Mrauk U Kingdom
| Kingdom of Mrauk-U | ||||||||||
| Kingdom (1429–1433) | ||||||||||
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| Capital | Launggyet (1429–1430), Mrauk U (1430–1785) | |||||||||
| Languages | Arakanese | |||||||||
| Religion | Theravada Buddhism | |||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | |||||||||
| King | ||||||||||
| • | 1429–1433 | Narameithla | ||||||||
| • | 1531–1554 | Min Bin | ||||||||
| History | ||||||||||
| • | Founding of dynasty | 18 April 1429 | ||||||||
| • | End of kingdom | 2 January 1785 | ||||||||
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The Kingdom of Mrauk-U was a kingdom based in the city of Mrauk-U, near the eastern coast of the Bay of Bengal, which ruled parts of Bangladesh and the Arakan region of Burma from 1429 to 1785. From 1429 to 1531 it was a protectorate of the Bengal Sultanate.
Mrauk U was declared the capital of the Arakanese kingdom in 1431. As the city grew, many Buddhist pagodas 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).
King Narameikhla (1404-1434), or Min Saw Mon, ruler of the Kingdom of Mrauk U in the early 15th century, after 24 years of exile in Bengal, regained control of the Arakanese throne in 1430 with military assistance from the Sultanate of Bengal. The Bengalis who came with him formed their own settlements in the region. Narameikhla ceded some territory to the Sultan of Bengal and recognised his sovereignity over the areas. In recognition of his kingdom's vassal status, the kings of Arakan received Islamic titles, despite being Buddhists, and legalised the use of Islamic gold dinar coins from Bengal within the kingdom. Narameikhla minted his own, with Burmese characters on one side and Persian characters on the other. Arakan remained subordinate to Bengal until 1531.
Even after gaining independence from the Sultans of Bengal, the Arakanese kings continued the custom of maintaining Muslim titles, despite remaining Buddhist. The kings compared themselves to Sultans and fashioned themselves after Mughal rulers. They also continued to employ Muslims in prestigious positions within the royal administration. From 1531-1629, Portuguese pirates operated from havens along the coast of the kingdom and brought slaves in from Bengal to the kingdom. The Bengali Muslim population thus increased in the 17th century, as they were employed in a variety of workforces in Arakan. Some of them worked as Arabic, Bengali, and Persian scribes in the Arakanese courts, which, despite remaining mostly Buddhist, adopted Islamic fashions from the neighbouring Sultanate of Bengal. Arakan lost control of end of eastern bank of the Kaladan river in southeast Bengal after the Mughal conquest of Chittagong.
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