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.

This picture taken on January 12, 2014 shows pet dogs, a yellow duck and a chicken in a skiing resort for a skiing competition in Sanmenxia, north China's Henan province. A tortoise beat a rabbit in a skiing competition held for pets and their owners in northern China, a report said on January 14. Cats and dogs faced off against a menagerie including a rooster and a yellow duck in a race to the finish line on snowy slopes in China's Hebei province, the state-run China News Service said. (Photo by AFP Photo)

A Police officer checks a man wearing a carnival costume in Venice, Italy, Sunday, January 31, 2016. Carnival-goers in Venice are being asked by police to momentarily lift their masks as part of new anti-terrorism measures for the annual festivities. Police are also examining backpacks and bags and using metal-detecting wands before revelers are allowed into St. Mark's Square, the heart of the Venetian carnival. (Photo by Luigi Costantini/AP Photo)

A man runs away during a police round up of suspected drug addicts in Kabul, Afghanistan December 27, 2015. Afghan officials have opened a new drug treatment centre in an abandoned NATO military base in Kabul, in the latest attempt to stamp out the country's massive problem of drug abuse. Camp Phoenix, a former training camp on the edges of Kabul set up by the U.S. army in 2003, will take in around 1,000 homeless drug addicts who will receive food, medical attention and treatment, said Public Health Minister Ferozuddin Feroz. (Photo by Ahmad Masood/Reuters)

In this April 27, 2020 photo, a health worker helps another as she fainted because of exhaustion and long working hours during a swab test drive for COVID 19, in New Delhi, India. Two and a half months of nationwide lockdown kept numbers of infections relatively low in India. But with restrictions easing in recent weeks, cases have shot up, raising questions about whether authorities have done enough to avert catastrophe. Half of Delhi’s 8,200 hospital beds dedicated to COVID-19 patients are already full and officials are projecting more than half a million cases in the city alone by July 31. (Photo by Manish Swarup/AP Photo)

A belly dancer performs in a talent show in early morning ceremonies for Groundhog Day on February 2, 2018 in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Punxsutawney Phil, the weather-forecasting groundhog, emerged from his burrow in Pennsylvania on Friday, saw his shadow and predicted six more weeks of winter, despite his rival Staten Island Chuck in New York predicting an early spring. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)

Born in 1958 in Abbazia, Italy, Frank Horvat is considered one of the founding fathers of French fashion photography. Frank Horvat: Storia di un Fotografo is on at Palazzo Chiablese Musei Reali, Turin, until 16 June. Here: Prostitutes, Bois de Boulogne, 1956. (Photo by Frank Horvat/The Guardian)