Min Bin (Arakanese and Burmese: မင်းဘင်, Burmese pronunciation: [mɪ́ɰ̃ bɪ̀ɰ̃], Arakanese pronunciation: [máɰ̃ bàɰ̃]; also known as Min Ba-Gyi (မင်းဗာကြီး, Burmese pronunciation: [mɪ́ɰ̃ bàjí], Meng Ba-Gri, Arakanese pronunciation: [máɰ̃ bà ɡɹí]); 1493–1554) was a king of Arakan, a former state in Myanmar (Burma), from 1531 to 1554, "whose reign witnessed the country's emergence as a major power". Aided by Portuguese mercenaries and their firearms, his powerful navy and army pushed the boundaries of the kingdom deep into Bengal, where coins bearing his name and styling him sultan were struck, and even interfered in the affairs of mainland Burma. He carried the esteemed title "Lord of the White Umbrella" (ထီးဖြူရှင်). He was additionally known as Zabuk Shah by the neighbouring Bengal.
After his initial military successes against Bengal and Tripura (1532–34), Min Bin began to regard himself "as a world conqueror or cakravartin", and in commemoration of his victory in Bengal he built the Shitthaung Temple, one of the premier Buddhist pagodas of Mrauk-U. His expansionist drive was to run into serious obstacles however. His control of Bengal beyond Chittagong was largely nominal and he, like the sultans of Bengal before him, never solved Tripuri raids into Bengal. Moreover, his interference in Lower Burma (1542) against Toungoo provoked Toungoo invasions in (1545–47) that nearly toppled his regime. He survived the invasions and later provided military aid to Ava, hoping to stop Toungoo's advance into Upper Burma.
The king died in January 1554, and was succeeded by his eldest son and heir apparent Min Dikkha. His legacy lived on. The defensive works he built up throughout the kingdom would deter another Toungoo invasion until 1580. He is also credited with creating a naval fleet that dominated the Bay of Bengal, which in the following century would enable Arakan to control the entire 1600-km coastline from the Sundarbans to the Gulf of Martaban. His 22-year reign transformed Mrauk-U into a major regional power, a status which Mrauk-U would maintain well into the second half of the 17th century.
The future king was born Min Pa (မင်းပါ) to Crown Prince Raza of Mrauk-U and Princess Saw Nandi in 1493. His parents were first cousins; his mother was a daughter of Raza's maternal uncle. He had at least one younger brother named Min Aung Hla, and many half-siblings. In 1502, his grandfather King Salingathu died, and his father succeeded the throne. As king, his father raised three new queens, and made his mother just a minor queen. A few years later, the king appointed Min Pa as a general in the army.
In 1513, Raza was overthrown by Gazapati, another son by a concubine. Although Min Pa was older than Gazapati and had a more legitimate claim to the throne, he stayed out of the limelight. He managed to survive intrigues and power struggles at the court which saw three different kings (Gazapati, Saw O and Thazata) in the next eight years. In 1521, King Thazata died, and the king's younger brother Minkhaung succeeded in getting the throne. Though he lost out the throne to Minkhaung, Min Pa however managed to get appointed as the new governor of Thandwe (Sandoway), the second most important city in the kingdom. At Thandwe, Min Pa patiently built a loyal following, and collected arms. Ten years later, he revolted, and marched to Mrauk-U with land and naval forces. At Mrauk-U, his forces defeated the king's army, and he had Minkhaung executed.
Min Bin ascended to the throne on Saturday, 27 May 1531, with the royal styles of Thiri Thuriya Sanda Maha Dhamma Yaza and Zabuk Shah. As someone who came to power by force, the new king immediately issued a decree to raise the defenses of Mrauk-U. (In the following decade, the capital Mrauk-U would get an elaborate defensive works consisted of massive stone walls and a deep moat filled with tidal waters. The defense works were later extended to the rest of the kingdom, as after 1532, the coastal areas of the kingdom were liable to pillage by Portuguese pirates.) He also worked to consolidate his rule, and was to face no opposition. Lords from around the kingdom came to pledge their allegiance on 16 September 1531 at the coronation ceremony at the new palace at Mrauk-U. According to chronicles, one notable absence at the coronation ceremony was Chittagong which had paid tribute to strong Arakanese kings Ba Saw Phyu (r. 1459–1482) and Dawlya (r. 1482–1492). Min Bin was determined to restore what he called his forebears' rightful realm, which according to him, included all of Bengal, not just Chittagong.
