Bengal - Arakan Relations: A Study in Historical Perspective

Dr. Mohamed Ali

Bengal and Arakan were two neighbouring countries; they are neighbour even now but under
changed political setup. The Naf river is the border line between the two countries. The Arakanese
chronicles claim that the kingdom was founded in the year 2666 B.C.1 For many centuries
Arakan had been an independent Kingdom due to its geographical location with occasional short
breaks .It was ruled by various legendary dynasties and they established capital in different places
alternately transferring from one place to another; they are Dinnawadi ,Vesali, Pyinsa, Parin, Krit,
Launggayet and Mrohaung ( Mrauk- U) . All these capitals were situated in the Akyab district on or
near the river Lemru. The last line of rulers, i.e, kings of the Mrohaung dynasty and their relations
with contemporary Muslim rulers of Bengal is the subject matter of our study.

The object of this study is to highlight the main points on the relationship between Bengal and
Arakan from 1430 to 1666 A.D. The terminal dates have been chosen keeping in view the two
milestones in the History of Arakan and Bengal.The period began in the year 1430, which
witnessed a new era in the Bengal-Arakan relations. In that year Min Sowa Mun, an exiled king of
Arakan, was restored to the throne of Arakan by the king of Bengal. The study ends with the year
1666, when Chittagong was conquered by the Mughals from the Arakanese control. So the
Bengal-Arakan relation in a given period is an important and interesting study both from political
and cultural point of view.

The history of Arakan has been closely connected with that of Bengal long before that advent of
the Muslims. Inscriptions mention a Chandra dynasty was founded in Arakan after the downfall of
the third Dinnawadi dynasty (146-198 A.D.) whose names ended in Chandra. The rule of these
kings, believed to have often extended as far as Chittagong. From a study of the coins and foreign
relations, M.S. Collis came to conclusion that “The area known as north Arakan had been for
many years before the 8th century the seat of Hindu dynasties; in 788 A.D. a new dynasty, known
as the Chandras, founded the city of Wesali; this city became a noted trade port to which as many
as thousands ships came annually; the Chandra kings were upholders of Buddhism,... their
territory extended as far north as Chittagong.”2

The history of the Chandra rulers is, however, confusing because the inscriptions supply several
lists of kings, but the most important information available in these inscriptions supported by
medallic testimony, suggests close contact between the Arakanese Chandra rulers and the
Chandra kings of Pattikera and other rulers of eastern Bengal and south Tippera.3 A tradition
current in Arakan says that an Arakanese Chandra king Tsulating Chandra (951-957 A.D.)
invaded Chittagong and defeated the local ruler supposed to be a successor of the great
Kantideva, the king of Harikelamandala, mentioned in the Chittagong copper plate.4 To
commemorate this event the Arakanese king eracted a stone trophy some where in Chittagong
( provably near Kumira) and engraved on it the words "Tsittagaung" meaning to make war is
improper. It is said that modern name Chittagong is derived from these words of the Arakanese
king.5 The relation between Arakan and east Bengal is also found immortalized in the famous
romantic story recorded in legendary tales of Burma and Arakan. The legends have come to us in
two different versions; the Burmese tradition connects Pattikeran prince with Shwenthi (Shanti),
the princes of Burma; on the other hand the Arakanese tradition says that a certain king
Pattikera of the kingdom of Marawa sent his two daughters as presents to the kings
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respectively of Arakan and Tampadipa.6 In spite of variations in the traditional accounts, there is
probably no doubt that there was good relationship between Arakan and Southeast Bengal in the
pre-Muslim period. Pattikera was the name of a geographical area near modern Comilla town
and was probably the capital of old Samatata( Comilla- Chittagong region, east of the Meghna );
Pattikera is mentioned in the Mainamati copper plate of Ranavankamalla Harikeladeva of the
Saka year 1141 (1219 A.D).Therefore, it seems very probable that the Chandra rulers of Arakan
had good relationship with the Chandra Kings of Southeast Bengal of Comilla-Chittagong region.7
A.M. Chowdhury writes, “It is not unlikely that the Chandras of southeastern Bengal were
connected with the Chandra rulers of Arakan. The existence of Chandra dynasty in Arakan with
their seat at Wethali(Vesali) from 788 to 957 A.D. is evidenced by Arakanese traditions and
epigraphic records. The discovery of coins similar to those of Arakan and terracotta plaques with
representations of Arakanese and Burmese men and women at Mainamati strongly suggest a
close connection between Arakan or Tippera.” 8

