Ahom kingdom

Kingdom of Assam Ahom kingdom
Traditionally 1228–1826
Ngi-ngao-kham(Royal insignia)
The Ahom kingdom, 1826.
Status	Kingdom
Capital	Charaideo (traditionally 1253–1397) Charagua (1397–?) Bakata Garhgaon (1540–1707) Rangpur (1707–1794) Jorhat (1794–1826)
Common languages	Assamese (lingua franca, court language) Ahom (court language, dynastic language) And other native languages
Religion	Ahom religion (early phase–1648s) Hinduism (1648s–1826) Ekasarana Dharma Shaktism Shaivism Tribal religions
Demonym	Ahom • Assamese
Government	Bureaucratic feudalism and Aristocratic monarchy
Chao Pha, Swargadeo
• Traditionally dated to 1228–1268	Sukaphaa
• 1497–1539	Suhungmung
• 1603–1641	Susenghphaa
• 1696–1714	Sukhrungphaa
• 1833–1838	Purandar Singha
Historical era	Middle Age and Colonial Age
• Foundation traditionally dated to the arrival of Sukaphaa	Traditionally 1228
• Re-organization under King Suhungmung	1497-1539
• Koch-Ahom conflicts	1543–68
• Ahom–Mughal Wars	1615–1682
• Moamaria rebellion	1769
• Burmese invasion of Assam	1817
• Britain seizes control	1826
Area
1826	41,957.807 km2 (16,200.000 sq mi)
Population
• 1711	2,880,000
• 1833	2,500,000
Currency	Ahom coinage
Preceded by Succeeded by Kamarupa Kingdom Konbaung dynasty Colonial Assam
Today part of	India Myanmar

The Ahom kingdom (/ˈɑːhɔːm/), or Kingdom of Assam, was a late medieval kingdom in the Brahmaputra Valley. It is conventionally dated from 1228 to 1826, although the chronology of its foundation is disputed. The kingdom came to incorporate large parts of modern Assam.

Traditionally associated with the arrival of Sukaphaa, a Tai prince from Möng Mao (present-day Dehong, China), it began as a small Tai polity in the upper Brahmaputra valley based on wet-rice agriculture. Guha (1983) characterises the Ahom polity of the late fourteenth century as a “state-like organisation”, rather than a full-fledged state, and identifies the reign of Suhungmung (1497–1539) as the watershed in which it “leaped into statehood”. Major territorial and institutional expansion followed in the early 16th century, particularly through the annexation of the Chutia kingdom, the acquisition of parts of present-day Nagaon then ruled by the Baro-Bhuyans and the Golaghat-Jorhat regions (Dikhou-Dhansiri) under the Dimasa king. The expanded kingdom became multi-ethnic in character, accelerating a process of social change, ethnogenesis, and inter-ethnic interactions under the ruling Ahom dynasty. During the 17th century, the kingdom defeated multiple attempts by the Mughal Empire to expand into Northeast India. The central authority collapsed following the Moamoria rebellion in the late 18th century. Internal conflicts between dynastic claimants led to Burmese intervention, and the kingdom faced multiple Burmese invasions after 1817. British intervention led to the First Anglo-Burmese War, and control of the kingdom passed to the East India Company through the Treaty of Yandabo in 1826.

The kingdom was largely multi-ethnic, with the ethnic Tai Ahom people constituting less than 10% of the population according to the 1872 and 1881 censuses of British India. People from different ethnic groups became a part of the Ahom population due to a process known as Ahomisation. The identity of the Ahom people in the kingdom was fluid, with the king controlling who belonged to it and who did not. The Ahoms initially called their kingdom Mong Dun Shun Kham till 1401 (Assamese: xunor-xophura; English: casket of gold), but adopted Assam in the 15th century. The kingdom maintained close political ties with other Tai states especially with Möng Kawng (Nara) till the end of its rule in the 19th century.

History

See also: Ahom dynasty

According to the conventional Buranji-based chronology, the Ahom kingdom was established in 1228 when Sukaphaa, a Tai prince, entered the Brahmaputra valley after crossing the Patkai mountain range from Möng Mao. In this conventional reconstruction, Sukaphaa began his journey with a small number of followers, but he was supported and joined by other Tai chiefs and common followers along the way and entered Assam with approximately 9,000 persons. His destination was Upper Assam, at the easternmost end of the Brahmaputra valley.

The Ahoms were primarily responsible for converting the undulating, forested and marshy alluvial plains of southeastern Upper Assam into level, embanked fields capable of retaining water for wet-rice cultivation. The Tai migrants brought traditions of wet-rice cultivation, water management and mung-based political organisation, and over time contributed to the extension of reclamation and embankment-based cultivation in areas they controlled. This process, however, did not amount to the wholesale conversion of the region. Saikia(2004) describes the early settlers as occupying selected fertile riverbanks for wet-rice cultivation through competition, war and negotiation with groups such as the Kacharis, who also claimed strategic riverbanks and controlled water supplies. Scholars have further argued from pre-Ahom inscriptional and Buranji evidence that settled agriculture, wet-rice cultivation and embankment-based water management had important antecedents in Assam before the Ahom entry, and that groups like Kacharis already practised wet-rice cultivation when the Ahoms settled in Assam.

The Ahom polity retained Tai forms of kingship and political organisation, including a Lengdon-centred dynastic ideology. Its institutions in Assam, however, developed through interaction with pre-existing political traditions and with the diverse communities of the Brahmaputra valley and adjoining hills. Moreover, the category “Ahom” itself was politically flexible which led to cultural change as well. Brahmanical influence became increasingly important at court from the late fourteenth century, and especially after the early-sixteenth-century expansion, but the Ahom kings were not formally initiated into Hinduism before 1648. The later Tungkhungia kings veered towards Saktism and the persecution of the shudra Mahantas and their laity that began during the reign of Siva Singha led to the Moamoria rebellion and ultimately to the eclipse of the kingdom.

