Hakha

Hakha, officially the Kingdom of Hakha (Burmese: ဟားခါးမြို့ ) is a sovereign state located in the Urusian subcontinent, bordered by Moaab to the south and Fakhal to the east. It is a federal constitutional monarchy, with King Myint as Head of State and the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.

It is a country with a very ancient history, dating back to 300 BC when the Yakin ethnic group, the main ethnic group in the country today, is considered to have been born. Its territory for centuries was only what is now the southern part, which was consolidated with the war between Moabites and Yakins in 250 BC, in which the latter lost the war and were forced to sign a treaty in which they lost a large part of their territory. The history of Hakha from that time until the mid-contemporary period was based on several city states, dominated mainly by the Kingdom of Hoekyiay, which were hierarchically organised and in constant conflict with each other, except for the period that included the conquest of the now northern and island parts of the country, most of which were also subjugated or conquered by Hoekyiay. However, a revolution in 1824 ended in a war that pitted the republican or democratic side against the monarchist side, the supporters of the monarchy, led by Hoekyiay, had a military victory, but the strategic victory was more closely contested and ended in a 50/50 split. Finally, after a long period of peace, the two states that were established after the war, the kingdoms of Hoekyiay and Langdaw, were unified in 2021 and Hakha as it is known today was born.

Hakha is a federal state divided into 18 autonomous regions with their own flag, constitution, government and laws. Each region is divided into provinces, whose autonomy is limited only to vital aspects of daily life, although this may vary according to each region's constitution.

In terms of surface area, it is the smallest country in the Urusian subcontinent, with only 174,244 square kilometres, however, it has a population of 52,023,956, 65% of which is concentrated in the south of the country, which makes it a densely populated, although in the south the density becomes almost chaotic, with a population density similar to that of a city in a territory of just over 30,000 square kilometres.

It is one of the least developed countries in the world, mainly due to its recent formation and the bloody conflicts in the past that destroyed a large part of important cities. In the south, there is a certain level of development, with the capital, Hoekyiay, having some exclusively modern things like skyscrapers, televisions and paved streets, but in the north, the level of development and standard of living are among the worst in the world, with a large part of the children in that area being illiterate and a large part of the population suffering from nutritional problems.

Etymology
The name Hakha is new, as it has been used since the unification of the country. The name refers to the Hakha River, the most important river in the south of the country, whose name in Burmese, harrhkarr, is a combination of the letters from the words "myitwakyawannpaw" meaning delta (the two a's and k's are taken out) and hce re raal meaning grain, in which an h is taken out and then another h is added, and the two r's at the end of the word, to which two more r's are added. All this formation results in the name meaning "delta of cereals" referring to the delta of the aforementioned river, where a large part of the cereals consumed in the south are produced. Today this area is the only free trade zone in the country and produces 40% of the country's exports.

Pre-Yakin period
Little is known about the history of Hakha before the formation of the Yakin civilisation. The oldest archaeological remains found in present-day Hakha territory date back between 6,000 and 4,000 years, although it is said that Hakha territory may have been populated as far back as 10,000 years ago, based on the argument that there are still undiscovered archaeological sites throughout the country.

As for the formation of the Yakin civilisation, it is known that the first settlements that had the primitive Yakin language and religion (which is still in use today) date back to 500 BC at the latest. After about 250 years, there were Yakin city-states throughout the south of the modern country and even beyond, from 250 BC onwards, when it is considered that the language and religion were already established and therefore a culture was already in place.

Ancient Period: beginnings of the Yakin culture and war with the Moabites
When the Yakin culture took shape, it did not occupy exactly the territory that it occupies today, but the extension of the Yakin language and religion extended to the south, touching territory that today belongs to the neighboring nation of [nation]Moaab[/nation]. In that territory there were several city states with a close relationship with the cities on the other side of the Kaledaw River (Burmese name for the river that today separates both countries).

However, around the 230s B.C., a figure who is now a historical figure in Moaab, King Mesha II, declared direct war against the Yakin kingdoms and began an armed invasion. The city-states of that time, although they always fought each other, allied themselves militarily to face the invasion of the Moabites in the so-called Orange Alliance, the alliance also received logistical and military support from the kingdoms on the other side of the river, in what is said to have been a kind of unification by necessity of the Yakin kingdoms.

The first encounter between the two civilizations was at the Battle of Fayidaut, where the Moabites gained control of the homonymous city through a 1-week siege. After Fayidaut many battles followed, which were marked by the Moabite military and strategic superiority, against the weakened Yakin military that was exhausted and poorly equipped due to internal conflicts between the city states, the only Yakin victory was in the city of Seikree, which they managed to hold for a few months until it finally fell to enemy control.

