Mingalazedi Pagoda

Last great stupa of the Bagan period, built the year before the Mongol invasion

The Mingalazedi ("Pagoda of Blessing") was completed in 1277, just before Kublai Khan's Mongol forces ended the Bagan empire. It is the last and in many ways the finest of Bagan's great stupas, and its completion was said by astrologers to foretell the city's fall.

The pagoda has a broad base of terraces decorated with glazed terracotta tiles showing Jataka tales — stories of the Buddha's previous lives. Many of the tiles survive in excellent condition, making the Mingalazedi one of the best places in Bagan to study its decorative ceramic work. The stupa stands in the southern part of the plain, away from the main tourist circuit, and is usually quiet.

things to do landmark
A story
According to Burmese chronicles, an astrologer prophesied that when the Mingalazedi was completed, Bagan would fall. King Narathihapate pressed ahead and finished the pagoda in 1277. The following year the Mongols arrived. Whether coincidence or fulfilled prophecy, the Mingalazedi stands as the final monument of Bagan's golden age — the last great stupa before the empire collapsed.