Disputed Chronology of Migration

Main article: Sukaphaa § Disputed chronology of Migration

The foundation of the Ahom kingdom is conventionally dated to Sukaphaa's arrival at Khamjang in 1228. The chronological basis of this date is, however, contested. Daniels notes that, although the Ahoms are reputed to have migrated to Assam during the thirteenth century, "no contemporary source elucidates their early history."

Saikia notes that the first and second chronicles of the Satsari Assam Buranji give incompatible sequences: the first places the migration in 1215 and the initial settlement in 1228, whereas the second dates the beginning of the journey to 1248 and the establishment of the first village to 1262. Other Buranji accounts cited by Saikia place Sukaphaa's accession in Śaka 1284 (1362 CE). The textual basis of the early migration narrative is also uncertain. Although Buranji tradition attributes the beginning of official chronicle writing to Sukaphaa, the oldest surviving Ahom text, the Snake Pillar inscription, dates only to the reign of Suhungmung (1497–1539). Modern-day linguistics studies show that the Ahom script developed between the late 14th and 16th centuries.

Saikia attributes part of the difficulty to the Tai-Ahom sixty-year tao singa calendar: where the relevant cycle is not specified, named lakni years cannot be converted securely into Common Era dates. She further notes that some lakni dates inserted in the first Satsari chronicle were wrongly inserted or apparently made up without reference to the Tai-Ahom calendar, and cannot be relied upon to reconstruct chronology. Later attempts to fix the chronology have also produced differing results. N. N. Acharyya used an eclipse reference and reconstructed an early-thirteenth-century chronology, but R. C. Kapoor has challenged his eclipse identification.

Drawing on Dehong Tai chronicles and Chinese sources, Christian Daniels (2023) has argued that the Möng Mao polity associated with Sukaphaa's departure emerged only in the fourteenth century, and identifies 1336/37 and 1348/49 as the most likely alternative dates for the foundation of the Ahom polity in Assam. Related Buranji traditions place Sukaphaa's westward movement in the aftermath of an earlier Nara–Möng Mao invasion of the region, although these accounts do not provide a securely convertible date.

Mong Dun Shun Kham (traditionally dated 1228–1401)

The Ahom polity before its expansion under Suhungmung in the early 16th century.

In the conventional chronology, Sukaphaa, traditionally dated to 1228–1268, spent several decades moving between settlements before establishing his principal centre at Charaideo, conventionally dated to 1253. He established the offices of the Dangarias— the Burhagohain (Chao-Phrungmung) and the Borgohain (Chao-Thaonmung). In the 1280s, these two offices were given independent regions of control; partly hereditary and partly elected, the king and the two counsellors held each other in check and balance.

At this early stage, the Ahom polity was a small, clan-centred settlement formation, described as a “loose confederacy of several mungs around a dominant one of the Tai model”, rather than a mature territorial state. Traditional accounts state that Sukaphaa ordered events of his reign to be recorded, a practice said to have been continued by his successors and to have led to the development of Buranji writing, a historiographical tradition rare in India. Modern scholarship, however, suggests that the written chronicle tradition itself developed only from the late 14th–16th centuries onward, after the emergence of the Tai Ahom script. In the late medieval era, the Ahom kingdom was known to be a kaghazi raj (a kingdom with records) just as the Mughal Empire was.

The early Ahom settlement developed within a wider landscape of pre-existing political formations; Saikia(2004) identifies the Chutia kingdom and the Kachari kingdom among the principal neighbouring powers of the Brahmaputra valley. At the time of their advent, the Ahoms entered a region containing both settled communities and established political formations, alongside groups practising shifting cultivation. They brought traditions of wet-rice cultivation to the shifting-cultivation regions and incorporate these stateless shifting cultivators into a common polity. The shifting people were called kha and many such kha people were ceremonially adopted into different Ahom clans, a process called Ahomisation. Sukaphaa befriended those among the Morans and Barahi who were amenable to join him and put to the sword those who opposed him, and in due course, they incorporated many other groups into Ahom clans as well.

At this stage, the kingdom was still not fully sovereign and maintained tributary or allegiance ties with Möng Mao. The polity also had limited military and political capacity. Sukaphaa sent his word of allegiance and tributes to Möng Mao, a practice that was continued by some of his successors till about the early 14th century, when the power of Möng Mao faded to be replaced by the power of Möng Kawng; by the early 15th century, the Ahoms had ceased paying tributes. The Ahoms began to call their domain Mong Dun Sun Kham ("a country of golden gardens"). Though Sukaphaa had avoided the Namdang region mindful of the numerically small Ahom contingent, his son Suteuphaa made the Kacharis withdraw on their own via a stratagem, and the Ahoms expanded into it. No major and sustained territorial expansion followed for roughly two centuries. The political order remained vulnerable to internal disputes: towards the end of the fourteenth century, it experienced regicide, an interregnum and rebellions by subordinate Ahom chiefs. The Ahom kingdom, for most of its history, had been closed and population movement closely monitored—nevertheless, there were two significant contacts. One was a friendly encounter with the Chutia kingdom that turned into a conflict, and the other was a marriage alliance with the Kamata kingdom.

