Eastern Indian Kingdoms of Medieval India – Assam and Odisha

The fragmentation of Delhi sultanate brought number of changes in the Indian subcontinent. Thus, Medieval Indian history saw rise of number of regional kingdoms. The eastern India saw rise of regional kingdoms in Assam and Odisha.

Also Read : Climax of Vijayanagara Empire and Regional Kingdom of Bengal

Bahmani Kingdom – Its Growth and Age of Mahmud Gawan

Vijayanagara Empire – Foreign Accounts and Nature of State

Regional kingdom of Assam (Ahom’s dynasty)

The kingdom came into prominence after the decline of Palas by 12^th century AD. Gradually, the rulers of Kamrupa and Kamta in west brought under their control the area between the Kartoya and Barnadi rivers and to east Ahoms. Ahoms belonged to the great Tai group of tribes which dominated South China and many south-east Asian countries. Under the leadership of ruler Sukahpa, the Ahoms came to India.

They came to Brahmaputra valley from Yunan in the first half of the 13^th century. They initially established themselves in the area of Dibrugarh and Sibsagar. They were one of the strongest rulers in the history of India as they ruled till 19^th century. They were subjugated by Britishers in 19^th century. Muhammad Bin Bakhtiyar Khalji led an expedition to Kamrupa but got defeat.

Ilyas Khan also invades Assam and captured it capital but they later threw away across river Kartoya which was later accepted as the boundary. They local rulers also helped in growth of art and culture of that particular region. A new language Assamese emerged and the first literary work of Assamese language was supposed to be Hem Saraswati’s Prahalad Charita. The region also witnessed the neo-Vaishnavite movement under Shankara in c. 1449.

The 15^th century can be called a period of literary and cultural renaissance in Assam. Another development was steady Hinduization of Ahoms by incorporating their Gods into Hindu pantheon. They also established matrimonial relation with the Hindu noble families.

Regional Kingdom of Odisha

Odisha was an important regional kingdom of the Medieval Indian history because it was later largely included under the province of Bengal. From the middle of 11^th century AD to Mid-15^th century AD, Ganga rulers ruled over the region of Odisha by unifying the areas of Utkal, Kalinga and Kosala. Narsinghdev (died in c. 1264) is considered one of the greatest rulers of Indian history.

He built the famous Sun temple of Konark. He also invaded south Bengal. Ilyas Shah raided Jajnagar (Odisha). Firoz Shah Tughlaq also raided Odisha in c. 1360, he massacred a large number of peoples and desecrated the Jagannath Temple. Later the Odisha went into the hands of Gajapati rulers. The Gajapati rule marks a brilliant phase as they extended the rule to Karnataka. The main Odisha language was developed during this phase.

Thus, the regional kingdoms of eastern India like Assam, Bengal and Bengal played significant role in the development of local culture and flourishing of art at the regional level.