ABSTRACT
A s the modern capital of Myanmar, Yangon has figured prominently in the country's tumultuous, often bloody his tory. Originally called Dagon, the site once featured little more than a river settlement occupied by the Mon, who probably migrated to the lower river basin nearly 2,000 years ago. The Mon brought the Theravada form of Buddhismbased on a canon of scriptures written in the ancient Pali language-to Myanmar from eastern India.
