Ahom Kingdom (1228 to 1826)

Chaolung Sukaphaa (reign 1228-1268), also Siu-Ka-Pha, the first Ahom king in medie al Assam, !as the founder of the Ahom kingdom" #he kingdom he esta$lished in 1228 e%isted for nearl& si% hundred &ears and in the pro'ess unified the arious tri$al and non-tri$al peoples of the region that left a deep impa't on the region" (n re eren'e to his position in Assam)s histor& the honorifi' Chaolung is generall& asso'iated !ith his name (Chao* lord+ ,ung* great)" Sin'e 1--6 .e'em$er 2 has $een 'ele$rated in Assam as the Sukaphaa .i as, or Asom .i as (Assam .a&) to 'ommemorate the ad ent of the first king of the Ahom kingdom in Assam after his /ourne& o er the Patkai 0ills" The Kingdom #he kings !ere 'alled Chao-Pha in the Ahom language and S!argadeo in the Assamese language" Su''ession !as $& agnati' primogeniture" 1e ertheless, follo!ing 2udra Singha)s death$ed in/un'tion four of his fi e sons $e'ame the king one after the other" #he Ahom kings !ere gi en di ine origin" A''ording to Ahom tradition, Sukaphaa !as a des'endant of Khunlung, !ho had 'ome do!n from the hea ens and ruled 3ong-2i-3ong-2am" .uring the reign of Suhungmung (14-5-167-) !hi'h sa! the 'omposition of the first Assamese 8uran/i and in'reased 0indu influen'e, the Ahom kings !ere tra'ed to the union of (ndra (identified !ith Khunlung) and S&ama (a lo!-'aste !oman), and !ere de'lared (ndra amsa kshatri&as, a lineage 'reated for the Ahoms" Suhungmung adopted the title S!arganara&an, and the later kings !ere 'alled S!argadeos (,ord of the hea ens)" #he position of S!argadeo !as reser ed for the des'endants of Sukaphaa and the& !ere not eligi$le for ministerial positions, a di ision of po!er that !as follo!ed till the end of the d&nast& and the kingdom" 9hen the no$les asked Atan 8urhagohain to $e'ame the king, the #ai priests re/e'ted the idea and he desisted from as'ending the throne" #he king 'ould $e appointed onl& !ith the 'on'urren'e of the patra matris ('oun'il of ministers i:", 8urhagohain, 8orgohain, 8orpatrogohain, 8or$arua and 8orphukan)" #he ministers 'ould remo e una''epta$le kings, and resorted to e%e'uting se eral erst!hile king" .uring three periods in the 14th 'entur& (1764-176-+ 1756-178;+ 178--17-5), the kingdom had no kings !hen a''epta$le 'andidates !ere not found" (n the 15th 'entur& po!er struggle, the in'reasing num$er of 'laimants to the throne resulted in kings $eing deposed in <ui'k su''essions, and e%e'uted after the ne! king !as instated" #o a oid this $lood& end and safeguard his rule, Sulikphaa ),ora 2o/a) (165--1681) introdu'ed a ne! rule that 'laimants to the throne had to $e ph&si'all& un$lemished, !hi'h meant that threats to the throne 'ould $e remo ed $& merel& slitting the ear of an am$itious prin'e" =%ploting this rule 2udra Singha (16-6-1514), suspe'ting his $rother ,e'hai)s intention, mutilated and $anished him" >n his death$ed 2udra Singha, ho!e er, instru'ted that all his sons !ere to $e'ome kings" >ne of his sons, 3ohanmala, !as superseded, !ho !ent on to lead a re$el group during the 3oamoria re$ellion" # #he later kings and offi'ers e%ploited the un$lemished rule, leading to !eak kings $eing instated" Kamales!ar Singha, son of Kadam .ighala (15-6-1811) and Purandar Singha, son of 8ra/anath and one of the last kings of this d&nast& (1818-181-) 'ame into offi'e $e'ause their fathers !ere mutilated" Expansion #he Ahom kingdom then 'onsolidated its po!ers for the ne%t 7;; &ears or so" #he first ma/or e%pansion !as at the 'ost of the Chuti&a kingdom, !hi'h !as anne%ed in 1622 under Suhungmung" #he e%pansion !as not /ust a su''ess of Ahom militar& pro!ess, $ut also a result of 'hanges in the Ahom so'ial and politi'al outlook" ?or

