Kingdom Of Mrauk U
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The Kingdom of Mrauk-U ( Arakanese: မြောက်ဦး နေပြည်တော်,) was a kingdom that existed on the
Arakan Arakan ( or ) is a historic coastal region in Southeast Asia. Its borders faced the Bay of Bengal to its west, the Indian subcontinent to its north and Burma proper to its east. The Arakan Mountains isolated the region and made it accessi ...
littoral from 1429 to 1785. Based out of the capital
Mrauk-U Mrauk U ( ) is a town in northern Rakhine State, Myanmar. It is the capital of Mrauk-U Township, a subregion of the Mrauk-U District. Mrauk U is of great cultural importance to the local Rakhine (Arakanese) people, and is the location of many ...
, near the eastern coast of the
Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line between ...
, the kingdom ruled over what is now
Rakhine State Rakhine State (; , , ; formerly known as Arakan State) is a Administrative divisions of Myanmar, state in Myanmar (Burma). Situated on the western coast, it is bordered by Chin State to the north, Magway Region, Bago Region and Ayeyarwady R ...
,
Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
and
Chittagong Division Chittagong Division, officially known as Chattogram Division, is geographically the largest of the eight administrative divisions of Bangladesh. It covers the south-easternmost areas of the country, with a total area of and a population at the 2 ...
,
Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
. Though started out as a protectorate of the
Bengal Sultanate The Sultanate of Bengal ( Middle Bengali: শাহী বাঙ্গালা ''Shahī Baṅgala'', Classical Persian: ''Saltanat-e-Bangālah'') was an empire based in Bengal for much of the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. It was the dominan ...
from 1429 to 1437, Mrauk-U went on to conquer Chittagong in 1459. It twice fended off the Toungoo Burma's attempts to conquer the kingdom in 1546–1547, and 1580–1581. At its height of power, it briefly controlled the
Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line between ...
coastline from the
Sundarbans Sundarbans (pronounced ) is a mangrove area in the delta formed by the confluence of the Padma, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal. It spans the area from the Baleswar River in Bangladesh's division of Khulna to the Hooghly R ...
to the
Gulf of Martaban A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodies ...
from 1599 to 1603.Myint-U 2006: 77Topich, Leitich 2013: 21 In 1666, it lost control of Chittagong after a war with the
Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
. Its reign continued until 1785, when it was conquered by the
Konbaung dynasty The Konbaung dynasty ( my, ကုန်းဘောင်ခေတ်, ), also known as Third Burmese Empire (တတိယမြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်) and formerly known as the Alompra dynasty (အလောင်းဘ ...
of Burma.Phayre 1883: 78Harvey 1925: 140–141 It was home to a
multiethnic A multinational state or a multinational union is a sovereign entity that comprises two or more nations or states. This contrasts with a nation state, where a single nation accounts for the bulk of the population. Depending on the definition of ...
population with the city of Mrauk U being home to mosques, temples, shrines, seminaries and libraries. The kingdom was also a center of
piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
and the
slave trade Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
. It was frequented by Arab, Danish, Dutch and Portuguese traders.


History


Launggyet Kingdom

Although Arakan kings paid tribute to the
Pagan dynasty The Kingdom of Pagan ( my, ပုဂံခေတ်, , ; also known as the Pagan Dynasty and the Pagan Empire; also the Bagan Dynasty or Bagan Empire) was the first Burmese kingdom to unify the regions that would later constitute modern-da ...
, the South was mostly free of Pagan suzerainty and largely cut off from the rest of Burma. Separated from Pagan by the Arakan Mountains, Arakan developed more independently to other Burmese regions. its capital moved from Thaibeiktaung to
Dhanyawadi Kingdom of Dhanyawaddy ( my, ဓညဝတီ; pi, Dhaññavatī) was the capital of the first Arakanese Kingdom, located in what is now Northern Rakhine State, Myanmar. The name is a corruption of the Pali word ''Dhannavati'', which means "large ...
to Vesali before the 11th century, and then to Pyinsa, Parin, and Hkrit in the 12th century, with the capital moving to Pyinsa again in 1180, and then Launggyet in 1237.Harvey 1925: 76


