King of Arakan and court

Who he is

Title

King of Arakan (Rakhine)

Since

not known

Born

not known

Family

not known

Confidence

low

The Rakhine chronicles' king list is not dated reliably; English Wikipedia (Letya Min Nan, citing the Akyab District Gazetteer) gives the line that returned to the Pyinsa throne in 1103 with Pagan's backing, moved to Parein in 1106 (Nan-Oo Palace on the west bank of the Lemro) and ended with that king's death in 1109; nothing is given for 1199 to 1200.

What it holds

• The royal seat on the Lemro (Parein or Hkrit, not pinned) with its palace compound and the villages that feed it
• The harbour of the Kaladan mouth and the coast to Sandoway and Ramree
• The hill passes at An and Taungup on the Arakan side
• The Mahamuni and the old capitals Dhanyawadi and Vesali as sacred ground

How it was acquired

By succession in a line that the chronicle names and dates unreliably; a Pagan-backed restoration in 1103 is the chronicle's one clear link.

Allies and rivals

Pagan (claimant, never shown as governor), the Bengal coast (trade, no hostility dated), the Chin and Mro hill peoples, the Mon of the southern coast later.

How things stand that morning

A king reigns in the Lemro valley; nothing else can be said for 1 January 1200. No Pagan force or Bengali force is attested in the country that winter.

Military

Boats and the passes; no numbers.

Threats

• A Pagan-backed rival (the chronicle's pattern)
• The sea

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.

1. 1237 or 1251The court is said to move to Launggyet.Depends on: The chronicle's count. Stopped by: No move.

Places of note

• Parein: Seat founded 1106 (chronicle).
• Pyinsa (Sambawak): The older Lemro seat.
• Launggyet: A site until 1237 or 1251.

Where the sources disagree

• The assignment says not to name a king. None is named. The campaign board entry parein-lemro: 'Which seat is actually the capital on 1 January 1200 cannot be settled': agreed.

Evidence: Chronicle only; a colonial gazetteer through Wikipedia.

"The campaign board" is OMNIA's working map. These notes record where its earlier claims were checked against the sources.

Primary sources for Kingdom of Arakan (the Lemro)

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

• The Glass Palace Chronicle of the Kings of Burma, The Royal Historical Commission of King Bagyidaw (Monywe Sayadaw and others), drawing on U Kala's Maha Yazawin (about 1724) and earlier chronicles (1829 to 1832). The standard Burmese court chronicle, compiled six centuries after 1200 from older chronicles now lost. Read online
• Epigraphia Birmanica, being lithic and other inscriptions of Burma, Various, edited by Taw Sein Ko, C. Duroiselle and C. O. Blagden (inscriptions of the 11th to 15th centuries; the series ran from 1919 to 1936). The Archaeological Survey of Burma's series of edited inscriptions with full translations. Read online
• Inscriptions of Pagan, Pinya and Ava; Inscriptions of Burma, Various (the Pagan kings, queens, ministers and donors), edited by Tun Nyein, Taw Sein Ko, G. H. Luce and Pe Maung Tin (inscriptions of the 11th to 14th centuries; editions 1899 and 1933 to 1956). The dedicatory inscriptions of Pagan are the only contemporary texts for the kingdom of Narapatisithu (reigning 1174 to 1211). Read online