Suhungmung

Suhungmung (r. 1497–1539), or Dihingia Roja was one of the most prominent Ahom Kings who ruled at the cusp of Assam's medieval history. His reign broke from the early Ahom rule and established a multi-ethnic polity in his kingdom. Under him the Ahom Kingdom expanded greatly for the first time since Sukaphaa, at the cost of the Chutia and the Dimasa kingdoms. He also successfully defended his kingdom against Muslim invasions, first by a general called Bar Ujjir and another by Turbak Khan. During his time, the Khen dynasty collapsed and the Koch dynasty ascended in the Kamata kingdom. His general, Ton-kham, pursued the Muslims up to the Karatoya river, the western boundary of the erstwhile Kamarupa Kingdom, the farthest west an Ahom military force had ventured in its entire six hundred years of rule.

The Brahmin Hindu community gave the title Swarganarayana to King Suhungmung to honor him. Suhungmung accepted this title mainly for political reasons, as it helped strengthen administration and made the native people feel that the Ahom rulers were part of their own cultural . Brahmins also lived within the Ahom administration and provided guidance about broader Indian political affairs. Many Brahmins came from the Kamata Kingdom to Ahom territory seeking safety from the Bengal Sultanate Invasion, and the Ahom kingdom allowed them to settle under its protection. and Ahom kings came to be known as the Swargadeo (literal meaning: Lord of the Heavens) which is the Assamese translation of Ahom word Chao-Pha. He is also called the Dihingia Raja, because he made Bakata on the Dihing River his capital. Suhungmung was the last progenitor Ahom king (all subsequent kings were his descendants).