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MINHTI
The son of Minbilu, named Mindi, was then raised to the throne, but he was only seven years of age,1 1. Ascending the throne. Minhti was a famous and a great king of the Laungkyet dynasty of Arakan. He was the son of Minbilu (1272-76). His mother was the daughter of Sithabin, the commander of the body-guard. He was born in 1272. Minbilu was a cruel king. He became jealous of the high destinies of his infant son Minhti. He ordered him to be cast into the river, but the child was miraculously preserved, rescued by some fishermen, and was sent to a remote part of the kingdom. These and other similar acts inflaming the mind of the people against the king 2 Minbilu was slain in 1276 in a conspiracy headed by Sithabin who usurped the throne, but he was killed in 1279 when Minhti (1279-1374) only seven years old was raised to the throne. He gave a general satisfaction to the people and enjoyed a long and prosperous reign. 2. Assertion of independence from Burma. In 1287 Pagan dynasty of Burma had fallen from its high estate after the death of Narathihapate or Tarokpyemin (1255-87). But its kings continued to rule the city and the surrounding country until 1369 when the last king was Sawmunnit (Uzana 1325-69). But they could not extend their authority beyond the city as they were weak and no more than minor chieftains.3 Their weakness was the signal for the Arakanese to rise in rebellion and asserted their independence under their famous king Minhti. At that time the Shans overran the entire country of Burma overwhelming the Burmese and Talaings. They became so powerful that in 1294 they invaded Arakan, but they were defeated by Minhti.4 3.Establishment of Muslim rule in Bengal. Before Minhti ascending the throne the Muslim Sultanate was established in Bengal in 1199 at the Hindu capital of Lakshmanavati of Guar by Iktiaruddin Mohammad bin Bakhtiar Khalji, a general of Qutbuddin Aibak,the Turkuman viceroy of Delhi, and its territorial expansion was rapid. 5 In 1279 Tughril Khan, the governor of Bengal declared himself the independent ruler of Bengal. But he was defeated and killed by the Sultan Ghiyasuddin Balban(1266-86)of Delhi in 1282. Balban placed Bengal under the charge of his younger son Bughra Khan who ruled it till 1291. He was succeeded by his eldest son Ruknuddin Kai Kaus who left the throne for his youngest brother Shamsuddin Firuz Shah in 1303 who ruled Bengal independently while Khalji Sultans of Delhi paid little attention towards Bengal.6 Arakanese chronicles mention that at that time Chittagong was in the domain of Arakan and the governor was Minister Wimala(1283).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------1. R.B.Smart, Burma Gazetteer Akyab Distirct, Vol:A,p.22 2. Ibid, p.22 3. D.G.Hall, Burma, p.29. 4. Burma Gazetteer Akyab District, Vol:A, p.22 and U Ba Than;Myanma Yazawin, pp.119+195 5. S.M.Ikram;The Cultural Heritage of Pakistan.pp.30 & 111.M.A.Qasim; Muslim Rule in India; pp.67,74,77 & 78. 6. Muslim Rule in India; p.171.R.C.Majumdar;The Delhi Sultanate, pp.193-195

