Kingdom of Mrauk U

The Kingdom of Mrauk-U (Arakanese: မြောက်ဦး နေပြည်တော်,) was a kingdom that existed on the Arakan littoral from 1429 to 1785. Based in the capital Mrauk-U, near the eastern coast of the Bay of Bengal, the kingdom ruled over what is now Rakhine State, Myanmar and southern part of Chittagong Division, Bangladesh. Though started out as a protectorate of the Bengal Sultanate from 1429 to 1531, Mrauk-U went on to conquer Chittagong with the help of the Portuguese. It twice fended off the Toungoo Burma's attempts to conquer the kingdom in 1546–1547, and 1580–1581. At its height of power, it briefly controlled the Bay of Bengal coastline from the Sundarbans to the Gulf of Martaban from 1599 to 1603. In 1666, it lost control of Chittagong after a war with the Mughal Empire. Its reign continued until 1785, when it was conquered by the Konbaung dynasty of Burma. It was home to a multiethnic population with the city of Mrauk U being 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. Reconquest of Arakan Although Arakan kings paid tribute to the Pagan dynasty, the South was mostly free of Pagan suzerainty and largely cut off from the rest of Burma. Separated from Pagan by the Arakan Mountains, Arakan developed more independently to other Burmese regions. its capital moved from Thaibeiktaung to Dhanyawadi to Vesali before the 11th century, and then to Pyinsa, Parein, and Hkrit in the 12th century, with the capital moving to Pyinsa again in 1180, and then Launggyet in 1237. Arakan had close contact with Bengal, coming into full contact with it as it was expanding eastwards. Bengal captured Satgaon and later Sonargaon towards the beginning of the 14th century, and during the reign of King Min Hti of Arakan (1279–1374), Bengal invaded Arakan by sea, raiding the Hinya river at Chittagong. Following the collapse of Pagan power and the death of Min Hti, Arakan fell into an interregnum, and constant raids were conducted by both the Burmese and the Talaing.