The war finally ended with the siege of the city of Yekain, which was then what is today the city of Kyaitwe, in a house located on the Kaledaw River, there was a historic summit between King Mesha II and King of the main city-state of that time and leader of the Orange Alliance, Khaing IV of Moemung, in which it was agreed that the territory of both peoples would be delimited by the river where that summit was taking place, the Moabites would inhabit the south and the Yakines the north. These borders prevail today.

The end of the war followed a mass migration of the Yakines across the river to the north known as the Great Exodus to the North, and today it is known as a great feat of bravery, with hundreds of monuments and awards to its name throughout all of Hakha. The new inhabitants had their own dialect of the native language, for which they were indoctrinated and those who refused to comply with orders were tortured. This considered genocide ended with a new internal war between the kingdoms with a majority population that came from the south against the natives of the north that ended with the northern victory and the subjugation of the kingdoms with a southern majority.

During this war, the capital and largest city of Hakha, Hoekyiay, whose name at that time was Htigmain, was founded as an emergency settlement after a southern offensive, and had a military headquarters, a rudimentary hospital and 10 blocks of houses with some shops, however, the settlement grew rapidly due to its privileged location overlooking the Gulf of Yalagch that allowed maritime trade with the already populated island of Yenangkyina. By the year 10 AD it already had a population of approximately 5,100 people.

Finally, around the year 23 AD, in a new war between southerners and northerners, an alliance was created between the northern kingdoms that culminated at the end of the war, around 60 AD with the creation of the Kingdom of Hoekyiay, with its capital in Htigmain, that achieved the effective invasion of the southern kingdoms plus the subjugation of those that remained in a second war. From that moment the ancient period of Hakha ended and the middle period began, the longest, which was marked by the domination of Hoekyiay in every aspect over the other kingdoms.

Middle Period: Domination of Hoekyiay and conquest of the north


The Hoekyiay throne was taken over by King Zaw Bo, whose first action was the invasion of the island of Yenagkyina, which until then had been almost uninhabited except for settlers from Htigmain. The Bo dynasty was the longest in the history of Hakha, lasting from the year 60 to approximately 1250, meaning that Hoekyiay had the same dynasty for 1,190 uninterrupted years, this was achieved due to the royal policy that the kings had to have a son to maintain the dynasty. The two most widely accepted theories about its end are that King Thant Soe was infertile or that his untimely death (he died at the age of 26) prevented him from having children.

The newly assumed king, when the surrounding areas were already recovered, ordered a new war against the southerners around the year 86, which resulted in a victory of the latter by the death of the king in the year 90, with 30 years of reign. The second king, Bo Thawda, son of the late monarch, initiated the fourth war between the two factions, the outcome of which this time was a victory for Hoekyiay, allowing him to form the Great Empire of Hoekyiay, which was not a state itself, but a grouping of all the Yakin states, The leader of which was the aforementioned kingdom, therefore, they had to follow every order he gave and affirm their alliances in every conflict, that is, more than a state, it was an alliance dominated by Hoekyiay in which everyone had to follow his orders, no matter what they were. The alliance remained until the creation of Hakha, and from then on, the king of Hoekyiay held the title of "Supreme Leader of the Yakin People".

On Hoekyiay's counterpart was the southern-administered Kingdom of Langdaw, which, though a shadow of Hoekyiay, managed to hold its own for several centuries and even formed an alliance with several other kingdoms and tribes that was strengthened by the conquest of the north. It should be clarified that the "southerners" are those who migrated from south of the Kaledaw River after the war with Moaab, the "northerners" were those who lived north of the Kaledaw River.

The middle period was characterised by a tense calm that was broken from time to time by typical ethnic conflicts. The middle period lasted right up to the subjugation of Langdaw, but a few things are worth mentioning

Although many may think that the capital of Hakha was historically Hoekyiay, actually no, the second most populated city today and capital of Thanamaraw Region, Kyaitwe, was the capital of the Kingdom of Hoekyiay (considered the predecessor of the contemporary state), this mainly due to 2 factors; its proximity to Yenangkyina and fertile lands, being located in the Kaledaw basin, it is surrounded by fertile lands that allowed the development of agriculture.



Life in the Hakha of the Middle Period was not easy, especially considering that much of it took place in the Middle Ages. Although the territory was controlled by one person, the king, the administrative power was mediocre and the authority of the kings extended only to the capital and the 2 or 3 most important cities, the interior of Hakha was dominated by a sahkain (Burmese for "lord"), the Yakin version of the feudal lords who were known for their brutality and opulence, the position of sahkain was hereditary and while they lived in large castles protected by walls and with all kinds of luxuries, the rest of the population lived on the margins with poor sanitation and an awful quality of life, as well as anarchy was reigning, royal laws were disobeyed and replaced by "local laws" that were only enforced within the city limits, outside of that, where neither the sahkain nor the king ruled there was no guarantee of life and the people who lived there rarely reached 50 years of life without dying of hunger or disease before.