R.B.Smart

After the death of Shamsuddin Firuz Shah in 1318 his eldest son Shihabuddin Bughra Shah set on the throne of Laknauti, but Firuz Shahs younger son Ghiyasuddin Bahadur Shah rivalled his brother and established an independent kingdom in Eastern Bengal with its capital at Sonargong. In the following year he deposed his brother and captured Laknauti and became the independent Sultan of Bengal and ruled the country till 1323.7 As Bahadur Shah was in fear of Sultan Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq (1320-25) of Delhi Empire he courted the alliance of Minhti by sending presents of elephants and horses. 8 In his distress Shihabuddin Bughra Shah, the deposed king of Bengal and his youngest brother Nasiruddin Ibrahim Shah sought the help of Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq who in 1323 defeated and imprisoned Bahadur Shah and placed Nasiruddin Ibrahim Shah on the throne of Laknauti and left Tatar Khan as in-charge of Sonargong.9 Sultan Mohammad bin Tughlaq (1325-51) of Delhi released Bahadur Shah and restored him to his position at Sonargong in 1325, and Tatar Khan with the title of Bahram Shah was left in his court as the imperial regent. After a peaceful reign of five years Bahadur Shah rebelled in 1330 against the Delhi Sultan. But he was killed by Bahram Shah who became the governor of Eastern Bengal.10 During this trouble time Razathingyan, the general of Minhti subdued the country along the sea coast as far as Brahmaputra river.11 Throughout the Muslim rule in Bengal Persian remained the official and the court language, the influence of which came to Arakan while Minhti was courting the alliance of the kings of Bengal. In honour of his regent and maternal uncle Maha Nada Bayas greatness Minhti minted a coin in 1298 (660B.E.), the obverse of which bore his uncles name in Burmese and the reverse bore his Muslim name Sultan Hamid Shah in bilingual Persian and Nagari12 which proves evidently that Persian was introduced into Arakan since Minhtis reign as Persian was the language of diplomats and polite.13 He was the first Arakanese king who kept Muslim Name. 4.The conquest of Chittagong by Muslims. In 1336 Bahram Shah was killed by his arm-bearer Fakhruddin Mubarak who declared his independence at Sonargong and became the founder of a line of independent Muslim rulers of Bengal. Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah (1336-50)whose naval power was great was the first Muslim king to pass the strong barrier of the Meghna river. He had driven back the Arakanese from Bengal and in 1340 he carried the sacred banner of Islam to Chittagong and built an embankment from Chandpur to Chittagong where he built mosques and tombs, the ruins of which are still found.13(a)He conducted an unsuccessful naval raid into Arakan.14 When Ibn Batutah, the Moorish traveller, visited Chittagong in about 1350, he described it as a great place situated on the shore of the Great Sea and he mentioned that it was under the rule of Muslim king. 15 Prior to its conquest by the Muslims, Chittagong, lying on the disputed frontier between Bengal and Arakan, formed a source of chronic feud between the ruler of Tippera and Arakan. It frequently changed masters. At a time it was subject to the king of Arakan, and at another attached to Tippera, a kingdom which at different periods extended from the Sundarbans in the west to Arakan in the east and northwards as far as Kamrup.16
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------7. The Delhi Sultanate; pp.193-195 8. Burma Gazetteer Akyab District, Voll:A,p.23 9. The Delhi Sultanate, pp.58,193-195 10. Ibid, pp.69, 70, 193-195 11. Burma Gazetteer Akyab District, Vol:A.P.23 12. U San Tha Aung, Yakhaing Dinga Myar, p.27and please see its plate No.20.L.S.S. OMalley,Chittagong Gazetteer,p.21.Burma Gazetteer Akyab District Vol;(A),p.23 13. Myedu Tin Maung, Shi Tet Nay Thaw Muslim, Gaba Ahlin Magazine, Vol:5, No.51 March 1957, p.42. 13(a).Chittagong Gazetteer,pp.20 & 21 14. Anil Chandra Banerjee; The Eastern Frontier of British India, p.49 15. Chittagong Gazetteer, p.21 16. Ibid, p.20