Charaideo Maidams – UNESCO World Heritage Site, Assam

Assam (1401–1510)

Sudangphaa Bamuni Konwar (r. 1397–1407), born and raised in a Brahmin household in Habung, was identified as a descendant of a past king and installed on the throne by the Burhagohain and Borgohain to end the period of crisis. He established a Brahmin group near the capital, and the Brahmin influence, though negligible, was felt for the first time. A number of rebellions erupted purportedly against this influence but Sudangphaa was able to suppress them and solidify his rule. One of the rebels invited a military expedition from Mong Kwang (called Nara in the Buranjis, the successor state of Mong Mao to which the early Ahom kings used to send tribute) resulting in a clash in 1401—but Sudangphaa defeated the expedition and concluded the conflict with a treaty that fixed the boundary between the two polities at Patkai. This event was significant since it moved the Ahom polity from implicit subordination to explicit sovereignty, and this was accompanied by the transition of the name of the polity from Mong-Dun-Sun-Kham to "Assam", a derivative from Shan/Shyam. Sudangphaa established a new capital at Charagua, broke the clan allegiances that held the Ahom polity together earlier, replacing it with political authority of the king; introduced the tradition of the singarigharutha ceremony (the state coronation of the Ahom kings that symbolised royal Ahom sovereignty, authority and legitimacy) and brought the Ahom kingdom very close to a full-fledged state.

The next hundred years saw the kingdom mostly suppressing rebellious Naga groups, but a conflict with the Dimasa kingdom in 1490 saw the Ahoms, not strong enough to take them on frontally, suing for peace. The Ahom royalty continuously improved their relationship with the Brahmans which enabled them to gain goodwill with the Indo-Aryanized tribal groups and consolidate power.

Full state and expansion (1510–1609)

Main articles: Turbak's invasion of Assam, Chutia kingdom, Baro-Bhuyan, and Kachari kingdom

The Ahom kingdom transitioned into a full state rather dramatically in a short period during the reign of Suhungmung Dihingia Raja (r. 1497–1539). It began first with a consolidation of the militia in 1510, followed by an expansion into the region of Panbari at Habung (a Chutia dependency) in 1512 probably with the help of the descendants of the Habungia Brahmans settled during Sudangpha's time. A clash with the rest of the Hinduized Chutia kingdom began in 1513 and culminated in its annexation in 1523, after which the Ahom kingdom absorbed its nobility, commanders, professional classes, warriors, and technologies. The defeat and annexation of the Chutia kingdom marked a turning point in the political evolution of the Ahoms in Assam. Saikia(1997) argues that the conquest transformed the Ahom polity from “a colony of struggling agriculturalists with pretensions to divine rulership” into a kingdom possessing a more developed royal ceremonial order. She further argues that the Ahoms appropriated from the Chutias a ready-made royal culture and personnel needed for a developing administrative system. Scholars also identify the Chutia conquest as an important stage in the Brahmanisation of the Ahom court. The acquisition of the Chutia territories brought the Ahoms into direct contact with hill peoples such as the Miris, Abors, Mishmis and Daflas.

In 1527, the Baro-Bhuyans ruling in central Assam region of Rowta-Temoni were relocated to the north-bank of Upper-Assam and absorbed into the lower echelons of the growing state as scribes and warriors. It was this formation of the Ahom kingdom that met the aggression from Bengal under Turbak in 1532 and it was able to eliminate the aggressive leadership (with significant loss to itself) and pursue the retreating invaders to the Karatoya river. In 1536, after the series of contacts with the Kachari kingdom, the Ahom rule extended up to the Kolong River in Nagaon. In the Doyang–Dhansiri valley, however, Ahom expansion was more limited. Although Ahom armies advanced up the Dhansiri and twice occupied the Kachari capital at Dimapur, these campaigns did not result in the permanent annexation of Dimapur or the upper Dhansiri valley. Effective Ahom administration on this frontier remained concentrated in Marangi, and the lower Dhansiri valley under the Marangikhowa Gohain.

These expansions created significant changes in the kingdom—the Assamese-speaking Hinduized subjects outnumbered the Ahoms themselves; and the absorption of the Chutia kingdom meant a wide range of artisan skills became available to it increasing the scope for division of labour. To provide legitimacy to the rule of the Ahom kings among the new subjects, Suhungmung assumed the title Swarganarayana (Swargadeo), reinforcing distinctions between the high nobility and commoners, and contributing to the emergence of “class consciousness”. Scholars argue that encounters and conflicts with other communities, particularly the Chutias, also reshaped Tai-Ahom identity during this period. The nature of the kings institutional relationship to the ministers changed with the creation of a new position, the Borpatrogohain, named after a Chutia office; and the creation of the offices of Sadiyakhowa Gohain (frontier region acquired from the Chutia kingdom) and the Marangikhowa Gohain (territories acquired from the Kachari kingdom), both of which were reserved for the Borgohain and Burhagohain lineages. The traditional nobles (Chao) now aligned with the Brahmin literati, and an expanded ruling class developed. When the Ahoms under Ton Kham Borgohain pursued the invaders and reached the Karatoya river they began to wishfully see themselves as the heir of the erstwhile Kamarupa kingdom.

Maturing state (1609–1682)

Main articles: Koch-Ahom relations, Ahom-Mughal conflicts, and Battle of Saraighat

Ahom expansion in the Brahmaputra Valley and the change of polities.

The Ahom kingdom became more broad-based and took many features of its mature form under Pratap Singha (r. 1603–1641), primarily to meet the sustained attacks from the Mughals. The Paik system was reorganized in 1609 under the professional khel system, replacing the kinship-based phoid system; and paiks could be permanently alienated to non-royal institutions via royal grants. Under the same king, the offices of the Borphukan (viceroy of territories acquired from the Koches and the Mughals), and the Borbarua (the "secretary" of the royal government) were established to increase the number of Patra Mantris to five, along with other smaller offices. The practices of using Brahmins solely for diplomatic missions, the Ahom kings adopting a Hindu name in addition to their Ahom names, and patronising Hindu establishments began with Pratap Singha, though formal initiation of the Ahom kings into Hinduism did not occur till 1648. The Assamese language entered the Ahoms court for the first time and briefly coexisted and eventually replaced the Ahom language. No more major restructuring of the state structure was attempted until the end of the kingdom.

