From the 15th to the 18th centuries, Mrauk U was the capital of the Arakan kingdom, frequently visited by foreign traders (including Portuguese and Dutch).[12] The golden city of Mrauk U became known in Europe as a city of oriental splendor after Friar Sebastian Manrique visited the area in the early 17th century.[citation needed] Father Manrique's vivid account of the coronation of King Thiri Thudhamma in 1635[13] and about the Rakhine Court and intrigues of the Portuguese adventurers fire the imagination of later authors. The English author Maurice Collis who made Mrauk U and Rakhine famous after his book The Land of the Great Image: Being experiences of Friar Manrique in Arakan based its accounts on Friar Manrique' travels in Arakan.[14]