, known as the "Gyadhao Coup" of 1758. This new dynastic rule brought about the modern-day borders of Pyinthar and formed the lines for most of today's administrative divisions within the country.

The Gyadhao Kingdom also oversaw the beginning of industrialization within the country in the mid-1800s. This period saw the introduction of modern industrial techniques, particularly in the rice and timber industries, which became the backbone of the economy. The Gyadhao authorities also established infrastructure, including railways and ports (often with Calesian support/concessions), to facilitate the export of these commodities, leading to the growth of urban centers like Hcajhan and Sittan. While industrialization brought economic growth and increased trade, it also resulted in the exploitation of local resources and labor, contributing heavily to social unrest and resistance against imperial rule.

The Gyadhao Kingdom was the first modern polity within the region, with a fairly progressive and centralized structure of governance, unlike its predecessors who often had to wrangle their way through more complex and decentralized means of dealing with local and regional governments. The Gyadhao government also completely disestablished the rule of Central Pyinthari lords, essentially cementing their absolute rule over the central highlands and ending what had been nearly 2 millennia of on-and-off autonomous and sometimes sovereign central highland rule. Furthermore, efforts were made in the early 19th century to settle ethnic Pyinthari citizens along the southern coastline of the Thanhliên regions, which led to rampant protests and insurgencies, as well as already prevalent anti-Pyinthari sentiments throughout the region. These insurgencies began costing the government heavily, leading them to raising taxes.

1st Civil War

Pyinthari elephant-mounted artillery, c. 1897.

With the raising of taxes and Thanhliên insurgencies in the eastern regions, civil unrest took hold of the country, and the once stable Gyadhao Kingdom swiftly fell into a civil war by 1887. The true start date however is often listed as being the Bảo Ninh Mutiny, where Gyadhao border guards along the Yinese border mutinied over forced conscription and poor working conditions within the army. This led to a long period of mutinying, warlordism, ethnic conflict, and all-out civil war.

Meanwhile, back in the west, Htet Min, the leader of the Pyinthari Republican Movement established a pro-democracy "National Restoration Front", or NRF for short. The NRF quickly gained strongholds throughout the western and central parts of the nation, and later subjugated many warlords before deposing of the Gyadhao government in the Myo Thant Campaign. The last act of the civil war was the Pyansain Campaign to re-subjugate the Thanhliênese areas, which completed officially on August 1st, 1899, leading to the foundation of the Republic of Pyinthar.

Overall, the war took quite a toll on the nation, with many warlords and governments during the 12-year civil war giving concessions to foreign governments and practicing scorched earth strategies, among other things. The period also saw the early rise of a nascent communist movement, much of which occurred inside of the NRF and its occupied areas.

Republic of Pyinthar

The Republic of Pyinthar was unstable from its wartime beginnings, where ethnic tensions, warlordism, and ruined infrastructure all led to a fractured nation. Htet Min, the founder of the NRF went on to found the National Party in 1897, wherein he oversaw the development of the country, and was elected to a 5-year term in 1899; however, by the end of his term he fell ill with stomach cancer and was unable to serve a second term, dying in 1907.

His successor, a nationalist politician and former warlord by the name of Nyein Chan went on to get elected in 1904, 1909, and 1914, only to be assassinated in an attempted monarchist coup in 1917. His rule was marked by high levels of economic development and the introduction of foreign industries, but fell into the same trap as the Gyadhao Kingdom, where it led to growing class antagonism and the concentration of wealth amongst a relatively corrupt elite. And while the monarchist coup failed, it marked a turn in the direction of the nation. Nyein Chan's vice president, Myo Win went on to assume leadership of the country, continuing the policies of Nyein Chan.

Myo Win's disputed victory in the 1919 elections also led to heightened political opposition, including the communists, who launched a coup in the aftermath of the 1924 elections, where Myo Win won once again in what was criticized as election manipulation. The 1924 Communist Coup ultimately failed but led to a low-level communist insurgency.

2nd Civil War

This insurgency, which began on the 24th of April 1924 with the coup attempt, exacted a heavy toll on the Pyinthari government, and led again to a renewed round of protests and insurgencies by the Thanhliên population in the east. Together, these two insurgencies saw yet another coup take place, where President Myo Win resisted a motion of no confidence by parliament, leading to a disillusioned military takeover and the dissolution of parliament in the National Coup in May of 1927. Myo Win, now ruling as a dictator, saw a popular uprising in June of 1927 against his rule, ending 28 years of republican rule.

