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 One of his sons, Mohanmala, was superseded, who went on to lead a rebel group during the Moamoria rebellion.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

ImageSize = width:1000px height:auto barincrement:11pxPlotArea = left:0 bottom:50px top:0 right:0

DateFormat = yyyyPeriod = from:1150 till:1900TimeAxis = orientation:horAlignBars = justify

Colors = #legends id:WSX value:red id:DAN value:rgb(0.09,0.74,0.74) id:WSXr value:orange

id:NOR value:rgb(0.74,0.78,0.20) id:ANG value:green id:LAN value:yellowgreen id:YOR value:teal

id:LAN value:rgb(0.41,0.84,0.14) id:YOR value:teal id:TUD value:coral id:STU value:magenta id:COM value:rgb(0.22,0.64,0.90) id:STUr value:magenta id:HAN value:rgb(0.84,0.15,0.15) id:SAX value:rgb(0.78,0.57,0.57) id:WIN value:rgb(0.63,0.20,0.20) #interface id:grid1 value:gray(0.7) # major grid id:grid2 value:gray(0.95) # minor grid

id:reign value:gray(0.4)

ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:100 start:1200ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:10 start:1200

Define $lshift = shift:(8,-4) #legend text shiftDefine $now = 2007 #<-keep updated!Define $jwidth = width:0.1 #width of the vertical jointDefine $w1 = color:w1Define $w2 = color:w2Define $w3 = color:w3Define $dx = -80Define $dx2 = -100Define $dx3 = -120Define $dx4 = -140Define $dx5 = -160Define $dx6 = -180

BarData= bar:space1 bar:AHM1 bar:AHM2 bar:AHM3 bar:AHM4 bar:AHM5 bar:IN1 bar:AHM6 bar:IN2 bar:AHM7 bar:IN3 bar:AHM8 bar:AHM9 bar:AHM10 bar:AHM11 bar:AHM12 bar:AHM13 bar:AHM14 bar:AHM15 bar:AHM16 bar:AHM17 bar:AHM18 bar:AHM19 bar:AHM20 bar:AHM21 bar:AHM22 bar:AHM23 bar:AHM24 bar:AHM25 bar:AHM26 bar:AHM27 bar:AHM28 bar:AHM29 bar:AHM30 bar:AHM31 bar:AHM32 bar:AHM33 bar:AHM34 bar:AHM35 bar:AHM36 bar:AHM37 bar:AHM38 bar:AHM39 bar:AHM40 bar:AHM41 bar:space2

PlotData= align:left fontsize:S width:9

color:WSX bar:AHM1 from:1228 till:1268 shift:(-75,-5) text:Sukaphaa bar:AHM2 from:1268 till:1281 shift:(-59,-5) text:Sutephaa bar:AHM3 from:1281 till:1293 shift:(-64,-5) text:Subinphaa bar:AHM4 from:1293 till:1332 shift:(-104,-5) text:Sukhaangphaa bar:AHM5 from:1332 till:1364 shift:(-95,-5) text:Sukhramphaa bar:IN1 from:1364 till:1369 shift:($dx,-5) color:yellow bar:AHM6 from:1369 till:1376 shift:(-55,-5) text:Sutuphaa bar:IN2 from:1376 till:1380 shift:($dx,-5) color:yellow bar:AHM7 from:1380 till:1389 shift:(-70,-5) text:Tyao Khamti bar:IN3 from:1389 till:1397 shift:($dx,-5) color:yellow bar:AHM8 from:1397 till:1407 shift:(-154,-5) text:Sudangphaa (Bamuni Kowar) bar:AHM9 from:1407 till:1422 shift:(-74,-5) text:Sujangphaa bar:AHM10 from:1422 till:1439 shift:(-80,-5) text:Suphakphaa bar:AHM11 from:1439 till:1488 shift:(-95,-5) text:Susenphaa bar:AHM12 from:1488 till:1493 shift:(-65,-5) text:Suhenphaa bar:AHM13 from:1493 till:1497 shift:(-64,-5) text:Supimphaa bar:AHM14 from:1497 till:1539 shift:(-99,-5) text:Suhungmung bar:AHM15 from:1539 till:1552 shift:(-78,-5) text:Suklenmung bar:AHM16 from:1552 till:1603 shift:(-110,-5) text:Sukhaamphaa bar:AHM17 from:1603 till:1641 shift:(-172,-5) text:Susenghphaa (Pratap Singha) bar:AHM18 from:1641 till:1644 shift:(-155,-5) text:Suramphaa (Jayaditya Singha) bar:AHM19 from:1644 till:1648 shift:(-65,-5) text:Sutingphaa bar:AHM20 from:1648 till:1663 shift:(-150,-5) text:Sutamla (Jayadhwaj Singha) from:1662 till:1662 color:green shift:(10,-5) text:(Mir Jumla's control) bar:AHM21 from:1663 till:1670 shift:(-182,-5) text:Supangmung (Chakradhwaj Singha) bar:AHM22 from:1670 till:1672 shift:($dx5,-5) text:Sunyatphaa (Udayaditya Singha) bar:AHM23 from:1672 till:1674 shift:(-165,-5) text:Suklamphaa (Ramadhwaj Singha) bar:AHM24 from:1674 till:1675 shift:(-50,-5) text:Suhunga bar:AHM25 from:1675 till:1675 shift:(-60,-5) text:Gobar Roja bar:AHM26 from:1675 till:1677 shift:(-55,-5) text:Sujinphaa bar:AHM27 from:1677 till:1679 shift:(-55,-5) text:Sudoiphaa bar:AHM28 from:1679 till:1681 shift:($dx5,-5) text:Sulikphaa (Ratnadhwaj Singha) bar:AHM29 from:1681 till:1696 shift:($dx5,-5) text:Supaatphaa (Gadadhar Singha) bar:AHM30 from:1696 till:1714 shift:($dx5,-5) text:Sukhrungphaa (Rudra Singha) bar:AHM31 from:1714 till:1744 shift:($dx4,-5) text:Sutanphaa (Siba Singha) bar:AHM32 from:1744 till:1751 shift:($dx5,-5) text:Sunenphaa (Pramatta Singha) bar:AHM33 from:1751 till:1769 shift:(-170,-5) text:Suramphaa (Rajeshwar Singha) bar:AHM34 from:1769 till:1780 shift:($dx5,-5) text:Sunyeophaa (Lakshmi Singha) from:1770 till:1770 color:purple shift:(20,-5) text:(Moamoria control) bar:AHM35 from:1780 till:1795 shift:(-185,-5) text:Suhitpangphaa (Gaurinath Singha) from:1788 till:1792 color:purple shift:(10,-5) text:(Moamoria control) bar:AHM36 from:1795 till:1811 shift:($dx6,-5) text:Suklingphaa (Kamaleshwar Singha) bar:AHM37 from:1811 till:1818 shift:($dx6,-5) text:Sudingphaa (Chandrakanta Singha) bar:AHM38 from:1818 till:1819 shift:(-90,-5) text:Purandar Singha bar:AHM39 from:1819 till:1821 shift:($dx6,-5) text:Sudingphaa (Chandrakanta Singha) bar:AHM40 from:1821 till:1824 shift:($dx2,-5) text:Jogeshwar Singha from:1821 till:1824 color:blue shift:(10,-5) text:(Burmese control) bar:AHM41 from:1833 till:1838 color:orange shift:(-90,-5) text:Purandar Singha from:1833 till:1838 color:orange shift:(10,-5) text:(British control)LineData= #a long hack to create a cool grey-bar ScaleMinor #since a line max width is only 10, two lines are used for each grey-bar layer:back color:grid2 width:6 at:1203 at:1207 at:1223 at:1227 at:1243 at:1247 at:1263 at:1267 at:1283 at:1287 at:1303 at:1307 at:1323 at:1327 at:1343 at:1347 at:1363 at:1367 at:1383 at:1387 at:1403 at:1407 at:1423 at:1427 at:1443 at:1447 at:1463 at:1467 at:1483 at:1487 at:1503 at:1507 at:1523 at:1527 at:1543 at:1547 at:1563 at:1567 at:1583 at:1587 at:1603 at:1607 at:1623 at:1627 at:1643 at:1647 at:1663 at:1667 at:1683 at:1687 at:1703 at:1707 at:1723 at:1727 at:1743 at:1747 at:1763 at:1767 at:1783 at:1787 at:1803 at:1807 at:1823 at:1827 at:1843 at:1847

layer:back color:grid1 width:0.1 at:1200 at:1300 at:1400 at:1500 at:1600 at:1700 at:1800

width:5 points:(100,15)(110,15) color:red points:(200,15)(210,15) color:yellow points:(350,15)(360,15) color:purple points:(500,15)(510,15) color:blue points:(650,15)(660,15) color:green points:(800,15)(810,15) color:orange

TextData= fontsize:M pos:(120,10) text:Reign pos:(220,10) text:interregnum pos:(370,10) text:Moamoria control pos:(520,10) text:Burmese control pos:(670,10) text:Mir Jumla's control pos:(820,10) text:British control

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

*
*