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The pathien Annexation War

The pathien Annexatoin War
Part of Rukun's Wars of Expansion
Date 1480-82 Location Region of Burma Result Bengali Victory Lower Burma Annexed by Arakan Prome's Provinces Returned
Belligerents
Sultanate of Bengal Arakan Koch	Pegu
Commanders and leaders
Rukun-ud-Din Barbak Mir Muhammad Ja’far Ilyas Shahi.	Binnya Waru Rangsey
Strength
11,000 infantry 4,000 cavalry	4,000 infantry 3,000 cavalry
Casualties and losses
14,692 dead or missing	12,421 dead or missing

The pathien Annexation War, also known as the Arakan-Pegu War, was the first war fought by the Sultanate of Bengal after Sultan Rukun-ud-Din Barbak's rise to the throne. The war pitted Bengal and its vassals Arakan and Koch against the Sultanate of Pegu. The conflict arose as a way to grow Bengal's vassals and influence and to gain plunder with which to pay back the heavy debt acquired by Bengal in the Orrissian Invasion almost two decades earlier.

Prelude

During the rule of Sultan Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Bengal waged a series of wars intended to vassalize the Princedom of Koch and the Emirate of Arakan. These conflicts, which became known as Nasir´s Wars of Expansion, took place from 1447 to 1450. While the Bengali army was fighting in the northern province of Koch, the Hindu kingdom of Orrissa declared war on Bengal in early 1450 with the purpose of annexing the province of Satgaon. Sultan Nasir-ud-Din decided to finish the war in the north before engaging the Orrissian invaders.

By the time Bengal had signed a peace treaty with Koch and ended the war with Koch, Orrissa and its vassals had laid siege to Gauda and occupied most of Southern Bengal. After fleeing the capital, Nasir-ud-Din took direct control of the Bengali army and marched to the fort of Satgaon, which was now unprotected as the Orrissian armies focused on the siege of Gauda. After less than a year, the Bengali were able to retake Satgaon. In late 1452 Sultan Nasir-ud-Din enlisted the help of over 20,000 mercenaries and engaged the Orrisian armies in multiple battles, managing to begin to turn the tide of the war.

The war continued for four more years. Orrissa had a large population which allowed it to rebuild its armies even after many defeats, and Bengal continued to recruit thousands of mercenaries every year. Eventually, in 1456, Bengal proposed a white peace, and Orrissa eagerly accepted.

The large amounts of mercenaries hired by the Bengali army had generated a large debt. The Sultanate now owed more than 1,600 ducats to the Jain and to both domestic and international creditors. The ensuing economic crisis led to the reduction of the Bengali army and navy, and the end to Nasir's Wars of Expansion. Sultan Nasir-ud-Din dedicated the last years of his life to ensuring peace within the borders of Bengal, but did not launch any more military campaigns.

In 1472 the Sultan died and was succeeded by his son Rukun-ud-Din Barbak. Rukun decided to take a more militaristic approach to paying the debt than his father had. He declared a short war against the eastern Chiefdom of Tripura. Within half a year the Bengali army had captured the only city in Tripura and plundered it for gold. After the brief Invasion of Tripura, Rukun turned his sights to the southern kingdom of Pegu, which bordered the south of Arakan. In late 1479 Rukun put his son, Mir Muhammad, in charge of the Bengali army and sent them south to the Arakan-Pegu border.

Major Battles and Sieges

The Battle of pathien
Date February 27, 1481 Location pathien Result Bengali Victory
Belligerents
Bengal	Pegu
Commanders and leaders
Mir Muhammad Ja’far Ilyas Shahi.	Binnya Waru Rangsey
Strength
15,000 soldiers	7,000 soldiers
Casualties and losses
2,000 dead, captured, or missing	3,000 dead, captured, or missing

The Battle of Pathien

The war began on February 27, 1480 when Mir Muhammad led 15,000 Bengali soldiers over the border from Sandoway into Pegu. They were met by Pegu's army, which consisted of 7,000 soldiers. Pegu's army was led by General Binnya Waru Rangsey, who had recently gained his country a victory in their conquest of Prome. The river dividing Arakan from pathien caused the Bengali army to slow down its assault, which was already proving more difficult than expected due to pathien's jungles. However, the Bengali army was able to defeat the Pegu and secure the first victory of the war. The Pegu suffered heavy casualties, losing 3,000 men, while the Bengali only lost 2,000 men. After the battle, Bengal's army occupied Pathien and recovered its lost forces for two months before mobilizing to the capital of Pegu, Pegu. During this time the Pegu army fled to Mawlamyine and the Bengali navy began its blockade of Pegu.

Sieges of Pegu and Prome

On July 7, 1480, Mir Muhammad led his army to the capital city Pegu. On July 26 the attackers began the siege. During this time, Arakan mobilized its own army east to the city of Prome. Prome had been annexed by the Pegu less than a year before, and the people welcomed the Arakani troops as liberators. The Pegu army stayed in Mawlamyine during the duration of the sieges. They raised their numbers to 9,000 men and prepared for the inevitable Bengali attack. After more than a year, the siege of Pegu ended on December 9, 1481. The Bengali army raided the city for food and ammunition. They recruited Pegu rebels and soon had an army of 15,000 soldiers once more.

The decimation of the Pegu Army and Navy

After the siege of Pegu, the Bengali army marched south from the farmlands of Pegu to the jungles of Mawlamyine, where the Pegu army had been preparing to fight a defensive battle. The two armies met near the town of Martaban in what is now known as the Battle of Martaban on December 17, 1481. 15,000 Bengali soldiers fought 9,000 Pegu soldiers for 10 days. The battle resulted in a victory for Bengal. Pegu retreated after losing 5,000 of its men. The Bengali army began a pursuit soon after. The demoralized and exhausted Pegu army was overtaken by the Bengali army on January 5, 1842. Fearful of the Bengali army, the 4,000 Pegu soldiers surrendered before any combat began.

From December 1481 to March 1482, the Pegu Navy and the Bengali Navy engaged in three battles in the Irrawaddy Delta. All three of them resulted in Bengali victories and the eventual destruction of the entire Pegu Navy.

End of the War

On March 6, 1482, Bengal occupied the last Pegu provinces of Martaban and Mawlamyine. With the complete destruction of both its army and navy, Pegu was ready to accept any peace terms Bengal presented. On March 20 Bengal and Pegu signed the Treaty of Prome. The treaty forced Pegu to pay Bengal 150 ducats and 10% of its income as war reparations for 19 years, and to cede the provinces of Mawlamyine, Dagon, and Pathein to Bengal's vassal Arakan. The treaty also made Pegu return the provinces it had taken from Prome in October of 1479 back to Prome, thus reducing Pegu to a Microstate.