Mir Jumla's Invasion Of Assam

Mir Jumla's invasion of Assam, between 4 January 1662 and January 1663, was the most intrusive of all Mughal invasions of the Ahom Kingdom in the 17th century. Led by Mir Jumla II, the subahdar of Bengal during the reign of Aurangzeb, the Mughals managed to occupy the Ahom capital of Garhgaon. Nevertheless, the distressed Mughal forces returned with a treaty where the Ahoms agreed to a vassal status with a tributary arrangement akin to the ones the Mughal Empire had with the Rajputs. Mir Jumla died enroute to Dhaka, and the Ahoms pushed the Mughal garrisons out of Assam within four years, when Ahom forces took control up to the Manas river in December 1667.

Background

The Kamata kingdom under the Koch dynasty split in 1581 into Koch Bihar, which lay to the west of the Sankosh river and Koch Hajo, which lay between the Sankosh in the west and the Kameng river in the east—starting a bitter rivalry between two branches of the dynasty. Meanwhile, the Mughals were able to bring Bengal under some semblance of authority by 1583, though it was still being challenged by the Baro-Bhuyan of Bengal led by Isa Khan. The rivalry and conflicts between the two Koch domains continued to be hot driving Koch Bihar into Mughal vassalage and Koch Hajo to align first with Isa Khan, and when that disappeared, with the Ahoms. Eventually the Mughals under Islam Khan marched against Koch Hajo, removed Parikshit Narayan, the then ruler, and took control of his territory in 1613, bringing them into direct confrontation with the Ahoms. At this point the Koch Hajo region (or called Kamrup) ended up not with the Koch Bihar ruler but with the Mughals—and nearly took over complete control of Koch Bihar itself.

The Mughals called the newly acquired territory ''Villayat Koch Hajo'' and established four '' sarkars'': (1) Kamrup, (2) Dhekuri, (3) Dakhinkul, and (4) Bangalbhum. The local peasants, till then under the Paik system and now without a local ruler, revolted against the Mughal system imposed on them, and gained some recognition under a peasant leader called Sanatan.

Struggle for Kamrup

The Mughals now cast its imperial eye on the riches of the entire Brahmaputra valley and planned to take over the Ahom kingdom next. But the first expedition under the command of Aba Baqr in 1615 was unsuccessful, with the Ahoms routing the Mughals at the Battle of Samdhara (1616).

The Ahoms then started a proxy war (1616–1620) against the Mughals in Kamrup but which failed to drive them out—and the Ahoms changed course to prepare for a more direct campaign. The campaign, which began in March 1636 primarily under Bali Narayan, a scion of the Koch dynasty and the ruler of Darrang under the Ahoms, ended in December of the same year with the Ahoms gaining possession of most of Kamrup. This was followed immediately by a Mughal counter campaign in December 1637 under Mir Zeiuddin and Allah Yar Khan—and by April 1638 they defeated Bali Narayan at Barpeta, recovered Hajo, defeated the Ahoms at Kajali and then began planning to take the Ahom kingdom itself. In this second attempt into the Ahom kingdom, the Mughals were aided by the ruler of Koch Bihar, Pran Narayan, but in the final battle at Duimunisila, the combined Mughal and Koch forces were defeated and this ended with the Treaty of Asurar Ali, signed between Allah Yar Khan and Momai Tamuli Borborua, which fixed the Ahom-Mughal border at the Bornadi river, the original eastern boundary of Koch Hajo. Allah Yar Khan was appointed the ''faujdar'' at Hajo, and though there were disputes, they were settled diplomatically by Allah Yar Khan on the Mughal side and Momai Tamuli Borborua on the Ahom side.