Koch relations

After the division of the Koch kingdom between two branches of the Koch dynasty in 1581, the Ahoms allied with their immediate western neighbor, the Koch Hajo branch, from 1603 to prop them as a buffer against the Mughals who had extended their rule to Bengal by 1576. The collapse of the Koch Hajo power in 1614 resulted in the Mughals coming to power up to the Barnadi River. The Mughals attempted further ingress to the east in 1616 with the Battle of Samdhara which marked the beginning of the Ahom–Mughal conflicts which lasted the till 1682 in the Battle of Itakhuli, when the Ahoms were able to push the Mughals back to the west of the Manas River permanently.

Mughal relations

In the political disorder following the illness of Shah Jahan in 1657 and the withdrawal of Shuja's forces from Bengal, Mughal Kamrup was exposed to simultaneous pressure from the Koches in the west and the Ahoms in the east. In early 1659, Ahom forces under Tangchu Sandhikui occupied Guwahati, Pandu and Saraighat after the Mughal faujdar withdrew from Kamrup. Pran Narayan, the Koch ruler of Cooch Behar, proposed a partition of Mughal Kamrup and an alliance with the Ahoms, but Jayadhwaj Singha rejected the proposal. The Koch forces were defeated and withdrew west of the Sankosh; the Ahoms subsequently occupied Kamrup and Dhubri, while Jay Narayan was installed under Ahom protection at Ghila Vijaypur.

In 1662, Aurangzeb to bring the lost tracts and to punish the rebel elements in that quarter, launched an invasion under his chief lieutenant Mir Jumla II. In this invasion, the Ahoms could not resist well, and the Mughals occupied the capital, Garhgaon. Unable to keep it, and in at the end of the Battle of Saraighat, the Ahoms not only fended off a major Mughal invasion but extended their boundaries west, up to the Manas River. The western border was fixed at the Manas River after the Battle of Itakhuli, and remained unchanged until the annexation by the British. Following the Battle of Saraighat, the kingdom fell straight into ten years of political disorder. During this period, the nobles exercised immense power, and seven kings were put on the throne and deposed. In the meantime, Kamrup went back into the hands of the Mughals for a few years.

Tungkhungia regime (1682–1826)

Main articles: Battle of Itakhuli and Moamoria rebellion

Gadadhar Singha (r. 1682–1696) established the 'Tungkhungia rule' in Assam, which continued to remain in power till the end of the kingdom. In 1682, the Mughals were defeated in the Battle of Itakhul, and Manas river was fixed as the western boundary. Gadadhar Singha came in conflict with the Vaisnava Satras who began commencing immense power and influence over the state and people, and started a wide–spread persecution of the Vaisnavites.

King Siva Singha and Bar–Raja Ambika riding litter

The rule of Tungkhungia Ahom kings was marked by achievements in the Arts and engineering constructions, the Tungkhungia regime witnessed a relative time of peace and stability till the Moamoria rebellion, also festering internal conflicts that tore the kingdom asunder. According to Guha (1986) Ahom Assam continued to flourish till 1770. The Tungkhungia regime witnessed a relative time of peace till first half of the 18th century, where the population increased, trade expanded, Coinage and monetization made headway. New arts and crafts, new crops and even new style of dress were introduced.

Rudra Singha alias Sukhrungphaa (r. 1696–1714), under whom the Kingdom attained its zenith. He subdued the kingdoms of Dimasa and Jaintia. He had made extensive preparations to extend the boundary west–towards, attempted to make a confederacy of Hindu kings of eastern India against Mughals. But he died right before he could execute his plans in 1714. Rudra Singha had re–instated the Vaisnava Satras, he himself had taken initiation of the Auniati Gosain (the most influential Brahmana Sattradhikar) but later in his life he got inclined towards Shaktism, considering it to be more suitable for a monarch, he invited a famous Sakta Brahmana from Bengal–Krishnaram Bhattacharya alias Pravatiya Gosain. From his death bed he expressed his will that, all his five sons to be kings in an executive manner and advised them to take initiation of Parvatiya Gosain

Ahom King Siva Singha riding elephant with attendants

Siva Singha alias Sutanphaa (r. 1714–1744), he dropped his father's plan to invade Benagal. He took the initiation of Parvatiya Gosain and established him 'Nilachal mountain' with extensive land grants and paiks. Siva Singha was very much under the influence of Brahmanas and astrologers, 1722 it was predicted by the astrologers that his reign would soon come to a end owing to the evil influence of Chatra–bhanga–yoga. Therefore, he transferred the royal umbrella and throne to his wife Phuleshwari who was given the title of 'Bar–Raja' on the advice of Pravatiya Gosain. Phuleswari melded too much with the religious affairs, she had caused the insult of the Shudra–Mahantas. After the death of Phuleswari, two other wives of Siva Singha were set on the position of 'Bar–Raja', namely Ambika and Sarbeswari. Siva Singha reign was peaceful, except an expedition sent against the Daflas, he had caused the erection of many temples and made numerous grants to the religious sites and brahmanas. He died in 1744, and his younger brother Pramatta Singha was set up on the throne setting aside the claims of Siva Singha's son.

Pramatta Singha alias Sunenphaa (r. 1744–1751), nothing of importance is recorded during his reign. He had erected the Rang Ghar with masonry and built the Sukreswar and Rudreswar temples in North–Guwahati. During his reign, Kirti Chandra Borbarua gained much of his political influence. In 1744, he received an ambassador from the king of Twipra. He died in 1751.

