Suhungmung

Suhungmung
Chaopha Swarganarayana Of Ahom Kingdom
Serpent pillar, containing the first inscription of Swarganarayan Suhunmung
Ahom King
Reign1497 CE to 1539 CE
PredecessorSupimphaa
SuccessorSuklenmung
Issue
Names
Dihingia Roja Suhungmung
DynastyAhom dynasty
FatherSupimphaa
ReligionAhom religion

Suhungmung (r. 1497–1539), or Dihingia Roja was one of the most prominent Ahom Kings who ruled at the cusp of Assam's medieval history. His reign broke from the early Ahom rule and established a multi-ethnic polity in his kingdom. Under him the Ahom Kingdom expanded greatly for the first time since Sukaphaa, at the cost of the Chutia and the Dimasa kingdoms. He also successfully defended his kingdom against Muslim invasions, first by a general called Bar Ujjir and another by Turbak Khan. During his time, the Khen dynasty collapsed and the Koch dynasty ascended in the Kamata kingdom. His general, Ton-kham, pursued the Muslims up to the Karatoya river,[1] the western boundary of the erstwhile Kamarupa Kingdom, the farthest west an Ahom military force had ventured in its entire six hundred years of rule.

He was the first Ahom king to adopt a Hindu title, Swarganarayana, indicating a move towards an inclusive polity; and Ahom kings came to be known as the Swargadeo (literal meaning: Lord of the Heavens) which is the Assamese translation of Ahom word Chao-Pha. He is also called the Dihingia Raja, because he made Bakata on the Dihing River his capital.[2] Suhungmung was the last progenitor Ahom king (all subsequent kings were his descendants).

  1. ^ "The Ahom army led by Ton-Kham (Chan Kham), the son of general Phra-Sen-Mong, and Prince Suklenmung pursued the invaders across the Muslim dominion of Kamrup and Kamata. The victorious army advanced and quickly reached the Karatoya which formed the western boundary of the kingdom of Kamata." (Phukan 1992:59)
  2. ^ Baruah 1986, p. 227.