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92-614: Bakata was the capital of the Ahom kingdom (present-day Assam , Northeast India ) established by the Ahom king Suhungmung (1497–1539) in the 16th-century. Since his capital was by the Dihing river , Suhungmung is also known as the Dihingia Raja . The next king, Suklenmung (1539–1552), moved the capital to Garhgaon . The place is recorded in the Chinese chronicle Ming Shilu and

184-505: A British officer, observed these unique institutions and novel system of government. Sukaphaa had instructed that events during his rule be chronicled, a practice sustained by his successors; and there emerged the institution of Buranji writing, a practice of historiography rare in India. In the late medieval era, the Ahom kingdom was known to be a kaghazi raj (a kingdom with records) just as

276-574: A descendant of the first king Sukaphaa . Succession was generally by primogeniture but occasionally the great Gohains ( Dangarias ) could elect another descendant of Sukaphaa from a different line or even depose an enthroned one. Dangarias : Sukaphaa had two great Gohains to aid him in administration: Burhagohain and the Borgohain . In the 1280s, they were given independent territories, they were veritable sovereigns in their given territories called bilat or rajya . The Burhagohain 's territory

368-536: A large depopulation due to emigration as well as execution, but the conflicts were never resolved. A much-weakened kingdom fell to repeated Burmese attacks and finally after the Treaty of Yandabo in 1826, the control of the kingdom passed into British hands. The Ahom kingdom was based on the Paik system , a type of corvee labor that is neither feudal nor Asiatic . The first coins were introduced by Jayadhwaj Singha in

460-422: A network of embankments. The Tai- Shans had with them the basic political structures for state-building, surplus producing technologies such as sedentary wet-rice cultivation and hydrology, a patriarchal social organisation based on chiefs, and a literary form of their language . Whereas the earlier state formations ( Kamarupa ) borrowed political structures from North India that led to Indo-Aryan domination,

552-491: A process called Ahomisation . Sukaphaa befriended those among the Morans and Barahi who were amenable to join him and put to the sword those who opposed him, and in due course, many others were incorporated into Ahom clans. The Ahoms were acutely aware of their smaller numbers, and adroitly avoided confrontations with larger groups. The additions via Ahomisation enhanced the Ahom numbers significantly. This process of Ahomization

644-585: A section of the paiks at his command for his personal use (as opposed to the Dangariyas), the rest rendering service to the Ahom state. The Borphukan was in military and civil command over the region west of Kaliabor, and acted as the Swargadeo's viceroy in the west. Borbaruas were mostly from different Moran , Kachari, Chiring and Khamti communities, while the Borphukan of lower Assam was appointed from

736-428: A small percentage of the population lived in such towns. Some important towns of Ahom time were Rangpur, Garhgoan, Guwahati and Hajo. The capital city of Rangpur , was found to be 20 miles (32.18 km) in extent and thickly populated by Capt. Welsh in 1794. The population, however, never exceeded 10 thousand souls. The Ahom kingdom was ruled by a king, called Swargadeo ( Ahom language : Chao-Pha ), who had to be

828-478: A third Gohain, Borpatrogohain . The Borpatrogohain's territory was located between the territories of the other two Gohains. Royal officers : Pratap Singha added two offices, Borbarua and Borphukan , that were directly under the king. The Borbarua, who acted as the military as well as the judicial head, was in command of the region east of Kaliabor not under the command of the Dangarias . He could use only

920-695: Is an adaptation of the Mon–Burmese script via the Burmese alphabet . However, only a few Shan can read and write in their own language. Shan state is the most illiterate state with over a million illiterates in Myanmar due to lack of basic infrastructures and long ongoing civil war . The Shan are traditionally wet-rice cultivators, shopkeepers, and artisans . The Tai-Shan people are believed to have migrated from Yunnan in China . The Shan are descendants of

1012-477: Is referred to as Bajiata. Before it became the Ahom capital in the early 16th century, the Ming Shilu describes it as a polity subordinate to Da Gu-la , an unidentified polity located somewhere in modern-day Northern Burma or Assam. This Asia location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Ahom kingdom The Ahom kingdom ( Ahom : 𑜒𑜑𑜪𑜨, ahüm ; Assamese : আহোম), or

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1104-653: The Battle of Itakhuli , when the Ahoms were able to push the Mughals back to the west of the Manas river permanently. In 1657, owing to the 'War of succession' among the sons of Shah Jahan . Ahom king Jayadhwaj Singha extended his authority, occupied Kamrup , preventing the other rebellious Koch king Pran Narayan from securing his footing. He speedily extended his authority over whole of western Assam. He brought under his domain

