Mottama
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Town | |
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  Mottama Location in Burma | |
| Coordinates:16°31′48″N97°36′08″E / 16.53000°N 97.60222°E /16.53000; 97.60222 | |
| Country |  Myanmar |
| State |  Mon State |
| District | Thaton District |
| Population | |
| • Ethnicities | MonBurmanKaren |
| • Religions | Theravada Buddhism |
| Time zone | UTC+6:30 (MST) |
Mottama (Burmese:မုတ္တမမြို့,pronounced[moʊʔtəma̰mjo̰];MuttamaMon:မုဟ်တၟံ,[mùhmɔˀ]; formerlyMartaban) is a town in theThaton District ofMon State,Myanmar. Located on the west bank of theThanlwin river (Salween), on the opposite side ofMawlamyaing, Mottama was the capital of theMartaban Kingdom (later known as Hanthawaddy Kingdom) from 1287 to 1364, and anentrepôt of international repute until the mid-16th century.
"Mottama" derives from theMon language term "Mumaw" (Mon:မုဟ်တၟံ;/mùhmɔˀ/), which means "rocky spur."[1][2]
From the 2nd century BCE to the 15th century CE, Martaban was an important trading port. The historicMaritime Silk Road connected theEast andWest, andMartaban storage jars were imported through this trade route.
The earliest evidence of the existence of Martaban inMyanmar history was revealed in an inscription erected by KingSithu II of theBagan Empire in 1176.[3]
The ancient city was called Sampanago (Campа̄nа̄ga, lit. City of Serpents) or Puñjaluin in the Mon language. It may also be referred to within the context of Muttama-Dhañyawaddy or Sampanago-Lakunbyin as a roughly 45 kilometer stretch or settlements along theSalween River stretching from modern day Mottama toHpa-an. Artifacts from the Sampanago site support a thriving sixth to ninth century culture with trade to other early sites over land and across the sea. Coins and cultural influences in artifacts indicate that Sampanago had close contacts withThaton and early sites inU Thong andKanchanaburi[4]
In the 13th century, Martaban was a southern provincial capital in theBagan Empire. After Bagan's collapse in 1287, KingWareru founded theMartaban Kingdom based out of Martaban.[5]: 205–206 The city was the capital of a Mon-speaking kingdom from 1287 to 1364. Nominally it was a vassal state of the ThaiSukhothai Kingdom until 1314.[6] From 1369 onwards, the Hanthawaddy kings ruled the kingdom fromBago (Pegu).[7] From 1364 to 1388, Martaban was under the de facto independent rule ofByattaba. In 1388, KingRazadarit reconquered the city.[8] Though it was no longer the capital, the city remained an important trading port from the 14th century to the early 16th century.[9]
The old name of the city, Martaban, came to mean 'jar' in several varieties of Arabic, and internationally for the large ceramic jars that were characteristic of the city's exports. In Egyptian Arabic, by metathesis, the word has changed to become batraman, and refers to any glass or ceramic jar.
In 1541, KingTabinshwehti of Taungoo captured the fortified city, and utterly destroyed it, forever relegating it back to a backwater. From the 16th to the 19th centuries, Martaban was a strategic spot in a series of wars fought betweenBurma andSiam.
Martaban was captured by theBritish in theFirst Anglo-Burmese War of 1824–1826, but returned to Burmese administration after the war. It became the border town however as the entire Tenasserim coast fromMawlamyaing down became British territory. The town became part of BritishLower Burma after theSecond Anglo-Burmese War of 1852.
Rudyard Kipling refers to Martaban in his poem "In the Neolithic Age": "And the crimes of Clapham chaste in Martaban," suggesting he perceived it to be a place where immoral behavior was tolerated.
TheSalween River flows through the town into the Bay of Martaban. The town's location is adjacent to the confluence of five rivers – the Salween, theAtaran, theGyaing, the Dontami, and the Hlaingbwe – as they empty into theGulf of Martaban. The town is also surrounded by hills that continue located in the Salween valley where various crops are cultivated.[4]
Mottama was the terminus of the road and the railroad fromYangon, where the Thanlwin empties into theGulf of Martaban in theAndaman Sea. TodayMawlamyaing Bridge has laid down a link from Mottama toMawlamyaing and another city in the southYe.
Mottama | ||
| Preceded byas Capital of Bagan Empire | Capital of Martaban Kingdom 30 January 1287 –c. February 1364 | Succeeded by |