Sutamla
Encyclopedia
Jayadhwaj Singha' Sutamla (1648-1663) (Jayadhwaj Singha) was the 20th Ahom king
who ruled the Ahom kingdom
. During his reign the Mughal viceroy at Bengal Mir Jumla II
invaded and occupied his capital Garhgaon
as a result of which he had to retreat to the Namrup area, and because of this flight he is also known as the Bhagania Roja in the Buranji
s.
, was deposed by the Burhagohain
.
emperor Shah Jahan
fell sick in 1658, the vassal ruler of Koch Bihar
, Pran Narayan, threw off the Mughal yoke and took possession of Kamrup and Hajo. The Ahom's, taking advantage of the confusion, pushed west and took control of the region up to the Sankosh river. Mir Jumla II
, Auranzeb's general pursued Prince Shuja to the Arakan, was made the governor of Bengal. Very soon he repossessed Koch Bihar and began his campaign against the Ahom kingdom on January 4, 1662. The Ahoms took at stand at the Jogighopa fort at the Manas river. Mir Jumla overran Jogighopa, Guwahati, Simlagarh, Salagarh and finally Sutamla's capital Garhgaon on March 17, which the Ahom king had abandoned for Namrup
.
Early onset of monsoon that year made it difficult for Mir Jumla to transfer the voluminous booty that fell into his hands following his capture of Garhgaon. Atan Burhagohain
, who was left behind as rearguard, began harassing the Mughal with guerrilla tactics, and Mir Jumla had to fall back to Garhgaon and Mathurapur, with the Ahoms taking back possession of the rest of the kingdom. Sutamla came down from Namrup and camped at Solaguri.
Ahom Dynasty
The Ahom Dynasty ruled the Ahom Kingdom in present-day Assam for nearly 600 years. The dynasty was established by Sukaphaa, a Shan prince of Mong Mao who came to Assam after crossing the Patkai mountains...
who ruled the Ahom kingdom
Ahom kingdom
The Ahom Kingdom was a medieval kingdom in the Brahmaputra valley in Assam that maintained its sovereignty for nearly 600 years and successfully resisted Mughal expansion in North-East India...
. During his reign the Mughal viceroy at Bengal Mir Jumla II
Mir Jumla II
Mir Jumla II was a prominent subahdar of Bengal in Eastern India under the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. An Iranian by birth, his original name was Mir Muhammad Saeed Ardestani...
invaded and occupied his capital Garhgaon
Garhgaon
Garhgaon was the capital of the Ahom kingdom for many years. It was built by the Ahom king Suklenmung in 1540. It lies 13 km east of present-day Sibsagar town. The palace structures were made of wood and stones...
as a result of which he had to retreat to the Namrup area, and because of this flight he is also known as the Bhagania Roja in the Buranji
Buranji
Buranjis are a class of historical chronicles written in the Ahom and Assamese languages. The first such Buranji was written on the instructions of the first Ahom king Sukaphaa who established the Ahom kingdom in 1228...
s.
Accession
Sutamla became the king after his father, the erstwhile king SutingphaaSutingphaa
Sutingphaa was a king of the Ahom kingdom. He was sickly and had scoliosis, and thus was also known as noriya roja and kekura roja. He was often unable to attend to public duties and had to be carried in a palanquin.-Ascension:...
, was deposed by the Burhagohain
Burhagohain
Burhagohain was the first of the two original counsellors in the Ahom kingdom. He was selected by the Ahom king from members of the Ahom nobility , who was not eligible for the position of Ahom kingship. The other original counsellor is the Borgohain. Both the positions existed from the time of...
.
Mir Jumla's invasion
After the MughalMughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
emperor Shah Jahan
Shah Jahan
Shah Jahan Shah Jahan (also spelled Shah Jehan, Shahjehan, , Persian: شاه جهان) (January 5, 1592 – January 22, 1666) Shah Jahan (also spelled Shah Jehan, Shahjehan, , Persian: شاه جهان) (January 5, 1592 – January 22, 1666) (Full title: His Imperial Majesty Al-Sultan al-'Azam wal Khaqan...
fell sick in 1658, the vassal ruler of Koch Bihar
Koch Bihar
Koch Bihar was a small kingdom located south of the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, west of the upper Brahmaputra valley Ahom kingdom, and north-east of the Ganges plain and Bengal. It was formed when the Kamata Kingdom under the Koch dynasty split following the death of Nara Narayan in 1586. The...
, Pran Narayan, threw off the Mughal yoke and took possession of Kamrup and Hajo. The Ahom's, taking advantage of the confusion, pushed west and took control of the region up to the Sankosh river. Mir Jumla II
Mir Jumla II
Mir Jumla II was a prominent subahdar of Bengal in Eastern India under the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. An Iranian by birth, his original name was Mir Muhammad Saeed Ardestani...
, Auranzeb's general pursued Prince Shuja to the Arakan, was made the governor of Bengal. Very soon he repossessed Koch Bihar and began his campaign against the Ahom kingdom on January 4, 1662. The Ahoms took at stand at the Jogighopa fort at the Manas river. Mir Jumla overran Jogighopa, Guwahati, Simlagarh, Salagarh and finally Sutamla's capital Garhgaon on March 17, which the Ahom king had abandoned for Namrup
Namrup
Namrup is a small beautiful town situated close to the foothills of the great Patkai Mountain Range in the extreme northeastern part of Assam Arunachal, India. The river Dilih or Disang flows through it. Namrup is situated in a picturesque location amidst wet-paddy fields, Assamese villages,...
.
Early onset of monsoon that year made it difficult for Mir Jumla to transfer the voluminous booty that fell into his hands following his capture of Garhgaon. Atan Burhagohain
Atan Burhagohain
Atan Burhagohain was one of the most influential Burhagohains in the nearly 600 years of the Ahom kingdom. Atan Burhagohain Rajmantri Dangaria was the Prime Minister of Assam for more than seventeen years, January 1662 to March 1679...
, who was left behind as rearguard, began harassing the Mughal with guerrilla tactics, and Mir Jumla had to fall back to Garhgaon and Mathurapur, with the Ahoms taking back possession of the rest of the kingdom. Sutamla came down from Namrup and camped at Solaguri.