Jaintia Kingdom
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Jaintia Kingdom | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
500–1835 | |||||||
Jaintiapur (winter) Nartiang (summer) | |||||||
Religion | Niamtre (Niam Khasi), Hinduism (royal family/elites)[1][2] | ||||||
Government | Monarchy | ||||||
• (1500–1516) (first) | Prabhat Ray Syiem Sutnga | ||||||
• (1832–1835) (last) | Rajendra Singh Syiem Sutnga | ||||||
History | |||||||
• Established | 500 | ||||||
• Disestablished | 1835 | ||||||
| |||||||
Today part of | India Bangladesh |
The Jaintia Kingdom was a
Etymology
One theory says that the word "Jaintia" is derived the shrine of Jayanti Devi or Jainteswari, an incarnation of the Hindu goddess
Extent
The Jaintia Kingdom extended from the east of the
History
In ancient times,
The earliest known ruler, Ka Urmi Rani, married Sindhu Rai who was the ambassador to
When Guhak ascended the Jaintia throne in 600 AD and married a princess from Kamarupa, just like his father Hatak. Guhak had a deep interest in
Guhak had three sons; Jayantak, Gurak and Ladduk, and two daughters; Sheela and Chatala. It is said that his eldest daughter, Sheela, was once bathing in a lake south of the Kangsa-Nisudhana hill (which became the hillock of the Civil Surgeon's Bungalow during British rule) and she was kidnapped. After being rescued by Guhak, Sheela started to become more religious and live a secluded life. Chatala indulged herself in an unlawful relationship with one of the palace servants, leading to her being disowned and dumped in a distant island in the middle of 2000 square mile lake to the south of the kingdom. After Sheela's death at a young age, Guhak gave up his kingdom to also lead a more ascetic life. This port-area around the lake, which was the largest centre in the Jaintia Kingdom for trade, was named Sheela
Partitioned Jaintia
Jayantak built his own Kamakhya Bama Jangha Pitha temple in the southeast of his kingdom on top of a hill near modern-day
Jayantak's heir, Joymalla is remembered as an athletic ruler. There are legends of him allowing an elephant to walk over his chest. He is said to have been killed after attempting to fight a rhinoceros. He was succeeded by his son, Mahabal, and then his grandson, Bancharu. Bancharu was interested in cultivation, and planted many trees and increased production of honey,
Kamadeva was succeeded by his son Bhimbal. Bhimbal could not rule properly due to insurgencies amongst the hill rulers of the region. Jaintia was defeated in a battle and Bhimbal was either murdered or fled his kingdom out of disgrace. His minister, Kedareswar Rai, took over and began the Brahmin ruling dynasty of Jaintia.
New dynasty
In 1618, Dhan Manik conquered Dimarua leading to a war with Maibong Raja Yasho Narayan Satrudaman of the
Sometime after 1676, the Raja of Jaintia attempted to rebel against the Mughal Empire. The Akhbarats note that the Raja had gathered 1500 infantry and began plundering the nearby region and led a siege against the fort in Sylhet. In response, the Mughals sent the general, Shaista Khan, the nobleman; Iradat Khan and Raja Tahawar Singh (also known as Kunwar Tahawurr Asad) of Kharagpur Raj in Bihar. Together, they were able to defeat the Jaintia Raja and bring the kingdom back under imperial control.[11]
Subjugation under Ahoms
In 1707, Jaintia king Ram Singh kidnapped the
In 1757, the Nongkrem-KhynriamKhasi chief closed the Sonapur Duar, stopping trade between the Jaintia and Ahom kingdoms. An envoy of Jaintias assembled at Hajo where they informed the incident to Ahom Raja Suremphaa Swargadeo Rajeswar Singh who re-opened it for them.[12]
The British came into contact with the Jaintia kingdom upon receiving the Diwani of Bengal in 1765.
End
In 1821, a group of Jaintias kidnapped British subjects attempting to sacrifice them to Kali. A culprit was then found by the British who admitted that it was an annual tradition which the Jaintias have been doing for 10 years. The priest would cut off the victim's throat and then the Jaintia princess would bathe in his blood. The Jaintia believed that this would bless the princess with offspring. Upon hearing this, the British threatened the Jaintia Raja that they would invade his territories if this does not stop. The Raja made an agreement in 1824 with David Scott that they will only negotiate with the British. A year later, the Jaintias attempted to continue their annual sacrifice which they had previously agreed with the British that they would stop.
