Mrauk U Kingdom

Origins

Min Saw Mon, the exiled last king of the Lemro period of the Kingdom of Arakan, regained his throne in 1429 with an army from the Bengal Sultanate and in 1430 founded a new capital at Mrauk U. For a time Arakan paid tribute to Bengal, and its Buddhist kings took Persian-style Muslim titles and issued coins with Persian inscriptions.

Rule and society

Under Min Bin in the 16th century Mrauk U became independent and powerful, controlling Chittagong and raiding Bengal with fleets that included Portuguese mercenaries. Slaves captured in Bengal worked its rice lands. The capital's stone temples, such as Shitthaung and Koe-thaung, survive. Its court hosted the Bengali poets Alaol and Daulat Qazi, and Muslim and Buddhist officials served together.

Decline and legacy

The Mughals took Chittagong in 1666, and internal instability followed. In 1784 to 1785 the Konbaung dynasty under Bodawpaya conquered Arakan and carried off the Mahamuni Buddha. Refugee flows into British Bengal helped trigger the First Anglo-Burmese War.