52-565: The Chutia kingdom (also Sadiya or Chutiya ) (Pron: / ˈ s ʊ ð iː j ɑː / or Sutia ) was a late medieval state that developed around Sadiya in present Assam and adjoining areas in Arunachal Pradesh . It extended over almost the entire region of present districts of Lakhimpur , Dhemaji , Tinsukia , and some parts of Dibrugarh in Assam, as well as the plains and foothills of Arunachal Pradesh. The kingdom fell around
104-612: A Chutia dependency. In 1513 a border conflict triggered the Chutia king Dhirnarayan to advance to Dikhowmukh and build a stockade of banana trees ( Posola-garh ). This fort was attacked by a force led by the Ahom king himself leading to a rout of the Chutia soldiers. This was followed by the Ahoms erecting a fort at Mungkhrang, which fell within the Chutia territory. In 1520 the Chutias attacked
156-445: A few recently compiled Buranjis provide the history of the Chutia kingdom; though some sections of these compilations are old, the sections that contain the list of Chutiya rulers cannot be traced to earlier than 19th century and scholars have shown great disdain for these accounts and legends. Neog (1977) compiled a list of rulers from epigraphic records based crucially on identifying the donor-ruler named Dharmanarayan, mentioned as
208-422: A grant by his son Satyanarayana who nevertheless draws his royal lineage from Asuras in his mother's side who were "enemies of the gods". The mention of Satyanarayana as having the shape of his maternal uncle (which is also an indirect reference to the same Asura/Daitya lineage) may also constitute evidence of matrilineality of the Chutia ruling family, or that their system was not exclusively patrilineal . On
260-455: A large army at Borduwa and attacked the Chutiyas and Khamtis but was held captive, he was later set free and had to settle at Makhibaha (in present-day Nalbari district ). Suhungmung , the Ahom king, followed an expansionist policy and annexed Habung and Panbari in either 1510 or 1512, which, according to Swarnalata Baruah, was ruled by Bhuyans while according to Amalendu Guha, it was
312-497: A modern "British" period. He argues that there is no clear sharp distinction between when the ancient period ended and when the medieval period began, noting dates ranging from the 7th century to the 13th century. Tamreswari Temple Tamreswari temple (also Dikkaravasini ) is a temple for the tribal goddess called Kecaikhati is situated about 18 km away from Sadiya in Tinsukia district , Assam , India. The temple
364-656: A variety of cultures, languages, writing systems, and religions . At the beginning of the time period, Buddhism was predominant throughout the area , with the Pala Empire on the Indo Gangetic Plain sponsoring the Buddhist faith's institutions. One such institution was the Buddhist Nalanda mahavihara in modern-day Bihar , India , a centre of scholarship and brought a divided South Asia onto
416-495: Is accepted that the rule of the Chutia rulers ended in 1523, different sources give different accounts. The extant Ahom Buranji and the Deodhai Asam Buranji mention that in the final battles and the aftermath both the king (Dhirnarayan) and the heir-apparent (Sadhaknarayan) were killed; whereas Ahom Buranji-Harakanta Barua mentions that the remnant of the royal family was deported to Pakariguri, Nagaon—a fact that
468-518: Is believed that the kingdom was established in the 13th century before the advent of the Ahoms in 1228, and Buranjis , the Ahom chronicles, indicate the presence of a Chutia state the evidence is scarce that it was of any significance before the second half of the 14th century. The earliest Chutia king in the epigraphic records is Nandin or Nandisvara, from the latter half of the 14th century, mentioned in
520-562: Is called Tamreswari. The whole temple was surrounded with brick walls and on the western wall there was a place for human sacrifice. The roof of the Tamresari temple was originally sheeted with copper as mentioned in the Changrung Phukan Buranji (1711 AD), from which the name is derived. In 1848, when Dalton visited the site, he found a stone structure, but the copper roof was already removed. As per T.Block who visited
572-441: Is disputed by scholars. The extent of the power of the kings of the Chutia kingdom is not known in detail. Nevertheless, it is estimated by most modern scholarship that Chutias held the areas on the north bank of Brahmaputra from Parshuram Kund (present-day Arunachal Pradesh) in the east and included the present districts of Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Tinsukia and some parts of Dibrugarh in Assam. Between 1228 and 1253 when Sukaphaa ,