Vassal state of Bengal Sultanate


Background

Arakan had close contact with
Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
, coming into full contact with it as it was expanding eastwards. Bengal captured
Satgaon Saptagram ( Bengali: সপ্তগ্রাম; colloquially called ''Satgaon'') was a major port, the chief city and sometimes capital of southern Bengal, in ancient and medieval times, the location presently being in the Hooghly district in ...
and later
Sonargaon Sonargaon ( bn, সোনারগাঁও; pronounced as ''Show-naar-gaa''; lit. ''Golden Hamlet'') is a historic city in central Bangladesh. It corresponds to the Sonargaon Upazila of Narayanganj District in Dhaka Division. Sonargaon is on ...
towards the beginning of the 14th century, and during the reign of King
Min Hti of Arakan Min Hti ( Arakanese:မင်းထီး; Various sources imply different dates of birth. Per (Sandamala Linkara 1997: 176–178, 178–182), the Arakanese chronicles ''Razawin Haung'' and ''Dhanyawaddy Ayedawbon'' suggest that he was born . A non ...
(1279–1374), Bengal invaded Arakan by sea, raiding the Hinya river at
Chittagong Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in B ...
. Following the collapse of Pagan power and the death of Min Hti, Arakan fell into an interregnum, and constant raids were conducted by both the Burmese and the Talaing. The new king who took power in 1404, Narameikhla, who was a great-grandson of
Min Hti Min Hti ( Arakanese:မင်းထီး; Various sources imply different dates of birth. Per (Sandamala Linkara 1997: 176–178, 178–182), the Arakanese chronicles ''Razawin Haung'' and ''Dhanyawaddy Ayedawbon'' suggest that he was born . A non ...
, was immediately ousted by the forces of the Burmese Crown Prince
Minye Kyawswa Minye Kyawswa ( my, မင်းရဲကျော်စွာ, ; also Minyekyawswa and Minrekyawswa; January 1391 – 13 March 1415) was crown prince of Ava from 1406 to 1415, and commander-in-chief of Ava's military from 1410 to 1415. H ...
, who captured Launggyet and forced Narameikhla to flee to the court of the
Sultanate of Bengal The Sultanate of Bengal ( Middle Bengali: শাহী বাঙ্গালা ''Shahī Baṅgala'', Classical Persian: ''Saltanat-e-Bangālah'') was an empire based in Bengal for much of the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. It was the domina ...
at Gour.Harvey 1925: 77Phayer 1883: 77 During Narameikhla's 24-year exile, Arakan became an extensive battleground for the
Ava Kingdom The Kingdom of Ava ( my, အင်းဝခေတ်, ) was the dominant kingdom that ruled upper Burma (Myanmar) from 1364 to 1555. Founded in 1365, the kingdom was the successor state to the petty kingdoms of Myinsaing, Pinya and Sagaing t ...
and the Pegu Kingdom. The King of Ava installed his son-in-law on the throne of Arakan, bestowing him the title of ''Anoarahtâ''. Pegu forces later captured and executed him. The power struggle ended with Razadarit coming out on top, capturing Taunggyet and installing his own governor, who was in power until 1423.


Reign of Narameikhla

Following the death of Ahmed Shah in 1426, his son Nazir Shah took the throne of Bengal. After 24 years of exile, Narameikhla finally regained control of the Arakanese throne in 1430 with military assistance from Bengali commanders Wali Khan and Sindhi Khan. The
Bengalis Bengalis (singular Bengali bn, বাঙ্গালী/বাঙালি ), also rendered as Bangalee or the Bengali people, are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the ...
who came with him formed their own settlements in the region. Narameikhla ceded some territory to the Sultan of Bengal and recognised his sovereignty over the areas. In recognition of his kingdom's
vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain. W ...
status, the kings of Arakan received
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
ic titles, despite being Buddhists, and legalised the use of
Islamic gold dinar The gold dinar ( ar, ﺩﻳﻨﺎﺭ ذهبي) is an Islamic medieval gold coin first issued in AH 77 (696–697 CE) by Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. The weight of the dinar is 1 mithqal (). The word ''dinar'' comes from the Lat ...
coins from Bengal within the kingdom. The kings compared themselves to
Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...
s and fashioned themselves after Mughal rulers. They also employed Muslims in prestigious positions within the royal administration. Narameikhla minted his own, with Burmese characters on one side and Persian characters on the other. Despite ruling parts of Bengal, it continued to remain a protectorate of the Sultan of Bengal up until 1531. Narameikhla founded the city of Mrauk U, which was declared the capital of the Arakanese kingdom in 1431. As the city grew, many
Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
pagoda A pagoda is an Asian tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist but sometimes Taoist, ...
s and temples were built. Several of them remain, and these are the main attraction of Mrauk-U. From the 15th to the 18th centuries, Mrauk U was the capital of the Arakan kingdom, frequently visited by foreign traders (including Portuguese and Dutch). The golden city of Mrauk U became known in Europe as a city of oriental splendor after Friar Sebastian Manrique visited the area in the early 17th century. Father Manrique's vivid account of the coronation of King Thiri Thudhamma in 1635 and about the Rakhine Court and intrigues of the Portuguese adventurers fire the imagination of later authors. The English author Maurice Collis who made Mrauk U and Rakhine famous after his book ''The Land of the Great Image: Being experiences of Friar Manrique in Arakan'' based its accounts on Friar Manrique' travels in Arakan.