1196-577: The Chutia community. The Borbarua and Borphukan offices were not hereditary and thus could be chosen from any families. Patra Mantris : The five positions constituted the Patra Mantris (Council of Ministers). From the time of Supimphaa (1492–1497), one of the Patra Mantris was made the Rajmantri (Prime Minister, also Borpatro ; Ahom language : Shenglung ) who enjoyed additional powers and

1288-494: The First Anglo-Burmese War and the Treaty of Yandabo in 1826, control of the kingdom passed into East India Company hands. Though it came to be called the Ahom kingdom in the colonial and subsequent times, it was largely multi-ethnic, with the ethnic Tai-Ahom people constituting less than 10% of the population toward the end. People from different ethnic groups became a part of the Ahom population due to

1380-633: The Irrawaddy valley. Various Shan states fought Ava for the control of Upper Burma . The states of Monyhin (Mong Yang) and Mogaung were the strongest of the Shan States. Monhyin-led Confederation of Shan States defeated Ava in 1527, and ruled all of Upper Burma until 1555. The Burmese king Bayinnaung conquered all of the Shan states in 1557. Although the Shan states would become a tributary to Irrawaddy valley based Burmese kingdoms from then on,

1472-595: The Kingdom of Assam ( / ˈ ɑː h ɔː m / , 1228–1826) was a late medieval kingdom in the Brahmaputra Valley (present-day Assam ) that retained its independence for nearly 600 years despite encountering Mughal expansion in Northeast India . Established by Sukaphaa , a Tai prince from Mong Mao (present-day Yunnan Province , China ), it began as a mong in the upper reaches of

1564-634: The Koch Hajo branch, from 1603 to prop them as a buffer against the Mughals who had extended their rule to Bengal by 1576. The collapse of the Koch Hajo power in 1614 resulted in the Mughals coming to power up to the Barnadi river. The Mughals attempted further ingress to the east in 1616 with the Battle of Samdhara which marked the beginning of the Ahom–Mughal conflicts which lasted the till 1682 in

1656-523: The Moamoria rebellion (1769–1805) when more than half of the population fell off. Again, during the Burmese regime , the Burmese depredations (1817-1825) further reduced the population by 1/3. It shows that only 7/8 lakh people remained, at the time of British annexation. King Pratap Singha is who, systematised the population distribution and settlement of villages. The census of adult male population of

1748-492: The Moamoria rebellion , also festering internal conflicts that tore the kingdom asunder. According to Guha (1986) Ahom Assam continued to flourish till 1770. The Tungkhungia regime witnessed a relative time of peace till first half of the 18th century, where the population increased, trade expanded, Coinage and monetization made headway. New arts and crafts, new crops and even new style of dress were introduced. Rudra Singha alias Sukhrungphaa ( r.  1696–1714 ), under whom

1840-468: The Mughal Empire was. At the time of their advent, the Ahoms came with advanced technologies of rice cultivation, and it was their belief that they were divinely ordained to turn fallow land to agriculture and also to absorb stateless and shifting agriculturists to their own ways. The shifting people were called kha and many such kha people were ceremonially adopted into different Ahom clans,

1932-561: The Raidangia mel given to the chief queen. Forward governors, who were military commanders, ruled and administered forward territories. The officers were usually filled from the families that were eligible for the three great Gohains. Lesser governors were called Rajkhowas, and some of them were: The dependent kings or vassals were also called Raja . Except for the Raja of Rani, all paid an annual tribute. These Rajas were required to meet

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2024-754: The Shan State Army/Special Region 3 and Shan State Army/Restoration Council of Shan State . In 2005 the Shan State National Army (SSNA) was effectively abolished after its surrender to the Burmese government. Some SSNA units joined the SSA/RCSS, which has yet to sign any agreements, and is still engaged in guerrilla warfare against the Burmese Army . During conflicts, Shan civilians are often burned out of their villages and forced to flee into Thailand. Some of

2116-702: The Shan State War Council (SSWC) and the Shan State Army (SSA) , becoming chair of the SSWC, and taking the Shan rebellion that started in 1958 to a new phase. Sao Nang Hearn Kham died on 17 January 2003 in exile in Canada at the age of 86. Prince Hso Khan Pha (sometimes written as Surkhanfa in Thai ), son of Sao Nang Hearn Kham of Yawnghwe lived in exile in Canada . He was campaigning for

