Min Hti of Arakan

A popular folk story of King Min Hti recounts when he ordered a new palace to be built and serves as an example of his stern judiciousness. His subjects were known for chewing betel nut, which would stain their fingers. The subjects would then use the palace door posts to clean their fingers, dirtying the door post. The king ordered that everyone entering the palace must wash their hands, and anyone who broke the rule was to have the offending finger cut off. After some time the king, forgetful of his own order, cleaned his finger on one of the palace door posts. One of the ministers made a careful note of it, writing down the date and hour when it occurred, but did not remove the dirt from the post. A few days later the king observed the spot on the palace door and angrily ordered his ministers to find the offender and see that he was punished. When the ministers produced the proof of the king's own guilt, the king, with his own sword, cut off his forefinger, saying 'that even a king should not issue orders for himself to break with impunity'. To commemorate the event he had a Buddha sculptures erected, and instructed the sculptors to give them only four fingers on their right hands.^{[3][failed verification]}

Min Hti was born to King Min Bilu and Queen Saw. Upon hearing the prophecies regarding his son, the king ordered Min Hti to be cast into the Lemro River. The child was luckily saved by some fishermen, and was sent to remote part of the kingdom. Min Hti was hidden in the Yoe Chaung village on the Urittaung Mountains, modern day Ponnagyun Township, Rakhine State, where he lived until he ascended to the throne.^[4]

Min Hti ascended to the throne by acclamation of his father's legacy in 1279, after the usurper Sithabin I was deposed and executed by his ministers. Min Hti was nine years old, and ruled with his uncle as royal advisor.^{[5][page needed]}

In the year 1294, Shans invaded the Kingdom but were repelled. In subsequent years, Min Hti's dominions would be attacked by various groups, including the Shans, the Talaing, the Burmese, and the Thet tribe in the north. In response to various attacks, the king went to Mahamuni Temple, and, depositing his rosary before the idol, vowed to rid of the country of its enemies. Following this, he marched in person to repel the Talaings who had taken control of the southern town of Sandoway. His uncle, Uza-na-gyi, was sent with the army to attack Pagan. Salingathu, his brother in-law, advanced into Pegu, and the general Raza-thin-gyan was sent against the Thet tribe. All of the offensives were successful, and Raza-thin-gyan was able to secure peace through the country along the sea coast as far as the Brahmaputra River.^[6]

In the year 1327, the Pinya Kingdom attacked Ramree Island and carried away number of inhabitants. This was followed by another attack from the Shans, who attacked from the Lemro River in 1334. In retaliation, Min Hti ordered his army to cross the Arakan Mountain to raid and annex Thayet. During this campaign, the Governor Min Shin Saw of Thayet and his family were captured and brought to Launggyet. On his return from the campaign, Min Hti founded the town of Ann, lying below the Rakhine Yoma in 1334/1335. The location served as stopover in the passage through the Arakan Mountains leading to Minbu.

In his final years of Min Hti's reign, the Viceroy of Thandwe rebelled against the king. The viceroy had gained possession of a relic of Gotama brought from Ceylon, which he believed would help him become king, however the rebellion was ultimately stopped. Soon after this, King Min Hti died after a reign of 106 years. He died without a legitimate heir to the throne, and control of the kingdom fell to the Launggyet Court. Eventually, his eldest illegitimate son succeeded him.^[7]

Min Hti's administration is remembered as being particularly philosophical. During the early years of his reign, as he was too young to make important political decisions, most were made by his mother, uncle, and a court of minor regents. An example of Min Hti's beliefs can be seen in his decrees. In one he is quoted as writing "If a son is to act out, his father should be investigated, if the daughter is to act out, her mother should be, if a wife is acting out, her husband, and if a student is acting out, their teacher should be judged." This type of philosophy was the defining characteristic of Min Hti's rule: he believed environmental factors contributed to the actions of others, and should not be disregarded when considering culpability.^[8]

The King had four consorts and three sons who later succeeded him. The origin of the Mrauk U Royal Family can be traced to King Min Hti through his son Thinhse. The founder of Mrauk U, Min Saw Mon, was the child of Razathu II, who in turn was the son of Thinhse.

The Arakanese chronicles, Rakhine Razawin Haung, Dhanyawaddy Ayedawbon and Rakhine Razawin Thit, all say that Min Hti reigned for 106 years, although the Dhanyawaddy Ayedawbon contains inconsistent reporting. The British colonial period scholars record his reign as being from 1279 to either 1374 or 1385.

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