After the fall of Chandra ruling house around 957 A.D. several royal houses ruled Arakan
successfully, they are known by their capital cities mentioned earlier. Following the Chandras
political stability was a thing unknown to Arakan. She faced internal chaos, anarchy prevailed,
different groups fought amongst themselves, and she also suffered chronically from raids. This
chaotic situation continued up to the emergence of the Mrohaung dynasty (Mrauk-U). In these
chaotic conditions, Min Sowa Mun (Narameikhla) occupied the throne of Arakan in 1404 A.D.The
people, however, rose against him and he was expelled from the country, The expelled king fled to
Gaur, capital of the Bengal Sultanate, and took refuge in the court of the Muslim king in Bengal.
The dethroned king was received very courteously and allowed to stay there.9

Both A.P. Phayre 10 and G.E. Harvey 11 state that Min Sowa Mun fled from his country because
he could not withstand the Burmese invasion and took shelter in Bengal in 1406 A.D. in the court
of Sultan Ghias ud-din Azam Shah, but his ally the king of Bengal could not help him immediately.
Sultan Ghias ud-din Azam Shah's attention was drawn to more pressing matters inside his
dominion and so the Arakanese king had to pass about a quarter of a century in his exile in
Bengal. In the meantime the country of Bengal faced a foreign attack, that of Ibrahim Sharqi of
Jaunpur, there were several palace killings and there was also a dynastic revolution. During this
period the exiled king Min Sowa Mun rendered good service to his protector. The services
rendered by the Arakanese king were to train the Bengali soldiers as how to face foreign invasion
and deal with invading elephants, horses and dogs.12 Catching of elephants by kheda operations
and training them were also taught to the Bengali soldiers by the Arakanese king. 13 The tricks
taught by Min Sowa Mun to the Bengali army have helped them to overpower the enemy, and this
may also helped the Arakanese king to draw the attention of Bengali Sultan in his favour. So out
of gratitude for these services Sultan Jalal ud-din Muhammad Shah of Bengal decided to assist
the exiled king in the recovery of his kingdom.

The Arakanese king Min Sowa Mun regained his throne in 1430 A.D. after an exiled life of 24
years. This event is epoch making in the history of both Bengal and Arakan. But the reinstatement
of Min Sowa Mun was not easy. When the king Min Sowa Mun was still in exile the kings of Burma
and Pegu made Arakan their battle ground. Attacks and counter attacks went on, in which Arakan
was the worst sufferer. Meanwhile in Arakan, the political atmosphere turned form bed to
worse.14 It appears that Arakan plunged into a civil war in which Arakanese nobles took part.
Sultan Jalal ud-din Mohammad shah of Bengal took this opportunity to send his army to reinstate
his royal guest Min Sowa Mun to his paternal throne.

In doing so the Bengal king sent with Min Sowa Mun an army under a general named U-Lu-Kheng
alies Wali Khan. The general betrayed his trust, reaching Arakan, he found the situation

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favourable for him to gain independence. Among the faction-ridden chiefs of Arakan, he took one
named Tse-u-ka into confidence and with his help established a government and imprisoned Min
Sowa Mun. The latter, however escaped and came back to his benefactor. The Bengal king sent
another army in his aid. This time the Bengal army was formidable, it was sent under a general
named Tshat-ya-khat.15 They were asked not only reinstate Min Sowa Mun on his throne, but also
to punish the betrayer Wali Khan. This expedition was successful, the immediate gain was that
the exiled king Min Sowa Mun regain his throne and Wali Khan met the fate he deserved, i.e. he
was killed. The Arakanese sources record in glowing terms how the king was received by the
people of Arakan amidst joy and rejoicings. The people of the capital city and the country side
alike joined in the festivities.

