The physical boundaries of Rakhine determines , on one hand, the extent of control by a central authority. On the other hand , it affords a good opportunity for the growth of religion and culture. From the viewpoint of historical development of Rakhine ,it is interesting to note that it has been an independent kingdom throughout its history. It controlled large areas along the coasts to the east, west and the south for beyond the borders of the motherland.
The early chronicles of Rakhine usually began with the descriptions of the events of Sakkya migration into Rakhine. They were led by the princes of royal blood who left their country for political reasons. The first group was led by the eldest brother Vasudeva who ruled the Kingdom of Dwarawady (Thandway).
The second grou under the leadership of a prince, named Ahzona, entered Rakhine from Kapilavastu, and moved along the route of the Kaladan River. On the way, the prince married the daughter of a powerful tribal chief. A son was born to them and was named Marayu ( မာရယု). When the young prince came of age, he led the whole of his mother’s tribe, as well as all of his father’s followers from India and conquered the city of old Vesali. He founded a new city Dhanyawaddy, on the bank of Thari River.
The chronicles dated this event at some three thousand odd years before Christ (3000 B.C). Marayu was the first king and his descendants consisted of fifty-five kings.
Kanthonsint(16th century B.C)
The fifty-five descendants of Marayu reigned this city; the last of them, King Min-ngay-pyaw-hla-sithu (မင္းငယ္ေပ်ာ္လွစည္သူ ) left Dhanyawaddy and founded the city of Kanthonsint in1508 B.C.
Nilarpandaung
Soon after the new city was built the King was assassinated by three norbles who collwctively ruled for a year. The queen of the last King, Sawsit( ေစာစစ္ ) , and her followers then marched onto the north, and founded a new city, Nilarpandaung.
Kyaukpandaung(1507-1483 B.C)
At about this time Kanrazagyi, who had been obliged to relinquish the Kingdom of Tagaung ( waumif;) to his younger brother, came to Northern Rakhine and settled with his followers on a high mountain site called Kyaukpandaung. Kanrazagyi joined the queen of the last Rakhine king and married her two daughers. The city was situated on the top ground of a plateau, eight miles long and five miles broad, It stood about four thousand and three hundred feet above sea-level, and is situated fourteen miles east of Paletwa, Chin State. An ancient map of Kyaukpandaung drawn by Captain G.C. Rithy may be found in his History of Operations in Northern Arakan 1896-97. He writes: It is a very conspicuous flat topped hill and water is procurable on the top. Palm trees, which are not natural products of the surrounding forests, are found there.
Second Dhanyawaddy(1483-580 B.C)
After twenty-four years Kanrazagyi feft Kyaukpandaung and rebuilt Dhanyawaddy on the same site of the old city. The Rakhine chronicles relate that twentyeight kings of Kannrazagyi’s descendants had reigned the kingdom successively for nine hundred and twenty-seven years.
Third Dhanyawaddy(50 B.C to 326 A.D)
The dynasty founded by Kanrazagyi comprised twenty-eight kings . It was succeeded by the Suriya ( ol&d, )Kynasty, the first king of which being Sandasuriya ( pE´ol&d, ) . (The King founded anew city and built a palace on the site of the Old Dhanyawaddy). According to chronicles, it was during this time that Buddha is believed to have visited Rakhine with His five hundred disciples. It was said that the famouns Mahamuni image was cast with His consent as a memento of His sojourn in the country. The Suriya Kynasty consisted of twenty-five kings and they ruled the country for nine hundred and six years. The Suriya dynasty was then succeeded by the dynasty of the Chandra.
Vesali(327 to 776 A.D)
The first king of the Chandra Dynasty was Mahataing Chandra. He ascended the throne in 327 A.D. The tumult which arose at that time was due to the mysterious decline of fortune and influence of the old capital. The two chief queens had died and the astrologers suggested that a change of site be necessary. The King, Mahataing Chandra, therefore left the old capital, and rebuilt the old city of Vesali which he made his new capital. In that city nine kings of this dynasty reigned in succession bearing the surname of Chandra. They developed the city to be rich and prosperous, and it was during this period that foreign trade was established for the first time. The city had a stone pier on the bank of Yanchaung, a portion of which had existed until quite recently, and it is said that a thousand vessels laden with rich merchandise from surrounding countries called at the place annually.
