Arakan

Arakan အရက္ခ
Arakan at its peak
Status	Dhanyawadi Kingdom (4th/6th century) Waithali Kingdom (8th century-10th century) Lemro Period (11th century) Vassal of Bengal Sultanate (15th-16th century) Mrauk U Kingdom (15th century-18th century) Part of Konbaung Dynasty (18th century) Part of Imperial Japan (1942-1945) Part of British Burma (19th century) Province of Myanmar (1948–present)
Capital	Dhanyawadi Waithali Pyinsa Parein Nareinzara Toungoo Khreit Launggyet (1251–1429 Mrauk-U (1430–1785) Sittwe (19th century-present)
Official languages	Rakhine, Burmese
Religion	Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Animism, Christianity

Arakan (/ˈærəkæn/ or /ˌɑːrəˈkɑːn/;^[2] Burmese: ရက္ခိုင် [jəkʰàɪɴ], Rakhine: အရက္ခ [à.ɹəkʰa̼]), formerly anglicised as Aracan, is the historical geographical name for the northeastern costal region of the Bay of Bengal, covering present-day Bangladesh and Myanmar. The region was called "Arakan" for centuries. It is generally associated with the Rakhine State in Myanmar. The people of the region were known as the Arakanese.^[3][4][5] When Burma gained independence from Britain in 1948, the Burmese part of the region was called Arakan State. The Burmese military junta changed its name to Rakhine State in 1989 – along with the country's name being changed from Burma to Myanmar, and its capital name from Rangoon to Yangon.

Arakan's first states can be traced to the 4th century. Arakan was one of the first Indianised kingdoms in Southeast Asia. It was home to the sacred Mahamuni sculpture of Buddha, which was later transferred to Mandalay by Burmese conquerors in the 18th century. For 356 years between 1428 and 1784, Arakan was ruled by the Kingdom of Mrauk U from the city of Mrauk U. The kingdom was founded as a vassal state of the Bengal Sultanate. It later asserted its independence from Bengal and adopted the customs of the Bengal Sultanate, including Muslim honorary names for its kings. All of the Kingdoms of Arakan were ruled by Buddhist kings; therefore, Buddhism was considered the state religion. Minorities including Muslims, Hindus and Christians were also present in the region. The Portuguese were also active in the region.^[4] In 1784, Arakan was annexed by the Konbaung Dynasty under the reign of King Bodawpaya.^[6]

Arakan Division was a part of British India and later fell under British rule in Burma. Arakan was a major rice exporter in the world during the 19th and early 20th centuries. During World War II, several Arakan Campaigns were conducted by Allied forces against the Japanese as part of the Burma Campaign. After Burma became independent in 1948, Arakan saw a movement for autonomy. Human rights deteriorated in the country after the 1962 Burmese coup d'état. In 1974, a discriminatory citizenship law was enacted. In 1982, most Arakanese Muslims were stripped of citizenship. A segregated system of citizenship was introduced by Burma's military rulers. Both Arakanese Buddhists and Muslims experienced growing nationalism, including hopes for self-rule. The region was the site of the Rohingya genocide in 2016 and 2017.