Buranji

Buranjis (Ahom: 𑜈𑜥𑜍𑜨𑜃𑜫𑜊𑜣, romanized: būronjʸī, Assamese: বুৰঞ্জী, romanized: buroñzi, lit.'ancient writings') are a heterogeneous class of royal chronicles, genealogies, administrative records, family histories and related manuscripts associated with pre-colonial Assam, particularly the Ahom kingdom. Although the tradition claims an origin in the 13th century, scholarly research indicates that the written chronicles likely took shape only from the late 14th–16th centuries onward, following the emergence of the Tai Ahom script.

The Buranjis were written initially in the Ahom Language and from the 16th century additionally in the Assamese language. The Buranjis are an example of historical literature which is rare in India—they bear resemblance to Southeast Asian traditions of historical literature instead. The Buranjis are generally found in manuscript form (locally called puthi), written on sanchipat; a number of these manuscripts have been compiled and published especially in the Assamese language.

They are among the principal sources for the study of pre-colonial Assam, especially for the period from the thirteenth century to the beginning of colonial rule in 1828, and have become central to the historiography of the region. Their chronology, composition and historical claims, particularly for the earliest periods, nevertheless require textual criticism and, where possible, corroboration with independent evidence. The details in the Buranjis regarding the Ahom–Mughal conflicts agree with those in Mughal chronicles such as the Baharistan-i-Ghaibi, Padshahnama, Alamgirnamah and Fathiyyah, while also providing additional information absent from those accounts.