Professor Dr. Abdul Karim

A. P. Phayre is in great confusion; in the first place he says that the Arakanese kings became vassals of the Bengal king, and became tributary to the latter. While he said this, he was explaining the facts correctly. As a result of his restoration to his throne, the king Min Saw-Mun was obliged to pay for the cost of the expedition and pay tribute meaning that the Arakanese king accepted suzerainty of that of Bengal. In the second passage Phayre forgot what he had written earlier, and said that he made a barbarous attempt at imitation of the Bengali fashion of striking coins. In the third statement he called the Muslim names as fanciful designation. Phayre could not read the Arabic characters properly, so to him it was “barbarous imitation” and “fanciful designation”. Nowadays many scholars, European, Bengali and Arakanese, have deciphered the coins, and have read the Muslim names properly. There is no doubt that the names are clear Arabic words, e.g., Husain, Ilyas, Kalima, Mohammed, Nuri, Salim, Sikandar etc. Not only that, European writers like Fray Sebastien Manrique also have written the Muslim names of Arakanese kings. Manrique was himself in the Arakanese court for a pretty long time; he was present in the capital on the occasion of the coronation of the king Thiri Thudamma (Muslim name Salim Shah). So Manrique’s evidence cannot be questioned. What is more important is that Manrique used the Muslim name (Salim Shah) only, he did not use the Buddhist name of the king. So, there is no doubt that the Arakanese kings took the Muslim names purposely and deliberately, and not only one king but all reigning for more than two hundred years used the Muslim names and inscribed the same in the coins. So A.P. Phayre is wrong when he says that the Arakanese king made “barbarous imitation” and adopted “fanciful designations”.The Arakanese kings used to take the title “Dhavala Gajeshwara” (Lord of the Red elephant) and they inscribed this title in their coins. [1] The following interesting account about white elephants is reproduced:

“White elephants are comparatively rare, and they are revered by the Buddhists, who believed that the Buddha had been a white elephant in his last incarnation, before being born as a man. Possession of one was symbol of universal sovereignty.

Determining white elephant is quite a science, and considerable literature is to be found on the subject ……… but as a guide we can say here that the two main tests applied are that the elephant shall have five toe nails on its hand feet instead of four, and that if you pour water on a white elephant, he returns red while a black elephant becomes even blacker.

“Written evidence of the existence of white elephant is found in several accounts of the time. In particular Ralph Fitch claims to have seen a white elephant in 1586 when he was at Pegu. It was shown to him as a “Siamese loot”, and he was somewhat surprised at having to pay half ducat to get in to see it. Manrique, a Portuguese Friar, who travelled to Arakan in 1630 saw the white elephant at Mrauk-U (Mrohaung or Roshang) probably the same one which Fitch and Manrique describe the luxury in which the elephant was kept, in a gilded stall lined with silks and cushions and with a retinue of servants to prepare and serve food in vessels of silver and gold, to attend to its daily bath, and other needs. Much later in Mindon’s time (1853-78 A.D) we read that the Royal Elephant was even breast-fed by a succession of human mothers lined up specially for the purpose, and that the mothers actually queued up for the honour.” [2]

It is to be noted that the title “Dhavala Gajeshwara” was inscribed on their coins in Arabic script and in Arabic rendering which is “Sahib-ul-Fil-ul-Abyaz” and also in Bengali script. The Bengali Muslim poet like Alaol, Mardan and others also ascribed this “Dhavala Gajehwara” tittle to the Arakanese king of their time.

As stated above Min Saw-Mun made the pact with the Bengal Sultan to pay for the cost of the expedition and to pay tribute, but how long the Arakanese kings were obliged to honour the pact made by Min Saw-Mun with Sultan Jalal-ud-din is not known. Certainly, all the monarchs of Arakan who ruled for more than two hundred years did not honour the pact, because there is positive evidence that some kings of Arakan did not only annul the pact unilaterally, but actually fought against the Bengal kings, or Mughal Viceroys of Bengal under their control. Both sides fought between themselves on the possession of Chittagong in the Husain Shahi period (1493-1538) and Afghan period (1538-1576). Those kings of Arakan who fought against the Sultans of Bengal also adopted Muslim names and inscribed these names in their coins. To cite a few examples two Arakanese kings Minyazagyi (Salim Shah-I 1593-1612) and Min Khamaung (Hussain Shah 1612-1622) were contemporary of Jahangir, both invaded Bengal several times, but they also adopted Muslim names, Thiri Thudama (Salim Shah-II 1622-1638) was a contemporary of both Jahangir and Shah Jahan; he invaded Bengal in the later part of the reign of Jahangir, and actually looted the city of Dhaka, but he also adopted a Muslim name. Why then the Arakanese kings adopted Muslims names?

