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{{Short description|Medieval Kingdom in Assam and nearby areas}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2018}}
{{Infobox former country
| conventional_long_name = Kamata Kingdom
| common_name = Kamata
| capital = Kamarupanagara {{small|(present-day [[North Guwahati]])}}<br />Kamatapur {{small|(present-day [[Gosanimari]])}}
| common_languages = [[Early Assamese]] (eastern part), [[KRNB lects#Proto Kamta|Proto Kamta]] (western part)
| religion = [[Hinduism]]
| era = [[Late Medieval period]]
| status =
| p1 = Pala dynasty (Kamarupa)
| s1 = Cooch Behar State{{!}}Koch Bihar Bengal Sultanate
| flag_s1 =
| s2 = Koch Hajo
| s3 =
| s4 =
| s5 =
| image_map = {{South Asia in 1400|center||{{Annotation|208|96|[[File:Long Rectangle (plain).png|35px]]}}}}
| image_map_caption =
| event_start = Established by Sandhya
| year_start = c. 1257
| date_start =
| event1 = Durlabh Narayan receives Candivara
| date_event1 = unknown
| event2 = Sasanka seizes power
| date_event2 = unknown
| event3 = Niladhwaj establishes [[Khen dynasty]]
| date_event3 = unknown
| event4 = [[Alauddin Hussain Shah]] defeats the last Khen ruler
| date_event4 = 1498
| event5 = [[Biswa Singha]] forms the [[Koch dynasty]]
| date_event5 = 1515
| event_end = Division of Koch dynasty into [[Koch Hajo]] and [[Koch Bihar]]
| year_end = 1587
| date_end =
| today = [[India]] ([[North Bengal]], [[Lower Assam]])<br>[[Bangladesh]]
| demonym =
| area_km2 =
| area_rank =
| GDP_PPP =
| GDP_PPP_year =
| HDI =
| HDI_year =
| flag_s4 =
| flag_s2 =
}}
{{Assam History}}
The '''Kamata Kingdom''' {{Langx|as|কমতা ৰাজ্য|ˈkʌmətɑ}}; in the eastern [[Sivalik Hills]], emerged in western [[Kamarupa]] probably when [[Sandhya (ruler of Kamarupa)|Sandhya]], a ruler of Kamarupanagara, moved his capital west to Kamatapur sometime after 1257 CE.<ref>"[[Kamarupa]] was reorganized as a new state. 'Kamata' by name with Kamatapur as capital. The exact time when the change was made is uncertain. But possibly it had been made by Sandhya (c1250-1270) as a safeguard against mounting dangers from the east and the west. Its control on the eastern regions beyond the Manah (Manas river) was lax." {{harv|Sarkar|1992|pp=40–41}}</ref> Since it originated in the old seat of the Kamarupa kingdom, and covered most of the western parts of it, the kingdom is also sometimes called as Kamarupa-Kamata.

It covered a region corresponding to present-day undivided districts of [[Undivided Kamrup district|Kamrup]], [[Undivided Goalpara district|Goalpara]], [[Jalpaiguri district|Jalpaiguri]], and [[Cooch Behar district]] in [[India]] and [[Rangpur Division|Rangpur]] and northern parts of [[Mymensingh Division|Mymensingh]] in [[Bangladesh]].<ref>"Broadly speaking it included the districts of Kamrup, Goalpara, Koch Bihar, Rangpur, and some portions of Mymensingh." {{harv|Sarkar|1992|p=39}}</ref> The rise of the Kamata kingdom marked the end of the ancient period in the [[history of Assam]] and the beginning of the medieval period. The last rulers were the Khens, who were later displaced in 1498 by [[Alauddin Hussain Shah]], the ruler of the [[Bengal Sultanate]]. Though Hussain Shah developed extensive administrative structures, he lost political control to a confederation of [[Baro-Bhuyan]] within a few years.<ref name="baruah-daniel"/>