Acquisition of Bengal (1532–1533)
If his claim that all of Bengal belonged to ancient Arakanese kingdoms is unfounded, it was nonetheless used by Min Bin as the pretext to exploit the growing weakness of Bengal. The sultanate had been in long decline due to its wars with the Delhi Sultanate and the Ahom Kingdom. On 7 October 1532 (9th waxing of Tazaungmon 894 ME), he led a combined invasion force of 12,000 (three armies of 11,000 men in a three-pronged attack, and a flotilla of war boats carrying 1,000 troops), and invaded Bengal. According to Arakanese chronicles, the combined invasion force defeated a Bengal army of 10,000 men and took Chittagong. The armies then pressed on toward Dhaka on 1 December 1532 (5th waxing of Pyatho 894 ME). The Bengal army made a last stand outside Dhaka but was defeated. The sultan's defenses collapsed afterwards, and Arakanese forces entered Dhaka on 11 December 1532 (15th waxing of Pyatho 894 ME) without a fight. At Dhaka, on 8 February 1533 (Saturday, 15th waxing of Tabaung 894 ME), he received tributes from local lords of Bengal, and raised a 16-year-old princess of Bengal royalty to queen. He then paid a pilgrimage to Bodh Gaya on 26 March 1533 (2nd waxing of Kason 895 ME). He left Dhaka for Mrauk-U on 13 April 1533 (5th waning of Kason 895 ME). He appointed governors of the new acquired territories on 14 May 1533 (6th waning of Nayon 895 ME).
Min Bin’s administration was militarily formidable. He commanded a highly organized and stratified army, including 40,000 royal guards, 20,000 palace troops, and 10,000 elite warriors led by capable commanders like Thado Min Hpu and Da Byi (ဒါးပိုင်ကြီး). According to Arakanese chronicles, Min Bin aimed to conquer twelve Bengali cities. For this campaign, he dispatched 50,000 troops under the leadership of Minister Da Byi. A pagoda was to be built on Wa-thaik Mountain (ဝသဲတောင်) to commemorate the victory.
According to historians, his control of Bengal beyond Chittagong, where coins bearing his name and styling him sultan were struck, was nominal. Like Bengal's sultans before him, he had to contend with raids by "Tripuri tribes" from the north throughout his reign, not just on Dhaka but also on Chittagong and Ramu. Within the year of his conquest of Bengal, he had to send a 5,000-strong army to Dhaka to defend against Tripuri raids. After the rainy season of 1533, he personally led the army to drive out the Tripuri raiders. He was successful, and returned to Mrauk-U on 24 February 1534 (12th waxing of Tabaung 895 ME). Despite the success this time, Min Bin never fully solved the problem of raids by Tripuris. Indeed, when Mrauk-U was under siege by Toungoo forces in 1547, Tripuri forces raided Chittagong and as far south as Ramu. Min Bin had to send a force to drive them out after Toungoo forces retreated.
By Min Bin's reign, the Portuguese seamen and mercenaries had established themselves as a serious force in Asia. They had seized trading ports of Goa since 1510 and Malacca since 1511, and controlled important sea lanes in South and Southeast Asia. The Arakanese coastline had not escaped their raids, which by Min Bin's reign, had grown increasingly daring. In 1535, the Portuguese brought war to the fortified capital of Mrauk-U itself. According to Arakanese chronicles, a small but well-armed army of Portuguese mercenaries landed on 22 February 1535, and advanced to up the Kaladan river by boats, reaching Kandaza, a few miles away from Mrauk-U, by 26 February. After defeating an Arakanese force at Kandaza on 27 February, the Portuguese then proceeded to attack Mrauk-U on 28 February. With the king himself leading the defense, the Arakanese forces drove back the better armed but much smaller Portuguese army. The Portuguese fell back to a few marches away, and stuck around for another week until a combined army and flotilla of Arakanese forces drove them out to the sea on 7 March.