Beside the chronicles other evidences are also available now to help elucidate the early history of Rakhine. Epigraphic and numismatic materials are now available. They include prasastis, votive inscriptions, copper plate land grant, bell inscriptions and numerous early coins made for the purpose of currency.
Up to the time of the forst Chandra, Buddhism prevailed in the country in its purest form. The Mahamuni image alone formed the centre of religious worship and no other image of any kind was permitted in the sacred shrine. The ruler, Chandra, probably introduced the tantric forms of worship for the first time. An old manuscript reveals that two missionaries from abroad prevailed upon the King to accept a new religion. Henceforth, in addition to the Buddha images, those of Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva and Bodhisattva are also found in the builders of tamples in stone, and at present large stone images are to be found lying about the fields on the ruined site of Vesali.
Mrauk-U (776-792 A.D)
The last king of the Chandra Dynasty was cula Chandra who was drowned in the sea. So the reign was succeeded, or rather temporarily taken over, by a chief of the Mro tribes, Ahmyatu , and his nephew , Paiphyu. King Paiphyu built a new city called Mrauk-U in 776 A.D. The city was his birthplace and it was proclaimed as his capital but Vesali still existed as a city of the time. Then Shans from the northern Yoma invaded Rakhine and occupied it for years. According to records, Ko Lo Fend 9749-779 A. D.) also had overrun the upper region of the Ayeyarwady, at about the same period. The country collapsed under the invasion of the Mongolian (Shans) although in unsettled conditions, veasali continued to flourish till 1018 A.D.
This is a very important period for Rakhine history. It seemed that the Mongols had intermarried freely with the native people who were then most probably, Aryans (Indians ). Because of this inter-marriage, Rakhine still retains some of the customs , manners, languages, cultures and practices of the Indo-Mongoloid. Myanmar tribe came down from the upper Anzananaddy River and occupied the city, Mrauk-U . during this time the MroKing Paiphyu, being forced to abandon his capital, retired with his followers to the valley of the Yoechaung River and built a temporary city of Thabaiktaung.
Sambawet (794-818 A.D)
When Sula Chandra, the last king of Chandra dynasty, died, he left an infant son. During the troubled days that child prince was carefully hidden away by the loyal followers and was brought up in an obscure hilly region in the northern part of the country. It was in the saingdin water-fall region which was habitated by the Thet tribes. When he grew to manhood he brought together a considerable force of the hill tribes (Thets) to which the people of Rakhine also joijed in large numbers as he came down to the poains. When the prince was twenty-three years old he was enthroned as king. He built a new capital named Sambawet in794 A.D. The prince was called by the Thets as Nga Ton Min, meaning ‘Our King.’ Hence the Rakhine chronicles mentioned this king as Nga Ton Min. Sambawet city lies six miles southeast of the old Vesali. It was a small city situated on the bank of the Lemro River.
Pyinsa (818-1103 A.D)
The King Nga Ton Min was succeeded by Khittathin . He was a descendant of a Chandra king. His father, was the nephew of Sula Chandra, the last king of Vesali, Previously, the King had been hidden for a long time in an obscure hilly region of upper Khrit River. After the King Khet-ta-tiin had driven out all his enemies he abandoned Sambawet and built the new city of Pyinsa, situated on the Lemro River and was about a few miles due south of the old city. Fifteen kings ruled in that city for two hundred and eighty-five years, until 1103 A.D.
Some scholars consider that the cities Sambawet and Pyinsa were situated on the same site. Actually, this is because the cities were very small and the boundary lines seemed to be rather undistinctive and lay very closely to each otherl It is believed that the original boundaries of the cities had disappeared and most parts of the cities had been eroded.
Parein (1103-1123 A.D)
In the Pyinsa Dynasty, the last three kings were usurpers. Minbeeloo, the last king of the regular nine, was assassinated by a noble who usurped the throne. His son Minraibaya fled with his family to the court of Kyansittha at Bagan . for thirty-five years the Rakhine royal family remained there in exile. The queen of Minraibaya bore a son, named Letyaminnan. When his father passed away, the reigning king of Bagan promised to help the young prince to regain the throne of Rakhine.
