Reference
A History of Assam
The classic history of Assam and the Ahom kingdom.
Ahom Kingdom
Kingdom
Level 2
★ Major power
1228 – 1826
Ruled Assam for nearly 600 years and repeatedly resisted Mughal expansion.
- Capital
- Charaideo, later Garhgaon / Rangpur
- Region
- Northeast
- Duration
- 598 years
- Main period
- Delhi Sultanate & Regional Kingdoms
Changing extent
Approximate extent over time (solid = latest, dashed = earlier).
At a glance
Move along the chart to read any year; click a ruler or event to open the map there.
Rulers
- Sukaphaa Swargadeo1228 – 1268Founder.
- Suhungmung (Dihingia Raja) Swargadeo1497 – 1539Annexed the Chutia kingdom.
- Pratap Singha Swargadeo1603 – 1641
- Chakradhwaj Singha Swargadeo1663 – 1670Appointed Lachit Borphukan.
- Udayaditya Singha Swargadeo1670 – 1672Reigned at the Battle of Saraighat.
- Rudra Singha Swargadeo1696 – 1714Peak of Ahom power.
- Chandrakanta Singha Swargadeo1811 – 1818Burmese invasions.
Selected rulers; gaps in the list are not gaps in the dynasty.
Key events
| Year | Event | Place |
|---|---|---|
| 1228 | Sukaphaa founds the Ahom kingdom | Charaideo |
| 1671 | Battle of Saraighat Lachit Borphukan's Ahom forces defeat the Mughal fleet on the Brahmaputra. The Ahoms defeated the Mughals, keeping Assam independent. |
Saraighat, Guwahati |
| 1826 | Treaty of Yandabo Assam passes to the British after the Burmese occupation. Burma ceded Assam, Manipur, Arakan and Tenasserim to the Company. |
Assam |
Sites & monuments
Rang Ghar, Sivasagar
Capital / fort · 1746
Ahom royal pavilion.
Personalities
📚 Recommended reading on the Ahom Kingdom
Textbook
Our Pasts I, II & III (Classes 6–8)
The simplest possible start: short, illustrated and the base of countless exam questions.
Textbook
Themes in Indian History, Parts I–III (Class 12)
Source-based chapters on Harappa, Vijayanagara, the Mughal court and 1857 — essential for UPSC.
Textbook
An Introduction to Indian Art, Part I (Class 11)
The standard base for art and architecture questions — stupas, temples and sculpture.
We may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you. See all recommended books →
📄 Research papers
Paper🏛 Library access
Inscribing the Other, Inscribing the Self: Hindu-Muslim Identities in Pre-Colonial India
Uses Andhra inscriptions to show how identities were described in the Kakatiya and Sultanate era.
Paper🏛 Library access
Temple Desecration and Indo-Muslim States
A documented, case-by-case study of temple destruction and its political context, 1192–1760.
Paper🏛 Library access
🇮🇳 Indian scholarship
The Pursuit of Persian: Language in Mughal Politics
How Persian became the language of Mughal government and of Hindu and Muslim elites alike.
Contemporaries
Powers that coexisted with the Ahom Kingdom for a significant part of its history. The bar shows when, within its own span.
Chola Empire ★
South · c. 848 CE – 1279
Overlap: 51 years
Sultanate of the Maldives ★
Islands · c. 1153 – 1968
Overlap: 598 years
Malla Dynasty of Nepal ★
Himalaya · 1201 – 1769
Overlap: 541 years
Delhi Sultanate ★
North · 1206 – 1526
Overlap: 298 years
Mewar (Sisodia) ★
West · 1326 – 1949
Overlap: 500 years
Vijayanagara Empire ★
South · 1336 – 1646
Overlap: 310 years
Bahmani Sultanate ★
Deccan · 1347 – 1527
Overlap: 180 years
Kingdom of Mysore ★
South · 1399 – 1950
Overlap: 427 years
Kingdom of Kandy ★
Sri Lanka · c. 1469 – 1815
Overlap: 346 years
Portuguese Estado da Índia ★
Coastal · 1505 – 1961
Overlap: 321 years
Mughal Empire ★
North · 1526 – 1857
Overlap: 300 years
British East India Company ★
Pan-Indian · 1600 – 1858
Overlap: 226 years
Maratha Empire ★
Deccan · 1674 – 1818
Overlap: 144 years
Nawabs of Bengal ★
East · 1717 – 1765
Overlap: 48 years
Hyderabad State (Nizams) ★
Deccan · 1724 – 1948
Overlap: 102 years
Sikh Empire ★
North · 1799 – 1849
Overlap: 27 years
Guhilas of Medapata
West · c. 728 CE – 1303
Overlap: 75 years
Paramara Dynasty
Central · c. 800 CE – 1305
Overlap: 77 years
Chandela Dynasty
Central · c. 831 CE – 1315
Overlap: 87 years
Hoysala Empire
South · c. 1026 – 1343
Overlap: 115 years
Soomra Dynasty
Northwest · c. 1026 – 1351
Overlap: 123 years
Eastern Ganga Dynasty
East · c. 1078 – 1434
Overlap: 206 years
Khasa Malla Kingdom
Himalaya · c. 1100 – c. 1400
Overlap: 172 years
Zamorins of Calicut
South · c. 1124 – 1766
Overlap: 538 years
Kachwahas of Amber (Jaipur)
West · c. 1128 – 1949
Overlap: 598 years
Kakatiya Dynasty
Deccan · c. 1163 – 1323
Overlap: 95 years
Seuna (Yadava) Dynasty
Deccan · c. 1187 – 1317
Overlap: 89 years
Pandya Empire (Second Empire)
South · c. 1190 – 1345
Overlap: 117 years
Jaffna Kingdom
Sri Lanka · c. 1215 – 1619
Overlap: 391 years
Marwar (Rathore)
West · c. 1226 – 1949
Overlap: 598 years
Madurai Sultanate
South · 1335 – 1378
Overlap: 43 years
Kashmir Sultanate
North · 1339 – 1586
Overlap: 247 years
Samma Dynasty
Northwest · 1351 – 1524
Overlap: 173 years
Bengal Sultanate
East · 1352 – 1576
Overlap: 224 years
Timurid Empire (Herat)
Northwest · 1370 – 1507
Overlap: 137 years
Malwa Sultanate
Central · 1392 – 1562
Overlap: 170 years
Jaunpur (Sharqi) Sultanate
Gangetic Plain · 1394 – 1479
Overlap: 85 years
Gujarat Sultanate
West · 1407 – 1573
Overlap: 166 years
Kingdom of Kotte
Sri Lanka · 1412 – 1597
Overlap: 185 years
Gajapati Kingdom
East · 1434 – 1541
Overlap: 107 years