ABSTRACT
Burma had been one of the first regions of the Indochinese peninsula, or the very first, to be affected by the spread of Indian culture, and both the Mons of the delta and the Pyus of Shrikshetra had benefited directly from Indian influence. In the north, Upper Burma the future kingdom of Ava, remained in the hands of the descendants of the dynasty of Pagan, who continued to reign under the surveillance of three brothers of T'ai origin. In the delta, Wareru, the T'ai ruler of Martaban, formed an alliance with Tarabya, the governor of Pegu, where the two allies had succeeded in getting rid of the Burmese governor and in occupying the region. The military exploits of the first kings of the Toungoo dynasty gave rise to a number of poems glorifying their mighty deeds.
