

The Same under Military Rulers, Different Suffers
Today Mrauk U is a small quiet town with a large number of pagodas and temples scattered all around. Unlike the people of Bagan, the inhabitants are still living among these religious edifices and have so far escaped expulsion.
In 1406, the rightful king Meng Saw Mun had taken refuge in the neighboring sultanate of Bengal; he was not able to return to his throne until 24 years later, with considerable help from the Bengal ruler. In 1454, he founded a new captial in the north of Rakhine, Mrauk U. His successors gave trade and territorial concessions to Portuguese, receiving in return, Portuguese military support and help in building new fortifications. Empowered by this support, Mrauk U was able for a period to extend its area of influence west as far as Chittagong. Toward the end of 16th century, Rakhine pillaged Bago and ruled for a short time the entire Ayeyarwady delta.