Independence from Bengal

Narameikhla was succeeded by his brother,
Min Khayi Min Khayi ( my, မင်းခရီ, ; also spelled Meng Khari, Arakanese pronunciation: ; also known as Ali Khan; 1392–1459) was the second king of the Mrauk-U Kingdom from 1433 to 1459. He began his reign as a vassal of the Bengal Sulta ...
Ali Khan (reigning 1434–59), who annexed
Sandoway Thandwe ("Thandway" in Arakanese; ; formerly Sandoway) is a town and major seaport in Rakhine State, the westernmost part of Myanmar. Thandwe is very ancient, and is said to have been at one time the capital of Rakhine State, then called Arakan. ...
and
Ramu The Ramu River is a major river in northern Papua New Guinea. The headwaters of the river are formed in the Kratke Range from where it then travels about northwest to the Bismarck Sea. Along the Ramu's course, it receives numerous tributaries ...
in 1437 with the vassalage to Bengal becoming null in 1433 following the death of Sultan
Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah ( bn, জালালউদ্দীন মুহম্মদ শাহ; born as Yadu or Jadu) was a 15th-century Sultan of Bengal and an important figure in medieval Bengali history. Born a Hindu to his aristocratic fat ...
. Ali Khan's successor,
Ba Saw Phyu Ba Saw Phyu ( my, ဘစောဖြူ, ; also spelled Ba Saw Pru, Arakanese pronunciation: ; also known as Kalima Shah; 1430–1482) was king of Arakan from 1459 to 1482. He acquired Chittagong in 1459, and put down a rebellion there in 1481 ...
(Kalima Shah, named after his coins bearing the ''Kalima'', reigning 1459–82) occupied Chittagong, a city that Arakan would hold onto until 1666, at the beginning of his reign.Phayre 1883: 78Harvey 1925: 140–141 Although Barbek Shah, the new Sultan of Bengal, allowed Bengal to falter,Phayre 1883: 78 Arakan remained subordinate to Bengal until 1531. Ba Saw Phyu was succeeded by his son Dawlya, who launched a rebellion against him in 1482, taking his life.Phayre 1883: 79 A line of weak kings followed, although they managed to hold on to Chittagong. However, in 1531, Minbin took the throne, strengthening the fortifications of Mrauk U and fighting back against coastal raids by pirates. Minbin was responsible for the construction of the Shwedaung pagoda as well as the Shitthaung, Dukkanthein, and Lemyethna temples in Mrauk U.Harvey 1925: 77 During Minbin's reign, Arakan came under attack both from the north, from the coast, and from the east. In 1544, the armies of King
Tabinshwehti Tabinshwehti ( my, တပင်‌ရွှေထီး, ; 16 April 1516 – 30 April 1550) was king of Burma (Myanmar) from 1530 to 1550, and the founder of the First Toungoo Empire. His military campaigns (1534–1549) created the largest kin ...
of Burma invaded and took Sandoway, beginning the Toungoo–Mrauk-U War. However, he was unable to march further, and was held there for two years. Thus, he brought in Talaing and Shan fighters and revitalized his offensive, marching north to Mrauk U. However, once he reached the city, Tabinshwehti retreated, as he realised it was too well-defended and he did not want to besiege or blockade it. From the north came the Raja of
Twipra The Twipra Kingdom (Sanskrit: Tripura, Anglicized: Tippera) was one of the largest historical kingdoms of the Tripuri people in Northeast India. Geography The present political areas which were part of the Twipra Kingdom are: * Barak Valley ...
, who marched as far as Ramu.Phayre 1883: 79–80 However, he was driven back, and upon the Arakanese reclamation of Chittagong, Minbin struck from producing coins with his name that styled him as ''sultan''. Minbin's reign ended in 1553.Harvey 1925: 77


