Mughal-Arakan War
| Kingdom of Mrauk-U | ||||||||||||
| Kingdom | ||||||||||||
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| Capital | Launggyet (1429–1430), Mrauk U (1430–1785) | |||||||||||
| Languages | Arakanese | |||||||||||
| Religion |
Theravada Buddhism Islam |
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| 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 an independent coastal kingdom of Arakan which existed for over 350 years. It was based in the city of Mrauk-U, near the eastern coast of the Bay of Bengal. The kingdom from 1429 to 1785 ruled over what is now Rakhine State, Myanmar and Chittagong Division, Bangladesh. From 1429 to 1531 it was a protectorate of the Bengal Sultanate at different time periods. After gaining independence from Bengal, it prospered with help from the Portuguese settlement in Chittagong. In 1666, it lost control of Chittagong after a war with the Mughal Empire. Its reign continued until the 18th century, when it fell to the invasion of the Burmese Empire.
It was home to a multiethnic population including Arakanese and Arakanese Indians. The city of Mrauk U was home to mosques, temples, shrines, seminaries and libraries. The kingdom was also a center of piracy and the slave trade. It was frequented by Arab, Danish, Dutch and Portuguese traders.
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 sovereignty 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.Arakan's vassalage to Bengal was brief. After Sultan Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah's death in 1433, Narameikhla's successors invaded Bengal and occupied Ramu in 1437 and Chittagong in 1459. Arakan would hold Chittagong until 1666. It stopped being a protectorate from 1430's to 1460's onward, despite ruling parts of Bangladesh it continued to remain a protectorate of the Sultan of Bengal up until 1531.
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