In 1515, [[Biswa Singha]] removed the Baro-Bhuyan confederacy and established the [[Koch dynasty]].<ref name="baruah-bhuyans">"The kingdom again passed on to the rule of the Bhuyans till the rise of the Koches in about 1515 AD." {{harvcol|Baruah|1986|p=181}}</ref> The Koches were the last to call themselves ''Kamateshwar'' (the rulers of Kamata), but due to the far-reaching extensive influence and expansions the kingdom is sometimes called the Koch Kingdom. In the following century the kingdom split in [[Cooch Behar State|Koch Bihar]] and [[Koch Hajo]]. The eastern kingdom, Koch Hajo, was absorbed into the [[Ahom kingdom]] in the 17th century. The western portion of the Kamata kingdom, Koch Bihar continued to be ruled by a branch of the [[Koch dynasty]] and later merged with the Indian territory after the independence of India from the British domain.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://coochbehar.nic.in/htmfiles/royal_history2.html|title=Historical Acts/Statements of Cooch Behar|access-date=27 October 2013|archive-date=17 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017230009/http://coochbehar.nic.in/htmfiles/royal_history2.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The boundary between Koch Bihar and Koch Hajo is approximately the boundary between West Bengal and Assam today.

==Rulers of Kamata kingdom==

The political history of the Kamata kingdom region prior to the rise of the Koch dynasty remains uncertain and is largely reconstructed from traditions and scattered sources. Historians have relied on limited epigraphic evidence alongside later literary works, genealogical traditions, and retrospective chronicles, resulting in reconstructions that remain tentative.
<ref>Neog, Maheswar, "Early History of the Vaiṣṇava Faith and Movement in Assam, p.39,"The political history of Kāmarūpa of the times immediately preceding the age of Śaṅkaradeva still remains a virgin field of research...For a reconstruction of the history of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries we have to depend upon the scanty evidences afforded by some copperplate and stone inscriptions, the political works of several pre-Śaṅkaradeva poets and of Śaṅkaradeva himself, the guru-caritas, the rāja-vaṁśāvalīs of the Koch kings of Kāmarūpa; and have also to refer in some instances to Muhammedan chronicles"</ref>

===Early rulers===
{{See also|Yuzbak Khan's invasion of Kamarupa}}
Sandhya, was a ruler of Kamarupanagara, the capital of the erstwhile [[Kamarupa]].<ref>{{harvcol|Baruah|1986|p=175}}</ref> After withstanding an attack from [[Malik Ikhtiyaruddin Iuzbak]] in which Iuzbak was killed (1257)<ref>"Finally the Bengal army was routed in an open encounter in a narrow mountainous defile. An arrowshot wounded the elephant-borne Sultan in the chest. The Rajah allowed the captured Sultan to see his son before being killed." {{harvcol|Sarkar|1992|pp=38–40}}</ref> Sandhya moved his capital to Kamatapur, near present-day [[Cooch Behar]] town. Sandhya styled himself ''Kamateswara'' and the kingdom came to be known as Kamata.<ref>{{harvcol|Baruah|1986|p=176}}</ref>

==== List of early Kamata rulers ====
* Sandhya
* Sindhu Rai
* Rup Narayan
* Singhadhwaj

===Middle rulers===
Pratapdhvaj was a minister of Singhadhvaj when he usurped power. At his death, his cousin Dharmanarayan seized power. He was challenged by Pratapdhvaj's son Durlabhnarayan and they decided to settle. Durlabhnarayan assumed power Kamrup, Goalpara, Jalpaiguri, Koch Bihar, along with the capital Kamatapur, while Dharmanarayan retained Rangpur and Mymensingh.<ref>{{harvcol|Baruah|1986|p=177}}</ref><ref>{{harvcol|Sarkar|1992|p=41f}}</ref> As part of the settlement, Durlabhnarayan received from Dharmanarayan the custody of fourteen families of [[Brahmans]] and [[Kayastha]]s, one among whom was Candivara, the great-great-grandfather of [[Sankardev]].<ref>{{harvcol|Neog|1980|p=50}}</ref> The court poets of Durlabhnarayan ([[Hema Saraswati]] and [[Harivara Vipra]]) and Indranarayan produced literary works that are considered to be the first examples of [[Early Assamese]].<ref>{{harvcol|Baruah|1986|p=178}}</ref>