2208-617: The 10th century CE. The Shan kingdom of Mong Mao (Muang Mao) existed as early as the 10th century CE but became a Burmese vassal state during the reign of King Anawrahta of Pagan (1044–1077). After the Pagan Kingdom fell to the Mongols in 1287, the Shan chiefs quickly gained power throughout central Burma, and founded: Many Ava and Pegu kings of Burmese history between the 13th–16th centuries were of (partial) Shan descent. The kings of Ava fought kings of Pegu for control of

2300-517: The 17th century had helped the kingdom to repulse the repeated Mughal invasions, had become extremely outdated. The later phase of the rule was also marked by increasing social conflicts, leading to the Moamoria rebellion were able to capture and maintain power at the capital Rangpur for some years but were finally removed with the help of the British under Captain Welsh. The following repression led to

2392-456: The 17th century, though the system of personal service under the Paik system persisted. In the 17th century when the Ahom kingdom expanded to include erstwhile Koch and Mughal areas, it came into contact with their revenue systems and adapted accordingly. Trade was carried on usually through barter and use of circulation of money was limited. According to Shihabududdin Tailash, currency in

2484-546: The Ahom domain occurred for the next two hundred years. The Ahom kingdom, for most of its history, had been closed and population movement closely monitored—nevertheless, there were two significant contacts. One was a friendly encounter with Chutia kingdom that turned into a conflict, and the other was a marriage alliance with the Kamata kingdom . At the end of the 14th century, the nascent Ahom polity faced crises of succession, two regicides, and three quick interregnum periods when

2576-400: The Ahom king to recover his country from the Burmese occupation . The first expeditionary force had to be routed off, which was sent through 'Naga Hills', in 1767 another force was despatched through the old Raha route. The second expedition was successful and achieved its objective in recovering Manipur. Kirti Chandra Borbarua who was the most influential noble in the Ahom court, had caused

2668-418: The Ahom kingdom consisted of cowries, rupees and gold coins. With the increase of external trade since the reign of Rudra Singha , there was a corresponding increase in the circulation of money. Inscriptions dating from the reign of Siva Singha , gives the price of number of commodities like rice, ghee, oil, pulses, goat, pigeon in connection with worship in different temples of the kingdom. This concludes that

2760-624: The Ahom kingdom. It was this formation of the Ahom kingdom that met the aggression from Bengal under Turbak in 1532 and it was able to eliminate the aggressive leadership (with significant loss to itself) and pursue the retreating invaders to the Karatoya river . In 1536, after the series of contacts with the Kachari kingdom , the Ahom rule extended up to the Kolong River in Nagaon; and by

2852-547: The Ahom kings among the new subjects Suhungmung assumed the title Swarganarayana ( Swargadeo ), though nothing like the Rajputisation process occurred with the Ahoms. The nature of the kings institutional relationship to the ministers changed with the creation of a new position, the Borpatrogohain , named after a Chutia office; and the creation of the offices of Sadiyakhowa Gohain (territories acquired from

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2944-478: The Ahom kings into Hinduism did not occur till 1648. The Assamese language entered the Ahoms court for the first time and briefly coexisted and eventually replaced the Ahom language. No more major restructuring of the state structure was attempted until the end of the kingdom. After the division of the Koch kingdom between two branches of the Koch dynasty in 1581, the Ahoms allied with their immediate western neighbor,

3036-566: The Ahom state formation provided an alternate model built on Southeast Asian political structures, and which provided the space for the development of a distinct political, social and cultural identity. Though Brahminical myth-making was a common feature that all ancient and medieval kingdoms—such as Chutia and Kachari kingdoms—in Assam utilised for legitimacy to various degrees, the Ahoms were able to use their alternate Lengdon-based legitimacy to establish their rule and effectively negotiate with

3128-591: The Brahmans which enabled them to gain goodwill with the Indo-Aryanized tribal groups and consolidate power. The Ahom kingdom transitioned into a full state rather dramatically in a short period during the reign of Suhungmung Dihingia Raja ( r.  1497–1539 ). It began first with a consolidation of the militia in 1510, followed by an expansion into the Bhuyan region at Habung in 1512 (probably with

3220-468: The Brahmaputra based on wet rice agriculture. It expanded suddenly under Suhungmung in the 16th century and became multi-ethnic in character, casting a profound effect on the political and social life of the entire Brahmaputra valley. The kingdom became weaker with the rise of the Moamoria rebellion , and subsequently fell to repeated Burmese invasions of Assam . With the defeat of the Burmese after

