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The Golden City Of Mrauk-U

Historical Background ( 1430 – 1784 A.D)

Eighteen kings had reigned in the Launggret city.

The last king, Minsawmon, ascended the throne with the Queen Sawsit in 1404 A.D. For many years since, the country had been in turmoil; usurpers, one after another, became the rulers in the last years of the Launggret dynasty. The governments of the Launggret were extremely weak and the rulers were hardly able to control the whole of the country. There was a great deal of dissatisfaction and unrest throughout the country. The military networks were also completely out of order.

In the midst of such general confusion Minkhoung, the King of Inwa, sent his son, Minraikyawzwa to attack Launggret and occupied it in 1406 A.D. Minsawmon fled to Bengal. One year later, minkhari a younger brother of Minsawmon, ruling in Thandway, sought the military aid of the King Razadirat of Bago. Razadirat sent him an army of fifty thousand solders. Launggret was captured and Minkhari occupied the throne in 1407 A.D. Then the King of Inwa sent an army again to Launggret. Thus for a period of twenty four years, Rakhine had become a battle-field in the struggle for power between the kings of the central Myanmar. Inwa and the lower Myanmar, Bago.

During this period the dethroned King Minsawmon had been taking shelter at the court of the King of Thuratan who himself having been engaged in wars could not give Minsawmon any help. The King of Delhi had come to attack Thuratan with a large army, composed of elephants, horses, chariots, infantry and “dogs as large as bullocks” trained for warfare. Minsawmon helped the King of Thuratan in fighting of the King of Delhi. By his advice, the large dogs were disabled by means of iron hooks baited with raw flesh. The elephants and horses were tricked to fall into pits covered with straws and earth. The bottom of these pits were planted with iron spikes. Ultimately, the Thuratan King won a complete victory. The exiled Rakhine King taught the Thuratan King’s followers the technique of trapping a herd of wild elephants. The procedure consisted of driving them into a space enclosed by a stockade and a ditch. He also taught them the art of training elephants.

Then Minsawmon was sent back to Rakhine accompanied by a large army, and won back Launggret in 1429 A.D. In the year 791 B.E, on Thursday, the first waning day of Kason, Minsawmon was restored to the throne of Launggret, Rakhine. After the King Minsawmon had occupied the throne for about two years, he decided to abandon Launggret and to build another city at a more suitable place. The reasons for the decision included the following.

The royal palace at Launggret was struck by thunderbolts, intruded by poisonous snakes, and perched by evil birds. Besides, the city had been ruled and ruined by the invaders. This called for the abandonment of Launggret and a new city site was sought for. His sole ambition had been to make Rakhine prosperous and strong, and to this end in mind, he had sacrificed everything. He had acquired vast administrative experience during his stay with the King of Bengal.

Then King Minsawmon set out in golden boats and silver boats upstream of the Lemro River in the company of seers, astrologers, and ministers, and came to a tributary in the west. Then he saw a strange well-dressed old man on top of Golden Hill who was playing a flute.

The strange man called out to the King and pointed at the Galon Taung which was situated on the western side of the Golden Hill. When the company reached a stream they witnessed the following scene:

A woman, carrying a basket and a mesh-snare was catching fish out of water on the southern side was questioning another woman who was also fishing on the northern side.

“Here, my sister Mrauk-U, did you catch any fish?”

“Yes, I did”, reply the other.

Then the woman of the northern side asked the woman of the south.

“Here, my sister Wathay, did you catch any fish?”

“Yes, I did,” the southern woman replied.

Listening to these conversations they learnt that the northern side was called Mrauk-U, and that the other side was Wathay. Then from the foot of the Galon Taung they set forth towards the source of the Mrauk-U Creek in search of the new city site. On the way they witnessed a series of strange sights. In a place there lay a patch of land covered with a grove of reeds that shot up in a clockwise climb towards which a rat, chased by a cat, ran, but when they reached there, the rat turned around and chased out the cat; then a barking deer chased by a tiger ran and then turned around and chased his enemy as the former reached the spot. Furthermore, a frog chased by a snake ran and turned around when it got there and bit it. As the snake was too big, the frog could eat only a part of it and the remaining portion was shown to Minsawmon.

