Kengtung State

Kengtung ကျိုင်းတုံ / ᨩ᩠ᨿᨦᨲᩩᨦ
State of the Shan States
c. 1243–1959
Kengtung State in blue in a map of the Shan States
Area
• 1901	31,079 km2 (12,000 sq mi)
Population
• 1901	190,698
History
• Dynasty established by a delegate of King Mangrai	17 November
• Abdication of the last Saopha	1959
Preceded by Succeeded by Lan Na Kingdom Wa States Shan State

Kengtung (Burmese: ကျိုင်းတုံ; Shan: ၵဵင်းတုင် Chiang Tung; Northern Thai: ᨩ᩠ᨿᨦᨲᩩᨦ), known as Menggen Prefecture (Chinese: 孟艮府) or Möng Khün Chiefdom or Mueng Khuen Fu (Tai Khün: ᨾᩮ᩠ᨦᩨᨡ᩠ᨶᩨ), classical name Khemarattha,^[2] was a Shan state from 1405^[3] to 1895 in what is today Burma. The capital and the residence of the ruler was Kengtung (then known as "Tai Khuen City" 歹掯城) in the centre of the state. It was the only urban area in this mountainous state whose landscape is dominated by the Daen Lao Range.

Kengtung was the largest of the states in present-day Shan State and ranked first in the order of precedence at the time of the invasion of the Shan States by the British Empire. It was also the easternmost of the Southern Shan States, lying almost entirely east of the Salween and stretching eastwards to the Mekong. It was separated from the northern Shan state of Manglon by the Hka River.

Most of the early history of Kengtung is made up of myths and legends. At the time of British rule in Burma the Tai Yai people were the majority of the population in Kengtung state with other groups such as Akha and Lahu, forming sizeable communities. According to Wa tradition, in the distant past the territory had belonged to the Wa people who were displaced around 1229 and were later defeated by King Mangrai. The Wa now form a minority of only about 10% in Kengtung State despite having been —according to their myths— the original inhabitants.^[4]