Should Arakan Be a Vassal of Bengal?

[Trin Tragula]

It was a fair while since I looked into this but I know I ended up with the current solution. Feel free to provide sources for Arakan actually being subservient to Bengal though and it might be revisited

IIRC the Ganeshas helped the Mrauk-U back to power but if I recall correctly their ties to them were never that strong (and either way by the start of our game the short reign of the Ganeshas in Bengal is already over).
The Arakanese/Mrauk-U/Magh are generally referred to in pretty harsh ways by Bengal and later Mughal chroniclers as they encroached on both lands and Bengali trade a lot. They also took in Bengali outcasts and sheltered all kinds of pirates who had similar interests in raiding the ships headed for Chittagong or the Ganges Delta. That doesn't mean they couldn't have been vassals in 1444 in itself though.
Still it's a far cry from the states of Garjat, who were almost religiously devoted (if at times a bit unruly) to whoever held the Orissa coastline.


EDIT: To add some more info.

 

[Trin Tragula]

Yeah that's the Ganeshas, at the start of the game they've been violently deposed
In any event being a tributary for "decades" after a war is more akin to paying war reparations in EU terms. In the same period they conquered much of the Chittagong province from Bengal after all.

 

[Trin Tragula]

On Orissa and Bengal:
Our start date presents an interesting challenge with Orissa. In 1444 they were clearly very strong. Kapilendra managed to beat and expand despite warring with Jaunpur, Bengal, the Bahmanis, the Velamas and Reddys and even Vijayanagar. At the same time his empire was fragile as the Orissa homeland really cannot support an empire of the kind it looked like he might build. Still it's a great what-if and I kind of like seeing that Orissa sometimes thrives in India


In general the 15th century is a great time to start for an early modern game when it comes to India. The collapse of Delhi has left the place with a large number of potential powers and ambitious new dynasties (quite different from at least the two earliest the start dates of CK2 for instance).