Editing Bengal (section)

====Arakan====
[[File:Eastern Lower Bengal and Chittagong with Arakan.jpg|thumb|Bengal and Arakan in 1638.]]
[[Arakan]] (now [[Rakhine State]], [[Myanmar]]) has historically been under strong Bengali influence. Since antiquity, Bengal has influenced the culture of Arakan. The ancient Bengali script was used in Arakan.<ref>"Three medallions above the head contain sacred syllables in proto-Bengali script". [[Pamela Gutman]] and
Zaw Min Yu, 'Vesali', Burma's Lost Kingdoms: Splendours of Arakan (Orchid Press 2001). p. 57</ref> An Arakanese inscription recorded the reign of the Bengali [[Candra dynasty]]. [[Paul Wheatley (geographer)|Paul Wheatley]] described the "Indianization" of Arakan.<ref>[[Pamela Gutman]] and Zaw Min Yu,&nbsp;Burma's Lost Kingdoms: Splendours of Arakan&nbsp;(Orchid Press 2001). p. 3</ref>

According to [[Pamela Gutman]], "Arakan was ruled by kings who adopted Indian titles and traditions to suit their own environment. Indian Brahmins conducted royal ceremonies, Buddhist monks spread their teachings, traders came and went and artists and architects used Indian models for inspiration. In the later period, there was also influence from the Islamic courts of Bengal and Delhi".<ref>[[Pamela Gutman]] and Zaw Min Yu,&nbsp;Burma's Lost Kingdoms: Splendours of Arakan&nbsp;(Orchid Press 2001). p. 8</ref> Arakan emerged as a [[vassal state]] of the [[Bengal Sultanate]].<ref name="google6">{{cite book |last1=Chowdhury |first1=Mohammed |title=Bengal-Arakan Relations, 1430–1666 A.D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rohuAAAAMAAJ |year=2008 |publisher=Firma K.L.M. |isbn=9788171021185 |access-date=17 May 2023}}</ref> It later became an independent kingdom. The royal court and culture of the [[Kingdom of Mrauk U]] was heavily influenced by Bengal. [[Bengali Muslims]] served in the royal court as ministers and military commanders.<ref name="google6"/> [[Bengali Hindus]] and [[Bengali Buddhists]] served as priests. Some of the most important poets of medieval [[Bengali literature]] lived in Arakan, including [[Alaol]] and [[Daulat Qazi]].<ref name="Umran Chowdhury, Dhaka Tribune">{{cite news |author=Umran Chowdhury, Dhaka Tribune |url=https://scroll.in/article/1006362/the-history-of-the-rohingyas-that-myanmar-refuses-to-acknowledge |title=The history of the Rohingyas that Myanmar refuses to acknowledge |work=Scroll.in |date=29 September 2021 |access-date=17 May 2023}}</ref> In 1660, [[Shah Shuja (Mughal prince)|Prince Shah Shuja]], the governor of Mughal Bengal and a pretender of the [[Peacock Throne]] of India, was forced to seek asylum in Arakan.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://lostfootsteps.org/en/history/the-indian-prince-who-fled-to-mrauk-u |title=The Indian Prince who fled to Mrauk-U |website=Lost Footsteps |access-date=17 May 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44138771 |jstor=44138771 |title=A Contemporary Dutch Account of Shah Shuja at Arakan |last1=Ray |first1=Aniruddha |journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress |year=1974 |volume=35 |pages=112–118}}</ref> Bengali influence in the Arakanese royal court persisted until Burmese annexation in the 18th-century.

The modern-day [[Rohingya people|Rohingya]] population is a legacy of Bengal's influence on Arakan.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Islam |first=Nurul |title=Rohingya: The descendants of ancient Arakan |url=https://archive.dhakatribune.com/magazine/weekend-tribune/2017/10/12/rohingya-descendants-ancient-arakan |magazine=Weekend Tribune |date=12 October 2017}}</ref><ref name="Umran Chowdhury, Dhaka Tribune"/> The [[Rohingya genocide]] resulted in the displacement of over a million people between 2016 and 2017, with many being uprooted from their homes in Rakhine State.