Rajeswar Singha alias Supremphaa (r. 1751–1759), he was put on the throne by Kirti Chandra Borbarua by setting aside the claims of seniority of his elder brother Barjana Gohain. Rajeswar Singha had erected the most number of temples among the Ahom Kings, he was an orthodox Hindu and took initiation of Nati–Gosian (a relative of Pravatiya Gosain). In 1765, he sent an expedition to Manipur whose king Jay Singha made an appeal to the Ahom king to recover his country from the Burmese occupation. The first expeditionary force had to be routed off, which was sent through 'Naga Hills', in 1767 another force was despatched through the old Raha route. The second expedition was successful and achieved its objective in recovering Manipur. Kirti Chandra Borbarua who was the most influential noble in the Ahom court, had caused the burning of Buranjis. Rajeswar Singha's reign marked the end of Ahom supremacy and glory, the signs were decay was already visible during his reign. He was succeeded by his younger brother Lakshmi Singha alias Sunyeophaa (r. 1769–1780).

Downfall

Main articles: Moamoria rebellion and Paik system

The Ahom kingdom by the mid-18th century was indeed an over-burdened hierarchical structure, supported by a weak institutional base and meagre economic surplus. The Paik system which in the 17th century had helped the kingdom to repulse the repeated Mughal invasions, had become extremely outdated. The later phase of the rule was also marked by increasing social conflicts, leading to the Moamoria rebellion were able to capture and maintain power at the capital Rangpur for some years but were finally removed with the help of the British under Captain Welsh. The following repression led to a large depopulation due to emigration as well as execution, but the conflicts were never resolved. A much-weakened kingdom fell to repeated Burmese attacks and finally after the Treaty of Yandabo in 1826, the control of the kingdom passed into British hands.

Ahom economic system

Main article: Paik system

Silver rupee of Rudra Singha

The Ahom kingdom was based on the Paik system, a type of corvee labor that is neither feudal nor Asiatic. The first coins were introduced by Jayadhwaj Singha in the 17th century, though the system of personal service under the Paik system persisted. In the 17th century when the Ahom kingdom expanded to include erstwhile Koch and Mughal areas, it came into contact with their revenue systems and adapted accordingly.

Trade

Trade was carried on usually through barter and use of circulation of money was limited. According to Shihabududdin Tailash, currency in the Ahom kingdom consisted of cowries, rupees and gold coins. With the increase of external trade since the reign of Rudra Singha, there was a corresponding increase in the circulation of money. Inscriptions dating from the reign of Siva Singha, gives the price of number of commodities like rice, ghee, oil, pulses, goat, pigeon in connection with worship in different temples of the kingdom. This concludes that the barter economy was in the process of being replaced by the money economy, which was the outcome of Assam's developing economic ties both with feudal India and the neighbouring countries of the north east.

Trade with Tibet

Due to trade with Tibet, a coin of Jayadhwaj Singha carries a single Chinese character on each side reading Zang Bao. This had been translated as 'treasury of your honour'. Nicholas Rodhes read the inscription as 'Currency of Tibet', Also these two characters were used by the Chinese in Lhasa between 1792 and 1836 with the meaning 'Tibetan currency. Furthermore, there was a significant contact between China and Tibet in the mid-seventeen century, so it is not unlikely that the Assamese would have thought have thought that a Chinese character was an appropriate for Assamese-Tibetan trade coin. This piece evidently was an attempt by Jayadhwaj Singha to facilitate trade with Chinese knowing person coming from the direction of Tibet. Rudra Singha is also said to have established an extensive trade with Tibet and to have encouraged intercourse with other nations although he strictly limited the extent to which foreigners were allowed into the country. Presumably, some of the coins of his reign were struck with the silver earned from these trading activities.

Another point by which we can understand the trade relation of Ahoms with other nations is through the use of Silver coins. There are no silver mines in the northeast or in the rest of India, so the metal entered as a result of trade.

Extent

In extent the kingdom's length was about 500 miles (800 km) and with an average breadth of 60 miles (96 km). The kingdom can be divided into three major regions: the north bank (Uttarkul), the south bank (Dakhinkul), and the island of Majuli. The north bank (Uttarkul) was more populated and fertile but the Ahom kings set up their capital on the south bank (Dakinkul) because it had more inaccessible strongholds and defensible central places.

Demographics

Population

From 1500 to 1770 A.D., one comes across definite signs of demographic growth in the region. There was terrible depopulation In course of the Moamoria rebellion (1769–1805) when more than half of the population fell off. Again, during the Burmese regime, the Burmese depredations (1817–1825) further reduced the population by 1/3. It shows that only 7/8 lakh people remained, at the time of British annexation. King Pratap Singha is who, systematised the population distribution and settlement of villages. The census of adult male population of the state was taken very strictly so that every working man would be registered for the state service. The census were properly recorded in registers called paikar piyalar kakat.

The following table estimates the population composition of classes, during the reign of king Rajeswar Singha (1751–1769). According to the population estimates computed by Gunabhiram Barua.

Aristocracy	Slaves/Bondsmen	Chamua	Karni Paik	Total Population
1%	9%	25%	65%	100%
24,000	2,16,000	6,00,000	15,60,000	24,00,000

Year wise estimated population of medieval Assam

Year	Estimated population by Guha (1978)	Estimated population by Bhuyan (1949)	Estimated population by NPB	Estimated population by Dutt (1958)
1615	16,80,000		1,12,48,286
1620	24,40,000
1669	16,00,000
1711	28,80,000
1750	30,00,000+
1765		24,00,000
1833				2,50,000

Urbanization

There were towns, but only a small percentage of the population lived in such towns. Some important towns of Ahom time were Rangpur, Garhgoan, Guwahati and Hajo. The capital city of Rangpur, was found to be 20 miles (32.18 km) in extent and thickly populated by Capt. Welsh in 1794. The population, however, never exceeded 10 thousand souls.

