Ahom Dynasty

Ahom Dynasty

The Ahom Dynasty were the kings of the Ahom Kingdom, all of whom were descendants of Sukaphaa. The kingdom was established by Sukaphaa in 1228, and his descendants reigned till the first quarter of the 19th century, for nearly 600 years. The kings were called "Chao-Pha" in the Ahom language and "Swargadeo" in the Assamese language.

The rule of this dynasty ended with the Burmese invasion of Assam and the subsequent annexation by the British East India Company following the Treaty of Yandaboo in 1826.

Swargadeo

The Ahom kings (Ahom language: "Chao-Pha"), were descendants of the first king Sukaphaa (1228-1268) who came to Assam from Mong Mao in 1228. [See Sukaphaa for the origin and journey of the first Ahom king into Assam.] Succession was by agnatic primogeniture. Nevertheless, following Rudra Singha's deathbed injunction four of his five sons became the king one after the other. The position of Swargadeo was reserved for the descendants of Sukaphaa and they were not eligible for ministerial positions—a division of power that was followed till the end of the dynasty and the kingdom. When the nobles asked Atan Burhagohain to became the king, the Tai priests rejected the idea and he desisted from ascending the throne.

The king could be appointed only with the concurrence of the "patra matris" (council of ministers—Burhagohain, Borgohain, Borpatrogohain, Borbarua and Borphukan). During three periods in the 14th century, the kingdom had no kings when acceptable candidates were not found. The ministers could remove unacceptable kings, and it used to involve executing the erstwhile king. In the 17th century a power struggle and the increasing number of claimants to the throne resulted in kings being deposed in quick succession, all of whom were executed after the new king was instated. To prevent this bloody end, a new rule was introduced during the reign of Sulikphaa Lora Roja—claimants to the throne had to be physically unblemished—which meant that threats to the throne could be removed by merely slitting the ear of an ambitious prince. Rudra Singha, suspecting his brother Lechai's intention, mutilated and banished him. The problem of succession remained, and on his deathbed he instructed that all his sons were to become kings. One of his sons, Mohanmala, was superseded, who went on to lead a rebel group during the Moamoria rebellion. The later kings and officers exploited the unblemished rule, leading to weak kings being instated. Kamaleswar Singha (son of Kadam Dighala) and Purandar Singha (son of Brajanath and one of the last kings of this dynasty) came into office because their fathers were mutilated.

The Ahom kings were given divine origin. According to Ahom tradition, Sukaphaa was a descendant of Khunlung, who had come down from the heavens and ruled Mong-Ri-Mong-Ram. During the reign of Suhungmung (1497-1539) which saw the composition of the first Assamese Buranji and increased Hindu influence, the Ahom kings were traced to the union of Indra (identified with Khunlung) and Syama (a low-caste woman), and were declared "Indravamsa kshatriyas", a lineage created for the Ahoms. [Harvcol|Gogoi|1968|p=283. In standard Hindu Puranic history the two accepted families are "Chandravamsi" and "Suryavamsi".] Suhungmung adopted the title "Swarganarayan", and the later kings were called "Swargadeo"s (Lord of the heavens).

Coronation

The Swargadeo's coronation was called "singari-ghar-utha", a ceremony that was performed first by Sudangphaa Bamuni Konwar (1397-1407). This was the occasion when the first coins in the new king's name were minted. Kamaleshwar Singha (1795-1811) and Chandrakanta Singha's (1811-1818) coronations were not performed on the instructions of Purnananda Burhagohain. Kings who died in office were buried in vaults called Moidam, at Charaideo. Some of the earlier Moidams were looted by Mir Jumla in the 17th century, and are lost. Some later kings, especially with Siba Singha (1714-1744), who were cremated had their ashes buried.

Royal offices

Sukhramphaa (1332-1364) established the position of Charing Raja which came to be reserved for the heir apparent. The first Charing Raja was Sukhramphaa's half-brother, Chao Pulai, the son of the Kamata princess Rajani, but who did not ultimately become the Swargadeo. Suhungmung Dihingia Raja (1497-1539) settled the descendants of past kings in different regions that gave rise to seven royal houses—"Saringiya", "Tipamiya", "Dihingiya", "Samuguriya", "Tungkhungiya", "Parvatiya" and "Namrupiya"—and periods of Ahom rule came to be known after these families. The rule of the last such house, Tungkhungiya, was established by Gadadhar Singha (1681-1696) and his descendants ruled the kingdom till the end of the Ahom kingdom.

Queens

Ahom queens ("Kunworis") played important roles in the matter of state. They were officially designated in a gradation of positions, called the "Bor Kuwori" (Chief Queen), "Parvatia Kuwori", "Raidangia Kuwori", "Tamuli Kuwori", etc. who were generally daughters of Ahom noblemen and high officials. Lesser wives of the Swargadeo were called "chamua kunworis". Some of the queens were given separate estates that were looked after by state officials (Phukans or Baruas) Harvcol|Gogoi|1968pp=546-547. During the reign of Siba Singha (1714-1744), the king gave his royal umbrella and royal insignia to his queens—Phuleshwari Kunwori, Ambika Kunwori and Anadari Kunwori in succession—to rule the kingdom. They were called "Bor-Rojaa".

Court influences

Sukaphaa's ruling deity was "Chomdeo" a non-Hindu, non-Buddhist god, and he was accompanied by classes of priests called "Deodhai", "Bailung" etc. But the Ahom kings let themselves be influenced by the religion and customs of those they ruled over. The first Hindu influence was cast during the reign of Sudaangphaa Bamuni Konwar (1397-1407), who had grown up in a Brahmin household. Suhungmung Dihingia Rojaa was the first Ahom king to expand the kingdom and the polity, allow Assamese influence in his court and accept a non-Ahom title—"Swarganarayan". Assamese coexisted with Tai till the reign of Pratap Singha, during whose rule Assamese became dominant. Sutamla (1648-1663) was the first Ahom king to be initiated into the Mahapuruxiya Dharma. Later Tunkgkhungia kings were suspicious of the Sattras and tried to decrease their influence by supporting a section while suppressing another, and by supporting sakta worship.

Timeline

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wargadeo dynastic history

In the nearly 600-years 39-Swargadeo dynastic history, there are three progenitor kings (all subsequent kings are descendants of these kings). They are Sukaphaa, who established he kingdom; Suhungmung, who made the greatest territorial and political expansion of the kingdom; and Supaatphaa, who established the House of Tungkhugia kings that reigned the kingdom during its political and cultural zenith, as well as the period of decay and end.

The dynastic history and dates that are accepted today are the result of a re-examination of Ahom and other documents by a team of Nora astronomers and experts who were commissioned to do so by Gaurinath Singha (1780-1795). [Harvcol|Gogoi|1968|pp=534-535]

Notes

References

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