// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did Ahom artillery say? I'm a blast.
Ahom artillery comprised the firearms, gunpowder weapons, and associated military industries of the Ahom kingdom. Firearms are recorded in Ahom possession by 1523–24, when the Ahoms obtained firearms following their conquest of the Chutia kingdom.[1] The subsequent development of firearm manufacture became an important component of the Ahom military establishment, with specialised occupational khels engaged in producing and operating guns, cannon and gunpowder.
By the seventeenth century, Ahom firearms and artillery attracted the attention of Mughal observers. A Mughal account of 1662 stated that the Assamese "cast excellent matchlocks and bachadar artillery" and produced high-quality gunpowder.[2]
Origins and development
[edit source]Although firearms were formerly thought to have been introduced into Assam during the invasion of Turbak Khan in 1532, references to firearms in Ahom possession predate the invasion. Following the Ahom conquest of the Chutia kingdom in 1523–24, the Ahoms are recorded as having obtained firearms (Hiloi)[3][4][5][6] and gunboats (Hiloi-tula Chara-nao)[7][8] from the Chutias.
Later Assamese historical accounts also associate the conquest of Sadiya with the acquisition of Chutia firearms and cannon. Hiteswar Borborua's Ahomor Din refers to gunpowder and firearms obtained at Sadiya and records the capture of a large Chutia cannon known as the Mitha Hulung Tup (Mithahulang).[9][10][11] Smaller firearms were known as hiloi, while large cannon were termed bor-top.
According to Maniram Dewan, after the conquest Suhungmung transferred a large number of Chutia blacksmiths to the Bosa (Doyang) and Ujoni regions, where smithies were established for the manufacture of knives, daggers, swords, guns and cannon. His account places the number of blacksmiths during Suhungmung's reign at about three thousand.[12] Chutias subsequently formed an important component of the specialised firearm-producing and firearm-using khels of the Ahom kingdom. According to Dutta, Chutia artisans were prominent among the Hiloi-Khanikars (gunmakers) and in the Hiloidhari Khel, which was associated with the manufacture and use of matchlocks.[13] The Naobaicha Phukanar Buranji states that during the reign of Khora Raja (1552–1603), Chutias were recruited to form Hiloidhari units.[14] The association survived in later occupational terminology. The 1891 Census of India listed a group called the "Sutiyahilaidari" or Chutia-Hiloidhari.[15]
Organisation and manufacture
[edit source]By the seventeenth century, firearm manufacture had developed into a specialised branch of the Ahom military establishment. Guns, matchlocks, artillery pieces and cannon were manufactured locally, while the ingredients required for gunpowder were also obtained within the kingdom. The manufacture and supply of gunpowder was supervised by an officer known as the Kharghariya Barua.[16][17]
The Ahom military employed specialised musketeers, including a group known as the Hiloidari Konwars. Ahom sources and later studies record a variety of firearms; Kakoty identifies five types of cannon and eleven types of guns in the Ahom arsenal.[18]
During Mir Jumla's invasion of Assam in 1662, a Mughal account remarked:
"They cast excellent matchlocks and bachadar artillery and show great skill in this craft. They make first-rate gunpowder..."[2]
Ram Singh, who led the Mughal campaigns against the Ahoms in the 1660s–1670s, similarly remarked on the versatility of Assamese soldiers:[2]
Every Assamese soldier is expert in rowing boats, in shooting arrows, in digging trenches and in wielding guns and cannons. I have not seen such specimens of versatility in any other part of India.
See also
[edit source]Notes
[edit source]- ↑ "...the Ahoms got 69 fire-arms from the Chutiyas whom they defeated in 1523." (Baruah 1986:397)
- 1 2 3 (Sun 2000:45–46)
- ↑ "...the Ahoms got 69 fire-arms from the Chutiyas whom they defeated in 1523." (Baruah 1986:397)
- ↑ Bhuyan, S.K,"Deodhai Assam Buranji", p. 126
- ↑ Bhuyan, S.K,"Assam Buranji(SM)", p.10
- ↑ হিতেশ্বৰ বৰবৰুৱা, আহোমৰ দিন, p.49
- ↑ Phukan, Kasinath Tamuli, "Assam Buranji",p.17-18
- ↑ Bhuyan,S.K,"Satsari Buranji",p.135
- ↑ "(M)entions the capture of large quantity of fire arms from the Chutiyas. Hiteswar Barbarua, Ahomar Din, Publication Board Assam, Guwahati, 1981, p. 450, mentions the capture of the best Chutiya cannon (Mitha Hulung Tup) after defeating them in 1523." (Buragohain 1988:62)
- ↑ Sharma, Benudhar, Maniram Dewan, p. 289.
- ↑ Borboruah, Hiteswar (23 June 1997). "Ahomar Din Ed. 2nd" – via Internet Archive.
- ↑ Sharma, Benudhar, Maniram Dewan, p. 287: "After defeating the Chutia king and his minister Kasitora, Suhungmung or Dihingia Swarganarayan, apart from Dola, Kali,..., Cannons and Gunpowder, brought a great number of Blacksmiths as prisoners. These were settled at Bosha and the Ujoni regions; and smithies were set up where they were asked to build knives, daggers, swords, guns, and cannons. Saikias and Hazarikas were recruited among them to look after their work. It was only during this period that the work and trade of the blacksmith guild started in the kingdom. During the time of Dihingia raja, there were three thousand Blacksmiths."
- ↑ "The Chutiyas were engaged in all kinds of technical jobs of the Ahom kingdom. For example, the Khanikar Khel (guild of engineers) was always manned by the Chutiyas. The Jaapi-Hajiya Khel (guild for making Jaapis) was also monopolised by them. The Chutiyas, being expert warriors, knew the use of matchlocks. After their subjugation, the Chutiyas were, therefore, engaged in manufacturing matchlocks, and they became prominent in the Hiloidhari-Khel" (Dutta 1985:30)
- ↑ Naobaicha Phukanar Buranji, p. 55.
- ↑ Census of India 1891, p. 17
- ↑ (Kakoty 2003:173–178)
- ↑ (Baruah 1986:397)
- ↑ (Kakoty 2003:175)
References
[edit source]
- Baruah, S L (1986), A Comprehensive History of Assam, Munshiram Manoharlal
- Buragohain, Romesh (1988). Ahom State Formation in Assam: An Inquiry into the Factors of Polity Formation in Medieval North East India (PhD). North-Eastern Hill University. hdl:10603/61119.
- Dutta, Sristidhar (1985), The Mataks and their Kingdom, Allahabad: Chugh Publications
- Kakoty, Sanjeeb (2003), Technological changes and mode of production in the evolution of the Ahom state, Regency Publications, pp. 172–178
- Sun, Laichen (2000), Ming-Southeast Asian Overland Interactions, 1368-1644, University of Michigan