Kamata Kingdom
Encyclopedia
The Kamata kingdom appeared in the western part of the older Kamarupa kingdom
in the 13th century, after the fall of the Pala dynasty
. The rise of the Kamata kingdom marked the end of the ancient period in the History of Assam
and the beginning of the medieval period. The first rulers were the Khens, who were later displaced by Alauddin Hussain Shah
, the Turko-Afghan ruler of Gauda
. Though Hussain Shah developed extensive administrative structures, he could not maintain political control and the control went to the Koch dynasty
. The Koches called themselves Kamateshwars (the rulers of Kamata), but their influence and expansions were so extensive and far reaching that their kingdom is sometimes called the Koch Kingdom.
The Kamata Kingdom comprised the tract of land bounded by the Karatoya in the west, the Brahmaputra in the east, the Dooars in the north and the Padma-Brahmaputra basin in the south. Most probably, Nalrajar Garh in Chilapata Forest was the earliest capital of Kamatapur; and subsequently through a long course of changes and developments the capital was shifted to Maynaguri and then to Prithu Rajar Garh; before its final shifting to Gosanimari, an ancient river port-town since the seventh century, for sometime, the capital was at Singijani. After the destruction of the kingdom of Kamata by Hussain Shah of Gauda, there emerged the Koch kingdom.
Sangaldip in the mid-seventh century, according to Dr. Sailen Debnath, was the first king of Kamatapur; though the continuous history of Kamatapur is available only after the fall of the Kamarupa Palas and the consequent disintegration of the ancient kingdom of Kamrup. Maharaj Prithu, Raja Sandhya, Maharaj Durlabhnarayan and Niladhwaj were the most powerful and influential rulers of the kingdom. Nilambar of the Khen dynasty was the last ruler of Kamatapur. Though he was a valiant fighter in the battlefield, yet, he had to give in to the tricks and military game-plans used by the generals of the army of Hussain Shah. But in earlier times the rulers of Kamatapur nearly in most of the occasions defeated the invaders from Gaur.
The Khen dynasty
ruled from their capital in Kamatapur (Gosanimari) now in Cooch Behar District
. The last king, Nilambar (1480-1498) expanded the kingdom to include the present Koch Bihar districts of West Bengal and the undivided Kamrup and Darrang districts of Assam and northern Mymensing in Bangladesh
as well as eastern parts of Dinajpur district .
(c1494-1519), an Afghan ruler of Gaur
, removed the last Khen ruler in 1498. According to tradition, this involved an instigation by the minister of Kamatapur whose son had a liaison with the Kamatapur queen, and Hussein Shah invaded the Kamata kingdom with 24,000 infantry, cavalry and a war flotilla . After a long seize of the Kamatapur fort and a tracherous win, Hussein Shah finally destroyed the city and annexed the region up to Hajo, thereby regaining much of the land Bengal had lost earlier to Kamatapur, and some more. Hussein Shah's son was made the viceroy.
Hussein Shah removed the local chieftains and established military control over the region. He issued coins in his name "conqueror of Kamru, Kamata". His conquest expanded the kingdom to the western border of the Ahom kingdom
. Hussein Shah finally lost military and political control to revolts by local chieftains including the Bara Bhuyans as well as the Ahom king, Suhungmung, and the region lapsed into local control and rise of the Koch dynasty
.
Nevertheless, the Afghan rule had lasting effects. Hussein Shah's coins continued to be used till 1518, when the Koch dynasty began consolidating their rule. Ghiasuddin Aulia, a Muslim divine from Mecca
, established a colony at Hajo. His tomb, which is said to contain a little soil from Mecca, now called "Poa Mecca" ("a quarter Mecca"), is frequented by Hindus and Muslims alike .
The Kamata kingdom then passed into the hands of another Tibeto-Burman group, the Koch Rajbongshi, giving rise to the Koch dynasty
. In the 16th century itself, one of the princes then ruling the eastern portion of the kingdom (Koch Hajo
) declared independence, and the two parts remained separated for ever, the boundary between the two forming roughly the boundary between the present Assam
and West Bengal
.
