Smithsonian - 12.2019

40 SMITHSONIAN.COM | December 2019

PR

EV

IO

US

SP

RE

AD

:^ M

IN

ZA

YA

R^

OO

/^

PA

NO

S^ P

IC

TU

RE

S^

Mrauk U. (Another collaborating entity is

China’s Nanjing University.) A 2017 com-

mission chaired by former U.N. Secretary

General Kofi Annan recommended expedit-

ing Myanmar’s long-standing nomination

of Mrauk U as a Unesco World Heritage site,

calling it “the greatest physical manifesta-

tion of Rakhine’s rich history and culture.”

The life of Mrauk U spanned roughly

350 years, from approximately the 1430s to

1780s, when it was the capital of Arakan, an

independent kingdom that at times extend-

ed more than 400 miles along coastal plains

and mangrove marshlands bordered by the

Bay of Bengal. Built on a hilly plateau above

two river valleys, and off ering easy access to

the sea, the walled city was known for its het-

erogeneity and cross-cultural fertilization.

Muslims and Buddhists served side by side in

the royal court and the bureaucracy. Dutch,

Portuguese, Chinese and other foreign mer-

chants dwelled in their own prosperous

quarter, trading spices, textiles, opium, iron,

tobacco, sulfur and pepper for rice and ivory.

Japanese samurai and soldiers from the Mo-

gul empire guarded the Royal Palace.

The king held court in a hall decorated

with carved and gilded teak pillars, receiv-

THE INTERNET

DIDN’T EXIST. IT

WAS ONE OF THE

MOST ISOLATED

PLACES IN A

SELF-ISOLATING

COUNTRY.”

“