Having witnessed these strange events, the seers and the astrologers unanimously agreed that the place could be the soil of divine choice. The matter was then reported to the King, recommending building of the royal palace.

There was a large Khamoung tree nearby, and when it was cut off, five white lizards were found inside its hollow. The seers then foretold that the future kings would observe the five precepts and that they would be honest and good. The King’s advisers also interpreted the omen as being highly propitious and they predicted that many vessels laden with rich merchandise from neighbouring countries would call at this city annually.

When the spot which had been pointed out by the old man was cleared for building the palace, they found on the northern side a pot filled with red earth, on the southern side another pot filled with white earth and four front teeth of a tiger.

The seers said that the omen of the pots foretold the prosperity of the city. The red earth meant that the future kings would reign long and that the city would be plentiful of goods. The white earth indicated that the future kings would ascend the throne of Mrauk-U beneath the shade of White Umbrellas, riding on White Elephants. The four front teeth of a tiger signified that no enemy would ever be able to take this city of Mrauk-U.

When it came to selecting the opportune moment of building the palace, the seers read that as Minsawmon was a Thursday-born, the following two alternative fates waited for the City and for the King.

If the building of the palace were carried out on time of Mainlet Kansan, the King would live long but the City would be doomed in three years; if built on time of Kanlet Kansan, the King would live for only three years but the City would flourish for many hundred years. The King chose the latter alternative, namely shorter life for himself and longer life his descendents.

The construction of the city was started in the year 792 M.E, (1430 A.D) Sunday, on the first day of the waxing moon of Tawthalin at sunrise which was the time of Kanlet Kansan.

The Inner City Of The Palace-Site

After many days of careful searches, Minsawmon selected in a hilly tract a strategic position for his new capital, Mrauk-U. According to the advice of his ministers and astrologers, he leveled three small hills, Taungnyo, Kukka, and Moonlay, on which he built his palace and another building for the royal family and then fortified the surrounding hills for defensive purposes. The palace-site was situated in the heart of the city. The moats had been made by damming the small streams. Surrounding this inner city of the palace-site and the lowlying ground was the first wall, made up of earthen works damming the Panzaymyaung on the north, and hill streams on the south.

The inner city of the palace-site was made up of three terraces. The lowest terrace measured about 1740 feet from east to west and 1606 feet from north to south. Many parts of the first wall had since disappeared and stones had been used in the construction of the quay of the Sittway harbour called Mingyikyauktan. A new settlement had been put up at the clear space of the wall especially at the north-eastern corner. At present, a village, Nyaungbinzay, flanks the north side of the city. The last remaining part is the south eastern wall near Warettaw quarter and is twenty-five feet high.

The palace-site had been rebuilt and repaired many times during a period of over two hundred years. Major repairs were started by the King Minbin in the year of 893 B.E, on Saturday, the 2nd day of the waxing moon of Thidingyut.

The second terrace is about 1000 feet long from east to west and 800 feet from north to south. The upper terrace is about 600 feet each side. The area of the inner city is about 1.2 square miles. The highest terrace is about fifty feet high from the lowest ground level. The layout of the ground plan is somewhat similar to that of the Mahamuni Shrine; the lines from west to east dips considerably towards the north, and these form the lines north to south and south to the east.

The detailed measurements surveyed by Dr. Forchhammer in 1870 are as follow:

No. 1 terrace measurements from north to south west line 1606 feet, to east line 1200 feet; from west to east 1740 feet; enterning the west gate, the distance from the wall of the first to that of the second enclosure is 140 feet, to that of the third 237 feet; across platform III 656 feet; from the opposite gate of the III platform to that the second 267 feet, to that of the first enclosure 440 feet. Entering the north gate of the first enclosure there are 233 feet to the second, 166 feet to the third, and 879 feet across to the topmost platform, 138 feet from the south gate of terrace III to that of the second and 450 feet to that of the first enclosure.