3312-559: The British commanders acknowledged. In the latter half of the 19th century Shan people migrated into Northern Thailand reaching Phrae Province . The Shan population in Thailand is concentrated mainly in Chiang Rai , Chiang Mai , Mae Hong Son , Mae Sariang , Mae Sai and Lampang , where there are groups which settled long ago and built their own communities and temples. Shan people are known as "Tai Yai" in north Thailand, where

3404-476: The Burmese Army indefinitely, or enslaved to do road work for a number of months—with no wages and little food. The horrific conditions inside Burma have led to a massive exodus of young Shan males to neighbouring Thailand, where they are not given refugee status. Shan people in Thailand often work as undocumented labourers. Males typically find low-paid work in construction, while many Shan females fall in

3496-543: The Burmese regime to leave the Federated Shan States and return to their own country, to respect the traditional culture and indigenous lands of the Shan people. He worked with the interim Shan Government, with Shan exiles abroad, and the Burmese regime to regain his country. Opinion has been voiced in the Shan State, in neighboring Thailand , and to some extent in distant exile communities, in favor of

3588-708: The Chutia kingdom) and the Marangikhowa Gohain (territories acquired from the Kachari kingdom), both of which were reserved for the Borgohain and Burhagohain lineages. The traditional nobles ( Chao ) now aligned with the Brahmin literati and an expanded ruling class developed. And when the Ahoms under Ton Kham Borgohain pursued the invaders and reached the Karatoya river they began to see themselves as

3680-660: The Duliya Barua, who was in charge of the royal palanquins; the Chaudang Barua who superintended executions; Khanikar Barua was the chief artificer; Sonadar Barua was the mint master and chief jeweler; the Bez Barua was the physician to the royal family, Hati Barua, Ghora Barua, etc. Other officials included twelve Rajkhowas, and a number of Katakis, Kakatis, and Dolais. The Rajkhowas were governors of given territories and commanders of three thousand paiks . They were

3772-591: The Kingdom attained its zenith. He subdued the kingdoms of Dimasa and Jaintia . He had made extensive preparations to extend the boundary west–towards, attempted to make a confederacy of Hindu kings of eastern India against Mughals . But he died right before he could execute his plans in 1714. Rudra Singha had re–instated the Vaisnava Satras, he himself had taken initiation of the Auniati Gosain (

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3864-595: The Shan Saophas retained a large degree of autonomy. Throughout the Burmese feudal era, Shan states supplied much manpower in the service of Burmese kings. Without Shan manpower, it would have been harder for the Burmans alone to achieve their victories in Lower Burma , Siam , and elsewhere. Shans were a major part of Burmese forces in the First Anglo-Burmese War of 1824–1826, and fought valiantly—a fact even

3956-912: The Shan are called Tai Yai (ไทใหญ่, lit.   ' Great Tai ' ) or Ngiao ( Thai : เงี้ยว ) in Tai yuan language . The Shan also have a number of exonyms in other minority languages, including Pa'O : ဖြဝ်ꩻ, Western Pwo Karen : ၥဲၫ့, and Mon သေံဇၞော် listen ( seṃ jnok) . The major groups of Shan people are: The speakers of Shan, Lue, Khun and Nua languages form the majority of Dai nationality in China . There are various ethnic groups designated as Tai throughout Shan State , Northern Sagaing Division and Kachin State . Some of these groups in fact speak Tibeto-Burman and Mon-Khmer and Assamese language , although they are assimilated into Shan society. The majority of Shan are Theravada Buddhists , and Tai folk religion . The Shan constitute one of

4048-400: The arbitrator who settled local disputes and supervised public works. The Katakis were envoys who dealt with foreign countries and hill tribes. The Kakatis were writers of official documents. The Dolais expounded astrology and determined auspicious time and dates for any important event and undertaking. Members of the royal families ruled certain areas, and they were called Raja . Members of

4140-740: The arrest of Sao Shwe Thaik of Yawnghwe in the Burmese coup d'état in March 1962 by the Revolutionary Council headed by General Ne Win , his wife Sao Nang Hearn Kham fled with her family to Thailand in April 1962 and Sao Shwe Thaik died in prison in November the same year. In exile, his wife took up the cause of the independence struggle of the Shan State . In 1964 Sao Nang Hearn Kham with her son Chao-Tzang Yawnghwe helped to form

4232-406: The barter economy was in the process of being replaced by the money economy, which was the outcome of Assam's developing economic ties both with feudal India and the neighbouring countries of the north east. Due to trade with Tibet, a coin of Jayadhwaj Singha carries a single Chinese character on each side reading Zang Bao. This had been translated as 'treasury of your honour'. Nicholas Rodhes read