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#1732776772331624-463: The Matak rajya around 1805—or after the end of Ahom rule in 1826. This document relates the legend of Birpal. Yet another Assamese document, retrieved by Ney Elias from Burmese sources, relates an alternative legend of Asambhinna. These different legends suggest that the genealogical claims of the Chutias have changed over time and that these are efforts to construct (and reconstruct) the past. Only
676-536: The Buranjis that describe a friendly contact during the reign of Sutuphaa (1369–1379), in which the Ahom king was killed. To avenge the death the next Ahom ruler Tyaokhamti (1380–1387) led an expedition against the Chutiya kingdom but returned with no success. During the same era (late 14th century) Gadadhara, the younger brother of Rajadhara and a descendent of Candivara in order to expand his influence collected
728-743: The Ghurid Empire and founded the Delhi Sultanate which ruled until the 16th century. As a consequence, Buddhism declined in South Asia , but Hinduism survived and reinforced itself in areas conquered by Muslim empires. In the far South, the Vijayanagara Empire resisted Muslim conquests, sparking a long rivalry with the Bahmani Sultanate . The turn of the 16th century would see introduction of gunpowder and
780-598: The Gupta Empire in the 6th century CE to the start of the early modern period in 1526 with the start of the Mughal Empire , although some historians regard it as both starting and finishing later than these points. The medieval period is itself subdivided into the early medieval and late medieval eras. In the early medieval period, there were more than 40 different states on the Indian subcontinent, which hosted
832-576: The Muslim conquests of the Indian subcontinent and the decline of Buddhism, the eventual founding of the Delhi Sultanate and the creation of Indo-Islamic architecture , followed by the world's major trading nation, the Bengal Sultanate . The start of the Mughal Empire in 1526 marked the beginning of the early modern period of Indian history, often referred to as the Mughal era. Sometimes,
884-450: The 16th century to the 18th century, is often referred to as the early modern period , but is sometimes also included in the 'late medieval' period. An alternative definition, often seen in those more recent authors who still use the term at all, brings the start of the medieval times forward, either to about 1000 CE, or to the 12th century. The end may be pushed back to the 18th century, Hence, this period can be effectively considered as
936-573: The Ahom fort Mungkhrang twice and in the second killed the commander and occupied it, but the Ahoms, led by Phrasengmung and King-lung attacked it by land and water and recovered it soon and erected an offensive fort on the banks of the Dibru River. In 1523 the Chutia king attacked the fort at Dibru but was routed. The Ahom king with the assistance of the Bhuyans hotly pursued the retreating Chutia king who sued for peace. The peace overtures failed and
988-548: The Ahom king settled this Bhuyans in Kalabari , Gohpur , Kalangpur and Narayanpur as tributary feudal lords. The Ahom kingdom took complete possession of the royal insignia and other assets of the erstwhile kingdom. The rest of the royal family was dispersed, the nobles were disbanded and the territory was placed under the newly created office of the Sadiakhowa Gohain . Besides the material assets and territories,
1040-496: The Ahoms also took possession of the people according to their professions. Many of Brahmans, Kayasthas, Kalitas, and Daivajnas (the caste Hindus), as well as the artisans such as bell-metal workers, goldsmiths, blacksmiths, and others, were moved to the Ahom capital and this movement greatly increased the admixture of the Chutia and Ahom populations. A sizeable section of the population was also displaced from their former lands and dispersed in other parts of Upper Assam. After annexing
1092-516: The Ahoms learned the use of gunpowder from the Chutias and most of the Hiloi-Khanikars (gunmakers) belonged to the Chutia community. Medieval India#Late medieval period Medieval India refers to a long period of post-classical history of the Indian subcontinent between the "ancient period" and "modern period". It is usually regarded as running approximately from the break-up of