e%ample, Suhungmung !as the first Ahom king to adopt a 0indu name* S!arga 1ara&an" #he Chuti&a region !as pla'ed under the Sadi&akho!a @ohain a ne! position that !as 'reated" (n 1676 the Ka'haris !ere uprooted from their 'apital at .imapur" #hus $& the middle of the 16th 'entur&, the Ahoms !ere in 'ontrol o er eastern Assam" (n 15th 'entur&, after the 8attle of (takhuli in 1682 that marked the end of the Ahom-3ughal 'onfli'ts, mu'h of the 'ontrol of Ko'h 0a/o fell into the hands of the Ahoms" #he $iggest threat to Asom 'ame from the 3ughals !ho !ere rampaging a'ross eastern (ndia at the same time" Anlike the 0indu kingdoms of the rest of the su$'ontinent !hi'h !ere !orn out after 'enturies of !arfare against them, the Ahom !ere fresh and dominant" @i en their organisation as a mo$ili:er of manpo!er rather than o!nership of land, the Ahom 'ould raise armies at moment)s noti'e, a 'apa$ilit& that surprised the 3ughals" .uring the reign of Bahangir, there !ere almost annual $attles $et!een the t!o throughout the /ungles around the 8rahmaputra" #he Ahom !ere e%pert at guerrilla ta'ti's, demoralising the 3ughals !ho 'alled them )$la'k and loathsome in appearan'e) and Assam as )a land of !it'hes and magi')" 3ughal i'tor& 'ame in 1661 !hen Aurang:e$)s general 3uhammad Said 3ir Bumla anne%ed Coo'h 8ehar, smashed the Ahom, o''upied @auhati and 'aptured @arhgaon, the Ahom 'apital" #he s!argadeo and his 'ourt fled and tried to raise 'ounteratta'ks, onl& to sue for pea'e t!o &ears later, !ith his daughter 2amani @a$haru sent to the harem of the =mperor" (She married the go ernor of 8engal, A:amtara, later") Ahom $e'ame a assal of the 3ughals and surrendered their !estern territories" Anfortunatel& for the 3ughals, 3ir Bumla died, and his repla'ements !ere hardl& of his 'ali$re" (n 1665, the Ahom thre! off their su:erains !hen their 'ommander ,a'hit 8orphukan an<uished the 3ughals under 2a/a 2am Singh of Am$er" End of Ahom rule #heir po!er de'lined in latter half of the 18th 'entur&" #he 'apital 'it& !as taken for a short period during the 3oamoria re$ellion" (n the first part of the 1-th 'entur&, the 8urmese arm& in aded their kingdom !ho set up a puppet Ahom king" #he 8urmese !ere defeated $& the 8ritish in the ?irst Anglo-8urmese 9ar resulting in the #reat& of Canda$oo in 1826, !hi'h pa ed the !a& for the 8ritish to 'on ert the Ahom kingdom into a prin'ipalit& and !hi'h marked the end of the Ahom rule" The Ahom people #he #ai Ahoms !ho 'ame into Assam follo!ed their traditional religion and spoke the #ai language" #he& !ere a er& small group numeri'all& and after the first generation, the group !as a mi%ture of the #ai and the lo'al population" > er time the Ahom state adopted the Assamese language and kings and other high offi'ials 'on erted to 0induism" =%'ept for some spe'ial offi'es (the king and the raj mantris), other positions are open to mem$ers of all tri$es and religion" #he& kept good re'ords, and are kno!n for their 'hroni'les, 'alled 8uran/is" >ne of its greatest a'hie ements !as the stemming of 3ughal e%pansionism" (n the 'ele$rated $attle of Saraighat, the Ahom general ,a'hit 8orphukan defeated the 3ughal for'es on the outskirts of present da& @u!ahati in 1651"