Ahom administration

Ahom king Rudra Singha receiving the kings of the Dimasa and the Jaintia kingdoms in his court.

Main articles: Swargadeo, Burhagohain, Borgohain, Borpatrogohain, Borbarua, and Borphukan

Swargadeo and Patra Mantris

The Ahom kingdom was ruled by a king, called Swargadeo (Ahom language: Chao-Pha), who had to be a descendant of the first king Sukaphaa. Succession was generally by primogeniture but occasionally the great Gohains (Dangarias) could elect another descendant of Sukaphaa from a different line or even depose an enthroned one.

Dangarias: Sukaphaa had two great Gohains to aid him in administration: Burhagohain and the Borgohain. In the 1280s, they were given independent territories, they were veritable sovereigns in their given territories called bilat or rajya. The Burhagohain's territory was between Sadiya and Gerelua River in the north bank of the Brahmaputra River and the Borgohain's territory was to the west up to the Burai River. They were given total command over the paiks that they controlled. These positions were generally filled from specific families. Princes who were eligible for the position of Swargadeo were not considered for these positions and vice versa. In the 1527, Suhungmung added a third Gohain, Borpatrogohain. The Borpatrogohain's territory was located between the territories of the other two Gohains.

Royal officers: Pratap Singha added two offices, Borbarua and Borphukan, that were directly under the king. The Borbarua, who acted as the military as well as the judicial head, was in command of the region east of Kaliabor not under the command of the Dangarias. He could use only a section of the paiks at his command for his personal use (as opposed to the Dangariyas), the rest rendering service to the Ahom state. The Borphukan was in military and civil command over the region west of Kaliabor, and acted as the Swargadeo's viceroy in the west. Borbaruas were mostly from different Moran, Kachari, Chiring and Khamti communities, while the Borphukan of lower Assam was appointed from the Chutia community. The Borbarua and Borphukan offices were not hereditary and thus could be chosen from any families.

Patra Mantris: The five positions constituted the Patra Mantris (Council of Ministers). From the time of Supimphaa (1492–1497), one of the Patra Mantris was made the Rajmantri (Prime Minister, also Borpatro; Ahom language: Shenglung) who enjoyed additional powers and the service of a thousand additional paiks from the Jakaichuk village.

Other officials

The Borbarua and the Borphukan had military and judicial responsibilities, and they were aided by two separate councils (sora) of Phukans. The Borphukan's sora sat at Guwahati and the Borbarua's sora at the capital. Six of them formed the council of the Borbarua with each having his separate duties. The Naubaicha Phukan, who had an allotment of thousand men managed the royal boats, the Bhitarual Phukan, the Na Phukan, the Dihingia Phukan, the Deka Phukan, and the Neog Phukan formed the council of Phukan. The Borphukan also had a similar council of six subordinate Phukans whom he was bound to consult in all matters of importance. This council included Pani Phukan, who commanded six thousand paiks, Deka Phukan who commanded four thousand paiks, the Dihingia Phukan, Nek Phukan and two Chutiya Phukans.

The superintending officers were called Baruas. The Baruas of whom there were twenty or more included Bhandari Barua or treasurer; the Duliya Barua, who was in charge of the royal palanquins; the Chaudang Barua who superintended executions; Khanikar Barua was the chief artificer; Sonadar Barua was the mint master and chief jeweler; the Bez Barua was the physician to the royal family, Hati Barua, Ghora Barua, etc.

Other officials included twelve Rajkhowas, and a number of Katakis, Kakatis, and Dolais. The Rajkhowas were governors of given territories and commanders of three thousand paiks. They were the arbitrator who settled local disputes and supervised public works. The Katakis were envoys who dealt with foreign countries and hill tribes. The Kakatis were writers of official documents. The Dolais expounded astrology and determined auspicious time and dates for any important event and undertaking.

Governors

Members of the royal families ruled certain areas, and they were called Raja.

• Charing Raja, the heir apparent to the Swargadeo, administered the tracts around Joypur on the right bank of the Burhidihing river.
• Tipam Raja is the second in line.
• Namrup Raja is the third in line

Members of the royal families who occupy lower positions are given regions called mels, and were called meldangia or melkhowa raja. Meldangia Gohains were princes of an even lesser grade, of which there were two: Majumelia Gohain and Sarumelia Gohain.

Royal ladies were given individual mels, and by the time of Rajeshwar Singha, there were twelve of them. The most important of these was the Raidangia mel given to the chief queen.

Forward governors, who were military commanders, ruled and administered forward territories. The officers were usually filled from the families that were eligible for the three great Gohains.

• Sadiya Khowa Gohain based in Sadiya, administered the Sadiya region that was acquired after the conquest of the Chutia kingdom in 1524.
• Marangi khowa Gohain administered the region that was contiguous to the Naga groups west of the Dhansiri; acquired from the Kachari kingdom in 1526.
• Solal Gohain administered a great part of Nagaon and a portion of Chariduar after the headquarters of the Borphukan was transferred to Gauhati.
• Kajalimukhiya Gohain served under the Borphukan, administered Kajalimukh and maintained relations with Jaintia and Dimarua.
• Khamjangia Gohain administered the region of Khamjang (part of Naga hills).
• Banrukia Gohain administered the region of Banruk (part of Sibsagar district).
• Tungkhungia Gohain administered the region of Tingkhong.
• Banlungia Gohain administered the region of Banlung (Dhemaji) that was acquired after the conquest of the Chutia kingdom in 1524.
• Bhatialia Gohain administered the region of Bhati (Lakhimpur-Biswanath) acquired from the Chutia kingdom in 1524, with headquarters at Habung. Later, Borpatrogohain was created in its place.
• Dihingia Gohain administered the region of Mungklang (Dihing) that was acquired after the conquest of the Chutiya kingdom in 1524.
• Kaliaboria Gohain administered the region of Kaliabor.
• Jagiyal Gohain served under Borbarua, administered Jagi at Nagoan and maintained relations with seven tribal chiefs, called Sat Raja.
• Mohongia Gohain and Mohongor Gohain based in the salt mines of Sadiya and Mohong (Naga hills) conquered from Chutia kingdom and Nagas.

