The Namdang Stone Bridge is a historic

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

located a few kilometers away from

Sibsagar Sivasagar (Pron: or ) ("the sea of Shiva"), is a city in and headquarters of the Sivasagar district, Assam. Sivasagar is situated about 360 kilometers (224 mi) northeast of Guwahati. It is well known for its Ahom palaces and monuments. S ...

town in Assam, India. It was constructed in 1703 by craftmen brought from

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

during the reign of Ahom king

Rudra Singha Sukhrungphaa (reigned 1696–1714), or Swargadeo Rudra Singha, was a Tungkhungia ahom king and 30th king of the Ahom kingdom under whom the kingdom reached its zenith of power and glory, he is considered as the most illustrious of the Ah ...

. The bridge is long, wide and high. It runs over the Namdang (Tai-Ahom : Nam= Water; Dang=Red) river, a tributary of the Dikhou river. The present

National Highway 37 The following highways are numbered 37: Australia * Newcastle Inner City Bypass * Nubeena Road (TAS) Canada * Alberta Highway 37 * British Columbia Highway 37 * Winnipeg Route 37 * Ontario Highway 37 * Saskatchewan Highway 37 * Yukon Highway ...

is passing over it. The unique characteristic of the bridge is that it was cut out from a single solid piece of rock hundred years of age. The bridge is a little curved in shape. The bridge connects

town to

Jorhat Jorhat ( ) is one of the important cities and a growing urban centre in the state of Assam in India. Etymology Jorhat ("jor" means twin and "hat" means market) means two hats or mandis - "Masorhaat" and "Sowkihat" which existed on the opposite ...

and other districts in the west.

History

King

Pratap Singha Susenghphaa or Pratap Singha (), was the 17th and one of the most prominent kings of the Ahom kingdom. As he was advanced in years when he became king, he is also called the ''burha Raja'' (Old king). His reign saw an expansion of the Ahom k ...

built a town on its bank and much later

constructed a masonry bridge over it. According to Peter Wade, the Namdang bridge was regarded as the western gate of the military capital of Rangpur, and was capable of being rendered a post of great strength, as the Moamoria rebels experienced. Many battles were fought in the vicinity during the reign of

Gaurinath Singha Suhitpangphaa reign (1780–1795), also Gaurinath Singha, was an Ahom king of the Ahom kingdom. He lost his capital Rangpur to the Moamoria rebellion and camped in the Nagaon and Guwahati region till Captain Welsh removed the rebels. Therea ...

and the Moamaria rebels. In 1825 a decisive battle took place between the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

and Burmese in the bank of the Namdang river.

References

External links

Namdang Xaku by Kharkhuwa
Sivasagar Bridges in Assam Stone arch bridges Ahom kingdom Transport in Sibsagar {{India-bridge-struct-stub

History

See also

References

External links