5. Raids into the Bumese territory. As Minhti was in perpetual dread of the advancing Muslim rule in Bengal and he was on the defensive, he remained apart from the struggles for power among the Burmese, the Shans and the Talaings in Central and Lower Burma till the death of Thihathu (1309-25), the youngest of the three Shan Brothers, the chief of Pinle and the founder of Pinya. But the kingdom of Arakan was attacked in various places by the Shans, the Burmese, the Talaings, and the Thet tribe in the north. But Minhti had beaten off all of them17 with the assistance of Bahadur Shah of Bengal. On the death of Thihathu (1309-25) Minhti often made raids into the Burmese territory while Pinya and Sagaing (Sagaing was founded by Thihathus son Ahthinkhayasawyun in 1315) were rivals for supremacy. So in 1327 Uzana (1325-43) of Pinya raided Ramree and carried away a number of inhabitants including Muslims who were planted upon Manipur frontier. 18 In reprisal Minhti in 1333 made his boldest raid into Burma as far as Thayetmyo. The Chief of Thayetmyo, Min Shin Saw son of Kyawswa (1287-98), the deposed king of Pagan, with his family - wife, three sons and one daughter - was taken away to Arakan as captive.19His wife,Shin Myat Hla was the daughter of the Prome governor Thihathu, son of Narathihapate (Tarokpyemin).Kyawswa was also the son of Narathihapate. Min Shin Saws daughter was married to the governor of Ann while his three sons, Saw Sone, Saw Pyu and Saw Tu, were kept in the monastery of Sayadaw Aggathara for their education. But in 1343 they ran away to Burma and took shelter with Uzana (1325-43) of Pinya.20 Later the eldest brother became the governor of Myinsaing, the younger prince became the governor of Prome with the title of Minyanaung during the reign of Ngar Si Shin Kyawswas son Kyawswamin (1350-59)while the youngest prince was raised to the governorship of Ahmyintmyo in the rule of Tarappya (1349-52) of Sagaing.21 Saw Tu married Thadominbyas(1364-68)sister. In 1368 Saw Tu was placed on the throne of Ava after the death of Thadominbya with the title of Minkyiswasawke(1368-1401). He invited his Arakanese tutor Sayadaw Aggathara and appointed him as the Head Priest(Thathanabaing)of the country. 22 In Burmese history this Sayadaw was known as Kandawminkyaung Sayadaw, Ahmyint Sayadaw and the Yakkhaing Sayadaw who composed the famous long poem Lawkatharapyo. 23 When Ava was founded in 1364 by Tagaung governor Thadominbya (1364-68)a descendant of Thihathu (the youngest of the Three Shan Brothers)Minhti no longer dared to make raids upon the Burmese territories. 6. Avas nomination for ruler. Minhtis Sandoway governor possessed a relic of Godama Buddha brought from Ceylon. By its virtue he expected to become king, rebelled the king who defeated him .24 Soon after this incident Minhti died in 1374 at the age of 95. After Minhtis death Arakan was distracted with civil war and some of the discontented Arakanese lords requested Minkyiswasawke (1368-1401)of Ava to nominate a ruler.25 The king of Ava sent his uncle Sawmungyi to rule Arakan. He ruled the country justly. The Arakanese people were happy under the wise administration of this Shan ruler. But this happiness lasted only for a short period because Sawmungyi died suddenly in 1381. The Arakanese again asked Minkyiswasawke to nominate another king. The two countries became very friendly. It is probable that Arakan might have become a part of the Ava kingdom. But unfortunately Minkyiswasawke sent his son Saw Mai who oppressed the Arakanese. In a few
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------17. Burma Gazetteer Akyab District Vol: A, p.23 18. Ibid, p.23. and Myanma Yazawin, p.195 19. Myanma Yazawin, pp.132 & 195. Yakkhaing Dinga Myar, p.28.Rakkhaing Tazaung No.15,1977-78,p.137 20. Myanma Yazawin, pp.132 & 195. Rakkhaing Tazaung No. 15, 1977-78, p.138 21. Ibid, p.132 & 195. Ibid, p.138. 22. Rakkhaing Tazaung No. 15, 1977-78, p.138 23. Ibid, p.138. 24. Burma Gazetteer Akyab District, vol:A, p.23

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25. Harvey; History of Burma, p.86. Myanma Yazawin,p.133