Lesser governors were called Rajkhowas, and some of them were:

• Bacha
• Darrang
• Solaguri
• Abhaypur
• Tapakuchi

Vassals

The dependent kings or vassals were also called Raja. Except for the Raja of Rani, all paid an annual tribute. These Rajas were required to meet the needs for resources and paiks when the need arose, as during the time of war. There were in total 15 vassal states.

• Darrang Raja ruled the later-day Darrang district and were the descendants of Sundar Narayan, a great-grandson of Chilarai of the Koch dynasty.
• Rani
• Beltola ruled the tracts southwest of Guwahati and were the descendants of Gaj Narayan, a grandson of Chilarai of the Koch dynasty
• Luki
• Barduar
• Dimarua
• Gobha
• Neli

The other hill states which occasionally acknowledged the overlordship and nominal sovereignty of the Ahoms were the states of:

• Jaintia Kingdom
• Dimasa Kingdom
• Manipur Kingdom

The states of Jaintia and Dimasa, on certain occasions, paid annual tributes to the Ahom king, nominally acknowledging the overlordship and the vassalage of Ahoms. In this connection, mention be made of the term thapita sanchita (established and preserved) which determined their relationship with the Ahoms.

Paik officials

The Ahom kingdom was dependent on the Paik system, a form of corvee labor, reorganized in 1608 by Momai Tamuli Barbarua. Every common subject was a paik, and four paiks formed a got. At any time of the year, one of the paiks in the got rendered direct service to the king, as the others in his got tended to his fields. The Paik system was administered by the Paik officials: A Bora was in charge of 20 paiks, a Saikia of 100 and a Hazarika of 1000. A Rajkhowa commanded three thousand and a Phukan commanded six thousand paiks.

Land survey

Supatphaa became acquainted with the land measurement system of Mughals during the time he was hiding in Kamrup before he succeeded to the throne. As soon as the wars with Mughals were over he issued orders for the introduction of a similar system throughout his dominions. Surveyors were imported from Koch Behar and Bengal for the work. It was commenced in Sibsagar and was pushed on vigorously, but it was not completed until after his death. Nagaon was next surveyed, and the settlement which followed was supervised by Rudra Singha himself. According to historians, the method of survey included measuring the four sides of each field with a nal, or bamboo pole of 12 feet (3.7 m) length and calculating the area, the unit was the "lucha" or 144 square feet (13.4 m²) and 14,400 sq ft (1,340 m²). is one "Bigha". Four 'bigha' makes one 'Pura'. A similar land measurement system is still being followed in modern Assam.

The measurement system helped in the equal distribution of land among the paiks as well as among the nobles and officers. Records of land were maintained under an officer called Darabdhara Barua. Thus all cultivable and occupied land, except homesteads and jungles, were surveyed and recorded. The paper on which this was recorded is called perakagaz or perakakat meaning (paper carefully preserved inside of wooden boxes called pera). As the perakagaz were not durable, copper plates called as tamrapatraor phali were issued for important records, particularly of revenue-free lands gifted to religious sites or to Brahamanas.

Military

Main articles: Ahom artillery and Ahom Army

Weapons of Ahom era.

The Ahom military department consisted of infantry, cavalry, elephantry, artillery, espionage and navy. Land was given to martial paiks (militia) in exchange for their service. The paiks were organised under a got (group of four paiks), and further under a khel (department). The paiks were placed under the command of Paik officers, whose ranks as follows:

Paik Officer	Number of Paiks
Phukan	6000
Rajkhowa	3000
Hazarika	1000
Saikia	100
Bora	20

Swords, spears, bows, and arrows, guns, matchlocks, cannons were the primary weapons of the war. The soldiers had been trained to stand firm in battle. The cavalry commander was Ghora Barua, and the elephant commander was Hati Barua.

The people of medieval Assam were aware of the use of incendiary weapons. However, firearms were first introduced in the early 16th century. The Ahom troops quickly became experts in the manufacture of various types of guns, small and large, matchlocks, artillery, and large cannon. Kharghariya Phukan was the officer in charge of the manufacture of gunpowder.

The navy was the most important and powerful division of the Ahom forces. The main warships were known as bacharis. This shape was similar to Bengali kosahs, and each could carry 70 to 80 men. They were tough and powerful, and by the end of the period, many of them were armed with guns. The Fathiya-i-ibriya mentions 32,000 ships belonging to the king of Assam at the time of Mir Jumla's invasion of Assam. These were primarily made of chambal wood and were thus light and fast and so difficult to sink. The navy was led by the Naobaicha Phukan and Naosaliya Phukan.

Forts were built in strategic locations to provide armed resistance. The Ahom soldiers were skilled at attacking the enemy at night. On the battlefield, a small group of Ahom soldiers could often outnumber thousands of enemy soldiers. Aside from their numerical strength, the Ahom paiks' physical strength, courage, and endurance were the most important factors in the Ahom military's invincibility.

