a British province of Eastern India, lying between N. Lat. 15° 49' and 19° 30', E. Long. 91° 11' and 96° 55', is bounded on the N. by the Burmese empire, E. by the Tenasserim provinces (from which it is separated by the River Sitang), S. by the Gulf of Martaban, and W. by the Bay of Bengal and the province of Arracan; the latter divided from it by the Youmadoung Mountains; length, from N. to S., about 240 miles; breadth, 170. The country is in general level, though it is traversed by several chains of hills. It is watered by the Irawaddy, which flows southwards from Burmah, and falls into the Gulf of Martaban, forming a large delta. The soil is fertile; but agriculture has been much neglected since the conquest of Pegu by the Burmese. Rice is the principal crop raised; and teak timber is also obtained. Tigers, elephants, buffaloes, and deer are the animals that mostly throng the forests and jungles of Pegu. Iron, tin, lead, as well as rubies, sapphires, and other jewels, are obtained in this country. The government of Pegu is similar to that of the adjacent provinces of Tenasserim and Arracan. The province is divided into six districts, and contains 570,180 inhabitants.

The early history of Pegu consists of little more than a narrative of barbarous and cruel contests between that country and the kingdom of Ava, in which the latter was finally successful, and reduced Pegu to a province of that kingdom, or, as it is generally called, the Burman Empire. The most important events in these wars, as well as those which led to the more recent contests of Burmah with Great Britain, and the addition of Pegu to the British empire, are narrated in the article Burmah.

The principal towns in the province are Pegu, Prome, and Rangoon, all of which are fortified. Martaban stands on the E. bank of the Salween, 10 miles N.W. of Moulmein. It is built on the slope of a hill, and has several large temples. Though surrounded with a wooden stockade, and protected by a stone battery near the river, the place is not of great strength. It was taken by the British in the Burmese war in 1852, being the first town that fell in that war. Pop. about 6000.

chief town of the above district, stands on the left bank of a river of the same name that flows into the Irawaddy, 58 miles N.E. of Rangoon. It is built in the shape of a quadrangle, and the streets are broad and regular, crossing each other at right angles. The streets are paved with bricks, and the houses, which are built of wood, are elevated on posts above the ground. Of the buildings in the town, the most important is the temple of Shoemadou, a brick structure, octagonal at the base, and rising in the form of a pyramid or spire. Pegu was destroyed in 1757 by the Burmese, on their final triumph over the country, but it was subsequently rebuilt. In 1824 it was captured by the British, but restored on the conclusion of the first war with Burmah. In 1852 it was again taken, and has since that time been retained. It is said to have contained at one time 150,000 inhabitants.