Portuguese interference

Down the line of kings came
Min Razagyi Min Razagyi ( Arakanese:မင်းရာဇာကြီး, , Arakanese pronunciation: Meng Razagree ; c. 1557–1612), also known as Salim Shah, was king of Arakan from 1593 to 1612. His early reign marked the continued ascent of the coasta ...
(1593–1612). In 1597, he joined the
First Toungoo Empire The First Toungoo Empire ( my, တောင်ငူ ခေတ်, ; also known as the First Toungoo Dynasty, the Second Burmese Empire or simply the Toungoo Empire) was the dominant power in mainland Southeast Asia in the second half of the ...
in its siege of Pegu and requested the aid of Portuguese captain Felipe de Brito to assist him in it.Harvey 1925: 78 Land levies and ships from Chittagong, and the city fell in 1599. de Brito was appointed governor of Syriam by Minyazagyi. However, he shook off Arakanese power over the region, and, supported by
Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...
, he pushed away the many attacks of Arakan. Minyazagyi took three years (1602–1605) to take
Sandwip Sandwip ( bn, সন্দ্বীপ, Shondip) is an island located along the southeastern coast of Bangladesh in the Chattogram District. Along with the island of Urir Char, it is a part of the Sandwip Upazila. Description Sandwip is locate ...
from Manuel de Mattos and Domingo Carvalho. From 1531 to 1629, Arakanese raiders and
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
s operated from havens along the coast of the kingdom and brought slaves in from Bengal to the kingdom. Following many raids into Bengal, the slave population increased in the 17th century as they were employed in a variety of industries in Arakan. Slaves included members of the Mughal nobility. A notable royal slave was
Alaol Syed Alaol ( bn, সৈয়দ আলাওল; 1607 – 1680) was a 17th century poet of Bengal. His most well known work is ''Padmavati'', which depicts the story of Padmavati, the Sinhalese princess. He is considered to be one of the most pro ...
, a renowned poet in the Arakanese court. Some of them worked as
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
,
Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
, and
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
scribe A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of automatic printing. The profession of the scribe, previously widespread across cultures, lost most of its promi ...
s in the Arakanese courts, which, despite remaining mostly
Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
, adopted Islamic fashions from the neighbouring Sultanate of Bengal.


Mughal period

Arakan lost control of end of eastern bank of the Kaladan river in southeast Bengal after the Mughal conquest of Chittagong. In 1660, Prince Shah Shuja, the governor of
Mughal Bengal The Bengal Subah ( bn, সুবাহ বাংলা; fa, ), also referred to as Mughal Bengal ( bn, মোগল বাংলা), was the largest subdivision of the Mughal Empire (and later an independent state under the Nawabs of Beng ...
and a claimant of the
Peacock Throne The Peacock Throne ( Hindustani: ''Mayūrāsana'', Sanskrit: मयूरासन, Urdu: تخت طاؤس, fa, تخت طاووس, ''Takht-i Tāvūs'') was a famous jewelled throne that was the seat of the emperors of the Mughal Empire in India ...
, fled to Arakan with his family after being defeated by his brother
Emperor Aurangzeb Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...
during the
Battle of Khajwa The Battle of Khajuha was a battle fought on January 5, 1659, between the newly crowned Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb and Shah Shuja who also declared himself Mughal Emperor in Bengal. Shuja's army rested by the tank of Khajwa, about 30 miles to the we ...
. Shuja and his entourage arrived in Arakan on 26 August 1660. He was granted
asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent Asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea ...
by King
Sanda Thudhamma Sanda Thudamma (Arakanese language, Arakanese:စန္ဒသုဓမ္မရာဇာ, or islamized name Saad Ummadar), was 24th king of the Mrauk U Kingdom. He reigned from 1652 to 1674. He lost the control of Chittagong under his reign. T ...
. In December 1660, the Arakanese king confiscated Shuja's gold and jewelry, leading to an
insurrection Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...
by the royal Mughal refugees. According to varying accounts, Shuja's family was killed by the Arakanese, while Shuja himself may have fled to a kingdom in
Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of Myanm ...
. However, members of Shuja's entourage remained in Arakan and were recruited by the royal army, including as archers and court guards. They were king makers in Arakan until the Burmese conquest. The Arakanese continued their raids of Mughal Bengal.
Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...
was raided in 1625. The
Mahamuni Buddha The Mahamuni Buddha Temple ( my, မဟာမုနိဘုရားကြီး, ) is a Buddhist temple and major pilgrimage site, located southwest of Mandalay, Myanmar (Burma). The Mahamuni Image () is enshrined in this temple, and originally ...
image, which is now in Mandalay, was cast and venerated some 15 miles from Mrauk U where another Mahamuni Buddha Image flanked by two other Buddha images. Mrauk U can be easily reached via Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine State. From Yangon there are daily flights to Sittwe and there are small private boats as well as larger public boats plying through the Kaladan river to Mrauk U. It is only 45 miles from Sittwe and the seacoast. To the east of the old city is the famous Kispanadi stream and far away the Lemro river. The city area used to have a network of canals. Mrauk U maintains a small archaeological Museum near Palace site, which is right in the centre of town. As a prominent capital Mrauk U was carefully built in a strategic location by levelling three small hills. The pagodas are strategically located on hilltops and serve as fortresses; indeed they are once used as such in times of enemy intrusion. There are moats, artificial lakes and canals and the whole area could be flooded to deter or repulse attackers. There are innumerable pagodas and Buddha images all over the old city and the surrounding hills. Some are still being used as places of worship today many in ruins, some of which are now being restored to their original splendor.


