Ahom kingdom

The Kingdom of Assam or Asom now known as Ahom kingdom (/ˈɑːhɔːm/; 1228–1826) was a late medieval kingdom in the Brahmaputra Valley that existed for 598 years from 1228 until 1826 and came to incorporate large parts of modern Assam. Established by Sukaphaa, a Tai prince from Möng Mao,(present-day Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture, China),.It began as a möng in the upper reaches of the Brahmaputra based on wet rice agriculture. The kingdom expanded under Suhungmung in the 16th century, and became multi-ethnic in character, accelerating a process of social change, ethno-genesis, and inter-ethnic interactions under the ruling Ahom Dynasty. The kingdom defeated the Mughal Empire’s attempt to expand into Northeast India during the 17th century. Central authority collapsed following the Moamoria rebellion in the late 18th century. Internecine conflicts between dynastic claimants led to Burmese intervention, and the kingdom faced multiple Burmese invasions after 1817. British intervention led to the First Anglo-Burmese War, and the control of the kingdom passed into the hands of the East India Company through the Treaty of Yandabo in 1826.

The kingdom was largely multi-ethnic, with the ethnic Tai-Ahom people constituting less than 10% of the population according to the 1872 and 1881 censuses of British India. 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. The Ahoms initially called their kingdom Mong Dun Shun Kham till 1401 (Assamese: xunor-xophura; English: casket of gold), but adopted Assam in the 15th century. 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.