Separately, an epigraphic record, from 1428, of a king named Durlabhnarayan (mentioned as son of Dharmanarayan), found in Sadiya-Chepakhowa, mentions that his grandfather Ratnanarayana (identified with Satyanarayana from late 14th century), after defeating the enemies of Kamdeva, became the king of [[Kamata kingdom|Kamatapura]]<ref>"Ratnanãrãyana is called the king of Kamatãpura and his grandson Durlabhanãrãyana is described as giving lands under the administration of the Governor of Häbunga province." {{harvcol|Neog|1977|p=818}}</ref> which might indicate that the eastern region of [[Chutia kingdom|Sadhaya]] was politically connected to the western region of Kamata.<ref>"The eastern region, whether it is called Sadhaya or Svadhaya as in the plates or Sadhiya or Sadiya as in Assamese chronicles and the western region of Kamatapura seems to be politically connected and the same Satyanarayana/Ratnanarayana might have held sway over both regions"{{harvcol|Neog|1977|p=818}}</ref>

==== List of middle Kamata rulers ====
* Pratapdhvaj
* Dharma Narayan
* Durlabh Narayan
* Indra Narayan

===Baro-Bhuyan rule===
{{main|Baro-Bhuyan}}
The invasion of Assam by [[Sikandar Shah]] (1357–1390) weakened Indranarayan. Though Sikander Shah had to retreat from central Assam because of an attack on Bengal by [[Firuz Shah Tughlaq]], Indranarayana was sufficiently damaged that a Bhuyan from [[Darrang]], Arimatta, was able to usurp power.<ref>"Indranarayan's inability to resist the Muslims paved the way for the rise of the Bhuyans. Indeed, one of them, Arimatta or Sasanka became so ambitious that he killed Indranarayan and usurped the throne of Kamata." {{harvcol|Baruah|1986|pp=178–179}}</ref>
* Sasanka (Arimatta)
* Gajanka
* Sukranka
* Mriganka [[Jungal Balahu]]

===Khen dynasty===
{{further|Khen dynasty}}
The Khen dynasty,<ref>{{Harvcol|Sarkar|1992|p=44}}</ref> of [[Kheng people|Kheng-Bhutanese]] origin,<ref>"There was a significant trade relationship between khengpas and Indians. During winter seasons the people of hill had to migrate to the plains with their goats and sheep. Khengpas were known for their excellence in warfare and statecraft. A Khen chief established a dynasty in Kamata (kamrupa) by virtue of his courage and skill. We have evidence of three kheng kings of this dynasty who ruled Kamrupa (Kamta)." {{harvcol|Dorji|2005|p=34}}</ref> replaced the weak rulers of [[Kamata kingdom]] following Arimatta in the middle of the 15th century. Niladhvaj Khen, the first king, united several Baro-Bhuyan chieftains of the area and removed the last of Arimatta's successors—Mriganka. There were only three Khen rulers:
* [[Niladhwaj of Kamata|Niladhwaj]]
* [[Chakradhwaj of Kamata|Chakradhwaj]]
* [[Nilambar of Kamata|Nilambar]] (c. 1498)
The last king, Nilambar expanded the kingdom to include the present Koch Bihar districts of West Bengal and the undivided Kamrup and [[Darrang]] districts of Assam and northern [[Mymensingh District|Mymensingh]] in Bangladesh as well as eastern parts of [[Dinajpur District, Bangladesh|Dinajpur district]], though he was removed by Alauddin Husain Shah in 1498.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

