Rangpur (pron: ˈræŋpʊə or ˈræŋgpʊə), 4th capital of the
Ahom kingdom, was established by
Swargadeo 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 ...
in 'Meteka' in 1707 after shifting the capital from
Garhgaon
Gargaon (Pron:/gɑ:ˈgɑ̃ʊ/) is a town in Assam, India and was the capital of the Ahom kingdom for many years. It was built by the Ahom king Suklenmung (Gargoyaan Rojaa) in 1540. It is said that the capital was built at the suggestion of ...
. It is currently a part of
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. Si ...
town. The place holds many monuments build by the
Ahom dynasty, the most notable of which are the
Talatal Ghar
The ''Talatal Ghar'' ) is an 18th century palace and military base located in Rangpur, from present-day Sivasagar, Assam, India. It is the largest of the monuments built by the Ahom dynasty.
The visitors are only allowed to scout through ...
and the
Rang Ghar
The Rang Ghar (), ( Assamese: ৰংঘৰ, ''rong ghor'' meaning "House of Entertainment") is a two-storeyed building which once served as the royal sports-pavilion where Ahom kings and nobles were spectators at games like buffalo fights a ...
.
The architectural plan of Rangpur spread over almost a thousand bighas of land. Ghanasyam, an architect from Koch Bihar, was deputed by Rudra Singha.
Rangpur means the' city of delight' and in Ahom language it is called Che-mun
Capital
Capital city
The city of Rangpur was laid in 1698 A.D. by Rudra Singha in Meteka area.
It had three gates Borduar (i.e. main entrance), Na-duar and Paniduar besides an underground tunnel connected with the Dikhow river on the north. Rudra Singha's successors did much for the enhancement
of splendour and expansion of the city of Rangpur. Ruchinath Kandali, a court poet of Rudra Singha, in his Markendaya Chandi states: ''that king Rudra singha who founded the city of Rangpur brought many learned Brahmans from various places to his capital and established them there by giving jobs and land.''
Dikhow River
The Dikhow River is a left tributary of the Brahmaputra River in the Indian state of Assam. It rises in the Zunheboto district in Nagaland, flows through the Sivasagar district
Sivasagar district (Pron: or ), formerly known as ''Sibsagar'', is ...
on the north of the town. On south a fort (Garh) near
Namdang river, Baangarh on the east and Dikhow-Namdang on the west.
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 ...
at first established the capital of his
Kingdom
Kingdom commonly refers to:
* A monarchy ruled by a king or queen
* Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy
Kingdom may also refer to:
Arts and media Television
* ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...
at
Tengabari of Meteka area, and excavated the famous
Joysagar Tank. And there after he respectively had constructed the
Talatal Ghar
The ''Talatal Ghar'' ) is an 18th century palace and military base located in Rangpur, from present-day Sivasagar, Assam, India. It is the largest of the monuments built by the Ahom dynasty.
The visitors are only allowed to scout through ...
,
Rangnath Dol,
Fakuwa dol, and the
Temples
A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
on the bank of Joysagar tanks.
Siva Singha
Sutanphaa also Siva Singha was a king of Assam who reigned from 1714 to 1744 A.D. He was the eldest son of Rudra Singha. Siva Singha was with his dying father at Guwahati, who then proceeded to the capital Rangpur where he ascended to the th ...
built five royal buildings.
Pramatta Singha
Sunenphaa () also, Pramatta Singha, was the king of Ahom Kingdom. He succeeded his elder brother Swargadeo Siva Singha, as the king of Ahom Kingdom. His reign of seven years was peaceful and prosperous. He constructed numerous buildings and t ...
later built the
Rang Ghar
The Rang Ghar (), ( Assamese: ৰংঘৰ, ''rong ghor'' meaning "House of Entertainment") is a two-storeyed building which once served as the royal sports-pavilion where Ahom kings and nobles were spectators at games like buffalo fights a ...
with bricks on the west of
Talatal Ghar
The ''Talatal Ghar'' ) is an 18th century palace and military base located in Rangpur, from present-day Sivasagar, Assam, India. It is the largest of the monuments built by the Ahom dynasty.
The visitors are only allowed to scout through ...
.
Rajeswar Singha
Suremphaa (reign 1751–1769), or Rajeswar Singha, the fourth son of Rudra Singha, became the king of the Ahom kingdom after the death of his brother King Pramatta Singha. Rudra Singha's third son, Mohanmala Maladev Gohain, was considered i ...
later also enlarged and re-constructed the
Talatal Ghar
The ''Talatal Ghar'' ) is an 18th century palace and military base located in Rangpur, from present-day Sivasagar, Assam, India. It is the largest of the monuments built by the Ahom dynasty.
The visitors are only allowed to scout through ...
with bricks.