The Koch Hajo
kingdom soon came under attack from the Mughal
, and the region went back and forth for a number of times between the Mughal and the Ahoms
, and finally settling with the Ahoms. The western portion (Koch Bihar
) first befriended the Mughals and then the British, and the rulers maintained the princely state till the end of the British rule.
Kamarupa (History)
Kamarupa, also called Pragjyotisha, was the first historical kingdom in Assam that existed between 350 and 1140 CE i.e for almost 800 years. Ruled by three dynasties from their capitals in present-day Guwahati and Tezpur, it covered the entire Brahmaputra river valley and, at times, North Bengal...
in the 13th century, after the fall of the Pala dynasty
Pala dynasty (Kamarupa)
The Pala dynasty of Kamarupa ruled the kingdom from 900 CE to 1100 CE. Like the Pala dynasty of Bengal, the first ruler in this dynasty was elected, which probably explains the name of this dynasty "Pala". But unlike the Palas of Bengal, who were Buddhists, the Palas of Kamarupa were Vaishnava...
. The rise of the Kamata kingdom marked the end of the ancient period in the History of Assam
History of Assam
The history of Assam is the history of a confluence of people from the east, west and the north; the confluence of the Indo-Aryan, Austro-Asiatic and Tibeto-Burman cultures...
and the beginning of the medieval period. The first rulers were the Khens, who were later displaced by Alauddin Hussain Shah
Alauddin Hussain Shah
Ala-ud-din Husain Shah was an independent late medieval Sultan of Bengal, who founded the Hussain Shahi dynasty. He became the ruler of Bengal after assassinating the Abyssinian Sultan, Shams-ud-Din Muzaffar Shah, whom he had served under as wazir...
, the Turko-Afghan ruler of Gauda
Gauda
*Sanskrit ' :**Gauḍa region is a historical country in eastern India, which included Gaur in Bengal, of its eponymous capital, and of its inhabitants .**The ' , a branch of Panch-Gauda...
. Though Hussain Shah developed extensive administrative structures, he could not maintain political control and the control went to the Koch dynasty
Koch dynasty
The Koch dynasty of Assam and Bengal, named after the Koch tribe, emerged as the dominant ruling house in the Kamata kingdom in 1515 after the fall of the Khen dynasty in 1498...
. The Koches called themselves Kamateshwars (the rulers of Kamata), but their influence and expansions were so extensive and far reaching that their kingdom is sometimes called the Koch Kingdom.
The Kamata Kingdom comprised the tract of land bounded by the Karatoya in the west, the Brahmaputra in the east, the Dooars in the north and the Padma-Brahmaputra basin in the south. Most probably, Nalrajar Garh in Chilapata Forest was the earliest capital of Kamatapur; and subsequently through a long course of changes and developments the capital was shifted to Maynaguri and then to Prithu Rajar Garh; before its final shifting to Gosanimari, an ancient river port-town since the seventh century, for sometime, the capital was at Singijani. After the destruction of the kingdom of Kamata by Hussain Shah of Gauda, there emerged the Koch kingdom.
Sangaldip in the mid-seventh century, according to Dr. Sailen Debnath, was the first king of Kamatapur; though the continuous history of Kamatapur is available only after the fall of the Kamarupa Palas and the consequent disintegration of the ancient kingdom of Kamrup. Maharaj Prithu, Raja Sandhya, Maharaj Durlabhnarayan and Niladhwaj were the most powerful and influential rulers of the kingdom. Nilambar of the Khen dynasty was the last ruler of Kamatapur. Though he was a valiant fighter in the battlefield, yet, he had to give in to the tricks and military game-plans used by the generals of the army of Hussain Shah. But in earlier times the rulers of Kamatapur nearly in most of the occasions defeated the invaders from Gaur.
Khen dynasty
See: Khen dynastyKhen dynasty
The Khen dynasty of Assam replaced the Pala dynasty in the 12th century. Their accession marks the end of the Kamarupa kingdom, and the beginning of the Kamata kingdom....
The Khen dynasty
Khen dynasty
The Khen dynasty of Assam replaced the Pala dynasty in the 12th century. Their accession marks the end of the Kamarupa kingdom, and the beginning of the Kamata kingdom....
ruled from their capital in Kamatapur (Gosanimari) now in Cooch Behar District
Cooch Behar District
Cooch Behar district is a district of the state of West Bengal, India, as well as the district's namesake town. During the British Raj, the town of Cooch Behar was the seat of a princely state of Koch Bihar, ruled by the Koch dynasty....
