The restoration of Min Saw Mon was a military campaign led by the
Bengal Sultanate to help
Min Saw Mon
Narameikhla Min Saw Mon ( Arakanese:နရမိတ်လှ မင်းစောမွန်; , Arakanese transliteration: Meng Sao Mwan, Arakanese pronunciation: ; also known as Suleiman Shah; 1380–1433) was the last king of Launggyet Dynas ...
regain control of his
Launggyet Dynasty
Launggyet ( my, လောင်းကြက်မြို့ ) is a former capital of the Launggyet Dynasty of Arakan from 1237/1251 to 1430. It is also last capital of Laymro Kingdom. The former capital site is located a few miles northwest of ...
. The campaign was successful. Min Saw Mon was restored to the Launggyet throne, and northern
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 ...
became a
vassal state
A vassal state is any state that has a mutual obligation to a superior state or empire, in a status similar to that of a vassal in the feudal system in medieval Europe. Vassal states were common among the empires of the Near East, dating back to ...
of the Bengal Sultanate.
Background
In 1406,
Burmese forces from the
Kingdom of Ava
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 ...
invaded Arakan. The control of Arakan was part of the
Forty Years' War between Ava and
Hanthawaddy Pegu on the Burmese mainland. The control of Arakan would change hands a few times before Hanthawaddy forces drove out Ava forces in 1412.
[Hmannan Vol. 2 2003: 7–8] Ava would retain a toehold in northern Arakan until 1416/17 but did not try to retake Arakan.
[RRT Vol. 2 1999: 10] The Hanthawaddy influence ended after King
Razadarit's death in 1421.
[(Phayre 1873: 120): Razadarit's three sons vied for the throne. None of them claimed Arakan.]
The former Arakanese ruler Min Saw Mon received asylum in the Bengal Sultanate and lived there for 24 years. Saw Mon became close to the Bengal 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 ...
, serving as a commander in the king's army. Saw Mon convinced the sultan to help restore him to his lost throne.
[Sandamala Linkara Vol. 2: 11]
Invasion
In 1429, Saw Mon aided by troops "largely made up of Afghan adventurers" invaded Arakan.
[Myint-U 2006: 73] The first attempt at the invasion failed because Saw Mon got into an argument with Gen. Wali Khan of Bengal, and was imprisoned by the general. Saw Mon escaped, and the sultan agreed to another attempt. The second invasion went well. Saw Mon was proclaimed king at Launggyet on 18 April 1429 (Thursday, 1st waning of Kason 791 ME).
[
]
Aftermath
Saw Mon later founded a new royal 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 ...
. His kingdom would become known as the Mrauk U Kingdom
The Kingdom of Mrauk-U ( Arakanese: မြောက်ဦး နေပြည်တော်,) was a kingdom that existed on the Arakan littoral from 1429 to 1785. Based out of the capital Mrauk-U, near the eastern coast of the Bay of Bengal, t ...
. He died in 1433, and was succeeded by his younger 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 ...
.
The subordinate relationship with Bengal did not last long. Sultan Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah died in 1433, and was succeeded by a string of weak sultans. In 1437, Khayi took over the throne of Sandoway (Thandwe), unifying the Arakan coast, probably for the first time in history.[Harvey 1925: xxviii] He also married Saw Yin Mi, the queen of Sandoway.[Sandamala Linkara Vol. 2 1999: 19] Then, Khayi occupied 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 ...
, the southernmost territory of his erstwhile overlord Bengal.[Harvey 1925: 140][Phayre 1967: 78] The Arakanese chronicles
The royal chronicles of Myanmar ( my, မြန်မာ ရာဇဝင် ကျမ်းများ ; also known as Burmese chronicles) are detailed and continuous chronicles of the monarchy of Myanmar (Burma). The chronicles were written o ...
say that Khayi successfully seized Chittagong in 1450.[Sandamala Linkara Vol. 2 1999: 20] However, the first confirmed successful occupation of Chittagong came only nine years later in 1459 when King 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 ...
seized the port from Sultan Rukunuddin Barbak Shah
Ruknuddīn Bārbak Shāh ( bn, রোকনউদ্দীন বারবক শাহ, fa, ; r. 1459–1474) was the son and successor of Sultan Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah. Initially appointed as the governor of Satgaon during the reign of his fa ...
.[
]
Notes
References
Further reading
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* {{cite book , last=Sandamala Linkara , first=Ashin , title= Rakhine Yazawinthit Kyan , year= 1931 , edition=1997–1999 , publisher=Tetlan Sarpay , language=Burmese , volume=1–2 , location=Yangon
Conflicts in 1429
1429 in Asia
Military history of the Bengal Sultanate