4324-545: The border to Thailand, caused an evacuation of the surviving members across the Mekong River to Laos . This evacuation was aided by members of the Shan State Army, and in turn brought tighter measures restricting foreign aid in the area as violence increased. Whether or not there is an ongoing conflict, the Shan are subject to depredations by the Burmese regime; in particular, young men may be conscripted into

4416-446: The burning of Buranjis . Rajeswar Singha's reign marked the end of Ahom supremacy and glory, the signs were decay was already visible during his reign. He was succeeded by his younger brother Lakshmi Singha alias Sunyeophaa ( r.  1769–1780 ). The Ahom kingdom by the mid-18th century was indeed an over-burdened hierarchical structure, supported by a weak institutional base and meagre economic surplus. The Paik system which in

4508-419: The clan allegiances that held the Ahom polity together earlier replacing it with political authority of the king, and introduced the tradition of the singarigharutha ceremony, the state coronation of the Ahom kings that symbolised royal Ahom sovereignty, authority and legitimacy. Sudangphaa settled Habung brahmins close his capital, settled the sons of his adopted Brahmin family in frontier areas, dismantled

4600-400: The conflict with a treaty that fixed the boundary between the two polities at Patkai . This event was significant since it moved the Ahom polity from implicit subordination to explicit sovereignty, and this was accompanied by the transition of the name of the polity from Mong-Dun-Sun-Kham to "Assam", a derivative from Shan / Shyam . Sudangphaa established a new capital at Charagua, broke

4692-472: The declaration, the Burmese Army is rumoured to have used it as a reason to crack down on Shan civilians. Shan people have reported an increase in restrictions on their movements and an escalation in Burmese Army raids on Shan villages. The October 2015 Burmese military offensive in Central Shan State has displaced thousands of Shan people, as well as Palaung , Lisu and Lahu people , causing

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4784-483: The end of Suhungmung's reign, the size of the kingdom had effectively doubled. These expansions created significant changes in the kingdom—the Assamese-speaking Hinduized subjects outnumbered the Ahoms themselves; and the absorption of the Chutia kingdom meant a wide range of artisan skills became available to it increasing the scope for division of labour. To provide legitimacy to the rule of

4876-506: The end of its rule in the 19th century. The Ahom kingdom was established in 1228 when Sukaphaa , a Tai prince, entered the Brahmaputra valley having crossed the rugged Patkai mountain range from Mong Mao . Sukaphaa probably started his journey from his homeland with a small number, but he was supported and joined by other Tai chiefs and common followers along the way and entered Assam with approximately 9,000 persons. His destiny

4968-413: The end of the Battle of Saraighat , the Ahoms not only fended off a major Mughal invasion but extended their boundaries west, up to the Manas river . The western border was fixed at Manas river after the Battle of Itakhuli , which remained the same till the annexation by the British. Following the Battle of Saraighat , the kingdom fell straight under ten years of political disorder. During this period

5060-422: The endonym Tai (တႆး) in reference to themselves, which is also used in Chinese ( Chinese : 傣族 ; pinyin : Dǎizú ). Shan (ရှမ်း) is an exonym from the Burmese language ; the term itself was historically spelt သျှမ်း ( MLCTS : hsyam: ), and is derived from the term Siam , the former name of Thailand. The term has been borrowed into Chinese ( Chinese : 掸族 ; pinyin : Shànzú ). In Thai ,

5152-572: The erection of many temples and made numerous grants to the religious sites and brahmanas. He died in 1744, and his younger brother Pramatta Singha was set up on the throne setting aside the claims of Siva Singha's son. Pramatta Singha alias Sunenphaa ( r.  1744–1751 ), nothing of importance is recorded during his reign. He had erected the Rang Ghar with masonry and built the Sukreswar and Rudreswar temples in North–Guwahati. During his reign, Kirti Chandra Borbarua gained much of his political influence. In 1744, he received an ambassador from

5244-739: The four main Buddhist ethnic groups in Burma; the others are the Bamar , the Mon and the Rakhine . The Mon were the main source of early Shan Buddhism and Shan scripts . Most Shan speak the Shan language and are bilingual in Burmese . The Shan language, spoken by about 5 or 6 million, is closely related to Thai and Lao , and is part of the family of Tai languages . It is spoken in Shan State , some parts of Kachin State , some parts of Sagaing Division in Burma, parts of Yunnan , and in parts of northwestern Thailand, including Mae Hong Son Province and Chiang Mai Province . The two major dialects differ in number of tones : Hsenwi Shan has six tones, while Mongnai Shan has five. The Shan alphabet