Lakshmi Singha
Sunyeophaa also Lakshmi Singha (1769–1780), previously known as Kalsiliya Gohain, was an Ahom king. After Rajeswar Singha's death, he married Queen Kuranganayani and became the king of the Ahom kingdom. Shortly after he was installed he bec ...
made a flower garden in which he built the temple of Ekaneswar (siva) with a tank. It remained as dual capital of the Ahoms along with Garhgaon until the internal disturbances occured in 1787 A.D.
In the reign of
Sulikphaa
Sulikphaa () also, Ratnadhwaj Singha was the twenty-eighth king of the Ahom Kingdom. He was only 14 years of age when Laluksola Borphukan, the Ahom viceroy of Guwahati and Lower Assam, raised him to the throne, after deposing the former king, Sud ...
(Ratnadhwaj Singha), he had temporarily established the capital at Meteka, and named it Rajnagar.
Roads and Communications
The main road of the capital was Borali, starting from
Dergaon
Dergaon (IPA: ˈdɜːˌgɑ̃ʊ) is a town and a municipality in the Golaghat district of Assam, India.It is 282 km from the state capital Guwahati.
Hemchandra Barua, the compiler of ''Hemkosh'' (the earliest Assamese-English dictionary) ...
to
Joysagar. Some other significant roads of around Rangpur were Meteka ali, Duboroni ali, Borpatra ali and etc.
The royal families and the officials used to reside in the -
Jerenga pothar, Rupohi pothar etc.
Decline
Rangpur remained the capital during the most glorious period of the
Ahom kingdom. The capital fell twice to rebels of the
Moamoria rebellion
The Moamoria rebellion (1769–1805) was the 18th century uprising in Ahom kingdom of present-day Assam that began as power struggle between the Moamorias (''Mataks''), the adherents of the Moamara Sattra, and the Ahom kings. This uprising ...
for which it made it deserted. In the first instance, the rebels occupied the capital from November, 1769 to April, 1770, when the
Swargadeo,
Lakshmi Singha
Sunyeophaa also Lakshmi Singha (1769–1780), previously known as Kalsiliya Gohain, was an Ahom king. After Rajeswar Singha's death, he married Queen Kuranganayani and became the king of the Ahom kingdom. Shortly after he was installed he bec ...
(Sunyeophaa), was kept in captivity in
Joy dol
The Keshavnarayan Vishnu dol, popularly known as Joy dol, was constructed in 1698 by Ahom king Swargadeo Rudra Singha (1696–1714) in honour and memory of his mother Joymoti . Particularly this temple is dedicated to Hindu god Lord Vishnu. Th ...
till the rebels were defeated by the royalist. In the second instance, the rebels occupied the capital in 1788 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 held on to it till 1792, when Thomas Welsh of the
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 Southea ...
removed them.
Kamaleswar Singha
Suklingphaa (ruled 1795–1811), or Kamaleswar Singha, was a king of the Ahom kingdom. He came to power when he was a toddler, and died in his teens during a small pox epidemic. The ''de facto'' ruler during his reign was Purnanada Burhagoha ...
made some efforts to revive its former glory but Burmese invasions left it a ruined city.
Photo gallery
File:Joysagar Tank.jpg, Joysagar Tank biggest artificial tank of India.
File:Gola ghar.jpg, Arms and ammunition store
File:Devidoul, Jaysagar, Sivasagar 03.jpg, Shiva dol, Joysagar
File:Vishnudol joysagar.jpg, Joy dol
The Keshavnarayan Vishnu dol, popularly known as Joy dol, was constructed in 1698 by Ahom king Swargadeo Rudra Singha (1696–1714) in honour and memory of his mother Joymoti . Particularly this temple is dedicated to Hindu god Lord Vishnu. Th ...
File:Rang Ghar at Sibsagar Town, Assam.jpg, Rang Ghar
The Rang Ghar (), ( Assamese: ৰংঘৰ, ''rong ghor'' meaning "House of Entertainment") is a two-storeyed building which once served as the royal sports-pavilion where Ahom kings and nobles were spectators at games like buffalo fights a ...
File:Fakuwa doul.jpg, Fakuwa dol
File:Ghanashyam's house, Joysagar.jpg, Ghanashyam house
File:Kareng Ghar (Talatal Ghar) of the Ahom Kings 29.jpg, Talatal Ghar
The ''Talatal Ghar'' ) is an 18th century palace and military base located in Rangpur, from present-day Sivasagar, Assam, India. It is the largest of the monuments built by the Ahom dynasty.
The visitors are only allowed to scout through ...
See also
*
Garhgaon
Gargaon (Pron:/gɑ:ˈgɑ̃ʊ/) is a town in Assam, India and was the capital of the Ahom kingdom for many years. It was built by the Ahom king Suklenmung (Gargoyaan Rojaa) in 1540. It is said that the capital was built at the suggestion of ...
Notes and references
; Citations
*
{{Coord missing, Assam
Capitals of Ahom kingdom
Former capital cities in India
Sivasagar
1707 establishments in India
Buildings and structures completed in 1707
Ahom kingdom
Buildings and structures in Assam
Sivasagar district