The walls were constructed with old sandstone blocks of various sizes, well hewn and cemented with mortar which possesses great adhesiveness. The cement was prepared by mixing sand and clay of proper consistency and pieces of buffalo hide, tails, and hoofs boiled in water till in became viscous like gum in solution. The walls are 7 feet thick at the base, 4 feet at the top; in few places, especially on the III platform, the height of the stone walls had been raised by 2-3 feet bricks, and addition made by the Myanmars after they had conquered Rakhine.

The north gate was called Mathataga (funeral gate); royal funeral processions left the palace through this to the cemetery.

The lowland space between the first and second enclosures on the west side was once filled with a clear mass of water, on which, in former times, the queen and princesses would enjoy themselves every evening on the water in their gilded royal boats to the accompaniment of music amid the laughter and cheers of the other inmates of the royal enclosure who probably lined the top of the fringing wall. This broad expanse of water is now no longer in existence; it was filled up in 1916 and 1917 to serve utilitarian needs of certain officials.

The gates were all completely demolished with the exception of the one at the south east corner, the entrance to the first enclosure. The entrance is 10 feet wide; on either side the wall protrudes 8 feet with a thickness 71/2 feet and a height of 12 feet. On the inner side of the wall a thick stone slab was firmly inserted in the wall about one foot above the ground, and a second similar one above it at a height of 8 feet; in the centre of each stone is a hole of 5 inches diameter. This was apparently intended to receive the two ends of a beam to which a swinging door was attached. Close by is a low steep hill known as Ywantaung. Tradition has it that the Royal Central Clock (Big drum) was hung on top of this hill.

In the north east corner of the second enclosure is a large pool, laid out with bricks and stones surrounded by a wall with an entrance on each cardinal side and stairs leading to the water edge. It was originally dug by Minphalaung (1571 – 1593 A.D) but was repaired during the Myanmar occupation of Mrauk-U. On the south side lies a well-polished stone slab, 4’ 7” high from the socket, 2’ 7” broad, 6” thick, bearing an inscription in Myanmar language.

According to this inscription, it is learnt that it was engraved by Maha Mingyi Kyawzwa who was appointed a governor of Dhanyawaddy by the King of Myanmar. He repaired this pool on Wednesday, the 9th of waning of Pyatho in 1183 M.E. (Dec. 1821 A.D). The pool was also called Nant Tha Kan, by the Myanmar Governor. It means ‘scented – pool’. In fact, its original Rakhine name had been Nunn – Tha – Kan meaning ‘The Royal Family Pool’. Besides, according to tradition and Rakhine historical annals, the pool was used in the coronation ceremony of the kings of Mrauk-U Dynasty. It measures 135 feet in length, 135 feet in breadth, 24 feet in depth and 540 feet in perimeter.

The stone slab on which the inscription had been written has now been entirely broken and the writing is more or less defaced, as the people of the village wash their clothes on the stone fragments. Most of the surrounding walls of this pool are in disrepair; within the enclosure and close to water are four square stone pillars, one at each corner, standing erect; they are four feet high. Each side measures 1’ 6”, the two sides turned towards the pool exhibiting the rude figures of Bilus or Rakkhas or Giants; in each of whose hand carries a club. These pillars were erected by Minphalaung.

On the north side of the second wall is a large circular well with a circumference of 76 feet, and is built of stone. The well was also ascribed to Minphalaung and was reserved for use by the King only.

Besides, an old gate-way can be seen in the east wall of the second terrace. It is similar to the cave under the palace site walling, but really is a secret door for the passage of the royal family. The door was reserved exclusively for emergency use and was very easy to go out even on fully equipped royal elephants.

On the south side of the lowest terrace there was a large Royal Garden. Now, the garden has been filled with weeds and grasses and is being used as a playground.

