MROHAUNG, ARAKANESE KINGDOM OF

in southern Myanmar (Burma), state whose longevity (14331785) provided a strong tradition of independence for the Arakan region, a coastal strip on the Bay of Bengal. King Narameikhla founded a strong, stable kingdom in 1433. In 1531 the first European ships appeared in the region, and Portuguese freebooters began to settle at Chittagong. Mrohaung's navy, under the leadership of King Minbin and with Portuguese assistance, was the terror of the Ganges River region. Arakan's neighbour and traditional antagonist, Bengal, was weak; the freebooters raided there at will, carrying hundreds of slaves off to Arakan. For almost a century Mrohaung retained its naval power. The slave markets at Mrohaung attracted the attention of Dutch traders, who purchased slaves from the Arakanese. To stop the depopulation of coastal Bengal, the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in 1629 wiped out a Portuguese pirate nest on the Chittagong coast. Mrohaung endured as a naval power until 1666, when Bengal annexed the coastal area. When King Sandathudamma died in 1684, the country became prey to internal disorder. Another 25 kings came to the throne, however, before the armies of the Burmese king Bodawpaya invaded the kingdom and deposed the last king, Thamada, in 1785.