The communist People's Liberation Front (PLF), the paramilitary wing of the outlawed Communist Party of Pyinthar (CPP), allied with many local People's Defense Forces (PDFs) throughout the country in the aftermath of the National Coup, and later allied with the Thanhliên National Liberation Army (TNLA) in 1931. These alliances proved crucial throughout the war, with the communists' guerrilla warfare ultimately began to pay off, as the tide of war slowly changed in the early 1930s, and conventional warfare taking place throughout the country by 1936.

Early communist gunboat, c. 1935.

While fears of foreign intervention throughout the war were strong, due to the heavy backing of Myo Win's regime by imperial powers, it was largely subsided with the outbreak of the Great War in 1934. Meanwhile, instability in Yingok also made it so that Yinese intervention was largely out of the question.

By 1940 the tides of war had changed completely, and much of the countryside was under communist rule. Prior to the end of the Great War, the communist forces also undertook the Anot-Pain Offensive, seizing the capital city of Hcajhan by March of 1940. This forced the remaining government and Myo Win himself to retreat to the city of Sittan, closer to the Yinese border.

In July of 1941, over 17 years since the attempted communist coup plot and 14 years since the National Coup, the war had ended, with the CPP announcing "total liberation" on July 3, 1941. Many nationalist and anti-communist groups were forced into Yingok, some joining the Third Republic and others joining warlord states. These forces also continued to launch border raids from Yingok into the newly renamed "People's Republic of Yingok" all the way until 1946, when the government of Yingok finally forced them to stop.

People's Republic of Pyinthar

The first Chairman of the CPP, Tun Zeya, did not reign for long, dying of cancer in March of 1944. However, during his short reign, there was a period of relative peace and political stability, where the country effectively fended off raids from nationalist forces stationed within Yingok. Tun Zeya's rule also saw substantial amounts of autonomy granted to the various ethnic minorities in Pyinthar, an act that has remained nominally in-place to the modern day.

In the aftermath of Tun Zeya's death, and with no clear predecessor having been announced, factionalism quickly took over. The CPP then went on to elect a 5-member "standing committee" in May of 1944 to deal with the process, an organ of the state that maintains itself to this day. During this time, three primary factions arose, with the strongest being the Vanguard faction (ရှေ့တန်းတပ်, Sheitandap), advocating a sort of autarkist and militarist approach to ruling the nation; this was largely due to fears of an impending invasion from Yingok. The second strongest group was that of the Progressive faction (တိုးတက်သူများ, Toetetthumyá), a group that advocated a more liberal and democratic approach to reforming the socialist system of Pyinthar, often preferring a "Calesian-style socialism" founded on the principles of X. The last group was the Internationalist faction (အပြည်ပြည်ဆိုင်ရာဝါဒီများ, Apyipyisainyawadimyá), which favored allying with the communists in Yingok, often to the point of advocating a preemptive invasion of Yingok, though this faction was the smallest.

Zaw Oo, c. 1941

After months of political maneuvering, the standing committee was overtaken by a majority of Vanguard faction members, who voted in unison to appoint Zaw Oo as the Secretary General of the Standing Committee of the CPP. This effectively made Zaw Oo the most powerful figure in the country and led to him and other members of the standing committee creating an in-group that perpetually favorited certain other high-level bureaucrats within the Vanguard faction.

During Zaw Oo's time in power, numerous crackdowns were undertaken to counter the apparent rise of regionalism within the country, often using it to crush dissent from ethnic minorities and once more establish Pyinthari dominance over the whole of the country. This ethnocentrism became yet another antagonizing force, encouraging members of the Progressive faction to begin resisting or refusing new policies put forth by Oo's government. This resistance ultimately led to the destabilizing October purges of 1956, where on the 12th anniversary of his ascension to power, he ordered all high-ranking members of opposing factions within the CPP to be arrested, many had been outright disappeared. This purge saw nearly a third of the People's Assembly be seized, as well as one of the 5 members of the standing committee, who had long been accused of having misaligned sympathies.

In the aftermath of the October purges, the military was called out to quell protests, despite several high-ranking officers also being a purged. A select few, including future CPP leader Kyawt Nyo managed to find exile abroad before being caught up in the purge.

After this, the CPP was renamed to the "Pyinthari Socialist Program Party" (PSPP), and was headed exclusively by Zaw Oo and his inner circle in what he coined as being the "Pyinthari way to socialism."

TBD