The second terrace was made only for the use of members of the royal family. In 1630 A.D, Father Manrique, the Portuguese ambassador, stayed with princes for two years at the second terrace with the permission of Thirithudhammaraza the King of Mrauk-U.

The wall, which circumvallates the third and topmost terrace, rises to a height of 30 feet above the second terrace on the north and east side and 20 feet to 30 feet over the level of lowest platform. The walls at the south and west sides are lower and the space between them are narrower than those on the north and east sides. These walls had been made to protect the palace against the attacks of enemies.

The palace buildings were built of teak and were lacquered and gilded. Genuine gold and silver plates were used for decoration on the topmost terrace. The King and his queens resided in the palace. The palace was built security-tight. The Rakhine kings of Mrauk-U dynasty selected the Japanese samurais (swordsmen) as their bodyguards. Now, nothing of interest is known about these samurais. Of the old palace itself, only traces of the walls remain. The great palace had been destroyed.

An interesting thing can still be found at the centre of the old palace-site. It is a man-made hole. According to the tradition, the hole is said to be an entrance to an escape route which leads to the outside of the palace and is connected with a secret tunnel to the Shitthaung Pagoda about half a mile north of the palace. It may also be an entrance to the underground assembly hall. On the side of each stone wall is a small hole of 5 inches in diameter, apparently intended to receive the two ends of a beam, to which a swinging-door was attached. During the second world war, two Indian soldiers slipped down that hole and had disappeared.

The Golden Palace

The early 17th century was the Golden Age of Rakhine. In 1599, King Min Razagyi conquered Bago, the most powerful Kingdom possessing a white elephant, an animal regarded as one of the prestigious seven symbols of a ‘universal monarch.’ The possession of the white elephant passed to the conqueror who gained the title ’The Lord of White Elephant’. Mrauk-U had grown into an extremely rich city due mainly to its abundant rice production. With a rainfall of between 200 and 300 inches a year the crop never failed while her Indian neighbours suffered from severe droughts. Thus Mrauk-U had been prosperous from generation to generation. Moreover, the kings of Mrauk-U had stood up successfully against all foreign and domestic rivals for two hundred years. A few wars ever fought were short, and ended mostly in victory. No civil strife had ever ruined the peasantry. Little wonder, then, Mrauk-U had been a rich and prosperous dynasty.

Regretfully, all had been ruined. Nothing can be found on the old palace site except three-step walls. Historian D.G.E Hall had made a remark on the palace of Mrauk-U.

Within was the palace-city, built to the same traditional pattern as Bagan and Inwa and many other old capitals in Asia. The walls may still be traced today, but the palace building, built of teak, have long disappeared. The massive stone walls and fortifications were erected by King Minbin (1531 – 53 ) against the threat of attack in the days of Tabinshwehti.

According to Rakhine Razawinthit (the New Rakhine Chronicle), Thirithudhammaraza, King of Mrauk-U, in 1622 A.D, had repaired the palace and the old city. He repaired the city-wall, the palace-wall, the fort, the gate, the moat, the palace watchtower, the wooden spire (pyathat), and the throne room.

Another source of information is Manrique’s description of Mrauk-U. By the detailed accounts of the Augustan Father Manrique who came to Mrauk-U as an ambassador from Portuguese Goa, we can have a glimpse of scene in the Mrauk-U palace of his time.

“From Daingripet the palace was quite visible, for it was less than half a mile away and stood on a rise fifty feet above the creek. Its layout was similar to that of the Mahamuni. There were three enclosures which rose in tiers, each bounded by a thick stone wall. The circumference of the outermost square was 2000 yards, the side varying from a quarter to one-third of a mile. Its greatest width did not exceed 620 yards. The main audience hall and the private apartments were situated in the innermost square, which measured 218 yards from west to east, and 293 yards from north to south. They were of teakwood, lacquered and gilded, the roofs carved with figures and rising in spires.”

