Mir Jumla's invasion of Assam

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Mir jumla invasion of
Ahom Kingdom
Result Mughal victory
Territorial
changes		 Mughals takeover the capital Garhgaon
Belligerents Mughal Empire Ahom kingdomCommanders and leaders Mir Jumlah II Sutamla

Ahom king Sutamla had to take flight and hide in Namrup during Mir Jumla's occupation of the capital. The defection of Baduli Phukan, a high ranking Ahom commander, precipitated the Treaty of Ghilajharighat in January 1663, with the Ahom king accepting tributary status. Mir Jumla died on his way back before he could reach Dhaka
, his capital.

Background

After

Shuja, a rival claimant of the Mughal throne, who escaped to the Arakan
. Mir Jumla was made the governor of Bengal and he sent Rashid Khan to recover the erstwhile Mughal territory in Kamrup. The Ahoms fortified Jogighopa at Manas river in preparation against the Mughals. Mir Jumla, in the meantime, took possession of Koch Bihar (Pran Narayan having fled to Bhutan) and began his march against the Ahoms on January 4, 1662. The Ahom fortifications at Manas were easily overrun.

Koch Behar was occupied in about one month and a half and making administrative arrangements there, Mir Jumla came to join the advance party towards Kamrup.[1] The king of Assam was prudent enough to evacuate Kamrup, but Mir Jumla decided to conquer Assam also. Mir Jumla took 12,000 cavalry, 30,000 infantry, and a fleet of 323 ships and boats up river towards Assam—the naval contingent comprised Portuguese, English, and Dutch sailors.[2]

Mir Jumla's march toward Garhgaon

Main article: Battle of Kaliabor

Mir Jumla divided his army into two and advanced east, one division along the north bank and the other along south bank of the

Brahmaputra river.[3] By February 4, 1662, Mir Jumla took possession of Guwahati. The Ahoms took stand at Samdhara (under the Borgohain) and Simalugarh (under Bhitarual Gohain) in the north and south banks respectively. Mir Jumla now transferred his entire army south and reached Simalugarh at the end of the month and overran it with some effort. The attack so disheartened the Samdhara fort that it was abandoned in haste and the Borgohain adopted a scorched earth
retreat. After a night-long naval battle at Kaliabor, the Ahoms again fell back. Mir Jumla then reached Salagrah, which too was abandoned.

Occupation of Garhgaon

Sutamla had no option but to take flight, leaving some riches in Garhgaon that fell into Mir Jumla's possession. Mir Jumla entered the capital on March 17, 1662.[4] from this campaign, Mir Jumla has manage to capture 100 elephants, 300000 coins, 8000 shields, 1000 ships, and 173 massive rice stores.[5]

Notes

  1. ^ Narayan Sarkar 1951, p. 277
  2. ^ Abdul Karim (1992). History of Bengal: The reigns of Shah Jahan and Aurangzib. Institute of Bangladesh Studies, University of Rajshahi. p. 446; 449. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  3. ^ (Gait 1906:128)
  4. ^ (Shakespeare 1914:41)
  5. ^ Muzaffar H. Syed 1905, p. 166

References


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