Ahoms take ''old'' Koch Hajo

After Shah Jahan fell sick in 1657 the Bengal Subahdar and a claimant to the Mughal throne, Shah Shuja, left Bengal with his entire army and naval forces to participate in the war of succession leaving ''Sarkar Kamrup'' exposed. Pran Narayan, the ruler of Koch Bihar and a Mughal vassal, declared independence and moved to occupy Kamrup. His minister-general, Bhavnath Karji, came from the west and encamped at Hajo oppressing ryots and Muslim women. The Ahoms, led by Borbarua Tangsu Handikoi advanced from the east. Squeezed between the two advancing forces, the Koch from the west and the Ahoms from the east, Mir Lutfullah Shiraji, the then ''faujdar'' at Guwahati, fled to Jahangirnagar in early 1659, bringing the Koch and the Ahoms face to face. The Koch proposed a division of Kamrup but the Ahoms refused. The Ahoms then advanced against the Koch under the command of three Phukans up to the Sankosh in the west and south up to Hatshila, thus occupying the old Koch Hajo territory of Parikshit Narayan.

The Ahoms then evacuated the Mughal population in the newly occupied region to the Ahom kingdom, and installed a scion of the Koch dynasty who promised to bring a rapprochement between the Ahoms and the Koch powers as the king of the newly acquired territories.

Prelude to invasion

Aurangzeb rewarded Mir Jumla for his service in the Battle of Khajwa, which Aurangzeb won against Shuja; and when Shuja began his retreat to Bengal Aurangzeb charged Mir Jumla with his pursuit. At Tanda Shuja took his last stand and then escaped to the Arakan—when Aurangzeb received this news he appointed Mir Jumla the ''Subahdar'' of Bengal in June 1660—in his ''farman'' Aurangzeb wanted Mir Jumla to conquer Assam and Arakan after settling the administration in Bengal. Mir Jumla is said to have persuaded Aurangzeb to conquer Assam first to use as a base in future campaigns against Burma (Myanmar) and China. According to Sarkar, Mir Jumla was motivated both by imperialist design as well as Islamic zeal.

The Koch and Ahom rulers immediately sought peace—but Mir Jumla understood that it was a ruse to buy time to prepare for war. In 1661 Mir Jumla sent Raja Sujan Singh against the Koch and Rashind Khan against the Ahoms; but neither of them could move far. Sujan Singh's advance stopped at Ekduar due to the rainy season.

When Rashid Khan advanced against the Ahoms their forward commanders abandoned Hatishala and Baritala and retreated to the Manas river. Rashid Khan, fearing a snare, halted at Rangamati for reinforcements from Mir Jumla. At his camp he received an Ahom envoy inquiring him why he is attacking the Ahoms, which he sent to Mir Jumla. Mir Jumla let the envoys know that he would not invade the Ahom kingdom if the Ahom king handed over Kamrup, a daughter with a suitable tribute, and if it refrained from further aggression. Though Mir Jumla did not receive a reply then, he did receive the Ahom position after he had started his campaign—the Ahom king was not obligated to hand over the territory to the Mughals since he had acquired it from the Koch and not from the Mughals.

Mir Jumla, who had arrived in Golconda from Persia seeking fortune, and who rose through the ranks to become a general, now amassed an army to invade Assam himself. His party was accompanied by Dilir Khan, as is the Mughal custom of sending two generals in campaigns, and a force 12,000 cavalry, 30,000 infantry, powerful artillery, a flotilla of 323 warships; Europeans consisting of Dutch gunners manning ghurabs with mounted guns; Portugese naval officers; English fighters; Muscovites and Armenian horsemen.