===Bengal Sultanate rule===
[[Alauddin Hussain Shah]], a [[Bengal Sultanate|Sultan of Bengal]], removed the last Khen ruler in 1498.<ref>The dates and duration of this invasion are not well established. See {{Harvtxt|Sarkar|1992|pp=46–47}}.</ref> This followed a long siege that likely started in 1493 soon after Alauddin's ascension and ended in a treacherous win with 24,000 infantry, cavalry and a war flotilla.<ref>{{Harvcol|Sarkar|1992|pp=46–47}}</ref> Alauddin destroyed the city and eventually annexed the region up to [[Hajo]] by 1502,<ref>{{harvcol|Sarkar|1992|p=47}}</ref> removed the local chieftains, and established military control over the region.<ref>"Kamrup came to be used as a colony of the Afhans. They drove away the Hindu chieftains and assumed the civil and military administration of the area." {{harvcol|Sarkar|1992|p=47}}</ref> He established his son [[Shahzada Danyal]] as an administrator and issued coins in his own name as the "conqueror of Kamru and Kamata ...".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Sircar|first=D. C.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m1JYwP5tVQUC&pg=PA21|title=Studies in Indian Coins|date=2008|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers|isbn=978-81-208-2973-2|language=en}}</ref> This rule was short since the Baro-Bhuyans rose up in revolt soon after and exterminated Sultanate rule.<ref name="baruah-daniel">"But the rule of the Muslims was short. The Bhuyans made a united attack on Daniel's garrison and destroyed it to the last man."{{harvcol|Baruah|1986|p=181}}</ref>

* [[Danyal (Hussain Shahi dynasty)|Danyal]] (1498-????)

Nevertheless, the Muslim rule had lasting effects. Hussein Shah's coins continued to be used till 1518, when the Koch dynasty began consolidating their rule. Ghiasuddin Aulia, a Muslim divine figure from [[Mecca]], established a colony at Hajo. His tomb, which is said to contain a little soil from Mecca, now called "Poa Mecca" ("a quarter Mecca"), is frequented by Hindus and Muslims alike.<ref>{{Harvcol|Sarkar|1992|p=48}}</ref>

===Baro-Bhuyan Interregnum===
Alauddin Hussain Shah's representative in Kamata, his son [[Shahzada Danyal]] and his officers, was seized and killed by the [[Baro-Bhuyan]]s of the region and the region lapsed into their confederated style of governance till the Koches took over.<ref name="baruah-bhuyans"/> Though it is not known when the [[Baro-Bhuyan]] rule began, historians estimate that [[Biswa Singha]]'s campaign against the Baro-Bhuyans began in 1509.<ref>{{harvcol|Nath|1989|pp=28–29}}</ref>

===Koch kingdom===
{{Further|Koch dynasty|Koch Bihar|Koch Hajo}}

* [[Biswa Singha]] (1515–1540)
* [[Nara Narayan]] (1540–1587)

The Kamata kingdom then passed into the hands of the [[Koch dynasty]], with Biswa Singha consolidating his control over the Bara-Bhuyans one after another and establishing the [[Koch dynasty]] with its dominion from the [[Karatoya River]] in the west to the [[Barnadi River|Barnadi river]] in the east.<ref>"[Bisu, the son of Haria Mandal,] organised the strength of his tribe and defeated all the neighboring Bhuyans one after another and at last made himself the master of the dominion extending from the Karatoya in the west to the Barnadi in the east." {{harvcol|Baruah|1986|p=204}}</ref> In the 1581 Raghudev, the son of [[Chilarai]] and the nephew of [[Nara Narayan]], affected a split in the kingdom<ref name="harvcol|Baruah|1986|p=214">{{harvcol|Baruah|1986|p=214}}</ref>—[[Koch Hajo]] and [[Cooch Behar State|Koch Bihar]].<ref>"The Persian writers called the eastern part of the kingdom Koch Hajo and the western part Koch Behar. Assamese chronicles referred to them as Kamrup and Behar respectively." {{harvcol|Baruah|1986|pp=214–215}}</ref> Though Raghudev had accepted the suzerainty of his uncle,<ref name="harvcol|Baruah|1986|p=214"/> the two parts of the original Kamata kingdom split for good in 1587 when Naranarayan died,<ref>{{harvcol|Baruah|1986|p=205}}</ref> the boundary between them forming roughly the administrative boundary between the present-day [[Assam]] and [[West Bengal]].