On this occasion his boat landed him near the steps which led up to the west gate, in the outermost wall of the palace-city. He passed through that gate with others who had permission to attend the royal leyee and passing in turn through the second and third walls and reached the topmost enclosure. There stood the palace proper in front of him, the hall of audience with it “ great wooden pillar of such length and symmetry that one would be astonished that trees so lofty and straight could exist.”

Manrique was conducted into a building, the room of which were paneled with scented timber, such as sandalwood and eagle-wood, the latter an aromatic wood with a sweet cloying fragrance, which clang always to it in a damp hot climate. Passing through these perfumed chambers he came to a pavililon known as the “House of Gold”, the walls of which were plated with gold. Along the ceiling was a golden creeper, like a melon or a narrow plant, with many gourds or pumpkins moulded in the same metal, like the vine which at that date was in the Great Mughals audience hall, though that was more in the Chinese style, the leaves of emeralds and the grapes of garnets. In this chamber were seven idols of gold, each the size and shape of a man, the metal being thicker than two finger breadths. They were covered with precious stones of great size.

At the palace, Manrique was shown a golden casket standing on a golden table, carved with devices and studded with gems. This casket held some ear-rings. Made or ruby, these ear-rings were shaped like a pyramid. They were about the length of a little finger, the base being of the size of a hen’s egg.

The above is Manrique’s description of the palace at about the time of 1630 A.D.

Five years later Manrique was fortunate enouth to find himself at the coronation of the King, Thirithudhammaraza. It was in January, 1635. All were ready for the celebration of the King’s coronation. Manrique described part of what he had seen, as follows:

As they entered the triple-walled fortress the sun rose, its rays suddenly bringing to life the gilded roofs, which flashed as if they were made of gold, so brilliantly that travelers often thought the palace was plated with gold. The roof of the Hall of Audience, which was carved with much fancy, was supported by a forest of gilt and red lacquer pillars.

Shwegutaung Pagoda was built on a hillock close to the north-east corner of the palace-site. It could be seen from the upper palace. They were of the same family from the historical and archaeological view-point. This position in which the shrine sits at NE site of the palace is the characteristic position found in many other major shrines in urban Buddhist centres in South-East Asia and Sri Lanka, including Pyu cities in Myanmar. The ground plan of Mrauk-U’s palace-site is very similar to the Mahamuni Shrine. It may be associated with the royal ancestors. Thus, Shwegutaung was intimately connected with the function of Rakhine Kingship.

The Fortresses, the Moats and the Walls of the City

Before giving a description of the city’s formidable fortifications, we should, at least as a background, review the history of the previous Rakhine city, Launggret.

At the beginning of the 15th centry, Rakhine had been a pawn in the power struggle between the Central Myanmar, Inwa and lower Myanmar, Bago. The Rakhine King, Narameikhla who later acquired the name Minsawmon had to flee to Bengal and take shelter under the protection of the Sultan. When Minsawmon was restored to the throne of Rakhine, he reviewed the security position of his country. Then, he concluded that the geographical position of Launggret was unsatisfactory for defence against enemy’s attacks. It was situated on a plain and was very easy for enemies to overrun the city.

Hence, the King Minsawmon selected and built his new city, Mrauk-U. It stood in a lovely valley of about three miles wide, wholly enclosed by high rocky mountains which served as natural fortifications. The inner ranges of these mountains had been cut away to make roads from the summits to the plains. Forts were built on these mountains and were provided with artillery. The city walls did not run all the way in a continuous line but were built only in the gaps between the natural barriers: the mountains and the tidal rivers,. Thus the city walling plan was set without any definite limit. The city was not built on the pattern of other old Rakhine capitals such as Vesalil, Dhanyawaddy nor like any other old cities of Asia. The plan was irregular and its conformation was dependent on the topography of the site. Northern Mrauk-U was a tangle of hills and creeks, considerable higher and rougher than the hillocks within the city and the west was a lowland intersected with innumerable deep creeks which were subjected to the violence of hightides. The southern part of the city was filled with stony hills. But on the east side, there stretched the plain of Parein (Paungdok) extending up to the Lemro River. According to the Rakhine history, most of the invaders came naturally out of these directions, as there were several roads leading to the city over the high mountains. Accordingly, eastern side of Mrauk-U was fortified more heavily.