According to popular tradition, an army of a hundred thousand Pyus and a hundred thousand Talaings was sent by sea and land to Rakhine . The people of Rakhine were jubilant over the return of their legitimate prince. Letyaminnan ascended the Rakhine throne in 1103 A.D with the help of Pyus. He is also known in history as Pyutatheinmin. A Myanmar inscription at Buddha Gaya recorded of the repair of the temple there by Letyaminnan, the lord of one hundred thousand Pyus.
On the advice of the astrologers who said that the city of Pyinsa had lost all its power and glory, and predicted that the country could not prosper if administered from that city, Letyaminnan left the old capital . He crossed the Lemro River and found a plain which was as flat as the surface of a big drum. There he built a temporary city named Launggret. Many people including a princess and animals died in that city. Letyaminnan then left Launggret and built the new city of Parein on the bank of Paungkuk Chaung.
The Paungduk Chaung is a boundary line between Launggret and Parein. Parein (Lat 20 34’ N, Long 93 14’ E) holds a much better position than other cities. It faces the Lemro River and has at its back a ridge that runs parallel to the main ridge which is situated between the Kaladan and Lemro River.
It lies four miles southeast of Mrauk-U . The seventh king of Parein dynasty Dhatharaza refromed the city as Second Parein in 1123 A.D. The reign of the eight Parein kings lasted for thirty years until 1142 A.D.
Khrit 91142-1154 A.D)
Minphoonsa, who succeeded his brother Ananta Thiri, the last king of Parein Dynasty then built another capital called Khrit in 1142 A.D on the left band of the Khrit Chaung, a substream of the Lemro River. It is now uninhabited. The King had to move up the river for security reasons when the dynasty was in decline. The area was just over 30 acres wide. It was surrounded by a narrow moat which is now occupied by paddy fields. Each wall of the city measures only about 1200 feet.
The city was a very unhealthy place for habitation and only three kings, including the last one Danuyupol, had managed to live there. They resided in the city for only twelve years.
Second Sambawet (1154-1163 A.D)
After the King Danuyupol, had ascended the Khrit’s throne and stayed there for three years, he left the Khrit city and reoccupied the old Sambawet city in 1154 A.D. The King was assassinated by a noble named Salangarbo in 1160 A.D. The usurper-king occupied the throne of Second Sambawet for about one year.
He was succeeded by Myitzuthin, son of Kanuyupol, The King, Myitzuthin, ruled this city for only two years.
Yohaung Taungngu(1163-1251 A.D)
After the King Myitzuthin had stayed there for two years , he left the old city and built a new capital named Myohaung Taungngu. He built this city on the east bank of Lemro River in 1163 A.D. It lies four miles east of Launggret city. Most of the city ground had been eroded by the Lemro River.
Some ruins of a Buddha image, and palace site, a fort and a wall have recently been unearthed on the bank of the Lemro River.
Altogetherseventeen kings had reigned in this capital for eighty-eight years. The capital is also called Mayyinzaya.
Second Launggret(1251-1406 A.D)
The last king of Myohaung Taungngu Dynasty was Alawmarphyun who ruled only one year in that city. He did not like the old city. On the advice of the astrologers who said that the city had lost all its power and glory and that the country could not prosper if administered from that city, the King Alawmarphyu set out to find a suitable place for a new city. He crossed the River Lemro and selected a site with the held of his ministers and astrologers and built the city of Launggret in 1251A.D. An old saying states that it was so named ( Launggret = boat-fowl =avmif;Muuf ) because during the search for a site a jungle fowl flew out of its cover and alighted itself on the prow of the royal barge. Whereupon the King’s advisers unanimously interpreted it as highly propitious. They advised the King to build the new city along the bank from which the fowl came. They said the city would have a long life and his successors would be great and powerful.
Today, Launggret is situated on an island in the River Lemro, being bounded by the Lemro on the east and the Paungduk Chaung on the west. There is a small ridge on the northeast corner against which the city was supposed to have been build. The eastern walls as well as two-thirds of the palace-site had been eroded by the river.
There is a resemblance in the layouts of Parein and Launggret. Both faced east on the Lemro. There is a considerable expanse of plains on the northern and southern side. Routes of access by land and water was convenient.
Launggret lay five miles southeast of the city of Mrauk-U and was close to Parein in the south.
Altogether eighteen kings, including four usurpers, had resided in this capital for one hundred and fifty-five years.
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