[[Koch Hajo]], the eastern kingdom, soon came under attack from the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]], and the region went back and forth for between the Mughal and the [[Ahom kingdom|Ahoms]], finally settling with the Ahoms. Koch Bihar, the western kingdom, first befriended the Mughals and then the British, and the rulers maintained the princely state till the end of the British rule.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

====Administration system====
'''Yuvaraj''': Biswa Singha appointed his brother Sisu as the ''Yuvaraj''. The descendant of Sisu became the [[Raikat]] kings of [[Jalpaiguri district|Jalpaiguri]].

'''Karjis/Karzis''': Biswa Singha appointed twelve minister from his tribesman to form a ''Karjee'', this position was hereditary. Two important ''Karjee'' and ''Yuvaraj'' form a cabinet.

'''Senapati''': Commander of a standing army.

==== Paik System ====
Paik: Individual male

* Thakuria: in charge of over 20 ''paiks''.
* Saikia: in charge of over 100 ''paiks''.
* Hazari: in charge of over 1000 ''paiks''.
* Omra: in charge of over 3000 ''paiks''.
* Nawab: in charge of over 66,000 ''paiks''.

==See also==
* [[Koch–Ahom conflicts]]
* [[Bengal Sultanate–Kamata Kingdom War|Bengal Sultanate-Kamata Kingdom war]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
* {{Citation |last=Baruah |first=S L |title=A Comprehensive History of Assam |publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd.|place=New Delhi |year=1986}}
* {{Cite journal| last = Boruah| first=Nirode| title = Kamarupa to Kamata: The political Transition and the New Geopolitical Trends and Spaces | journal= Proceedings of the Indian History Congress| volume=72 |number= | year=2011| pages= 78–86| jstor=44146698}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Dorji |first=Lham |title=The Historical Anecdotes of Kheng Nobilities |journal=Journal of Bhutan Studies |publisher=Centre for Bhutan Studies |place=Thimpu |year=2005 |volume=13 |issn=1608-411X}}
* {{Citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ECxUOSudNGYC|last=Nath|first=D.|title=History of the Koch Kingdom, C. 1515–1615|publisher=Mittal Publications|year=1989|isbn=8170991099|access-date=26 March 2023|archive-date=3 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230503105404/https://books.google.com/books?id=ECxUOSudNGYC|url-status=live}}
* {{cite book
| last = Neog
| first = Maheshwar
| authorlink = Maheshwar Neog
| title = Early History of the Vaishnava Faith and Movement in Assam
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=DcReZM-rI0MC
| publisher = [[Motilal Banarsidass]]
| year = 1980
| location = Delhi
| isbn = 9788120800076
}}
* {{Citation |last=Sarkar |first=J. N. |contribution=Chapter II The Turko-Afghan Invasions |editor-last=Barpujari |editor-first=H. K. |title=The Comprehensive History of Assam |volume=2 |pages=35–48 |publisher=Assam Publication Board |place=Guwahati |year=1992}}
{{refend}}

{{Assam}}
{{Cooch Behar topics}}

[[Category:Kingdoms of Assam]]
[[Category:History of Cooch Behar]]
[[Category:Medieval Indian monarchies]]
[[Category:Kamtapur]]

Kamata Kingdom - Revision history

Raymondbig at 03:14, 11 January 2026