Min Sowa Mun, before reinstatement, made the pact with the Bengal Sultan to pay for the cost of
the expedition and to pay tribute. Undoubtedly the restoration was the result of diplomatic
exercises; though details of diplomatic activities on both sides are not known for want of
contemporary records. But it may be said without doubt that both sides reached an agreement on
certain conditions. It must say with confidence that the first point of agreement between the king
of Arakan and that of Bengal was that the Arakanese king accepted Suzerainty of Bengal and
agreed to pay tribute to Bengal. This is accepted by all modern scholars 16 and it is also said that
Min Sowa Mun agreed to pay one lakh tanka a year.17 To pay this huge amount of money the
king of Arakan had to modernized his mint with the help of Bengali mint experts. Probably mint
masters, dice experts and calligraphists or inscribers all were taken from Bengal. So with effect
from the year 1430 A.D. the kingdom of Arakan became tributary to Bengal and the kings
assumed a Muslim name and struck coins with the Kalimah inscribed thereon.18 The restored
king, Min Sowa Mun, also himself took Muslim title Swa Mun Shah, the word shah adding to his
Buddhist name.19

Now the question arises, why did the Arakanese kings inscribe Muslim names in their coins in
Arabic character? Nothing definite can be said in the absence of any written sources. But one
thing is certain that the Arakanese King Min Sowa Mun bound himself to tribute to Bengal. But
how to pay tribute? Arakan had the tradition of striking symbolic coins, but those were not
acceptable to Bengal, they were no more than silver pieces to the Bengali people. To make their
coins acceptable Arakan had to strike coins in the same fashion as the Bengali coins, not only in
shape and size but also in the inscription of kings name.Bengal coinage was far superior to that of
the symbolic coins of Arakan. So it seems very probable that Arakan started striking coins in the
Bengali fashion, and also with inscription of Muslim names to meet the pledge of paying tribute to
Bengal, but later they found the system most convenient and profitable in trade and commerce.
A.P. Phayre observes that the practice of assuming Muslim name and inscribing Kalimah in their
coins was probably first introduced in fulfillment of the promise made by Mung-Somwun but was
continued in later times as a token of sovereignty in Chittagong.20 He also mentions that these
they assumed as being successor of Mussalman kings, or as being anxious to imitate the
prevailing fashion of India.21 Not only that, European writers like Fray Sebastien Manrique have
written the Muslim names of some Arakanese kings. Manrique stayed in the Arakanese court for
a few years and he was present in the coronation ceremony of the king Thri Thudamma (Salim
Shah ). So Manrique’s statement can not be doubted. 22 Manrique used the Muslim name only,
he did not used the Buddhist name of the king. This is significant, it proves beyond doubt that the
adoption of Muslim name by the Arakanese king was not just imitation of prevailing fashion of
India.. This is a new phenomenon in the history of Arakan. This practice was prevalent among the
Arakanese kings till the first half of the seventeenth century.23 A list of such king adopting
Muslim names is given below: 24

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Name of Kings Reigning Period Muslim Names

1.Min Saw Mum or Narameikhla 1430-1434 Sulaiman Shah or Saw Mun Shah
2. Naranu or Min Khari 1434-1459 Ali Shah or Ali Khan
3. Basawpyu 1459-1482 Kalima Shah
4. Min Dawlya 1482-1492 Mu-Khu-Shah
5. Basawnyo 1492-1494 Muhammad Shah
6. Yanaung 1494 Nuri Shah
7. Salingathu 1494-1501 Shiek Abddullah Shah
8. Minyaza 1501-1513 Ilyas Shah-I
9. Kasabadi 1513-1515 Ilylas Shah-II
10. Mim Saw O 1515 Jallal Shahs
11. Thatasa 1515-1521 Ali Shah
12. Min Khaung Raza 1521-1531 El-Shah Azad
13. Min Bin 1531-1553 Zabuk Shah
14. Min Dikha 1553-1555 Daud Khan
15. Min Palaung 1571-1593 Sikandar Shah
16. Minyazagyi 1593-1612 Salim Shah-I
17. Min Khamaung 1612-1622 Husain Shah
18. Thiri Thudamma 1622-1638 Salim Shah-II