Burmese conquest

Following
Konbaung Dynasty The Konbaung dynasty ( my, ကုန်းဘောင်ခေတ်, ), also known as Third Burmese Empire (တတိယမြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်) and formerly known as the Alompra dynasty (အလောင်းဘ ...
's conquest of Arakan in 1785, as many as 35,000 people of the Rakhine State fled to the neighbouring Chittagong region of British Bengal in 1799 to escape persecution by the
Bamar The Bamar (, ; also known as the Burmans) are a Sino-Tibetan ethnic group native to Myanmar (formerly Burma) in Southeast Asia. With approximately 35 million people, the Bamar make up the largest ethnic group in Myanmar, constituting 68% of th ...
and to seek protection under the
British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...
.


Cultural legacy

Arakanese chronicle records that more than six million shrines and pagodas flourished in Mrauk-U. A British archaeologist, Emil Forchhammer noted that "in durability, architectural skill, and ornamentation the Mrauk-U temples far surpass those on the banks of Irrawaddy." Illustrative examples of Mrauk U period architecture include the Shite-thaung and Htukkanthein Temples. Gold and silver coins serve as the heritage of the Mrauk-U period. The tradition of coin-making was handed down from the Vesali kings who started minting coins around the fifth century. The coins so far found are of one denomination only. Inscribed on the coins are the title of the ruling king and his year of coronation; coins before 1638 had Rakhine inscriptions on one side and Persian and Nagari inscriptions on the other. The inclusion of the foreign inscriptions was meant for the easy acceptance by the neighbouring countries and the Arab traders. Twenty-three types of silver coins and three types of gold coins have so far been found.


See also

*
History of Chittagong The region of Chittagong is traditionally centred around its seaport which has existed since ancient times. The region was home to the ancient independent Buddhist kingdoms of Samatata and Harikela. It later fell under of the rule of the Gupta ...
*
History of Rakhine Rakhine State occupies the northern coastline of Myanmar up to the border with Bangladesh and corresponds to the historical Kingdom of Arakan. The history of Rakhine is divided into 7 parts - the independent kingdoms of Dhanyawadi, Waithali, L ...
*
List of Arakanese monarchs The following is a list of monarchs of Arakan, starting from the Lemro period. For monarchs from earlier periods, see List of early and legendary monarchs of Burma. Lemro (1018–1430) Unless otherwise noted, the regnal dates in this section ...
** Arakanese monarchs' family tree *
History of Burma The history of Myanmar (also known as Burma; my, မြန်မာ့သမိုင်း) covers the period from the time of first-known human settlements 13,000 years ago to the present day. The earliest inhabitants of recorded history wer ...


Notes


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 1984 Edition. Vol. VII, p. 76 {{DEFAULTSORT:Mrauk U .01 Former countries in Burmese history Former countries in Southeast Asia Former kingdoms Burmese monarchy Former monarchies of Southeast Asia History of Chittagong Division 15th century in Burma 16th century in Burma 17th century in Burma 18th century in Burma 2nd millennium in Bangladesh States and territories established in 1429 States and territories disestablished in 1785 1429 establishments in Asia 1780s disestablishments in Asia Bengal Sultanate Former monarchies of Asia Former protectorates