years time the Arakanese rose against him and drove him out of their country in 1385. 26 It was the end of the close friendship between the two countries. 7. Settlement of Muslims and Badarmokams. Minhti was a liberal king. He did not stop the penetration of Islam to Arakan. In the middle of the 13th century and during his reign Muslim armies were captured in Bengal and they were taken away to Arakan and settled in villages receiving lands instead of pay for their services rendered to the king.27 Thus the tree of Islamic faith which the Arab Muslims planted in the soil of Arakan since 7th century A.D. is still flourishing and from its roots there quickly spread new branches of Islamic culture throughout the country; and by the 13th century it had dotted the coast from Assam to Malaya with curious mosques known as Badarmokams.28 On the promontory at Fakir Piont of Akyab there is still a Badarmokam revered by all communities in Akyab. 29 The Badarmokams are also found in other places on Arakan coast.One is at Myaungbwe, 30 another one is on the mount of Ramree and the other one is at Sandoway.31 Badarmokams are the shrines of Pir Badar, a Muslim saint, known throughout the Muslim world as Badaruddin Aulia. Muslim built Badarmokams in memory of Badar Shah wherever he had remained in meditation and in worship of Allah. Badar is the name of an eminent Saint or Pir of Islam, and Mokam is a place of abode.32 We can not say exactly when Badar Shah came to Arakan. But recorded history reveals that Badar Shah actually came from Bihar and visited many parts from Assam to Malaya all along the coastline, gathering a numerous followers. The late Dr. Wise of Dacca stated that Pir Badar or Badaruddin Aulia arrived at Chittagong floating upon a stone slab and he was for many years a resident of Chittagong and he died in 1440 and buried in the Chota Dargah of Bihar.33 But tradition of these sacred places certainly went back much earlier. In addition to Badarmokams there are also the dargahs, the tombs of the Muslim Saint at Maungdaw, Buthidaung, Akyab, Ramree, Sandoway etc. generally believed to belong to Saints, other than Badaruddin Aulia. The people who revered them scarcely know anything about them with the exception of that they are the tombs of the Muslim Saints of times immemorial. Badarmokam which was built in memory of Badar Shah Aulia at Akyab was found by the Muslims in 1756 after 20 years of its erection. It was erected in 1736 by two brothers named Manik and Chand, the Muslim traders from Chittagong who called at Akyab for water while they were returning from Cape Negrais in a vessel loaded with turmeric.34 Badarmokam is situated in the locality of Fakir Point, the southern site of Akyab Island, near the eastern shore of the Bay of Bengal. Badarmokam consisted of a group of masonry building - a mosque, a small prayer hall, a shed and three caves. But one of the two caves built on the top of a rock was destroyed by the Japanese armies during the second world war for setting up an anti-air gun. A portion of the eastern wall of the cave is still in existence.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------26. Ibid, p.86. Ibid,p.133 27. Rakkhaing Tazaung No.15,1977-78, p.135 28. Harvey; History of Burma, p.137. 29. Burma Gazetteer Akyab District Vol:A, p.37 30. Burma Muslims, p.74. 31. Islamic Culture Vol:X, No.3, July, 1936, p.425 32. Burma Gazetteer Akyab District Vol: A, P.37. 33. Chittagong Gazetteer, p. 34. Burma Gazetteer Akyab District Vol: A, p.37.

Badarmokams are standing evidence of the Muslim existence in Arakan and these are the historic structures of Islamic civilization in this part of the world. These are not only the unique gems of Muslim architectures in Arakan but also the Muslim precious cultural relics and heritages.These were built by our ancestors. We have to preserve them for the sake of glory of Muslims in Arakan.

Badarmokam Mosque at Akyab

Minhti was a wise ruler and a just king. He proved to be a ruler of exceptionally great capacity, and gave a general satisfaction to the people. He was well known for his stern justice. He had built a new palace. His betel-chewing subjects were in the habit of cleaning, after removing lime from the box and laying it on the betel-leaf, their soiled forefingers on the door-posts or other convenient places. So the king issued an order that the door-posts of his new palace were not to be soiled in this manner, and any one violating the order was to have the offending finger cut off. After some time the king forgot his own order and cleaned his forefinger on one of the palace door-posts. The attending ministers made a careful note of it, writing down the date and hour when it occurred but did not remove the lime from the post. A few days later the king noticed the spot on the palace door-post and angrily ordered his ministers to find out the offender and see the punishment for such an offence inflicted upon him. The ministers produced the proof of the kings own guilt. The king cut off his forefinger with his own sword saying that even a king should not issue orders for himself to break with immunity from punishment. To commemorate the event he had constructed a shrine in the chamber of which he placed nine stone pedestals upon which nine images of Buddha are seated cross-legged with four fingers to the right hand of the statues. This event can be seen to this day in his shrine on the southern extremity of Nankya village and close to the bank of Lemyo river. The Coin of Minhti (Hamid Shah 1279-1374)

THE END 20-8-1982