The Kingdom of Pagan (also commonly known as the Pagan Dynasty and the Pagan Empire) was the first kingdom to unify the regions that would later constitute modern-day Burma (Myanmar). Pagan's 250-year rule over the Irrawaddy valley and its periphery laid the foundation for the ascent of Burmese language and culture, the spread of Burman ethnicity in Upper Burma, and the growth of Theravada Buddhism in Burma and in mainland Southeast Asia.

“Don't Leave Any Food On Your Plate”. The giraffes at Nairobi's Giraffe Manor are totally at home with humans. They will eat out of your hand, or even off your plate. Photo location: Giraffe Manor, Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo and caption by Gavin Werbeloff/National Geographic Photo Contest)

Smoke billows from a high-rise apartment building in west London Wednesday, June 14, 2017. A massive fire raced through the building early Wednesday, emergency officials said. (Photo by Rick Findler/PA Wire via AP Photo)

A mother prays for success for her child in the college entrance examinations at a Buddhist temple in Seoul, South Korea, November 12, 2015. About 630,000 students on Thursday sat for the annual exams that could lead them to one of the country's top universities. In South Korea, there is no higher achievement than to be accepted by a prestigious university. As a result, many students prepare for these entrance exams from an early age, often studying up to 16 hours a day for years to take this test. (Photo by Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters)

The sun begins to set over this rusty beachside mansion that has been left abandoned for more than 25 years in Thailand, June 2017. A deserted beachside mansion in southern Thailand has retained its beauty – despite no one living there for more than 25 years. In June this year abandoned photographer, Dax Ward, ventured to the Prachuap Khiri-Khan Province to capture the haunting attraction on camera. (Photo by Dax Ward/Barcroft Images)

Brazilian actress Julia Stockler (L) and Brazilian actress Carol Duarte kiss while posing with Brazilian film director Karim Ainouz during a photocall for the film “A Vida Invisivel de Euridice Gusmao (The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao)” at the 72nd edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 20, 2019. (Photo by Stephane Mahe/Reuters)

A Pataxo woman listens to her cell phone as she waits for the start of the Indigenous people's meeting with Brazil's former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, as part of the 18th annual Free Land Indigenous Camp, in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, April 12, 2022. (Photo by Eraldo Peres/AP Photo)

Prostitutes working on 10th Ave in New York, USA on June 29, 1997. (Photo by Jon Naso/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)