Judicial administration

In civil matters, Hindu laws were generally followed, while the criminal law was characterized by sternness and comparative harshness, where the general principle was that of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, and the culprit was punished with precisely the same injury as that inflicted by him on the complainant. The Borborua and the Borphukan were the chief judicial authorities in their respective provinces, and trials were conducted before them.

The punishments for crimes were generally harsh, with offenders punished by impaling, grinding between two cylinders, starving to death, slicing of the body into pieces, hoeing from head to foot, etc. Common punishments included the extraction of eyes and kneecaps, the slicing off of noses, beating with sticks, etc.

Classes of people

Subinphaa (1281–1293), the third Ahom king, delineated the Satgharia Ahom ("Ahom of the seven houses") aristocracy: the Chaophaa, the Burhagohain and the Borgohain families, and four priestly lineages—the Deodhai, the Mohan, the Bailung and the Chiring Phukan. These lines maintained exogamous marital relationships. The number of lineages increased in later times as either other lineages were incorporated, or existing lineages divided. The king could belong to only the first family whereas the Burhagohain and the Borgohain only to the second and the third families. The extended nobility consisted of the landed aristocracy and the spiritual class that did not pay any form of tax.

The apaikan chamua was the gentry that was freed from the khels and paid only money-tax. The paikan chamua consisted of artisans, the literati and skilled people that did non-manual work and rendered service as a tax. The kanri paik rendered manual labor. The lowest were the licchous, bandi-beti and other serfs and bondsmen. There was some degree of movement between the classes. Momai Tamuli Borborua rose from a bondsman through the ranks to become the first Borbarua under Pratap Singha.

Status distinctions and sumptuary regulations

Social rank—and, in the later period, caste—was publicly marked through regulations governing dress, ornaments, transport, housing and bodily appearance. Decorated leather footwear called paijar was reserved for kings and nobles; commoners instead used wooden kharam or flat phanti sandals. Under Suramphaa (1641–1644), Hindus were prohibited from wearing gold beads, rings and thuria, and Hindu women from wearing elaborate mekhela chadors; Ahoms were required to live according to their prescribed rank, exceeding which could incur death. Hindus were also forbidden from constructing houses with what Saikia translates as an “upper beam”, identified in her note as a stilted or chang-type house.

Official rank and ceremonial privileges

Official rank was expressed through graded rights to elephants, dulas, aruwans, japis, fans, staffs, cushions, seats, garments and jewellery. The use of insignia and precious-metal objects was closely regulated. Within the capital, only the Borphukan and Borbarua could wear their barjapis; other Baruas and Phukans could not. A Bar Bhandar Barua and officers of equivalent rank could use a silver parhisangi seat without permission but required royal authorization for gold bangles or a small gold betel-nut box. Public deference, access to court and the position of officers' wives were likewise graded.

Such distinctions persisted in the later period. Under Rajeswar Singha, officers receiving Nara envoys had to wear turbans, cloaks, garments and ornaments appropriate to their rank, while the king could confer gold-tipped japis, canopies, ceremonial seats, carpets and the right to be preceded by musicians. Phuleswari similarly received the royal umbrella and permission to ride elephants upon becoming chief queen.

Culture

Ahom architecture

Ranghar, built by king Pramatta Singha in 1746. It one of the earliest pavilion in the Indian subcontinent

Sivasagar Sivadol, built by Bar raja Ambika, consont of king Siva Singha. It is the tallest monument built during the Ahom era.

Architecture

The metropolis at Rangpur contains the Talatal Ghar, Rang Ghar, Gola Ghar and in Garhgoan, Kareng Ghar.

Temples

A large number of temple constructions in the late medieval Assam are credited to the Ahom kings. Notable temples from the Ahom period includes– Sivasagar group of temples, Jaysagar group of temples, Gaurisagar group of temples, Rudrasagar temple, Negheriting shiva temple, Rangnath temple, Manikarneswar temple, Dirgheshwari temple, Hatimura temple, Kedar temple, Basistha temple, Sukreswar temple, Umananda temple, Rudreswar temple etc including many others.

Tanks

Numerous large and small tanks were excavated to necessitate the problem of water shortage and for religious purposes. Their grandeur was enhanced by the construction of temples in their bank. Notable tanks from the Ahom period includes– Sivasagar tank, Jaysagar tank, Gaurisagar tank, Lakshmisagar tank and Vishusagar tank or Rajmao pukhuri etc. The number of other tanks excavated by the Ahom rulers is estimated to be approximately 200.

Painting

Main article: Painting of Assam

Music and dance

The culture of music and dance was widespread and popular and received the patronage of royalty, the Ahom kings also held high regard for Mughal music and sent musicians to Delhi to learn it. Certain officers such as 'Gayan Barua' were appointed to promote music.

Symbol

Lion imagery was associated with Ahom kingship. The Satsari Assam Buranji records that three gates of Garhgaon bore lion emblems, while the lion motif was also among the symbols employed in the royal installation ceremony. Saikia describes its adoption as part of the composite political culture of Ahom kingship. Some copper-plate inscriptions dating from between the mid-eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries also bear seals depicting a winged lion.

During the modern Tai-Ahom revival, the winged lion was standardised and popularised as Ngi-ngao-kham, described by revivalist writers as the kingdom's royal insignia, and was adopted for flags, publications, commemorative medals and other emblems. Terwiel nevertheless notes that he found no Ahom coin bearing the figure, despite a claim that it occurred on late-seventeenth-century coins, and observes that the modern representation changed over time, with enlarged wings and mane, shortened ears and bird-like hind claws.

See also

• Ahom dynasty
• Ahom–Mughal conflicts
• Treaty of Ghilajharighat
• Ramani Gabharu
• Koch–Ahom conflicts
• Mueang
• Möng Mao
• Paik system
• Singarigharutha ceremony
• Hengdang

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