Kengtung State
| Kengtung ကျိုင်းတုံ / 
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| State of the Shan States | |||||
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| History | |||||
| • | Dynasty established by a delegate of King Mangrai | c. 1243 | |||
| • | Abdication of the last Saopha | 1959 | |||
| Area | |||||
| • | 1901 | 31,079 km2(12,000 sq mi) | |||
| Population | |||||
| • | 1901 | 190,698 | |||
| Density | 6.1 /km2 (15.9 /sq mi) | ||||
Kengtung (Burmese: ကျိုင်းတုံ; Thai: เชียงตุง Chiang Tung) was a Shan state in what is today Burma. The capital and the residence of the ruler was Kengtung in the centre of the state. It was the only urban area in this mountainous state whose landscape is dominated by the Daen Lao Range.
Kengtung was the largest of the states in present-day Shan State and ranked first in the order of precedence at the time of the invasion of the Shan States by the British Empire. It was also the easternmost of the Southern Shan States, lying almost entirely east of the Salween and stretching eastwards to the Mekong. It was separated from the northern Shan state of Manglon by the Hka River.
Most of the early history of Kengtung is made up of myths and legends. At the time of British rule in Burma the Tai Yai people were the majority of the population in Kengtung state with other groups such as Akha and Lahu, forming sizeable communities. According to Wa tradition, in the distant past the territory had belonged to the Wa people who were displaced around 1229 and were later defeated by King Mangrai. The Wa now form a minority of only about 10% in Kengtung State despite having been —according to their myths— the original inhabitants.
According to local tradition Khemarattha, the predecessor state, was founded in an unknown date in the distant past. It was ruled by the Tai Khün of Tai Yai (Shan) ethnic background. The current dynasty has its origins in the kingdom founded around 1243 by a prince named Mang Kun, said to be a delegate of King Mangrai. Despite the ethnic affinity of the ruling Tai with the Siamese to the south,
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