Invasion of the north
In the year 1250, King Kyaw III decreed several laws in the so-called "Winter declaration", one of those laws established the "need for the throne of Hoekyiay to expand its political, social and economic authority in the rest of the subcontinent". As said before, the "hok" monarchy was at that time in a serious crisis due to the authority of the Sakhains, so having authority in new territories was essential for the survival of the monarchy.

After several analyses, it was finally decided that Hakha would invade all the territories in the north of the country through the Gulf of Yalagch, however, little did they know about the existence of other states in the other part of the Gulf.

A platoon of 5,000 soldiers, many of whom were on loan from the Sakhains, set out from the port of then Htigmain (formerly Hoekyiay) on June 12, 1251 and reached the other side of the gulf in September.

Upon arrival, they met with fierce resistance from the natives of the area, mainly Mahayana Buddhist people, who forced Hoekyiay's soldiers into a forced retreat, hiding for months, awaiting further reinforcements, in a fort located on the coast. Today this well-preserved fort is the main tourist attraction of the city of Khadar, capital of the region of the same name.

When the reinforcements arrived in March 1252, the so-called "Jungle Offensive" began, more than 20,000 soldiers advanced through the forest annihilating everything in their path, each native city and town was established as a base of provisioning, and a large part of the natives were enslaved for the provisioning of the soldiers. This part is possibly the darkest in the history of Hakha, since it is the only time that the government ordered its own soldiers to commit crimes against humanity.

In just two years, the native Mahayana Buddhists were cornered in the extreme north of the country, where they live today and the throne of Hoekyiay was awarded the administration of the territory. No larger expansion plans were made than there are now due to the limits with other countries recently discovered by the crown.

Due to the fact that the documentation about this event is very limited, its teaching in education is also limited, with some schools not even teaching about this event, in fact, in a survey it is revealed that 76% of Hakians over 30 years found out about the invasion to the north recently in tertiary education

The "wood fever"
Once the invasion was over, the enormous amount of timber and fishing resources in the area became apparent, and the people of the south, especially the poorest, crossed the gulf on rafts to live from the exploitation of these resources. The first squad of people to settle in this place for this purpose was commanded by Thurein Kyaw Pyae, today known as "the Ruthless Navigator". He and his boys established a fishing post near the aforementioned fortress, this being the official foundation of the city of Khadar, today the most populous city in the entire north, with just over 2 million inhabitants. After earning a large fortune fishing and progressively expanding their post by logging, people began to flock to the place to live on the same as Pyae and the rest, making Khadar also the first permanent non-native settlement in the north, however, when the town grew so large that it reached 1,000 inhabitants, Pyae declared himself "mayor" of the new town that did not even have an official name, and from this point began a period of terror for all the inhabitants of the small town, because Pyae introduced "taxes" of up to 80% of the profits to fill himself with fortune, and whoever refused could be kidnapped, tortured or killed, and in the case of women they could be abused and then give the baby to affiliated people to Pye. After 2 years of terror, the citizens rose up against Pyae and publicly executed him, his head being exhibited for several days in the center of town. These tragic events are known as "the terror of Khadar"

Like the morbid story in the previous paragraph, thousands of people came as Pyae and his friends to settle in the north and live off fishing and timber, in fact, much of the large cities established today in the north were some instead resource exploitation posts set up by immigrants from the south. This period is known as "wood fever". The only exception to this was the island of Myaungyet, which was a military base until two centuries later, when human settlement was allowed on the island.

The fever ended once the settlements became large cities, since they were able to come under effective control of the crown, and from that moment the people who worked in the wood got the same rights that the crown gave to a worker at that time, exactly, none, so people stopped emigrating to the north because in many cases they would find much more exhausting jobs but they would have the same mediocre salaries and they would continue to be almost enslaved by the crown, so they preferred to stay in the south the control of the sakhain, who were even more ruthless but the difference with the territories administered by the crown was not much

The invasion from the north benefited the Kingdom of Hoekyiay little or nothing, since most of the people who exploited the wood and the sea during the fever did so independently and without paying any kind of tax to the crown, since the control of the the north was still not fully effective and when the kingdom was able to have effective control the fever ended, yes, there was more income and more territory for the royal family, but if we add the corruption and the tributes that had to be given to the sakhain so that these do not massacre a village, the profit was reduced to zero