The above list shows that Arakanese kings used Muslim names in their coins from 1430 to 1635,
more than two hundreds years. There are two small gaps, from 1513 –15 and1521-23, and
another gap of 18 years from 1553-1571, altogether 22 years. The gaps are probably because
the coins of the rulers of these years have so far escaped the notice of archaeologists and
historians. 25

As the Muslim influence was predominant, the Arakanese kings though Buddhist in religion,
became somewhat Mohamadanised in their ideas. G.E. Harvey rightly points out that,26

“It is common for the kings, though Buddhist, to use Mahomedan designations in addition to their
own names, and even to issue medallions bearing the Kalima, the Mahomedan confession of
faith, in Persian script.”(actually in Arabic script)

After regaining the throne Min Sowa Mun (Narameikhla) took some major administrative
measures. first he shifted the capital of Arakan from launggayet to Mrohaung near the frontier of
Bengal. Then he established one more military out- posts of Bengal soldiers to face the Burmese
aggression by strengthening frontier defences. These Bengal soldiers lived there for centuries with
the local inhabitants with peace and amity. The Muslim soldiers, nobles and servants, who came
from Bengal, accompanied by Min Sowa Mun, settled down at Mrohaung and built the famous
Sandikhan mosque.27 In accordance with the Muslim tradition like Gaur and Delhi, the whole
kingdom of Arakan was divided in to some judicial units, each of which was provided with a set of
officials by the imperial order. The head of officials was known as Qazi. Some of them were
prominent in the history of Arakan. They are Daulat Qazi, Sala Qazi,Gawa Qazi, Shuza Qazi, Abdul
Karim, Muhammed Hussain, Osman, Abdul Jabbar, Abdul Gafur, Mohammed Yousuf, Rawsan Ali
and Nur Mohammed etc.28 Gradually a mixed Muslim society and culture developed and
flourished around the capital.

So the Muslim influence in Arakan may be said to date from 1430, the year of Min Sowa Mun’s
(Narmeikhla) restoration. During his reign an unexpected development took place, which paved
the way for a period of Muslim domination in the land of Arakan. “From this time onwards the

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relation of Muslims with the Arakanese became more intimate and for about two centuries
Arakan was united in a bond of friendship with Islamic lands. As a result of the impact of the
civilization of the Muslims, Arakanese culture also progressed and thus began the ‘Golden Age’ in
the history of Arakan.”29

The relations between Bengal and Arakan were sometimes friendly, but more often they were at
daggers drawn. Sometimes after the death (1434 A.D.) of Min Sowa Mun, Arakan and Bengal
were found to have taken part in armed conflict against one another.The enmity was chiefly over
the possession of Chittagong. Chittagong, having been a sea port,30 its possession coveted by
the neighbour. As for the Muslim rulers of Bengal, the defence of southeastern border was of
great importance, and it could be effectively dependent by controlling the seaport. Arakan having
been situated on the sea, she had good harbours, but she also preferred the Chittagong harbour
to that of Mrohaung, because from the base of Chittagong the Bengal Sultan could easily move up
to the river Naf, which was the boundary line between the two countries. That is why both Bengal
and Arakan always tried to keep Chittagong under their control and we find aggressive design
leading to attacks of one party against the other and this continued intermittently for a long
period. So Chittagong became the bone of contention between the two countries. Sometimes the
king of Tippera also tried to have control over Chittagong.Tippera was a land – locked country.
She had no access to the sea. So the king of Tippra came to realise the importance of the port of
Chittagong for the economic and commercial upliftment of their country. So all the three
surrounding powers had their interests in the possession of Chittagong, which led to the tripartite
struggle. Finally the Arakanese kings became the master of Chittagong and remained so for the
next eighty years, until 1666 A.D. when the Mughal viceroy Shaista khan finally conqured
Chittagong. While the Arakanese held these possessions in Bengal, they appear to have recruited
a number of the inhabitants into Arakan as agricultural labour.

The Arakanese had never cultivated a friendly relation with the Mughal authority. After the end of
the Sultanate period and the foundation of Mughal rule in Bengal, the Bengal-Arakan conflict took
a new turn. The Mughal conquest up to Feni river changed the whole geo-political situation and it
became the cause of headache to the Arakansese king. So as the Mughals sent expedition to
conquer Chittagong, the Arakan king also sent campaign after campaign and kept the Mughals
busy.