There is no proof that any of them accepted Islam, they remained Buddhists although. Min Saw-Mun and a few of his successors were tributary, but later kings ruled and maintained their sovereignty without any let or hindrance. That is why, the question is why did they inscribe Muslim names in their coins.

Various writers have explained this question in their own way. As we have seen above, A.P. Phyre thinks that initially it was made obligatory upon the kings of Arakan to mint the coins with “Persian” inscription, but latter when they “recovered their independence”, they just continued the previous practice. A Modern historian of Arakan entitled this period of the history of Arakan as “Muslim conquest of Arakan”, meaning that the Bengal kings conquered Arakan in 1430 and kept it under their control for long two hundred years. He says: [3]

“Narameikhla embraced Islam and adopted the Muslim name of Solaiman Shah ……. Eleven kings successively ruled Arakan for the hundred years from 1430 to 1530. The relation with Bengal remained extremely cordial. The Arakanese paid tribute to Bengal and learnt history and politics. In 1531 Minbin (Zabuk Shah) ascended the throne. With him the Arakanese graduated in their Moslem studies and the empire was founded.”

It is probably a little too much to say that Min Saw-Mun accepted Islam, because there is no evidence to make such a positive statement. The writer speaks about one hundred years, 1430-1530. But he is silent about the next one hundred years 1530 to about 1638, during this second period also the Arakanese kings inscribed their Muslim names in Arabic and sometimes in Bengali characters. That they adopted Muslim names in this second period also is proved by the accounts of European writers apart from the coins themselves. Another writer says as follows:[4]

“In striking the coins and in fixing the value of the coins of the above-mentioned kings of Roshang or Arakan Gaudina policy (Policy of Gaud or Bengal) was followed. In those coins the policy of inscribing Islamic creed (Kalima) and the Muslim names of their kings in Persian character was followed. This policy was followed for 215 years for 1430 to 1645 during the reigns of independent kings of Roshang. Due to inscribing the Islamic creed (Kalima) and the Muslim name of their kings in the coins in Persian characters, and because in the court of the Arakanese kings’ Muslim ministers were appointed, modern Arakanese Rohingya Muslims believe for certain that those Arakanese kings adopting Muslim names accepted Islam. Such belief is baseless and there is no historical proof in support of this belief.”

This is another extreme, and the writers do not try to explain why the Arakanese kings adopted Muslim names, and why did they inscribe these names in Arabic characters. (It may be noted here in passing that the inscription on the coins is in Arabic and not Persian character). A third scholar, Sultan Ahmed Bhuiyan has tried to rationalize the point. He writes”:[5]

“The adoption of Muslim names by Arakanese kings was not obligatory. If it was obligatory, there is no reason for them to accept Muslim names even after they assumed independence. We know that the culture and civilization, daily life, etiquette, dress, education etc. of the undeveloped people are regulated on the ideals of developed communities. In those days, the Muslim nations were at the top in education, knowledge and kingly dignity. As we, in our time, are following the western culture in all aspects, similarly in those days it became a fashion (for the undeveloped people) to imitate Muslim culture. The 15th – 16th century was the glorious period in India of the Mughal and Pathan rule, and it was also the glorious period of Mughal and Pathan civilization. So, the Arakanese kings considered it glorious for them to inscribe Muslim names and Muslim creed (Kalima) in their coins along with their Buddhist names.”

At the present stage of our knowledge, we know for certain that a Sultan of Bengal, Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Shah reinstated an Arakanese king Min Saw-Mun (Narameikhla) to his throne. This must have been done through an agreement between the two kings; otherwise, the Bengal Sultan would not have incurred such a huge expenditure for fitting an army. We do not know what were the points of agreement between the two kings, and in the absence of any written record it will not probably be possible to have any idea in future also. But from the events that followed in Arakan we may surmise the following points of agreements: 1st, the Arakanese king bound himself to pay for the cost of expedition. 2nd, the Arakanese king became a tributary to the king of Bengal. To meet these demands, the Arakanese kings started minting silver coins in the same fashion as the Bengal kings did. With the help of these coins, he met cost of expedition and also paid the tributes.

