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Rakhine State is located in the northwest of Myanmar, surrounded by mountains and seas, with a pleasant climate, and its residents include the Rakhine, Burmese and Chin ethnic groups. Bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west, Rakhine State has a beautiful coastal landscape, abundant sunshine and a pleasant climate, making it an ideal natural bathing and summer resort. Among them, Eburi Beach is particularly prestigious. During his visit to Myanmar, Marshal Chen Yi held a beach football match with the leaders of Myanmar.
Although the Rakhine region was associated with ancient India in the first few centuries BC, it was separated from Bengal by a tropical marshland, and separated from the Irrawaddy River basin in Burma by the Rakhine Mountains, with only part of the mountain pass as a passage. As a result, it remained relatively isolated until the early 11th century AD, when the Rakhine Kingdom remained independent and was the last region to be incorporated into burma.
The small city-state period
From the 1st to the 10th century AD, there were many small states and tribes in Burma, the most important being the State of Hui in the central region, in addition, there was the Kingdom of Mon in the south, the State of Shan in the north, and the small state established by the Rakhine people in the western Rakhine region.
The Rakhine region is the region closest to India in Southeast Asia. Indian civilization may have arrived in Rakhine earlier than the rest of Southeast Asia. The impression of Indian civilization on Rakhine was an important external factor in the emergence of the early Rakhine states.
Rakhine's chronicle records dynastic lineages, listing 54 foreign names from 2666 BC to 1825 BC, but there is no written or physical confirmation that rakhine had emerged at that time, which should be mostly legendary.
According to more reliable historical sources, the early Rakhine state began in the centuries BC. From the 2nd century BC to the 4th century AD, Rakhine had a Vesalian dynasty heavily influenced by Indian culture. At that time, both Buddhism and Hinduism had spread to Rakhine. The famous Mahaburi Buddha statue was carved during this period.
After the Vesari dynasty, the Candela dynasty emerged in Rakhine, which lasted for more than 340 years. Sanskrit inscriptions unearthed in Rakhine indicate that the Candela dynasty was deeply influenced by Indian culture and borrowed Sanskrit as a written language.
Rakhine's economy also developed during this period. Archaeologists excavated coins from the 4th and 5th centuries AD, mainly silver coins, with the heads of kings on them.
The new dynasty that emerged after the 6th century was called a new dynasty by some Burmese historians. During the New Dynasty, Sanskrit and Pali were used together, and both Buddhism and Hinduism were influential in Rakhine.
Bagan period
In 1044 Anuradha ascended the throne and established the Bagan dynasty in central Burma. Bagan was located in a vast area east of the confluence of the Chintun and Irrawaddy rivers, north to Mytila and Jesha, south to Minwu and Jiewai, west from Bagan to Kyaukqi, about 300 kilometers long from north to south, about 100 kilometers wide from east to west, and did not include the western Rakhine Kingdom.
In 1057, Anuradha led an army south, conquered the southern Mon state in one fell swoop, and retrieved the Theravada Buddhist scriptures from the south, which had a major impact on the development of Bagan's religious culture. At this time, Bagan's national power was prosperous, and Anuradha immediately expanded its territory to the west, leading an army across the Rakhine Mountains and conquering the northern region of Rakhine.
Anuradha became the first king in Burmese history to unify much of the country, but when Bagan was at its largest, it included only part of Rakhine to the west, and the state established by military conquest was not stable.
Pagodas in the Bagan area
Ava-Bago period
In 1287, after the fall of the Bagan dynasty, Burma fell into a period of two and a half centuries of division. The kingdoms of Awa and Bago were established in the north and south of Myanmar, respectively. The western region is very difficult to communicate with the rakhine mountains across the mountainous mountains from the headquarters. During the bagan dynasty's power, it could only impose loose control over the area. Bagan did not fall behind, and the Rakhine region once again broke away from the Burmese dynasty and became the new Rakhine kingdom. The Rakhines also frequently crossed the Rakhine Mountains to harass the kingdom of northern Burma. In 1333, the Arakan army penetrated deep into the Diyue Mao on the banks of the Irrawaddy River. After the establishment of the kingdom of Ava in 1364, the kingdom of Rakhine no longer ventured into the country and devoted itself to domestic affairs.
In the 1660s, Burma formed the three kingdoms of Awa, Bago and Rakhine. Peace has been maintained between the three countries for more than a decade. In 1385, a 40-year war broke out between Ava and Bago. In the meantime, the Rakhine Kingdom was also involved. When the 40-year war broke out, King Rakhine, the son of king Mingis Vashugi of Ava, was driven away by the people due to unpopularity and embraced Naro Michara as king. Soon after, Mingis Vashu sent an army into Rakhine, and Naromikalo fled to Bengal. The son of Nara Micahra turned to King Bago and restored the kingdom with the support of King Roshadori of Bago. In 1430, Naromilhala returned from Bengal and returned to the throne. He returned home with a Muslim army, and Islam was introduced to the Rakhine region.
In 1433, Nara Micahra moved the capital of the Rakhine Kingdom from Longyi to the Last Arhat. For nearly 400 years thereafter, the Last Arhat remained the capital of the Rakhine Kingdom.
In 1444, Naromigara died of illness and was succeeded by his brother Ali Khan. Islam spread further in the Rakhine region, and the kingdom expanded. In 1459, after succeeding to the throne, Bian Xiuqiao occupied the Chittagong area of present-day Bangladesh, and several kingdoms entered their heyday.
Restored Bago Palace
Toungoo period
In 1531, the Kingdom of Toungoo, founded by the Burmese in central Burma, gradually grew stronger. Debin Ruiti conquered the southern state of Bago and the northern state of Awa, and in 1546 conquered Rakhine in the west. At that time, if the founding of the country was in the peak of strength, it was naturally not willing to show weakness. The Dongwu army did not defeat the last Arhat for a long time, and the two sides negotiated and formed an alliance under the mediation of the monks.
After succeeding to the throne, Debin Ruiti's son Bo Yinang continued to expand his territory, and even invaded Mengyang and Mubang in the Ming Dynasty of China. It established the largest territory in the history of Burma, including most of present-day Burma, Manipur in India, parts of Yunnan in China, parts of Laos, and most of Thailand, becoming the largest empire in the Indochina Peninsula.
In 1580, Burinnan once again sent troops to occupy Xiandaowei. But he was sick in the Rakhine army and died the following year.
Tribute period
In 1752, the Mon army captured the capital of Dongwu, Ava, and the Dongwu dynasty collapsed. The Yongya tribe in the Ramoo region of central Myanmar began to rise. In 1753, Yongzhiya established the Kingdom of Gongpung in Rui and proclaimed himself Alang Paya. After years of conquest, the Gongpung Dynasty gradually restored the original territory of Burma.
In 1784, Bodaopaye, the son of Yongzhiya, launched a war against the then weakened Rakhine State under the pretext of restoring the prosperity of Rakhine Buddhism. The Burmese army invaded Rakhine in three ways, with a total strength of about 27,000 people and as many as 800 cannons. In 1785, the Burmese army captured the rakhine capital of the last Arhat and incorporated the Rakhine region into Burma, thus ending Rakhine's history as an independent kingdom.