The Cambridge History of India, Vol. IV: The Mughul Period v4.c23.s4.45

v4.c23.s4.45

Hsinbyushin (1763–76) himself raided Manipur in December, 1764, carrying away its people into captivity, for he wished to increase the population of his new capital, Āva, into which he moved in April, 1765. The gates of restored Āva were named after conquered states, some of them being—on the east side, Chiengmai, Martaban, Mogaung; on the south, Kaingma, Hanthawaddy, Myede, Onbaung (Hsipaw); on the west, Gandhalarit (Yünnan), Sandapuri (Viengchang, Linzin), Kenghung; on the north, Tenasserim, Yodaya (Siam). The various wards were, according to precedent, allotted on racial lines; thus the Indian traders lived in one, the Chinese in another, Christians in another, and in others were the Siamese and Manipur captives; such captives were often a source of suspicion, as in 1774 when the leading families of the Manipur colony were extirpated for alleged plotting. The wall, sixteen feet high, backed by earthwork, was of indifferent quality, but adequate to the only style of warfare it would have to meet. As was usual in Burmese capitals, the palace was an inner city, with its own moat, wall, and a massive teak stockade outside.¹