Invasion of Koch Bihar

Mir Jumla and the Mughal force left Khizrpur on 1 November, 1661. From Baritala, instead of taking the well-guarded Ekduar route or the narrow jungle-lined Khuntaghat path, Mir Jumla chose a little-known unguarded route along a low embankment, discovered by his scouts even as his fleet secured the waterway from Ghoraghat to the Brahmaputra. On 13 December the Koch guards fled as Mir Jumla and Sujan Singh neared the border. Pran Narayan escaped to Kathalbari at the foot of the hills of Bhutan while the minister fled to Maurang. Mir Jumla entered the capital without resistance on 19 December 1661 and annexed Koch Bihar—he established a ''faujdar'' with 1,400 cavalry and 2,000 musketeers; the revenue was fixed; and the name of Koch Bihar was changed to ‘Alamgirnagar’. The Raja's son embraced Islam and offered to arrest his father. His minister-general Bhavnath, who had marched into Kamrup, was imprisoned. But Mir Jumla couldn't capture the Raja who was protected by the Dharmaraja of Bhutan. Mir Jumla didn't pursue any further—on 4 January 1662, he left for Assam leaving behind Isfandyar Khan as the acting ''Faujdar'' to defend Alamgirnagar with troops and weapons.

Pran Narayan's recovery of Koch Bihar

The people of the Koch capital resented the Mughal revenue system. Within a few months during the rainy season Pran Narayan killed Mohammed Salih, the ''mansabdar'' who opposed him at Kathalbari; cut off the supplies to Isfandyar Khan who escaped to Ghoraghat; and when the permanent ''Faujdar'', Askar Khan, tried to, he was unable to take it back. The invasion of the Koch Bihar country thus ended without any gain for the Mughals.

Invasion of Kamrup

Mir Jumla left a part of troops with Isfandiyar Khan at Koch Bihar and began his march into Assam on 4 January 1662—he reached Rashid Khan's camp at Rangamati via Khuntaghat—he now added Rashid Khan's troops to his own. Unfamiliar with the terrain, Mir Jumla let the Brahmaputra river guide him; as his fleet moved along the Brahmaputra, led by Ibn Hussain, his army moved along the northbank, with Dilir Khan in the vanguard. Dilir Khan and Mir Murtaza were responsible for building the road across the forests, reeds, marshes, and rivers along which the rest of the army followed; and progress was slow—four or five miles a day.

Ahom strategic fortifications

The Brahmaputra valley is narrow with the river running east to west and hills and mountains on north and south quite close to the river except in central Assam. The Ahoms, thus created a chain of twin forts straddling the river at strategic places so that invaders would have to face a chain of forts along the river. There were three such major twin forts: (1) Jogighopa and Pancharatan just west of Manas; (2) Saraighat and Pandu just west of Barnadi, and (3) Samdhara and Simalugarh just east of the river Bharali. Each of these forts generally were placed on higher strategic grounds with a natural defense—river, forest, or hills—surrounding it partly. Man-made barriers were walls and ramparts on higher ground, or mud on lower ground. The approaches were usually had holes in the ground with pointed bamboo stakes (''panjis'') for horses to fall into, ditches with water, and ditches with bamboo stakes. The walls of these forts were generally made of mud, and had cannons mounted on them. The first two pairs were newly built.

The Jogoghopa fort was commanded by Baduli Phukan and its southern counterpart by the Phul Barua Phukan and Lahan Phukan; Saraighat by Pikchai Chetia and Pandu by Rajasahur Borphukan; Samdhara by Banrukia Borgohain and Simalugarh by Ghora Konwar Phukan, and helped by the Buragohian, Borpatrogohain, Namanial Rajasahur Borchetia, Charing Raja (the future king), and Rup Handikoi.

Ahom troubles

Even as the Ahoms were arrayed to defend against Mir Jumla's invasion, trouble arose for the Ahoms. Dissatisfied with the Tangsu Handikoi Borbarua's appropriating the spoils of capturing Koch Hajo, the Ahom king Sutamla deputed Manthir Bharali Barua inquire and mete out punishments with powers higher than the Borphukan's, who was then the commander of Pandu. The Bharali Barua's actions caused dissensions within the ranks of the forward commanders, especially the Borphukan; and forward commanders from Manas river abandoned their posts.