Meanwhile, the presence of Portuguese in the Indian waters presented fresh problems. They
came as traders, but from the 17th century they turned to piracy; failing in competition with Dutch
and the English, they found piracy more profitable than fair trade and commerce. In their piratical
activities, they first came into clash with the Arakanese, but after several losses both parties
formed unholy alliance as they found it, more profitable than enmity and clashes. 31 So, the
kings of Arakan encouraged the Portuguese to continue their piratical activities in the Mughal
dominions, the Portuguese were allowed to establish their piratical bases in their country.
Sometimes, the Arakanese joined their hands with the Portuguese pirates. By dominating the
riverine tracts they plundered and devastated large parts of southern and eastern Bengal. 32 They
carried a large number of men, women and children from the coastal districts of Bengal 33 as
captives and the Arakanese employed them as agricultural labours. It is well known that the
kingdom of Arakan was a sparsely populated area, which required huge amount of human labour
for agriculture. With this intention the Arakanese employed a large number of captives in the
tillage of land on the banks of the Kuladan river to the Naf. This Kula population of the country
form about 15 percent of the whole population.34

The defeat of Shah Shuja, the son of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, in the war of succession in
the hands of Mir Jumla, general of Aurangzeb opened a new chapter in the history of the

5
relationship between Bengal and Arakan. In 1660, Shah Shuja had to leave Bengal for Arakan. He
had arrived at the capital (Mrohaung) on 26th August, 1660 with his wife Pari Banu, two
daughters, three sons and a number of followers. The prince was given a cordial reception at
Arakan and was allowed to stay there under the royal protection.35 Hamilton, a sea captain in
the Far eastern waters, gives a good description regarding the reception and promise made by the
king to the exiled prince as follows: “It was into this country (Arakan) that the unfortunate Sultan
Shuja came a suppliant for protection when Emirjemal(Mir Jumla) chased him out of Bengal. He
carried his children with him, and about two hundred of his retinue, who were resolved to follow
his fortune, and he carried six or eight Camels load of gold and jewels which proved his ruin when
Sultan Shuja first visited the king of Arakan, he made him presents suitable to the quality of the
donor and receiver, the Arackaner promising him all the civilities due to so great a prince, with a
safe asylum for himself and family.” 36 But as days rolled on it seems that the attitude of the
king was becoming colder and ultimately became hostile to the refuge prince.37 What ever may
be the reason, Shuja was killed, his wife, sons and daughters were also ignominiously
murdered.38 There are different versions amount the historians about the death of Shah Shuja
and his family. Probably the wealth or treasure brought into Arakan by the prince was largely
responsible for their death. Bernier, Dow, Bowery and Hamilton, all the European writers are clear
on this point. 39 In order to satisfy his ill motive the Arakanese king wanted to provoke a quarrel
with Shuja. Hamilton rightly says, “At last he found a very fair one. Sultan Shuja having a very
beautiful daughter, the king of Arakan desired her in marriage but knew very well that Sultan
Shuja would never consent to the match he being a Pagan and she a Mahomedan…Sultan Shuja
at last give him a final denial on which the base king sent him orders to go out of his dominion in
three days and forbade the markets to furnish him any more with provision for his money.” 40 As
a result the relations were again estranged. Emperor Aurangzeb was not very much unhappy over
the murder of Shah Shuja, but he did not like murder of Mughal princes, particularly princes in the
hands of the savage Arakanese. Moreover Arakanese king did not stop employing pirates to carry
out depredations into the Mughal territory. So he ordered Subahdar Shaista Khan to punish
Arakanese and to wrest Chittagong from their hands. Accordingly Chittagong was conquered by
the Mughals in January 1666 A.D. , the Arakanese Maghs left Chittagong ( both city and county
side) never to re-occupy it.41 Chittagong finally became a part of Bengal, it has remained a part
of Bengal through the later Mughals and the British period and now she is a part of Bangladesh.
After 1666 A.D., Arakan was again involved in internal chaos and confusion. However, in these
troublesome conditions, Arakan lost her independent entity, because, the king of Burma taking
advantage of the situation occupied Arakan in 1785 A.D., and this marked the end of the
Kingdom of Arakan.