So far so good, but the Arakanese kings did something more, they accepted Muslim names and inscribed these names in Arabic characters. There is no evidence that the Arakanese kings gave up their Buddhist religion and accepted Islam. So, the reason for accepting Muslim names and inscription in Arabic, should be sought elsewhere.

With the restoration of Min Saw-Mun to his throne, a big contingent of Muslims entered into Arakan. The contingent included the army, not one army but two, of which the members of the first expeditionary force spread over the country and mixed with the people. The second army also must have been a big one, because they had to fight against both Arakanese and the first contingent of Bengal army. Next, the contingent included the administrators, officers and intellectual persons. Though we have no knowledge about the administration in Arakan in the 15th – 16th century, we find that not only soldiers and members of the subordinate staff but also the ministers and judges came from the Muslim community. The seventeenth century Bengali Muslim poets give in their writings an impression that the capital city of Roshang (Mrohaung or Mrauk-U) thronged with the Muslim population, so that the Muslim ministers-maintained courts, i.e., religious, social and cultural assemblies of their own. Then in the third category came the Muslim artisan and craftsmen, the officers and men connected with the mint and other state establishments. Last but not the least came the traders and businessmen in the hitherto terra incognita abounding in agricultural and natural resources.

Later, in the essay, we shall give an idea of the Muslims who entered into Arakan in large number. We shall also see that when the king of Arakan picked up quarrel with Shah Shuja, the former did not take action against the latter openly for fear of estranging his relations with the Muslim subjects. So, it is possible that initially the Arakanese king accepted Muslim name and inscribed legend in coins in Arabic just to satisfy his overlord, the Bengal king, but later the practice continued. The kings found it expedient to continue the practice to keep his Muslim subjects in good humour.

We have seen above that the Muslims entered into Arakan in a body twice; first the shipwrecked Arabs and second with the restoration of Min Saw-Mun. The Arabs trade with the east continued up to the 16th centuries the Arabs traders visited the Arakanese ports quite often, may be once a year during trading season. Some traders must have remained there either voluntarily or out of necessity. In this way the Arab Muslims became familiar with the land of Arakan. But with the restoration of Min Saw-Mun, a large number of Muslims entered into Arakan and taken together, the Muslims in Arakan became a force in the body-politic of Arakan.

Notes and References: –
1. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. II,1882, pp. 233-235; A. P. Phayre: Coins of Arakan, pp. 5-7.
2. M. Robinson and L.A Shaw: Coins and Banknotes of Burma, Manchester, 1980, pp. 46-47.
3. Dr. Mohammed Yunus: A History of Arakan, Past & Present, 1994, p. 35.
4. Abdul Huq Chowdhury: Chattagram-Arakan, Chittagong, 1989, p. 64.
5. Sultan Ahmed Bhuiyan: Prachin Muslim Bengla Sahitya, p. 31, quoted in Abdul Huq Chowdhury: Chattagram-Arakan, p. 65.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Professor Abdul Karim M.A. Ph.D. (Dhaka), Ph.D. (London), FASB, was born at village Chapachari, P.S. Banskhali, in the district of Chittagong, Bangladesh. He was educated in the Chittagong Islamic Intermediate College, Dhaka and London Universities. He was in the teaching staff of the Dhaka and Chittagong Universities and was for same years a senior Fellow in the Rajshahi University. He, in turn, occupied the posts of Professor of History, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Vice-Chancellor of the Chittagong University. He has so far published 29 books (9 in English and 20 in Bengali) and more than 200 articles both in Bengali and English.
Professor Karim was honoured by various national and international institutions. Important of these are as follows:
1) The Numismatic Society of India awarded him Akbar silver medal in 1960 for his contribution to the Bengal numismatics.
2) Ekushey Padak 1995.
3) On the occasion of the celebration of 50th anniversary of the United Nations, the IARF (International Association for Religious Freedom) awarded him peace prize 1995.
4) World Citizenship Identity Card 1995.
5) FASB (Fellow of the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, Dhaka).
6) Honorary visiting Professor of world spiritual University of New York, 1995.
7) On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Dhaka University, the Dhaka University Alumni Association awarded him the honorary Crest, 1995.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR