AHOM (Kingdom)

AREA: TITLE: Chao Pha (Ahom) or Swargadeo (Assamese)
 ACCESSION: 24th February 1826
LOCATION: DYNASTY: Mong Mao / Indravamsha kshatriya RELIGION: Hindu



PRESENT HEAD OF HOUSE:
PREDECESSORS and SHORT HISTORY: Today one of the 25 States of the Republic of India, Assam was the region of the Kings of Kamarupa who were conquered in 1228 by the Ahom, a people that originally came from the Chinese province of Yunnan. With time the Ahoms were absorbed into the local Assamese population. The dynasty lasted until 1819, when they were overrun by the Burmese, revived in Upper Assam from 1833 until 1838, when Assam was eventually annexed by the British. Rulers were.....
  • Swargadeo Raja SUKAPHAA Chaolung [Siu Ka Pha], King of Mong Mit 1209/1215, founder and 1st Ahom Raja 1228/1268, born about 1188 in Mong Mao (#2, he left Mong Mit in 1215, accompanied by three queens, two sons and a daughter as well as nobles, priests and soldiers, some 9,000 people in all, he eventually reached the Patkai hills, subdued the local Nagas and reached Namrup on 2nd December 1228 where he established his rule, there he married the daughters of Badaucha, the Matak Chief and Thakumatha, the Barahi chief and established cordial relations with them and began a system of ingtegration with the people under his rule; over the next decades, he moved from place to place searching for the right capital, until finally in 1253 he built himself his capital city at Charaideo near present-day Sibsagar town and which remained the symbolic center of Ahom rule even though the actual capital varied; married and had issue. He died 1268.
    • Raja Sutephaa (qv)
  • Raja SUTEPHAA, 2nd Ahom Raja 1268/1281, married and had issue.
    • Raja Subinphaa (qv)
  • Raja SUBINPHAA, 3rd Ahom Raja 1281/1293, married and had issue.
    • Raja Sukhaangphaa (qv)
  • Raja SUKHAANGPHAA, 4th Ahom Raja 1293/1332, during his rule, the Ahom kingdom entered into the first major conflict its neighbours, he fought a long war, beginning about 1324, with the Kamata Raja, Pratapdhvaj, the result was indecisive, but was concluded in a truce with him marrying Rajani, the sister of Pratapdhvaj; he and his chief queen were deposed and executed by the ministers for their autocratic rule; married and had issue.
    • Raja Sukhramphaa (qv)
    • Raja Sutuphaa (qv)
    • Raja Tyao KhaamtiI (qv)
    • Chao Pulai (by Rani Rajani), 1st Charing Raja
  • Raja SUKHRAMPHAA, Raja of Assam 1332/1364, he established the position of Charing Raja which came to be reserved for the heir apparent, he was assassinated by the king of the Chutiya kingdom on a barge on the Suffry river.
INTERREGNUM 1364/1369
  • Raja SUTUPHAA, Raja of Assam 1369/1376

INTERREGNUM 1376/1380

  • Raja TYAO KHAAMTI, Raja of Assam 1380/1389, married and had issue.
    • Raja Sudangphaa [Baamuni Kunwar] (qv)
INTERREGNUM 1389/1397
  • Raja SUDANGPHAA, Raja of Assam 1397/1407, married and had issue.
    • Raja Sujanphaa (qv)
  • Raja SUJANGPHAA, Raja of Assam 1407/1422, married and had issue.
    • Raja Suphakphaa (qv)
  • Raja SUPHAKPHAA, Raja of Assam 1422/1439, married and had issue.
    • Raja Susenphaa (qv)
  • Raja SUSENPHAA, Raja of Assam 1439/1488, married and had issue.
    • Raja Suhenphaa (qv)
  • Raja SUHENPHAA, Raja of Assam 1488/1493, he was speared to death in his palace by a Tai-Turung chief in revenge for being accused of theft; married and had issue.
    • Raja Supimphaa (qv)
  • Raja SUPIMPHAA, Raja of Assam 1493/1497, married and had issue.
    • Raja Swarganarayan [Suhungmung, Dihingiaa Rojaa I] (qv)
  • Raja SWARGANARAYAN, Raja of Assam 1497/1539, he began his reign by suppressing the revolt of the Aitonia Nagas in 1504 and making them accept Ahom overlordship, in 1513 he annexed Mungkhrang and Namdang which belonged to the Chutiya kingdom under Raja Dhir Narayana, they reacted in 1520 by taking the new fort at Mungkhrang, but the Ahom forces retook the fort and extended the Ahom Kingdom to the mouth of the Tiphao River, where a new fort was constructed, the Chutiya forces attacked but were routed, they retreated to their capital at Sadia which they fortified but were again defeated and their Raja killed in battle; he appointed the Sadiakhowa Gohain to look after the newly acquired region; he had similair success against the Kachari Raja, defeating him in 1531, but was unable to take full possession of the Kingdom; he had success against Muslim invasions in 1527 and 1533; he settled the descendants of past kings in different regions that gave rise to seven royal houses (#3); he was the first Raja of the dynasty to adopt Hinduism, he was assassinated by palace staff in a plot engineered by his son, Suklenmung; married and had issue. He was killed in 1539.
    • Raja Suklenmung [Garhgayaan Rojaa] (qv)
    • Prince Suleng [Deo Raja] (second son), married and had issue.
      • generation, married and had issue.
        • Raja Chakradhwaj Singh [Supangmung] (see below)
    • Prince Suteng (third son), married and had issue.
      • generation, married and had issue.
        • Raja Parvatia Rojaa (see below)
  • Raja SUKLENMUNG, Raja of Assam 1539/1552, he faced a Muslim invasion in April 1532 at Singri, but he was defeated and wounded and the Ahoms retreated to Sala; it is suspected that he was responsible for the death of his father; married and had issue.
    • Raja Sukhaamphaa [Khuraa Rojaa] (qv)
  • Raja SUKHAAMPHAA, Raja of Assam 1552/1603, married and had issue.
    • Raja Pratap Singha [Langi Gohain] [Susenghphaa] [Burhaa Rojaa, Buddhiswarganarayan] (qv)
  • Raja PRATAP SINGHA, 17th Raja of Assam 1603/1641, born about 1545, nicknamed the Burha Raja (Old King), due to his advanced age; his reign saw an expansion of the Ahom kingdom to the west, the beginning of the Ahom-Mughal conflicts, and an administrative reorganization of the kingdom; he was able to devote much attention to the internal organisation of his kingdom, development of backward tracts and the construction of roads, embankments and tanks; he married (amongst others) (a), a Jaintia princess, married (b), 1608, Rani Mangaldahi, daughter of Raja Parikshit Narayan of Darang (see Cooch Behar), and had issue. He died 1641.
    • Raja Jayaditya Singh [Bhogaa Rojaa][Suramphaa] (qv)
    • Raja Noriyaa Rojaa [Sutingphaa] (qv)
    • (name unknown) Gohain, married and had issue.
      • Raja Chakradhwaj Singh [Supangmung] (qv)
      • Raja Udayaditya Singh [Sunyatphaa] (qv)
      • Raja Ramadhwaj Singh [Suklamphaa] (qv)
    • (name unknown) Namrupian Gohain, married and had issue.
      • Raja Dihingia Rojaa II (see below)
  • Raja JAYADITYA SINGH, Raja of Assam 1641/1644, he was deposed by his ministers and later murdered on the instructions of his nephew, Sutingphaa.
  • Raja NORIYAA ROJAA, Raja of Assam 1644/1648, he was deposed and later murdered on the instructions of his son and successor, Sutamla; married and had issue.
    • Raja Jayadhwaj Singh [Bhoganiyaa Rojaa][Sutamla] (qv)
  • Raja JAYADHWAJ SINGH, Raja of Assam 1648/1663, he was the first Ahom king to be initiated into the Mahapuruxiya Dharma. He died spm.
  • Raja CHAKRADHWAJ SINGH, Raja of Assam 1663/1670, soon after entering his reign, he started repairing forts and restored the army to a state of efficiency in order to rid the country of the Mughal oppressors, which he achived two and a half years later, in November 1667; he died in April 1670, the war and preparations for war having taken its toll.
  • Raja UDAYADITYA SINGH, Raja of Assam 1670/1672, his religious fanaticism had made him unpopular and his palace was stormed by his brother (and successor king) with a thousand-strong contingent of men led by Lasham Debera, and the king was executed the next day. He died 1672.
  • Raja RAMADHWAJ SINGH, Raja of Assam 1672/1674, died 1674, poisoned on the instructions of Debera Borbarua when he tried to assert his authority.
  • Raja SAMAGURIA ROJAA [Suhunga], Raja of Assam 1674/1675, a descendant of Suhungmung, he was deposed by Debera Borbarua and later executed, along with his Rani.
  • Raja GOBAR ROJAA, Raja of Assam in 1675 (twenty four days only), he was deposed and executed on the order of Atan Burhagohain, the de facto ruler; married and had issue. He was killed in 1675.
    • Raja Gadadhar Singh [Gadapani][Supaatphaa](qv)
  • Raja DIHINGIA ROJAA II [Arjun Konwar][Sujinphaa], Raja of Assam 1675/1677, he tried to regain control by moving against the de facto ruler, Atan Burhagohain, but was routed in a skirmish, whereupon he was blinded and held captive until he committed suicide by continually striking his head against a stone.
  • Raja PARVATIA ROJAA [Sudoiphaa], Raja of Assam 1677/1679
  • Raja RATNADHWAJ SINGH [Lora Rojaa] [Sulikphaa], Raja of Assam 1679/1681, he belonged to the Samaguria family, and was deposed and killed in 1681.
  • Raja GADADHAR SINGH, Raja of Assam 1681/1696, formally installed in August 1681; he established the rule of the Tungkhungia clan of the Ahom kings and made his capital at Barkola; his first act as Raja was to retake Guwahati from the Mughals in 1682, and established a strong rule by quelling internal disputes, reviving the waning national sprit, driving the Mughals beyond Manas and putting a stop to the raiding which was plaguing the kingdom; he built roads, stone bridges and tanks; he also commenced a detailed survey of the kingdom which was only finished after his death; married Rani Sati Joymati, and had issue, two sons. He died February 1696.
    • Raja Rudra Singh [Sukhrungphaa] [Lai] (qv)
    • Lechai Gohain, suspected of designs on the throne, he was mutilated and banished from the kingdom by his brother, married and had issue.
      • Ayusut, married and had issue.
        • Kadam Dighala, overlooked in the succession due to a physical defect, he exerted considerable influence during the reign of his minor son; married and had issue.
          • Raja Kamaleshwar Singh [Suklingphaa] (see below)
          • Raja Chandra Kanta Singh [Sudingphaa] (qv)
  • Raja RUDRA SINGH, Raja of Assam 1696/1714, he is best known for building a coalition of rulers in the region and raising a vast composite army against the Mughal Empire; he encouraged exchanges with other kingdoms and sent ambassadors to other royal houses in various parts of India; he brought architects from outside the kingdom for constructing the palace and other buildings in the new capital city of Rangpur; he built the Rangnath Temple in 1703, the royal palace at Rangpur, the Namdang stone bridge of Gaurisagar and the Kharikatia road; he married and had issue, five sons. He died 1714.
    • Raja Siba Singh [Sutanphaa] [Xiba Xingha] (eldest son) (qv)
    • Raja Pramatta Singh [Sunenphaa] (second son) (qv)
    • Mohanmala Gohain (third son), overlooked in the succession due to a physical defect, but was installed as Raja of Namrup in compensation; he later went on to lead a rebel group during the Moamoria rebellion.
    • Raja Rajeswar Singh [Suramphaa] (fourth son) (qv)
    • Raja Lakshmi Singh [Sunyeophaa] (fifth son) (qv)
  • Raja SIBA SINGH, Raja of Assam 1714/1744, during his reign peace generally prevailed; he erected numerous temples and was a great patron of literature and music; married 1stly, Bar Raja (Bor-Rojaa (#4)) Pramateswari Devi [Phuleswari Kunwari], died 1731, married 2ndly, 1731 Bar Raja (Bor-Rojaa) Ambika Devi [Deopadi], died about 1738, married 3rdly, Bar Raja (Bor-Rojaa) Sarbeswari Devi [Enadri/Anadari Kunwori]. He died 1744.
  • Raja PRAMATTA SINGH, Raja of Assam 1744/1751, a kind and lenient ruler and his reign was peaceful and prosperous; he constructed new buildings and masonry gateways at Garhgaon and Rangpur; he built the Rang Ghar amphitheatre in 1746, as well as many temples and buildings, married and had issue. He died 1751.
    • generations
      • Rajkumar Brajnath Singh, he was mutilated and therefore unable to succeed to the throne, married and had issue.
        • Raja Puranadar Singh (qv)
  • Raja RAJESWAR SINGH, Raja of Assam 1751/1769, like his predecessors he constructed many temples, including the Manikarnesvaar Temple in 1755), the Sukreswar Temple in 1759), and the Siddhesvara Temple in 1764; in November 1768 he sent an army, accompanied by the deposed Raja of Manipur, in order to drive out the Burmese puppet Raja Kelemba; he married (amongst others), 1768, Senior Rani Kuranganayani, daughter of Raja Jai Singh of Manipur, and had issue. He died 1769.
  • Raja LAKSHMI SINGH, Raja of Assam 1769/1780, shortly after he was installed, he became a captive of the rebels of the Moamoria rebellion for a few months but soon regained his kingdom; he married (amongst others), Rani Kuranganayani, widow of his predecessor, and daughter of Raja JAI SINGH of Manipur, and had issue.
    • Raja Gaurinath Singh [Suhitpangphaa](qv)
  • Raja GAURINATH SINGH, Raja of Assam 1780/1795, he commissioned a team of Nora astronomers and experts who re-examined documents pertaining to the history of Ahom; he lost his capital Rangpur in the Moamoria rebellion and afterwards established his capital at Jorhat.
  • Raja KAMALESHWAR SINGH, Raja of Assam 1795/1811, son of Kadam Dighala, he was installed as a minor. He died of small pox in 1811.
  • Raja CHANDRA KANTA SINGH, Raja of Assam 1811/1818 and 1819/1821, deposed in 1818, mutilated and confined as a prisoner near Jorhat; in 1821 he fled to Guwahati when the Burmese army, led by Mingimaha Tilwa, approached Jorhat; he married and had issue.
    • Rajkumar (name unknown), married and had issue.
      • Raja Keshab Kanta Singh, born November 1852, he was granted the title of Raja on the 2nd February 1861 for personal use only (#1) .
  • Raja PURANADAR SINGH, Raja of Assam 1818/1819 and tributary Raja in Upper Assam 1833/1838, married and had issue. He died 1847.
    • Raja Kameswar Singha, he succeeded his father in his rights and properties in 1847, married and had issue. He died 10th June 1852, buried near his father's tomb, in Raja Maidam in Jorhat, Assam.
      • Raja Kandarpeswar Singha, born 1840, he succeeded his father in his rights and titles in 1852, he was granted the title of Charing Raja,
        but during the Indian Rebellion of 1857, he was suspected of disloyal manoeuvres by the British Government and was placed under arrest along with his agent who is a well known freedom fighter of Assam, viz. Maniram Dewan Barbhandar Baruah, who was then in Calcutta; he was later released and granted a pension of 500 rupees per month; married and had issue, ywo sons and one daughter. He died in Guwahati, Assam.
        • Rajkumar Kumudeswar Singha, dvp.
        • Rajkumar Nareswar Singha, dvp.
        • Rajkumari Troilokyeswari Aideo, succeeded her father Raja Kandarpeswar Singha and became the BorRajkumari (the Crown Princess), married and had issue.
          • Rajkumar Ajit Narayan Singha (Photo), at present he serves as a Mouzadar (Government Appointed Land Tax Collector), he also is a columnist in Dainik Janmabhumi (a daily Assamese newspaper) and administrator of an N.G.O. called 'HOPELINE'., married Rajmata Rajita, she is a Professor in Cotton College, Guwahati, Assam, and had issue, two children. (Jorhat, Assam)
            • Rajkumar Geet Narayan Singha, he succeeded his father.
            • Rajkumari Prof. Sujata Narayan Singha, a professor in Jorhat Engineering College, Assam.
  • Raja YOGESHWAR SINGH, Raja of Assam 1821/1822, installed as a puppet ruler by the Burmese General, Mingimaha Tilwa (who usurped the throne in June 1822); he was a brother of Queen Hemo Aideu, a wife of Bagyidaw Min, later King of Burma.
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1. "The Golden Book of India"; LETHBRIDGE, Roper, MacMillan & Co., 1893 , p.241
2. Sources regarding the details of his life and origins before his entry into Assam, are full of contradictions. According to Phukan (1992) who has tried to hold up a consistent account, Sukaphaa was born to Chao Chang-Nyeu (alias Phu-Chang-Khang) and Nang-Mong Blak-Kham-Sen in the Tai state of Mong Mao. Chao Chang Nyeu was a prince from Mong-Ri Mong-Ram, who had traveled to Mong Mao possibly on an expedition. Mong Mao was then ruled by Chao Tai Pung. Chao Chang Nyeu was befriended by Pao Meo Pung, the son of the ruler, who gave his sister Blak Kham Sen in marriage. Sukaphaa was born of this union not later than 1189 and was brought up by his maternal grandparents. Pao Meo Pung, who eventually ruled Mong Mao, had no male heir and Sukaphaa, his nephew, was nominated to succeed him. A son born late to Pao Meo Pung's queen ended Sukaphaa's claim to the throne of Mong Mao.
3. These seven Royal Houses were:-- Saringiya, Tipamiya, Dihingiya, Samuguriya, Tungkhungiya, Parvatiya and Namrupiya, and they gave their names to different periods of Ahom rule when they came to power.
4. Ahom queens (Kunworis) played important roles in matters of state. They were officially designated in a degree 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.