An age long intercourse between Bengal and Arakan has left distinctive marks on various aspects
of the society, culture and administration of both. The Muslims courtiers, high officials and
learned men of high caliber, who held responsible posts in the Arakanese administration,
contributed a great deal to the growth of Islamic culture in Arakan. The king of Arakan appointed
some ministers from the Muslim community. This Muslim ministers used to hold miniature courts
of their own, they patronised Muslim poets, learned men and sufi-saints. With the support of the
Muslim nobles Bengali literature reached its highest peak. Even Muslim manner and etiquette
were introduced in the court of Arakan. Manrique noticed that the visitors were required to pay
taslim (i.e. a respectful mode of salutation like the Muslims) before the king.42 Even Harvey43
said that it is Mohammadan influence which led to women being more isolated in Arakan then in
Burma. So the Muslim influence in Arakan was deeply rooted.

On other hand the Arakanese influence on dress, food, social custom etc. is also noticeable in
Bengal. The lungi familiar home dress of the male folk of Chittagong is thought to be and
Arakanese influence. The Muslim women of in rural area still wear two pieces of clothes like their

6
Arakanese sisters. The upper potion is known as doma and the lower part is known as thami.
Arakanese influence is also noticeable in the place names of Chittagong. The three southern most
thanas (i.e., police station) of Chittagong, viz., Ramu, Ukhiya and Teknaf are known as containing
360 palangs. Palang, an Arakanese word, means place or village or mouza.

So the study of Bengal-Arakan Relations in a given period is an important and also fascinating
one.

Notes and References:

1. A.P. Phayre, History of Burma, London, 1884, pp. 293-304.

2. M.S. Collis, ‘Arakan’s place in the civilization of the Bay’, Journal of the Burma Research
society, 50th Anniversary publications, No. 2, Rangoon, 1960, p. 486.
3. For a discussion on this subject, see, R. C. Majumdar (ed.), History of Bengal, vol. I, Dhaka
University, 1943, pp. 257-259.
4. Bangladesh District Gazetteer- Chittagong, Dhaka, 1975, pp. 60-61.
5. J.C. Ghose, “The Chandra dynasty of Arakan, Indian Historical Quarterly, 1931, p. 39. The
Muslim tradition, however, originates the name of Chittagong to Chati (Chatigaon) of the Pir Badr
Shah.
6. For details, see, R.C. Majumdar, (ed). op. cit, p. 257.
Annual Report of the Archaeological survey of India, Burma, 1921-22, pp. 61-62, 1922-23, pp.
31-32.
7. Abdul Mabud Khan, The Arakanese in Bangladesh: A Socio-Cultural Study, unpublished Ph. D
thesis, Calcutta University, 1992, pp. 22-26.
D.G.E. Hall: A History of South East Asia, 2nd edition, pp. 134, 367.
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies(BSOAS),
University of London, xi, pp. 358-385.
8. Abdul Momin Chowdhury, Dynastic History of Bengal, Asiatic Society of Pakistan, Dhaka,
1967, p.162.
9. A.P. Phayre, op. cit; pp. 76-79.
G.E. Harvey, History of Burma, London, 1925, p. 139.
10. A. P. Phayre, op. cit, p-78.
11. G.E. Harvey, op. cit, pp. 86-87.
12. Journal of the Asiatic of Bengal, Vol. xiii, 1844, p. 45.
It is however doubtful whether medieval Muslim rulers of Jaunpur, may even of India, used dogs in
their warfare. There is no such reference in the Indian sources of the Muslim period.
13. Catching of elephants and training them was however known to the Mughals in Bengal.
Instances of catching elephants and training them are found in Baharistan-i-Ghaibi of Mirza
Nathan.
14. G.E. Harvey, op. cit, p. 384.
A.P. Phayre, op. cit, pp. 77-78.
15. He was obviously a Muslim or a Hindu, but his actual name cannot be reconstructed. Jalal ud-
ddin Muhammed Shah is known to have appointed many Hindu officers, his chief commander of
the army was Rai Rayzadhar, a Hindu. Sukhamaya, Banglar Itihaser Dusha Bachar, Calcutta, 4th
edition, 1988.
16. Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. xiii, 1844, p. 46.
It should be noted that the names and titles were in Arabic Characters.
G.E. Harvey, op. cit, p. 140.
M. Robinson and L.A. Shaw, The Coins and Bank Notes of Burma,
Manchester, England, 1980, p. 44

7
17. Charles Paton, Historical and Statistical Sketch in Arakan; Asiatic Researches, vol. xvi, 1828,
(Reprint in New Delhi, 1980), p. 362.
18. A.P. Phayre, op. cit., pp. 77-78.
19. Min Sowa Mun’s own coin has not yet been discovered, but he took the title of Shah.
San Tha Aung, Rakhaing Dinga Mya (Arkanese coins )*, Rangoon, 1979, p. 70. *(Translated
into English by Aye Set and Hand written copy of the book was distributed by Michael Robinson
and Aye Set in 1982.)
20. A.P. Phayre, op. cit, p. 78.
21. Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol. xiii, 1844, p. 46.
22. Manrique, Travels of Fray Sebastien Manrique, translated by Luard and Hosten,
vol.I, London, pp. 351-375.
23. San Tha Aung, op. cit., p. 70.
24. Ibid;
25. Ibid; See, Introduction.
26. G.E. Harvey, op. cit; p. 140.
27. A.M. Serajuddin, Muslim influence in Arakan and the Muslim names of Arakanese kings: A
reassessment, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, Vol. xxxi, No.I, June, 1986, p. 17.
28. Mahabubul Alam, Chattagramer Itihas (Purana Amal), Chittagong, 1965, pp. 55-56.
29. M. Siddiqul Khan, Muslim intercourse with Burma, Islamic Culture, vol. x, Hydarabad, July,
1936, p. 249.
30. Abdul Karim, Was Chittagong ever a capital city: A fresh study of some rare coins of
Chittagong, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, Vol.xxxi, January, 1986, p. I.
31. J.N. Sarkar (ed.), History of Bengal, Vol, II, Dhaka University, 1972(Reprint), pp. 313-23. J.N.
Sarkar in Prabasi, 1312 B.S., p. 570.
32. For details, J.N. Sarkar, The Feringhi Pirates of Chatgaon, Journal of the Asiatic Society of
Bengal, Vol. III, 1907, pp. 419-425.
33. Distirct Gazetteer-24 Parganas, p. 39.
34. A.P. Phayre, Account of Arakan, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol. X, 1841, p. 681.
35. D.G.E. Hall, Studies in Dutch Relations with Arakan, Journal of the Burma Research Society,
Vol. XXVI, Pt. I, 1936, p. 22.
36. Hamilton, Alexander, A New Account of the East Indies, Edinburgh, 1727, II, p.77.
37. Charles Stewart, History of Bengal, London, 1913, p. 278.
38. Mannuci, N., Storia do Mogor or Mughal India (1653-1708), trans. by William Irvine, Indian
reprint, 1981. Vol. I, p. 374.
39. Bernier, F, Travels in the Mogal Empire, 1656-58,ed. by Constable, revised by V.A.Smith,
Indian edition, 1983,p.109.
Dow,Alexander, The History of The Hindustan, London, 1772, p.328.
Bowery, Thomas, A Geographical Account of the country around the Bay of Bengal. ed. by Sir
Richard Temple, London, Hakluyt Society, 1905, p.141.
Hamilton, Alexander, op.cit., p.77..
40. Hamilton, Alexander, op.cit., p.27
41. J.N. Sarkar (ed.), op.cit., p.381.
Abdul Karim, History of Bengal, Mughal period, Vo. II, Rajshahi University, 1995, pp. 601-
603.
42. Manrique, op.cit., p.155.
43. G.E. Harvey, An Outline of Burmese History, Calcutta, 1957, p. 90.

This paper was submitted at "Arakan History Conference", Bangkok 23 .11 -

25.11.2005, organised by the Institute of Asian Studies, Chulalongkorn University,
Bangkok, Thailand.
(Draft only. Please don't quote)

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