Acharya N.N., The History of Medieval Assam from the 13th to the 17th Century.pdf

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THE
HISTORY
OF
MEDIEVAL ASSAM
(
From
the Thirteenth to the Seventeenth century
)
A critical and comprehensive history of Assam during the first
four centuries of Ahom Rule, based on original Assamese
sources, available
both
in India and England.
DR. N.N. ACHARYYA, M.A.,
PH.
D.
(LOND.)
Reader in History
UNIVERSITY
OF
GAUHATI
OMSONS
PUBLICATIONS
T-7,
Rajouri Garden,
NEW DELHI-110027
'~istributed
by
WESTERN
BOOK
D W T
Pan
Bazar,
Gauhati-78
1001
Assam
Reprint
:
1992
@
AUTHOR
ISBN
:
81
-71 17-004-8
(HB)
Published
by
:
R.
Kumar
OMSONS I'UBLICATIONS,
T-7,
RAJOURl
GARDEN
NEW
DELHI-
I
10027.
Printed
at
:
EFFICIENT OFFSET
PRINTERS
215, Shahrada
Bagh
Indl. Complex,
Phase-11, Phone
:
533736,533762
Delhi
-
11
0035
TO
T H E
SACRED
MEMORY
OF MY
FATHER
FOREWORD
The
state of Assam has certain special features of its
own
which distinguish it to some extent from the rest of India.
One
of these features is a tradition of historical writing, such
as
is
not to be found in most parts of the Indian sub-continent.
T i
hs
tradition has left important literary documents in the form
of
the Buranjis or chronicles, written in simple straightforward
prose and recording the historical traditions of the various states
and dynasties which ruled Assam before it was incorporated into
the domains of the East India Company. These works form
an imperishable record of the political history of the region and
throw much light also upon the social life of the times.
It
is probable, though not proven with certainty, that this
historical tradition owes its inception to the invasion of the
Ahoms, who entered the valley of the Brahmaputra from what
is now Burma in 1228, for it
is
from this momentous year that
the Buranji tradition dates. Though some of the chronicles
incorporate older legends borrowed from the Hindu epic
tradition., the rich historical record commences with the invasion
of Sukapha and his brothers. For our knowledge of the earlier
period we have to rely upon inscriptions and passing references
in non-historical sources.
With the aid of the Buranji material, taken
in
conjunction
with all other available sources of knowledge, Dr. N.
N.
Acharyya
has produced an excellent reconstruction of the hiaory of Assam
during the first four centuries of Ahom rule.
I
believe that this
work forms as complete
a
picture as it is possible t o produce of
the process of Ahom expansion. Its
&r
has made every
possible effort t o check his sources with the aid of whatever
other material was available to him.
On
the whole they emerge
triumphantly from the test of historical criticism. Allowing
for minor inaccuracies, the Buranjis give reliable accounts of
the history of the kingdoms and dynasties t o which they refer,
and the main task of
the
modern historian in dealing with these
sources is not so much their criticism as their elucidation. Dr.
Acharyya has given to the world a very important study of the
history of medieval Assam, and
I
wholeheartedly rec~mmend
it
t o readers everywhere.
A.
L.
BASHAM
Canberra,
1966
In recant years there has been a growing
recognition
of t m
importance. of Assam's strategic and economic factors.
In
view of this demand for information the progress of historical
research has received new incentive and brought to light new
material widely scattered in the Buranjis or chronicles of Assam.
The material of the Buranjis is the outconle of the highest his-
torical and spiritual devotion and processed through the religious
fervour of the Assamese. The land of
Assam
may well be proud
of its Bur anjis which threw so much light on the past history
of Assam. Most of the Buranjis have now been putjlished, and
many have been translated, thanks, largely
to
the efforts of late-
lamented Professor
S.
K.
Bhuyan. But the comparison a?d
assessment of their data are necessary before a definite history
of the period can be written. The material of the Buranjis
like
all the medieval historical writing require also thorough sifting
in the light of all available evidence before they can be made to
produce sober history. The present work aims not only to
provide a most valuable analysis of the contents of the Buranjis
which are on the whole found to be accurate and sober accounts
of events but also coordination of this material and to indicate
its importaqce as the sources
of
history of Assam.
Tho period from the thirteenth to the seventeenth century is
a significant epoch in the history of Assam. Assam history takes
on a different complexion from that which it had in the earlier
period, for, from this time onward, written chronicles make
their appearance, and it
is
no longer necessary to reconstruct
the history of the region from the incomplete evidence of ins-
criptions. I t is a most important period the book has dealt
with in the history of Assam-a period, marked by the gradual
spread of Ahom power and the slow assimilation of the invaders
in the great body of Hindu culture, without their in
any
way
losing their individuality as a separate people. Indeed in
some
ways it is perhaps the most important of all the volumes of
this-kind, since i t provides a detailed account of
a
darkest period
of
Assam's history.

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