A north-south grain of steep ridges between the Chindwin and Arakan, farmed by burning the hillsides and organised by village and clan rather than by any king; both Pagan and Arakan leave it alone and watch the two passes at either end (board).
English Wikipedia (Chin people) adds that the main settlement of the Chin Hills proper (Ciimnuai) came after 1395, when the Chin began leaving the Kale valley, and that Luce places the Chin of Pagan's records lower down, between the east bank of the upper Chindwin and the west bank of the Irrawaddy, as friends of the Burmans. The Burmese word for Chin is said to appear in inscriptions of Kyansittha (a secondary claim). So the campaign board's Chin hills are, in 1200, hill country of many scattered villages and not yet the Chin homeland of later centuries.
Who holds it
- Title
- Village headmen and clan elders; no ruler or chief is named in any source we read
- Since
- not known
- Born
- not known
- Family
- not known
- Confidence
- low
No source we read names a holder.
How things stand that morning
No kingdom; scattered hill villages.
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- About 1250 to 1350 (late thirteenth or early fourteenth century)The Chin move into the Kale valley from the Chindwin (English Wikipedia).Depends on: Pagan's collapse and the Shan advance. Stopped by: Not relevant to 1200.
- After 1395Chin settlement of the Chin Hills proper begins.Depends on: The pressure of the Shan of the Kale valley. Stopped by: Not relevant to 1200.
Places of note
- Hakha: Modern capital of the hills; a village in 1200 at most.
- Falam: Modern town.
Where the sources disagree
- The campaign board entry chin-hills at 22.5, 93.7: used as a centre. The Chin of 1200 may be mostly outside the hills (Luce).
Evidence: A modern page that dates the Chin settlement after 1300.
"The campaign board" is OMNIA's working map. These notes record where its earlier claims were checked against the sources.
On the map: Drawn on the Burmese side of the border with Mizoram and Manipur. The south-west lobe takes in Paletwa and the upper Kaladan, and the south end Kanpetlet and Natmataung; the east edge is drawn back from the Kabaw trough, which has its own polygon.
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.