After the conclusion of the
Jaintia continued to exist though divided into pargana or fiscal division, within greater Sylhet such as the Jaintia Puriraj (Jaintiapuri Raj) pargana, Japhlang pargana, Chairkata pargana and Phaljur pargana. Puriraj had an area of 59.15 square metres and had a land revenue of £325 of 1875. Phaljur was 51.84 sqm and had a land revenue of £301. Chairkata was 37.88 square metres, consisted of 749 estates and land revenue of £276. Japhlang was 40.07 square metres, 342 estates and £279 land revenue.[20]
Rulers
Old dynasty (??-630)
- Urmi Rani (?-550)
- Krishak Pator (550-570)
- Hatak (570-600)
- Guhak (600-630)
Partitioned Jaintia (630-1120)
- Jayanta (630-660)
- Joymalla (660-?)
- Mahabal (?)
- Bancharu (?-1100)
- Kamadeva (1100-1120)
- Bhimbal (1120)
Brahmin dynasty (1120-??)
- Kedareshwar Rai (1120-1130)
- Dhaneshwar Rai (1130-1150)
- Kandarpa Rai (1150-1170)
- Manik Rai (1170-1193)
- Jayanta Rai (1193-1210)
- Jayanti Devi
- Bara Gossain
New dynasty (1500-1835)
- Prabhat Ray Syiem Sutnga (1500–1516)
- Maju-Gohain Syiem Sutnga (1516–1532)
- Burha Parbat Ray Syiem Sutnga (1532–1548)
- Borgohain Syiem Sutnga I (1548–1564)
- Bijay Manik Syiem Sutnga (1564–1580)
- Pratap Ray Syiem Sutnga (1580–1596)
- Dhan Manik Syiem Sutnga (1596–1612)
- Jasa Manik Syiem Sutnga (1612–1625)
- Sundar Ray Syiem Sutnga (1625–1636)
- Chota Parbat Ray Syiem Sutnga (1636–1647)
- Jasamanta Ray Syiem Sutnga (1647–1660)
- Ban Singh Syiem Sutnga (1660–1669)
- Pratap Singh Syiem Sutnga (1669–1678)
- Lakshmi Narayan Syiem Sutnga (1678–1694)
- Ram Singh Syiem Sutnga I (1694–1708)
- Jay Narayan Syiem Sutnga (1708–1731)
- Borgohain Syiem Sutnga II (1731–1770)
- Chattra Singh Syiem Sutnga (1770–1780)
- Yatra Narayan Syiem Sutnga (1780-1785)
- Bijay Narayan Syiem Sutnga (1785–1786)
- Lakshmi Singh Syiem Sutnga (1786-1790)
- Ram Singh Syiem Sutnga II (1790–1832)
- Rajendra Singh Syiem Sutnga (1832–1835)
Notes
- ^ Betty, Laloo (20 July 2016). "EARLY JAINTIA STATE FORMATION" (PDF). Reconstructing the early Jaintia state through oral traditions (Thesis). North-Eastern Hill University.
- ^ "Department of Tourism, Government of Meghalaya". Archived from the original on 30 March 2009.
- ISBN 978-81-901481-3-9.
- ^ Chowdhury, Iftekhar Ahmed (7 September 2018). "Sylhetis, Assamese, 'Bongal Kheda', and the rolling thunder in the east". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
- ^ a b c Nath, Rajmohan (1948). The back-ground of Assamese culture. A. K. Nath. pp. 113.
- ^ a b মোহাম্মদ আবদুল হাই. রাজা ইয়াং : ইতিহাসের এক রহস্যময় চরিত্র (in Bengali). Pothik.
- ^ Rahman, Fazlur (1991). Sileṭer māṭi, Sileṭer mānush. MA Sattar. p. 33.
- Names of Sylhet
- ^ East Pakistan District Gazetteers: Sylhet. East Pakistan Government Press. 1970.
- ISBN 978-81-86416-80-8.
- ISBN 978-1-00-065152-2.
- ^ Calcutta: Government of Assam.
- ^ (Gurdon 1914:xiv)
- ^ (Gait 1906:253)
- ^ (Gurdon 1914:xiv–xv)
- ^ (Gait 1906:284)
- Calcutta: Calcutta Central Press Company. pp. 281–326.
- ^ William Wilson Hunter (1886). The Imperial Gazetteer of India. Trübner & Company. p. 164.
- ^ (Gait 1906:302)
- ^ Hunter, William Wilson (1875). "District of Sylhet: Administrative History". A Statistical Account of Assam. Vol. 2.
References
- Gait, Edward A (1906). A Historyof Assam. Calcutta. ISBN 9780404168193.)
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - Gurdon, Philips Richards Thornhugh (1914). The Khasis. London: Macmillan & Co.