Khen dynasty
Khen dynasty Khen dynasty | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1440–1498 | |||||||||
| Capital | Kamatapura | ||||||||
| Common languages | Assamese | ||||||||
| Religion | