Ahom kingdom

Ahom Kingdom
𑜒𑜑𑜪𑜨
*ahüm*
Ahom Kingdom 𑜒𑜑𑜪𑜨; ahüm
1228–1826
	Ngi-ngao-kham (Royal insignia)
	The Ahom Kingdom, 1826.
Status	Kingdom
Capital	Charaideo; (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 language;
Religion	Ahom religion (1228–1648s); Shaktist Hinduism/Ekasarana Dharma (1648s-1826); Tribal religions;
Demonym(s)	Ahom • Assamese
Government	Bureaucratic feudalism and Aristocratic monarchy
Chao Pha, Swargadeo
• 1228–1268	Sukaphaa
• 1497–1539	Suhungmung
• 1603–1641	Susenghphaa
• 1696–1714	Sukhrungphaa
• 1833–1838	Purandar Singha
Historical era	Middle Age and Colonial Age
• Established by Sukaphaa	1228
• Re-organization under King Suhungmung	1497
• Koch-Ahom conflicts	1543–68
• Ahom–Mughal conflicts	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	2,50,000
Currency	Ahom coinage
Preceded by	Succeeded by
	Kamarupa Kingdom
	Chutia Kingdom
Konbaung dynasty
Colonial Assam
Today part of	India; Myanmar

The Ahom kingdom (Ahom: 𑜒𑜑𑜪𑜨, ahüm; Assamese: আহোম), or the Kingdom of Assam^[10] (/ˈɑːhɔːm/, 1228–1826)^[1] was a late medieval^[11] kingdom in the Brahmaputra Valley (present-day Assam) that retained its independence for nearly 600 years despite encountering Mughal expansion in Northeast India. Established by Sukaphaa, a Tai prince from Mong Mao (present-day Yunnan Province, China), it began as a mong in the upper reaches of the Brahmaputra based on wet rice agriculture. It expanded suddenly under Suhungmung in the 16th century^[12] and became multi-ethnic in character, casting a profound effect on the political and social life of the entire Brahmaputra valley. The kingdom became weaker with the rise of the Moamoria rebellion, and subsequently fell to repeated Burmese invasions of Assam. With the defeat of the Burmese after the First Anglo-Burmese War and the Treaty of Yandabo in 1826, control of the kingdom passed into East India Company hands.

Though it came to be called the Ahom kingdom in the colonial and subsequent times, it was largely multi-ethnic, with the ethnic Tai-Ahom people constituting less than 10% of the population toward the end.^[13] People from different ethnic groups became a part of the Ahom population due to the process known as Ahomisation. The identity of the Ahom people in this kingdom was fluid, with the king controlling who belonged to it and who did not.^[14] The Ahoms initially called their kingdom Mong Dun Shun Kham till 1401 (Assamese: xunor-xophura; English: casket of gold), but adopted Assam in later times.^[15] The British-controlled province after 1838 and later the Indian state of Assam came to be known by this name. The kingdom maintained close political ties with other Tai-states especially with Mong Kwang (Nara) till the end of its rule in the 19th century.^[16]

^ ^a ^b "After 1770 started its period of decline-civil wars and depopulation followed by foreign occupations culminating in the final eclipse of 1826 by its take-over by the British." (Guha 1983:9)
^ Assam State Museum (1985), Bulletin of the Assam State Museum, Gauhati Issues 5-6, Department of Archaeology and Assam State Museum, p. 104
^ "Their formal conversion to Hinduism did not however take place before 1648 and the new attachment became stable only towards the end of the century." (Guha 1983:21–22)
^ (Gohain 1974:68)
^ "(T)he Ahom system was in reality both 'monarchical' and 'aristocratical' as Captain Welsh pointed out long ago" (Sarkar 1992:3)
^ Sarkar (1992, pp. 6–7)
^ "It is suggested that the actual population of the Ahom territories up to the Manas ranged from two to three millions over one-and-a-half century ending 1750." (Guha 1978:26–30)
^ (Hazarika 1987:1)
^ (Dutt 1958:464)
^ Campbell, Lawrence Dundas; Samuel, E. (1807). The Asiatic Annual Register, Or, A View of the History of Hindustan, and of the Politics, Commerce and Literature of Asia. J. Debrett, Picadilly.
^ Nitul Kumar Gogoi (2006). Continuity and Change Among the Ahom. Concept Publishing Company. pp. 65–. ISBN 978-81-8069-281-9.
^ "The Chutiya power began to decline with the beginning of the 16th century. Taking advantage of an anarchical condition in the Chutia kingdom under the rule of inefficient Dhirnarayan (c1504–1523), the Ahom King Suhungmung or Dihingia Raja (1497-1539) annexed the kingdom in 1523"(Dutta 1985:29)
^ "The Ahoms were never numerically dominant in the state they built and, at the time of 1872 and 1881 censuses, they formed hardly one-tenth of the populations relevant to the erstwhile Ahom territory (i.e, by and large, the Brahmaputra Valley without the Goalpara district.)" (Guha 1983:9)
^ (Saikia 2004:140–141) By emphasizing the fluidity of this identity, the swargadeos controlled and directed the continuous movement within and beyond this group which, in turn, never allowed for developing any sense of loyalty to or cohesiveness of the group. Ahom was not an identity to die for in precolonial Assam; in fact, nobody could ever claim ownership of this label because it was left to the discretion of the swargodeo to award or demote a person to and from this status
^ "Tributes seem to have flowed to their original state in Upper Burma from Mungdungshunkham and probably the covert colonialism ended in 1401 when the boundary between Mungdungshunkham and the Nara kingdom was finally fixed at the Patkai hills. There is reason to believe that the name Mungdunshunkham is closely associated with this covert colonialism of the time and it automatically disappeared when Mungdunshunkham became Asom after their new name Ahom.(Buragohain 1988:54–55)
^ "In his letter, the Mong Kwang ruler requested Kamaleswarsingha (1795-1811) for help against the king of Burma who had invaded his territory. Referring to the close tie existing between the two kingdoms, the Mong Kwang ruler hoped for positive response from the Ahom king to repel the Burmese invaders"(Phukan 1991:892)

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

[end-year-1] "After 1770 started its period of decline-civil wars and depopulation followed by foreign occupations culminating in the final eclipse of 1826 by its take-over by the British." (Guha 1983:9)

[2] Assam State Museum (1985), Bulletin of the Assam State Museum, Gauhati Issues 5-6, Department of Archaeology and Assam State Museum, p. 104

[4] "Their formal conversion to Hinduism did not however take place before 1648 and the new attachment became stable only towards the end of the century." (Guha 1983:21–22)

[5] (Gohain 1974:68)

[6] "(T)he Ahom system was in reality both 'monarchical' and 'aristocratical' as Captain Welsh pointed out long ago" (Sarkar 1992:3)

[7] Sarkar (1992, pp. 6–7)

[8] "It is suggested that the actual population of the Ahom territories up to the Manas ranged from two to three millions over one-and-a-half century ending 1750." (Guha 1978:26–30)

[9] (Hazarika 1987:1)

[Harvcol|Dutt|1958|p=464-10] (Dutt 1958:464)

[11] Campbell, Lawrence Dundas; Samuel, E. (1807). The Asiatic Annual Register, Or, A View of the History of Hindustan, and of the Politics, Commerce and Literature of Asia. J. Debrett, Picadilly.

[Gogoi2006-12] Nitul Kumar Gogoi (2006). Continuity and Change Among the Ahom. Concept Publishing Company. pp. 65–. ISBN 978-81-8069-281-9.

[13] "The Chutiya power began to decline with the beginning of the 16th century. Taking advantage of an anarchical condition in the Chutia kingdom under the rule of inefficient Dhirnarayan (c1504–1523), the Ahom King Suhungmung or Dihingia Raja (1497-1539) annexed the kingdom in 1523"(Dutta 1985:29)

[14] "The Ahoms were never numerically dominant in the state they built and, at the time of 1872 and 1881 censuses, they formed hardly one-tenth of the populations relevant to the erstwhile Ahom territory (i.e, by and large, the Brahmaputra Valley without the Goalpara district.)" (Guha 1983:9)

[15] (Saikia 2004:140–141) By emphasizing the fluidity of this identity, the swargadeos controlled and directed the continuous movement within and beyond this group which, in turn, never allowed for developing any sense of loyalty to or cohesiveness of the group. Ahom was not an identity to die for in precolonial Assam; in fact, nobody could ever claim ownership of this label because it was left to the discretion of the swargodeo to award or demote a person to and from this status

[rbphd-mdsk2assam-16] "Tributes seem to have flowed to their original state in Upper Burma from Mungdungshunkham and probably the covert colonialism ended in 1401 when the boundary between Mungdungshunkham and the Nara kingdom was finally fixed at the Patkai hills. There is reason to believe that the name Mungdunshunkham is closely associated with this covert colonialism of the time and it automatically disappeared when Mungdunshunkham became Asom after their new name Ahom.(Buragohain 1988:54–55)

[17] "In his letter, the Mong Kwang ruler requested Kamaleswarsingha (1795-1811) for help against the king of Burma who had invaded his territory. Referring to the close tie existing between the two kingdoms, the Mong Kwang ruler hoped for positive response from the Ahom king to repel the Burmese invaders"(Phukan 1991:892)

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