Sutuphaa
| Ahom dynasty |
|---|
 |
| Sutuphaa | |
|---|---|
| Chaopha of Ahom Kingdom | |
| Ahom king | |
| Reign | 1369–1376 |
| Predecessor | Sukhrangpha |
| Successor | Tyao Khamti |
| Born | Ahom kingdom |
| Died | c. 1376 Ahom kingdom |
| Dynasty | Ahom dynasty |
| Father | Sukhaangphaa |
| Religion | Ahom religion |
Sutuphaa was the king of the Ahom kingdom in late medieval India from 1369 to 1376. He ruled after an interregnum and historians differ regarding his year of accession, with some saying his rule began in 1364. His reign was marked by conflicts with the Chutia kingdom, which later resulted in his murder by the Chutias.
Ancestry and accession
[edit]Sutuphaa was the second son of Ahom king Sukhaangphaa. After the death of his father, his elder brother Sukhrangpha ascended the throne. After a reign of thirty-two years, Sukhrangpha died in 1364 CE. Historians differ from this point. While accounts of early historians stated that after the death of Sukhrangpha, his brother Sutuphaa directly ascended the throne in 1364 CE.[1][2][3] But modern historians, Padmeswar Gogoi and S. L. Baruah stated that there was a period of interregnum after the death of Sukhrangpha, from 1364 CE and 1369 CE, thereby placing the year of Sutuphaa’s accession in 1369 CE.
Reign and assassination
[edit]The Satsari Buranji states that the Ahoms maintained cordial relations with the Chutia kingdom from the time of Sukapha’s sons until Sutuphaa’s death.[4]
Sutuphaa wanted to expand the territory of the Ahom kingdom. This led to frequent conflicts with the neighbouring Chutia kingdom. In 1376 CE, the Chutia King visited Sutuphaa at Chapaguri and, pretending to be reconciled, invited him to a regatta on the Safrai river and had him killed. The Buranjis, however, provide conflicting accounts of the manner of his death: some state that he was killed by a rampaging bull[5][6][7], while others claim that he was killed on the boat.[8][9][10] The Deodhai Assam Buranji mentions that the Chutias carried him away in a boat and later killed him.[11] The Ahom soldiers accompanying Sutuphaa subsequently returned to the capital and reported his death.[12][13][14] The Ahom Buranji, written in the Ahom language, states that the Chutias (referred to as Tiura) carried Sutuphaa away and killed him, but does not mention the involvement of a Chutia king (Khun).[15]
Saikia (1997) argues that, facing political opposition from the Kacharis, the Ahoms in the early days sought friendship with the Chutias, whose established royal court and commercial links with neighbouring regions made them an attractive ally. However, Sutuphaa’s death led to the failure of this early effort and contributed to a change in the Ahom attitude towards the Chutias.[16]
Some historians question the authenticity of this episode. Sarbeswar Barua argues that Sutuphaa’s death was not premeditated and that the Chutia king was wrongfully blamed for the incident during the boat race, which had taken place at his invitation.[17] Swarnalata Barua (2007) notes that the assassination of a king in a foreign land would likely have triggered an immediate military response, yet no such conflict is recorded. Furthermore, there is no mention of the Ahom forces accompanying Sutuphaa taking steps either to protect him or to launch a counterattack. [18]
Interregnum
[edit]After Sutuphaa's death, there was no prince whom the Ahom nobles thought worthy of the throne, and so, for four years (1376–1380 CE), Chao Phrongdam Burhagohain and Taphrikhin Borgohain carried on the administration themselves.[19] In 1380 CE, finding it difficult to govern the country without a king, the nobles raised Sutuphaa's younger brother Tyao Khamti, the third son of Sukhaangphaa, to the throne.[20][21]
Notes
[edit]- ↑ (Barbaruah 1981, p. 32)
- ↑ (Gait 1926, p. 81)
- ↑ (Barua 2008, p. 55)
- ↑ Bhuyan, S.K., Satsari Assam Buranji,p.9, "Previously, since the time of one of Sukapha’s sons, there was alliance and cordial relations with the Chutia king"
- ↑ Borboruah, Hiteswar, "Ahomar Din", p. 32
- ↑ Bhuyan, S K, Satsari Buranji,p.9
- ↑ Bhuyan, SK, "Bahgaria Borgohain Buranji: Deodhai Assam Buranji",p.90
- ↑ Goswami, Hemchandra, "Purani Assam Buranji, p.37
- ↑ Assam Buranji (SM), p.7
- ↑ Barua, Golap Chandra, "Ahom Buranji", p.49
- ↑ Bhuyan, S K, "Deodhai Assam Buranji", p.11
- ↑ (Barbaruah 1981, p. 32)
- ↑ (Gait 1926, p. 81)
- ↑ (Barua 2008, p. 56)
- ↑ Barua, Gopal Chandra, Ahom Buranji, p. 48.
- ↑ "When the Tai Ahoms confronted the Chutias, they were a semi-Hinduised people with a glamorous royal court, to which was added commercial power from trade with neighbouring regions. This made the Chutia domain very attractive to the new settlers. Faced with significant political opposition from the Kacharis, the Tai-Ahoms sought the friendship of the Chutias. An early attempt, in the mid-fourteenth century, did not produce positive results, and there was a lull for nearly a century."(Saikia 1997:189)
- ↑ Barua, Sarbeswar,"Manideep"(1965), p.300
- ↑ (Barua 2007, p. 118)
- ↑ (Barbaruah 1981, p. 32)
- ↑ (Gait 1926, p. 81)
- ↑ (Barua 2008, p. 56)
References
[edit]- Barbaruah, Hiteswar (1981). Ahomar-Din or A History of Assam under the Ahoms. Guwahati: Publication Board of Assam.
- Barua, Gunaviram (2008). Assam Buranji or A History of Assam. Guwahati: Publication Board of Assam.
- Barua, Swarnalata (2007). Chutia Jatir Buranji. Guwahati.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Gait, E.A. (1926). A History of Assam. Calcutta: Thacker, Spink & Co.
- Saikia, Yasmin (1997). In the Meadows of Gold: Telling Tales of the Swargadeos at the Crossroads of Assam. Guwahati: Spectrum Publications.