Fall of Manas river forts

Mir Jumla reached Jogighopa on 17 January 1662 and occupied it without a fight on 20 January 1662 since the Baduli Phukan, the Ahom commander, abandoned it. Buranjis give different reasons why Baduli Phukan abandoned the fort—one version suggests that this was because of the disaffection of the forward commanders arising out of Manthir Bharali Barua's activities; whereas another suggests an outbreak of cholera. The southbank fort, Pancharatan, under the commands of Phul Barua and Ahatguria Lahan Phukan gave fight but it was overcome; and both these forces fell back to Samdhara.

Fall of Bornadi river forts

Leaving Ataullah in command of the Jogighopa fort, Mir Jumla crossed the Manas river and then advanced east in three formations—Mir Jumla and the main Mughal force along the north bank, the fleet along the river, and a section of the troops under Sayyid Nasiruddin Khan along the south bank. The Ahom king sent reinforcements to the Bornadi forts, but they did not reach their destination in time. Soon after taking Hajo Mir Jumla reached Guwahati on 4 February 1662 where he instructed Rashid Khan to go around and encircle the Saraighat fort and the Ahom forces could barely evacuate in the middle of the night. The fort on the south bank, Pandu under the Rajasahur Borphukan, too evacuated; and both the Bornadi river forts were lost to the Ahoms without offering any resistance to the Mughals and Mir Jumla occupied Guwahati, the capital of Kamrup, after 5 February 1662.

Mughal forces then took Beltola in a night attack and massacred the soldiers; and accepted the submission of the Koch ruler of Darrang, an Ahom vassal. Mir Jumla established a ''thanadar'' at Guwahati and began his march into the heart of the Ahom kingdom on 7 February 1662. At this point the Ahom forces were in disarray.

Invasion of Ahom kingdom

Sutamla tried to regroup his forces under a new order of battle: he placed the north bank army under the command of the Banrukia Borgohain and assisted by Kenduguria Borpatrogohain, Baduli Phukan, Tipam Raja, and Dihingia Rajkhowa; the south bank army under the command of Ghora-konwar Nyaysodha Phukan to be assisted by Banhgarhia Burhagohain, Namanial Rajasahur Borchetia, Rup Handikoi, Sadiyakhowa Gohain, Charing Raja, and others; he dismiised his father-in-law Garhgaiya Rajasahur from the Borphukan-ship because of his failure to resist the Mughals at Pandu and replaced him with another father-in-law, the Namanial Rajasahur, but asked him to help in the south bank. He also designated different other commanders at different forts.

Mir Jumla advanced east with the main army along the north bank, but then suddenly, in a two-day operation (15 and 16 February 16162), moved his entire army to the south bank at Borsola midway between Guwahati and Samdhara. This caused great confusion in the Ahom camps—the Ghora Konwar Phukan in command at Simalugarh asked for reinforcements from the Banrukia Borgohain commanding the Samdhara on the northern bank, but the Borgohain, suspecting a stratagem, refused to lower the strength of his forces. The Mir, now in the plains of Nagaon, was shown around by the agents of the Banhgarhia Rajasahur, smarting at losing the Borphukanship. Here, the ruler of Dimarua, an Ahom vassal, submitted to the Mughals. Mir Jumla reached within striking of Simalugarh on 20 February 1662.

Battle of Simalugarh and Ahom retreat from Samdhara

Mir Jumla reached Simalugarh on 20 February 1662 and observing the strength of the fort decided on a siege over storming. The Mughals were subjected to around the clock artillery fire. Dilir Khan and some of Mir Jumla's men were able to put up stockades close to the fort and fend of sallies, and there was a stalemate. On the midnight of 25 February Dilir Khan, guided by an Assamese went around the fort with a section of the artillery and 1,500 horsemen even as Mir Murtaza and Miana Khan's men continued to pound the front. Dilir Khan was discovered, and attacked from the front, but he and his men were able to scale the wall, upon which the under-manned Ahoms scattered and the fort fell to the Mughals.