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#17327767723311144-427: The Chutia kingdom, offices of the Ahom kingdom, Thao-mung Mung-teu (Bhatialia Gohain) with headquarters at Habung ( Lakhimpur ), Thao-mung Ban-lung (Banlungia Gohain) at Banlung ( Dhemaji ), Thao-mung Mung-klang (Dihingia gohain) at Dihing ( Dibrugarh , Majuli and northern Sibsagar ), Chaolung Shulung at Tiphao (northern Dibrugarh ) were created to administer the newly acquired regions. The Chutias may have been
1196-439: The Chutia state & its population was absorbed into the Ahom kingdom through Ahomisation — the nobility and the professional classes were given important positions in the Ahom officialdom and the land was resettled for wet rice cultivation. Though there is no doubt on the Chutia polity, the origins of this kingdom are obscure. It is generally held that the Chutias established a state around Sadiya and contiguous areas—though it
1248-492: The Mughal era is also referred as the 'late medieval' period. Modern historical works written on medieval India have received some criticism from scholars studying the historiography of the period. E. Sreedharan argues that, from the turn of the century until the 1960s, Indian historians were often motivated by Indian nationalism . Peter Hardy notes that the majority of modern historical works on medieval India up until then were written by British and Hindu historians, whereas
1300-408: The beginning of Muslim domination to British India . Or the "early medieval" period as beginning in the 8th century, and ending with the 11th century. The use of "medieval" at all as a term for periods in Indian history has often been objected to, and is probably becoming more rare (there is a similar discussion in terms of the history of China ). It is argued that neither the start nor the end of
1352-402: The blocks of the projecting wall, were reddish porphyritic granite of an adamantine hardness. There was another stone gateway at the southeast corner leading to the stream, in the bed of which are several carved and plain blocks of granite and sandstone. According to Debala Mitra(1956), the temple was originally Chaturayatana, i.e. having four shrines, built of sandstone and granite and located in
1404-581: The first people in Assam to use firearms. When the Ahoms annexed Sadiya, they recovered hand-cannons called Hiloi as well as large cannons called Bor-top , Mithahulang being one of them. As per Maniram Dewan, the Ahom king Suhungmung received around three thousand blacksmiths after defeating the Chutias. These people were settled in the Bosa (Doyang) and Ujoni regions and asked to build iron implements like knives, daggers, swords as well as guns and cannons. The Chutias were defeated in 1523 which might point out that
1456-564: The founder of the Ahom kingdom , was searching for a place to settle in Upper Assam, he and his followers did not encounter any resistance from the Chutia state, implying that the Chutia state must have been of little significance till at least the mid 14th century, when the Ahom chronicles mention them for the first time. However, it is also known that the Ahoms themselves were a people with a precariously small territory and population, which may indicate this absence of serious interaction with
1508-529: The global intellectual stage. Another accomplishment was the invention of the Chaturanga game which later was exported to Europe and became Chess . In Southern India, the Tamil Hindu Kingdom of Chola gained prominence with an overseas empire that controlled parts of modern-day Sri Lanka , Malaysia , and Indonesia as overseas territories, and helped spread Hinduism and Buddhism into
1560-438: The height of 8 feet, on the foundation of rudely cut blocks of sandstone. The entrance of the complex was on the west face, where there had been a stone enclosure and door. The ruins of the gateway which remains include the lintel carved on the edge in a chain of lotus flowers, some ornamented small pillars and an elephant statue. The three blocks forming the doorway, each of 7.5 feet long and 2 feet by 18 inches in girth, along with
1612-625: The historic cultural area of Southeast Asia . In this time period, neighbouring regions such as Afghanistan , Tibet , and Southeast Asia were under South Asian influence . During the late medieval period, a series of Islamic invasions by the Arabs , the Ghaznavids and the Ghurids conquered large portions of Northern India. Turkic general Qutb ud-Din Aibak declared his independence from
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1664-596: The king finally fell to Ahom forces, bringing an end to the Chutia kingdom. Though some late spurious manuscripts mention the fallen king as Nitipal (or Chandranarayan) the extant records from the Buranjis such as the Ahom Buranji and the Deodhai Ahom Buranji do not mention him; rather they mention that the king (Dhirnarayan) and the prince (Sadhaknarayan) were killed. As a reward for the assistance,
1716-476: The kingdom is also called Sadiya . The Buranjis written in the Ahom language called the kingdom Tiora (literal meaning: Burha Tai/Elder Tai ) whereas those written in the Assamese language called it Chutia . Brahmanical influence in the form of Vaishnavism reached the Chutia polity in the eastern extremity of present-day Assam during the late fourteenth century. Vaishnava Brahmins created lineages for
1768-487: The line of Viyutsva . Unfortunately, there are many manuscript accounts of the origin and lineage that do not agree with each other or with the epigraphic records and therefore have no historical moorings. One such source is Chutiyar Rajar Vamsavali, first published in Orunodoi in 1850 and reprinted in Deodhai Asam Buranji . Historians consider this document to have been composed in the early 19th century—to legitimize
1820-405: The old settled people of the neighborhood until the 14th century. At its largest extent, the Chutia influence might have extended up to Viswanath in the present Darrang district of Assam, though the main control was confined to the river valleys of Subansiri , Brahmaputra , Lohit and Dihing and hardly extended to the hills even at its zenith. The earliest mention of a Chutia king is found in
1872-458: The other hand, a later king Durlabhnarayana mentions that his grandfather Ratnanarayana (identified with Satyanarayana) was the king of Kamatapura which might indicate that the eastern region of Sadhaya was politically connected to the western region of Kamata . In these early inscriptions, the kings are said to be seated in Sadhyapuri, identified with the present-day Sadiya ; which is why
1924-493: The period from the 6th century, the first half of the 7th century, or the 8th century up to the 16th century, essentially coinciding with the Middle Ages of Europe. It may be divided into two periods: The 'early medieval period' which lasted from the 6th to the 13th century and the 'late medieval period' which lasted from the 13th to the 16th century, ending with the start of the Mughal Empire in 1526. The Mughal era, from
1976-572: The period really mark fundamental changes in Indian history, comparable to the European equivalents. Burton Stein still used the concept in his A History of India (1998), referring to the period from the Guptas to the Mughals, but most recent authors using it are Indian. Understandably, they often specify the period they cover within their titles. The start of the period is typically taken to be
2028-402: The region after the fall of Kamarupa kingdom , between the 13th and the 16th century. Among these, the Chutia state was the most advanced, with its rural industries, trade, surplus economy and advanced Sanskritisation . It is not exactly known as to the system of agriculture adopted by the Chutias, but it is believed that they were settled cultivators. After the Ahoms annexed the kingdom in 1523,
2080-595: The reign of Suhitpangphaa (1780 - 1795), when the Ahom kingdom was attacked by the Konbaung dynasty of Burma . Scholars assert that Kesaikhaiti is equivalent to the Tai-Khamti female deity Nang Hoo Toungh . The stone inscription found in the temple reads: “Shiv-Charan-Prasadat Vridharajatan Ya-Sri-Srimata-Mukta Dharmanarayana Shri shrimati Digaravasini Ichtaka Di-Virchit-Prakara-Nivaddha Krit Agrahainike Saka 1364” The inscription describes that
2132-613: The rise of a new Muslim empire—the Mughals , as well as the establishment of European trade posts by the Portuguese colonists . Mughal Empire was one of the three Islamic gunpowder empires , along with the Ottoman Empire and Safavid Persia . The subsequent cultural and technological developments transformed Indian society, concluding the late medieval period and beginning the early modern period . One definition includes
Chutia kingdom - Misplaced Pages Continue
2184-468: The rulers patronized the non-brahmanised Dikkaravasini (also Tamresvari or Kechai-khati ), which was either a powerful tribal deity, or a form of the Buddhist deity Tara adopted for tribal worship. This deity, noticed in the 10th century Kalika Purana well before the establishment of the Chutia kingdom, continued to be presided by a Deori priesthood well into the Ahom rule and outside Brahminical influence. The royal family traced its descent from
2236-581: The rulers with references to Krishna legends but placed them lower in the Brahminical social hierarchy because of their autochthonous origins. Though asura lineage of the Chutia rulers have similarities with the Narakasura lineage created for the three Kamarupa dynasties, the precise historical connection is not clear. Although a majority of the Brahmin donees of the royal grants were Vaishnavas,
2288-457: The sacrifice and sung hymns. The temple was dedicated to Kechaikhati/Pishasi ( kechai means raw and khati means eat ), a powerful tribal deity or the Buddhist deity Tara , commonly found among different Bodo-Kachari groups . The worship of the goddess even after coming under Hindu influence was performed according to her old tribal customs. The temple was abandoned during
2340-402: The site in 1905, this square structure in the corner cannot have been the main building inside the complex and the brick wall evidently enclosed some sort of a grand temple in the center which has disappeared with time. According to S.F. Hannay, the present temple complex was as near as possible square with the doorway to the west. There was a substantial brick wall, about 4.5 feet thick rising to
2392-477: The slow collapse of the Gupta Empire from about 480 to 550, ending the "classical" period , as well as "ancient India", although both these terms may be used for periods with widely different dates, especially in specialised fields such as the history of art or religion. Another alternative for the preceding period is "Early Historical" stretching "from the sixth century BC to the sixth century AD", according to Romila Thapar . At least in northern India, there
2444-697: The son of Satyanarayana in the Bormurtiya grant with the Dharmanarayan, the father of the donor-ruler Durlabhnarayana of the Chepakhowa grant. This effectively results in identifying Satyanarayana with Ratnanarayana. A late discovery of an inscription, published in a 2002 souvenir of the All Assam Chutiya Sanmilan seems to genealogically connect the last historically known king, Dhirnarayan with Neog's list above. Though it
2496-459: The walls of the temple have been built using bricks ( Ichtaka ) by the son Mukta Dharmanarayan of the old king (name not specified) in the Saka year 1364 (1442 AD). The wall and doors of the temple were well designed with beautiful works. There were two giant elephant sculptures with silver tusks at the main door. The walls were made without any mortar. The temple roof was made of copper, that's why it
2548-427: The work of modern Muslim historians was under-represented. He argues that some of the modern Muslim historiography on medieval India at the time was motivated by Islamic apologetics , attempting to justify "the life of medieval Muslims to the modern world." Ram Sharan Sharma has criticised the simplistic manner in which Indian history is often divided into an ancient "Hindu" period, a medieval "Muslim" period, and
2600-485: The year 1524 to the Ahom Kingdom after a series of conflicts and the capital area ruled by the Chutia rulers became the administrative domain of the office of Sadia Khowa Gohain of the Ahom kingdom. The Chutia kingdom came into prominence in the second half of the 14th century, and it was one among several rudimentary states ( Ahom , Dimasa , Koch , Jaintia etc.) that emerged from tribal political formations in
2652-534: Was in the custody of non-Brahmin tribal priests called Deoris . Some remains suggest that a Chutiya king built a wall or the temple itself in the year 1442. There were four different kinds of Deori priest who looked after the temple. The Bar Bharali and the Saru Bharali collected dues of the temple and provides animals for sacrifice. The Bar Deori (Deori Dema) and the Saru Deori (Deori Surba) performs
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#17327767723312704-494: Was no larger state until the Delhi Sultanate , or certainly the Mughal Empire, but there were several different dynasties ruling large areas for long periods, as well as many other dynasties ruling smaller areas, often paying some form of tribute to larger states. John Keay puts the typical number of dynasties within the subcontinent at any one time at between 20 and 40, not including local rajas . This period follows
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