Thiri Thudhamma

After the death of Min Khamaung, his son and crown prince Min Hari ascended the throne and took on the title of Thiri Thudhamma. He would work on repairing infrastructure built in the time of Min Bin, including the defences of the city of Mrauk U.{{sfn|Aye Chan|2017|p=94-95}}

During Thudhamma's rule of Arakan, Muhammad Khurram (later Shah Jahan) took control of neighbouring Mughal Bengal in 1624. Thudamma took advantage of the Bengal crisis by leading a raid into Bhalwa (Noakhali),{{cite book|date=1977|editor-last=Khan|editor-first=Nurul Islam|title=Bangladesh District Gazetteers: Noakhali|publisher=Bangladesh Government Press|location=Dacca|pages=230–231|oclc=85190093}} where he defeated the local administrator Mirza Baqi and returned to Arakan with plenty of war booty.{{cite book|title=A handbook of West Bengal|author=Saha, Sanghamitra|year=1998|publisher=International School of Dravidian Linguistics|volume=1|page=119}}

Thudhamma's commanding officer was Ashraf Khan, a devoted Sufi Muslim and the patron of renowned Bengali poet Daulat Qazi.Sen, Sukumar (1993). Islami Bangla Sahitya (in Bengali), Kolkata: Ananda Publishers, {{ISBN|81-7215-301-5}}, pp.23-33{{Cite book|last=Paniker|first=K. Ayyappa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KYLpvaKJIMEC&q=Daulat%20Qazi&pg=PA63|title=Medieval Indian Literature: Surveys and selections|date=1997|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|isbn=978-81-260-0365-5|pages=63|language=en|access-date=2022-10-23|archive-date=2024-08-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240822171710/https://books.google.com/books?id=KYLpvaKJIMEC&q=Daulat%20Qazi&pg=PA63#v=snippet&q=Daulat%20Qazi&f=false|url-status=live}}

During his reign, in April 1624, the Dutch began trade relations with the city of Mrauk U.{{sfn|Aye Chan|2017|p=95}}

In 1628, the King sent an embassy to the Siamese court, likely aiming to build military ties against the Burmese. However, his attempt to capture the ports of Myeik and Tanintharyi in late 1637 was viewed by Siam as a hostile move.{{Cite journal |title=Guidebook on Mrauk U |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/369406651_Guidebook_on_Mrauk_U_-_2020 |journal=Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture, Myanmar |pages=Page 23 of PDF}}

In 1628, the Laungkrakca ({{langx|rki|လောင်းကြက်စား}}); governor of Launggyet) rebelled and posed a threat of Thiri Thudhamma's reign. The rebellion was put down and many leading men executed, but this only furthered the importance of future Laungkrakca.{{sfn|van Gelen|2002|p=157}}

In 1635, a grand coronation ceremony was organized by the King. This event was celebrated with the issue of a coin inscribed only in Pali, showing his strong Rakhine Buddhist identity.

At the time, the Arakanese chronicle tradition had prophecised that the Mrauk U lineage of kings would end by the turn of the first millennium- roughly 1638 according to the Arakanese era. Rumours of Thiri Thudhamma's impending death circulated not long after his coronation. In the 1630s, the various court ministers in Mrauk U became more aggressive in vying for power.{{sfn|van Gelen|2002|p=157}}

On 31 May 1638, Thiri Thudhamma mysteriously died. His son and crown prince Min Sanay ascended the throne. Then On 26 June, Sanay also mysteriously died. The court blamed it on Thiri Thudhamma casting sorcery on his son. After this, the Laugkrakca ascended the throne as Narapati.{{sfn|van Gelen|2002|p=158}} Historian Jacques Leider ascribes this chain of events as a coup d'état by the Laungkrakca.{{cite journal |title=La route de Am (Arakan) |trans-title=The Road to Arakan |last=Leider |first=Jacques |author-link=Jacques Leider |journal=Journal Asiatique |volume=282 |issue=2 |pages=335–370 |year=1994}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book | last=Harvey | first=G. E.| title=History of Burma: From the Earliest Times to 10 March 1824 | publisher=Frank Cass & Co. Ltd | year=1925 | location = London}}
• {{cite book | title=Myanma Swezon Kyan | publisher=Sarpay Beikman | language=Burmese | location=Yangon | year=1964 | edition=1 | volume=9 | editor=Myat Soe}}
• {{cite book | last=Myint-U | author-link=Thant Myint-U | first=Thant | title=The River of Lost Footsteps—Histories of Burma | year=2006 | publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux | isbn=978-0-374-16342-6}}
• {{cite book | last=Sandamala Linkara | first=Ashin | title=Rakhine Yazawinthit Kyan | year= 1931 | edition=1997 | publisher=Tetlan Sarpay | language=Burmese | volume=1–2 | location=Yangon}}
• {{cite book |title=ရခိုင်သမိုင်းမိတ်ဆက် |trans-title=Introduction to Rakhine History| author=Aye Chan |date=2017 |publisher=Shwe Thazin Publishing House |location=Yangon}}
• {{cite book |title=The Maritime Frontier of Burma |chapter=Arakan at the Turn of the First Millenium of the Arakanese Era |author-last=van Gelen |author-first=Stephan |editor-last1=Gommans |editor-first1=Jos |editor-last2=Leider |editor-first2=Jacques |editor-link2=Jacques Leider |date=2002 |publisher=Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences |location=Amsterdam |pages=151–162}}

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{{s-hou|Mrauk-U Kingdom|April|1602|31 May|1638}}

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{{s-bef|before=Khamaung}}

{{s-ttl|title=King of Mrauk-U|years=June 1622 – 31 May 1638}}

{{s-aft|after=Sanay}}

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{{Burmese monarchs}}

Category:Monarchs of Mrauk-U

Category:17th century in Burma

Category:17th-century Burmese monarchs