5336-421: The goal of "total independence for the Shan State." This came to a head when, in May 2005, Shan elders in exile declared the independence of the Federated Shan States . The declaration of independence was rejected by most other ethnic minority groups, many Shan living inside Burma, and the country's leading opposition party, Aung San Suu Kyi 's National League for Democracy . Despite the domestic opposition to

5428-468: The hands of human trafficking gangs and end up in the prostitution business or bride trafficking. Despite the hardships, Shan people in Thailand are conscious of their culture and seek occasions to gather in cultural events. Although the Government of Burma does not recognise Wa State , the Burmese military has frequently used the United Wa State Army (UWSA) as an ally for the purpose of fighting against Shan nationalist militia groups. Following

5520-428: The help of the descendants of the Habungia Brahmans settled during Sudangpha's time ). The Indo-Aryan Bhuyans were relocated to the capital and absorbed into the lower echelons of the growing state as scribes and warriors. They in turn helped in the elimination of the royalty of the advanced Chutia kingdom in 1523; and that kingdom's nobility, commanders, professional classes, warriors and technologies were absorbed into

5612-442: The indigenous people; nevertheless the later Tungkhungia kings veered towards Saktism and the persecution of the shudra Mahantas and their laity that began during the reign of Siva Singha led to the Moamoria rebellion and ultimately to the eclipse of the kingdom. Sukaphaa (1228–1268) spent a couple of decades moving from place to place establishing colonies and finally settled down in Charaideo in 1253. He established

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5704-410: The initiation of Parvatiya Gosain and established him 'Nilachal mountain' with extensive land grants and paiks. Siva Singha was very much under the influence of Brahmanas and astrologers, 1722 it was predicted by the astrologers that his reign would soon come to a end owing to the evil influence of Chatra–bhanga–yoga . Therefore, he transferred the royal umbrella and throne to his wife Phuleshwari who

5796-432: The inscription as 'Currency of Tibet', Also these two characters were used by the Chinese in Lhasa between 1792 and 1836 with the meaning 'Tibetan currency. Furthermore, there was a significant contact between China and Tibet in the mid-seventeen century, so it is not unlikely that the Assamese would have thought have thought that a Chinese character was an appropriate for Assamese-Tibetan trade coin. This piece evidently

5888-492: The king of Twipra . He died in 1751. Rajeswar Singha alias Supremphaa ( r.  1751–1759 ), he was put on the throne by Kirti Chandra Borbarua by setting aside the claims of seniority of his elder brother Barjana Gohain . Rajeswar Singha had erected the most number of temples among the Ahom Kings, he was an orthodox Hindu and took initiation of Nati–Gosian (a relative of Pravatiya Gosain). In 1765, he sent an expedition to Manipur whose king Jay Singha made an appeal to

5980-403: The kingdom was without a king. Sudangphaa Bamuni Konwar ( r.  1397–1407 ), born and raised in a Brahmin household in Habung , was identified as a descendant of a past king and installed on the throne by the Burhaohain and Borgohain to end the period of crisis. He established Brahmin officers, advisors and communities near the capital and the Brahmin influence, though negligible,

6072-637: The majority Bamar leadership at the Panglong Conference , and agreed to gain independence from Britain as part of Union of Burma . The Shan states were given the option to secede after 10 years of independence. The Shan states became Shan State in 1948 as part of the newly independent Burma. General Ne Win 's coup d'état overthrew the democratically elected government in 1962, and abolished Shan saopha system. A Shan independence movement has been active and engaged in armed struggle, leading to intermittent civil war within Burma for decades. Currently two main Shan armed insurgent forces operate within Shan State:

6164-519: The most influential Brahmana Sattradhikar ) but later in his life he got inclined towards Shaktism , considering it to be more suitable for a monarch, he invited a famous Sakta Brahmana from Bengal–Krishnaram Bhattacharya alias Pravatiya Gosain. From his death bed he expressed his will that, all his five sons to be kings in an executive manner and advised them to take initiation of Parvatiya Gosain Siva Singha alias Sutanphaa ( r.  1714–1744 ), he dropped his father's plan to invade Benagal. He took

6256-424: The needs for resources and paiks when the need arose, as during the time of war. There were in total 15 vassal states. Shan people 'Shan' is a generic term for all Tai-speaking peoples within Myanmar (Burma). The capital of Shan State is Taunggyi , the fifth-largest city in Myanmar with about 390,000 people. Other major cities include Thibaw (Hsipaw), Lashio , Kengtung and Tachileik . The Shan use

6348-411: The nobles exercised immense power, and seven kings were put on the throne and deposed. In the meantime, Kamrup went back in the hands of Mughals for a few years. Gadadhar Singha ( r.  1682–1696 ) established the 'Tungkhungia rule' in Assam, which continued to remain in power till the end of the kingdom. In 1682, the Mughals were defeated in the Battle of Itakhul , and Manas river was fixed as

6440-425: The north bank (Uttarkul), the south bank (Dakhinkul), and the island of Majuli . The north bank (Uttarkul) was more populated and fertile but the Ahom kings set up their capital on the south bank (Dakinkul) because it had more inaccessible strongholds and defensible central places. From 1500 to 1770 A.D., one comes across definite signs of demographic growth in the region. There was terrible depopulation In course of

6532-424: The offices of the Dangarias— the Burhagohain ( Chao-Phrungmung ) and the Borgohain ( Chao-Thaonmung ). In the 1280s, these two offices were given independent regions of control; partly hereditary and partly elected, the king and the two counsellors held each other in check and balance. These institutions of checks and balances thus seeded held fast for six hundred years—in the 18th century John Peter Wade,

6624-545: The oldest branch of the Tai-Shan, known as Tai Luang ('Great Tai') or Tai Yai ('Big Tai'). The Tai-Shan who migrated to the south and now inhabit modern-day Laos and Thailand are known as Tai Noi (or Tai Nyai ), while those in parts of northern Thailand and Laos are commonly known as Tai Noi ('Little Tai' – Lao spoken) The Shan have inhabited the Shan Plateau and other parts of modern-day Burma as far back as

6716-622: The power of Mong Mao faded to be replaced the power of Mong Kwang, at which point the Ahoms stopped the tributes. The Ahoms began to call their domain Mong Dun Sun Kham ("a country of golden gardens"). Though Sukaphaa had avoided the Namdang region mindful of the numerically small Ahom contingent, but his son Suteuphaa made the Kacharis withdraw on their own via a stratagem and the Ahoms expanded into it; but no further expansions of

6808-604: 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 later times. The British-controlled province after 1838 and later the Indian state of Assam came to be known by this name. The kingdom maintained close political ties with other Tai-states especially with Mong Kwang (Nara) till

6900-467: The rightful heir of the erstwhile Kamarupa kingdom . The Ahom kingdom became more broad-based and took many features of its mature form under Pratap Singha ( r.  1603–1641 ), primarily to meet the sustained attacks from the Mughals. The Paik system was reorganized in 1609 under the professional khel system, replacing the kinship-based phoid system; and paiks could be permanently alienated to non-royal institutions via royal grants. Under

6992-891: The royal boats, the Bhitarual Phukan, the Na Phukan, the Dihingia Phukan, the Deka Phukan, and the Neog Phukan formed the council of Phukan. The Borphukan also had a similar council of six subordinate Phukans whom he was bound to consult in all matters of importance. This council included Pani Phukan, who commanded six thousand paiks , Deka Phukan who commanded four thousand paiks , the Dihingia Phukan, Nek Phukan and two Chutiya Phukans. The superintending officers were called Barua s. The Baruas of whom there were twenty or more included Bhandari Barua or treasurer;

7084-399: The royal families who occupy lower positions are given regions called mel s, and were called meldangia or melkhowa raja . Meldangia Gohain s were princes of an even lesser grade, of which there were two: Majumelia Gohain and Sarumelia Gohain . Royal ladies were given individual mel s, and by the time of Rajeshwar Singha, there were twelve of them. The most important of these was

7176-723: The same king, the offices of the Borphukan (viceroy of territories acquired from the Koches and the Mughals), and the Borbarua (the "secretary" of the royal government) were established to increase the number of Patra Mantris to five, along with other smaller offices. The practices of using Brahmins solely for diplomatic missions, the Ahom kings adopting a Hindu name in addition to their Ahom names, and patronising Hindu establishments began with Pratap Singha, though formal initiation of

7268-567: The service of a thousand additional paiks from the Jakaichuk village. The Borbarua and the Borphukan had military and judicial responsibilities, and they were aided by two separate councils ( sora ) of Phukans . The Borphukan's sora sat at Guwahati and the Borbarua's sora at the capital. Six of them formed the council of the Borbarua with each having his separate duties. The Naubaicha Phukan, who had an allotment of thousand men managed

7360-484: The silver earned from these trading activities. Another point by which we can understand the trade relation of Ahoms with other nations is through the use of Silver coins. It is to be noted that there are no silver mines in the northeast or in the rest of India, so the metal entered as a result of trade. In extent the kingdom's length was about 500 miles (800 km) and with an average breadth of 60 miles (96 km). The kingdom can be divided into three major regions:

7452-532: The state was taken very strictly so that every working man would be registered for the state service. The census were properly recorded in registers called paikar piyalar kakat . The following table estimates the population composition of classes, during the reign of king Rajeswar Singha (1751-1769). According to the population estimates computed by Gunabhiram Barua . population by Guha (1978) population by Bhuyan (1949) population by NPB population by Dutt (1958) There were towns, but only

7544-452: The tribal allegiances that held the polity together earlier and brought the Ahom kingdom very close to a full-fledged state. The next hundred years saw the kingdom mostly suppressing rebellious Naga groups, but a conflict with the Dimasa kingdom in 1490 saw the Ahoms, not strong enough to take them on frontally, suing for peace. The Ahom royalty continuously improved their relationship with

7636-638: The western boundary. Gadadhar Singha came in conflict with the Vaisnava Satras who began commencing immense power and influence over the state and people, and started a wide–spread persecution of the Vaisnavites. The rule of Tungkhungia Ahom kings was marked by achievements in the Arts and engineering constructions, the Tungkhungia reigme witnessed a relative time of peace and stability till

7728-438: The whole Brahmaputra Valley, from Sadiya in the east and Sherpur on the south. Thus, the Ahom state attained the greatest territorial zenith. In 1662, Aurangzeb to bring the lost tracts and to punish the rebels elements in that quarter, launched an invasion under his chief lieutenant Mir Jumla II , in this invasion the Ahoms could not resist up well, and the Mughals occupied the capital, Garhgaon. Unable to keep it, and in at

7820-602: The word Shan is very seldom used to refer to them. After the Third Anglo-Burmese War in 1885, the British gained control of the Shan states. Under the British colonial administration, the Shan principalities were administered separately as British protectorates with limited monarchical powers invested in the Shan Saophas . After World War II , the Shan and other ethnic minority leaders negotiated with

7912-741: The worst fighting in recent times occurred in 2002 when the Burmese army shelled the Thai border town of Mae Sai , south of Tachileik , in an attempt to capture members of the SSA 's Southern Faction who had fled across the Nam Ruak . While in July of that same year, in the Shan Township of Mong Yawng , the killing of a member of an NGO by the Burmese Tatmadaw , and the subsequent closure of

8004-480: Was Upper Assam , earlier the domain of the Kamarupa kingdom but which had since lapsed into deteriorating conditions, and his intention was not to conquer and raid but to permanently settle in fallow land and practice agriculture —and the Ahoms were primarily responsible for converting the undulating alluvial forest and marshy plains in upper Assam to flat rice fields able to hold plain water for rice cultivation via

8096-402: Was an attempt by Jayadhwaj Singha to facilitate trade with Chinese knowing person coming from the direction of Tibet. Rudra Singha is also said to have established an extensive trade with Tibet and to have encouraged intercourse with other nations although he strictly limited the extent to which foreigners were allowed into the country. Presumably, some of the coins of his reign were struck with

8188-476: Was between Sadiya and Gerelua river in the north bank of the Brahmaputra river and the Borgohain's territory was to the west up to the Burai river. They were given total command over the paiks that they controlled. These positions were generally filled from specific families. Princes who were eligible for the position of Swargadeo were not considered for these positions and vice versa. In the 1527, Suhungmung added

8280-476: Was felt for the first time. A number of rebellions erupted purportedly against this influence but Sudangphaa was able to suppress them and solidify his rule. One of the rebels invited a military expedition from Mong Kwang (called Nara in the Buranjis, the successor state of Mong Mao to which the early Ahom kings used to send tribute) resulting in a clash in 1401—but Sudangphaa defeated the expedition and concluded

8372-511: Was given the title of 'Bar–Raja' on the advice of Pravatiya Gosain. Phuleswari melded too much with the religious affairs, she had caused the insult of the Shudra–Mahantas. After the death of Phuleswari, two other wives of Siva Singha were set on the position of 'Bar–Raja', namely Ambika and Sarbeswari. Siva Singha reign was peaceful, except an expedition sent against the Daflas, he had caused

8464-459: Was particularly significant till the 16th century when under Suhungmung , the kingdom made large territorial expansions at the cost of the Chutiya and the Kachari kingdoms. At this initial stage the kingdom was still not fully sovereign. Sukaphaa sent his word of allegiance and tributes to Mong Mao , a practice that was continued by some of his successors till about the early 14th century when

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