The fall of Simalugarh so disheartened the Samdhara fort that Banrukia Borgohain, who was in command, destroyed his munitions and abandoned it; Mir Jumla occupied the fort without a fight and placed a garrison there under Kishen Singh. Atan Burhugohain, who was at Simalugarh, moved back to the capital for consultation. The Mughals now have ventured past the Bharali river for the first time in history. Mir Jumla then took Kaliabor easily before 2 March, having placed Sayyid Nasiruddin Khan as the ''faujdar''.

Battle of Kukurakata

Mir Jumla then reached Salagrah, which too was abandoned. Mir Jumla brought imperial forces to conquer deep inside Ahom country, capturing the evacuated capital city 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. from this campaign, Mir Jumla has manage to capture 100 elephants, 300000 coins, 8000 shields, 1000 ships, and 173 massive rice stores.

While initially militarily successful winning the Battle of Kalibor and occupying the Ahom capital, the invasion bogged down the Mughal army placing strain on supplies and limiting movement. Mir Jumla faced threats desertion from of portions of his army in Assam since the monsoon season interrupted supplies, but the army survived.

Aftermath

With the end of the monsoon conditions would once more enable the imperial army to effectively campaign. Ahom was further weakened by the defection of several nobles and releasing that they could not endure another season of campaigning Ahom sued for peace. The Treaty of Ghilajharighat was concluded, with the following terms:

# Jayadhwaj Singh to send his six-year-old daughter named Ramani Gabharu to the Imperial harem.
# Twenty thousand tolas of gold, six times this quantity of silver and forty elephants to be made over at once.
# Three hundred thousand tolas of silver and ninety elephants to be supplied within twelve months.
# Six sons of the chief nobles to be made over as hostages pending compliance with the last mentioned condition.
# Twenty elephants to be supplied annually.
# The country west of the Bharasi river on the north bank of Brahmaputra, and of the Kallang on the south, to be ceded to the Emperor of Delhi.
# All prisoners and the family of the Baduli Phukan to be given up.

Sarkar's analysis is that Mir Jumla achieved peace with honour, indeed being rewarded by the emperor. Pratyay analyses that the treaty terms were enough to save the face of Mir Jumla.

Hostages and gold was exchanged on the 5th January 1663. There were further rounds of negotiations as a proposed hostages had died from smallpox in since the treaty had been negotiated. Mir Jumla settled for the hostages that he had received, as well as the gold and elephants and announced to his army that they would leave Assam on the 10th of January.

The march out of Ahom was meticulously planned, with the treasures both secured by treaty and those plundered from Garhgaon secured. Road construction enabled the army to move at good pace through the jungle, with it wide enough to allow passage by six horsemen together.

Upon reaching Lakhau, dispute arose with the Ahoms wishing that the border followed the 1638 treaty, while Mir Jumla insisted that the newly concluded treaty was followed. After the border demarcated according to the 1663 treaty, the army continued on to Pandu arriving on the 11th of February where arrangements were made to administer the re-captured territory of Kamrup, where despite a worsening illness Mir Jumla appointed Rashid Khan its faujdar and Muhammad Khalil Bakhshi, and placed the hostages in charge of the former. Five hundred men and forty warships were left with Rashid Khan to defend the reconquered territory.

During the return march Mir Jumla's fever worsened, and he delegated much active command to Diler Khan, before he died on the 30th of March.

Mir Jumla's Ahomese adversary - the King Sutamla died soon after in 1663. The territorial acquisitions of Mir Jumla were short lived, the subsequent Ahomese King Chakradhwaj Singha, used the peace to strengthen Ahom militarily and economically given the destruction it had suffered during the invasion of Mir Jumla before hostilities resumed in 1667 during which the Ahomese would successful reverse many of the dissatisfactory border changes imposed by the treaty of Ghilajharighat.

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Conflicts in 1662
Conflicts in 1663
1662 in India
17th century in the Ahom kingdom
1663 in India
History of Assam