Myanmar

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Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and also known as Burma, is a country in northwest Southeast Asia and the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia. It is bordered by India to the west, Bangladesh to the southwest, China to the northeast, Laos and Thailand to the east and southeast, and the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal to the south and southwest. Its capital is Naypyidaw, and its largest city is Yangon.

History

Toungoo dynasty

Between the 16th and mid-18th centuries, most of modern-day Myanmar was ruled by the Toungoo Empire, although the latter part of its reign was turbulent and marked by both internal and external conflicts.

In 1725, the members of the Zhang Wei Union sailed to Burma from Singapore after Edward Kenway's visions revealed the whereabouts of a Piece of Eden housed within the Shwedagon Pagoda. Arriving in Yangon, the Union members were greeted by a group of Buddhist monks, who offered to help them retrieve the Piece of Eden, believing that the artifact would be safer in their hands. With the monks' aid, the Union members entered the city in disguise and began looking for ways to infiltrate the heavily-guarded pagoda.

At night, Edward and Shimazu Saito used the Celestial Chariot, a hot air balloon built by Yun Pyeong-Gyu, to fly above Yangon and parachute onto the Shwedagon Pagoda. They then entered the temple through a hole in the roof and found the Piece of Eden at its center.

British colonial rule

In the 19th century, Burma's ruling Konbaung dynasty fought three losing wars against the British Empire, leading to the annexation of its territories to the British Raj. After the third Anglo-Burmese war, the Konabaung dynasty was officially dissolved and Burma became a colony of the British Empire.

During World War II, Burma was invaded by Japan, but it would eventually be recaptured by the Allied forces in 1945. On 4 January 1948, Burma gained independence from the United Kingdom and, in 1989, changed its official name to Myanmar, though Burma or similar names are still used in certain regions of the world.

Modern times

Since 2021, Myanmar has been engulfed in a civil war between the ruling State Administration Council and the exiled National Unity Government, after the former took over the country in a coup d'état and installed a military junta.

In 2023, while hiding out in Singapore, the Abstergo Industries turncoat Shimazu Sei and her bodyguard Yuki learned about the Piece of Eden housed in the Shwedagon Pagoda, after Noa Kim used the Animus to relive the genetic memories of his ancestor Edward Kenway. Sei, Yuki, Noa, and the Assassin Nathan Zhang subsequently traveled to Myanmar to retrieve the artifact, using a secret smuggling route that Nathan knew to arrive undetected in Yangon.

In the city, the group stayed at a hotel near the Shwedagon Pagoda, where Sei talked to Noa, who believed himself to be Edward due to the Bleeding Effect. After convincing "Edward" to help recover the Piece of Eden from the pagoda, Sei and Noa infiltrated the temple while Nathan and his Doom Eagle thugs attacked the soldiers guarding the site as a distraction.

Gallery

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  The Japanese invasion of Burma
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  The Shwedagon Pagoda, Myanmar's most sacred Buddhist site

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed II (photo only)
• Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple (first appearance)