. The last king, Nilambar (1480-1498) expanded the kingdom to include the present Koch Bihar districts of West Bengal and the undivided Kamrup and Darrang districts of Assam and northern Mymensing in Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
as well as eastern parts of Dinajpur district .
Invasion by Hussein Shah
Alauddin Hussain ShahAlauddin Hussain Shah
Ala-ud-din Husain Shah was an independent late medieval Sultan of Bengal, who founded the Hussain Shahi dynasty. He became the ruler of Bengal after assassinating the Abyssinian Sultan, Shams-ud-Din Muzaffar Shah, whom he had served under as wazir...
(c1494-1519), an Afghan ruler of Gaur
Gaur
The gaur , also called Indian bison, is a large bovine native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. The species is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986 as the population decline in parts of the species' range is likely to be well over 70% over the last three generations...
, removed the last Khen ruler in 1498. According to tradition, this involved an instigation by the minister of Kamatapur whose son had a liaison with the Kamatapur queen, and Hussein Shah invaded the Kamata kingdom with 24,000 infantry, cavalry and a war flotilla . After a long seize of the Kamatapur fort and a tracherous win, Hussein Shah finally destroyed the city and annexed the region up to Hajo, thereby regaining much of the land Bengal had lost earlier to Kamatapur, and some more. Hussein Shah's son was made the viceroy.
Hussein Shah removed the local chieftains and established military control over the region. He issued coins in his name "conqueror of Kamru, Kamata". His conquest expanded the kingdom to the western border of 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...
. Hussein Shah finally lost military and political control to revolts by local chieftains including the Bara Bhuyans as well as the Ahom king, Suhungmung, and the region lapsed into local control and rise of the Koch dynasty
Koch dynasty
The Koch dynasty of Assam and Bengal, named after the Koch tribe, emerged as the dominant ruling house in the Kamata kingdom in 1515 after the fall of the Khen dynasty in 1498...
.
Nevertheless, the Afghan rule had lasting effects. Hussein Shah's coins continued to be used till 1518, when the Koch dynasty began consolidating their rule. Ghiasuddin Aulia, a Muslim divine from Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
, established a colony at Hajo. His tomb, which is said to contain a little soil from Mecca, now called "Poa Mecca" ("a quarter Mecca"), is frequented by Hindus and Muslims alike .
Koch dynasty
See: Koch dynastyKoch dynasty
The Koch dynasty of Assam and Bengal, named after the Koch tribe, emerged as the dominant ruling house in the Kamata kingdom in 1515 after the fall of the Khen dynasty in 1498...
The Kamata kingdom then passed into the hands of another Tibeto-Burman group, the Koch Rajbongshi, giving rise to the Koch dynasty
Koch dynasty
The Koch dynasty of Assam and Bengal, named after the Koch tribe, emerged as the dominant ruling house in the Kamata kingdom in 1515 after the fall of the Khen dynasty in 1498...
. In the 16th century itself, one of the princes then ruling the eastern portion of the kingdom (Koch Hajo
Koch Hajo
Koch Hajo was the eastern portion of the Kamata kingdom that splintered off under Raghudev Narayan in 1581 from the Kamata kingdom then under Nara Narayana in medieval Assam. The Sankosh river was fixed as the boundary between Koch Hajo and the western portion that came to be called Koch Bihar....
) declared independence, and the two parts remained separated for ever, the boundary between the two forming roughly the boundary between the present Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
and West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
.
The Koch Hajo
Koch Hajo
Koch Hajo was the eastern portion of the Kamata kingdom that splintered off under Raghudev Narayan in 1581 from the Kamata kingdom then under Nara Narayana in medieval Assam. The Sankosh river was fixed as the boundary between Koch Hajo and the western portion that came to be called Koch Bihar....
kingdom soon came under attack from the Mughal
Mughal 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...
, and the region went back and forth for a number of times between the Mughal and the Ahoms
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...
, and finally settling with the Ahoms. The western portion (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...
) first befriended the Mughals and then the British, and the rulers maintained the princely state till the end of the British rule.