The parallel lines of artificial walls and moats were constructed on the eastern side between Mukayo Hills and Kassapa Mraung. These walls were one mile long. They were built of sandstone and earth. Most of the walls and moats still remain standing to this day and are called Pasoephat Moat, Kyarkhalaung Moat and Kyaikitethama Moat. And several forts surrounded them. These forts were built on the side of the nearby ridges which lay north to south along the Parein plain. Among them Myataung Fortress and Laythartaung Fortress were more well-known.

Besides this system of defence, the kings had also built a line of artificial lakes on the eastern side of the city boundary. The lakes had been made by simply damming the small streams running between the ridges. Among them Letsekan and Anomakan on the south are considerable in size.

Letsekan measures three miles in length, half mile in breadth and about thirty feet deep. These lakes supply fresh water for the population of the city, and the water is also used for the irrigation of crops in dry seasons. On the other hand, these lakes were so built with dams and sluices that if enemies had succeeded in breaking through the eastern moats and penetrated into the city, the waters would be released, flooding the town and drowning the invaders.

In such an emergency, people of the city could take refuge in the citadels and on the inner hillocks. Most of the pagodas lilke Shitthaung and Dukkhanthein stood on hillocks at least fifty feet above the mean level of the city and so were out of danger of floods.

According to the Rakhine history, Minbin (1531 – 53 A.D), the most powerful King of Mrauk-U Dynasty, had strengthened the massive stone walls of the city of Mrauk-U with the help of the Portuguese. He also dug a deep moat filled with tidal water; and when the Bago invaders had penetrated the eastern outskirts of the city, he opened the sluices of his great reservoirs and flooded them out.

The city became bigger in size, as the defense systems were modified again and again whenever deemed threatened by Bago in the east and Bengal in the west.

On the west side, there had been no man-made moats because there were ditches which received the water from the natural small streams flowing down the ridges. This side was a plain but was full of tidal deep creeks. No invading army could cross them easily.

A single stream, Alezi Chaung, traverses the lowest part of this valley. Draining from the hills on the eastern side of the main ridge, it winds its way south and then westwards, seeking its way southwards and then westwards again to enter the Aungdat Chaung. The Rakhines had very cleverly dug these canals connecting this main stream with the Lemro River. In this way, it controlled both the Kaladan and the Lemro Valleys and had access to the two main rivers by water and by land.

Aungdat, the western side of the Mrauk-U City, became the main port for the foreign ships coming by way of the Kaladan River and Paungdok, the port for the ships plying the Lemro River as well as those coming from the southern provinces (Rammawady, Dwarawady, Maygawady provinces) and Myanmar. This gave the advantages of the port, without the attendant risk of a surprise attack by an enemy fleet. In Mrauk-U’s heyday there was a naval base near Urittaung (present Ponnagyun). The fleet often assembled there for its campaigns to the east and the west coasts.

Finally, the north-south distance covered by the outmost walls of the Mrauk-U City was 1.4 miles and the east-west distance at its narrowest was about a mile and at its widest about a mile and a quarter. However, a double wall existed on the north about 700 feet apart, the inner one on this side forming a dam and a small lake which now has silted up. On the south side a double wall had also existed. About half a mile further south, two lakes were formed by connecting the ridge tops. The perimeter of the outer city was some twelve miles long.

Due to the threat of Bago, another wall was also built about 3700 feet further south, making this city almost impregnable. Furthermore, a whole series of reservoirs had been built by connecting the ridges on the east. Mrauk-U was thus made even more impregnable than before. The area of the city, without taking into account the outermost defense line, was nearly 25 miles square, a very big city as one can see.