 In an era of limited military specialisation, when the number of conscripted cultivators offered the best single indication of military success, Upper Burma with a greater population was the natural centre of political gravity.Various sources and estimates put Pagan's military strength anywhere between 30,000 and 60,000 men.One inscription by Sithu II, who expanded the empire to its greatest extent, describes him as the lord of 17,645 soldiers while another notes 30,000 soldiers and cavalry under his command.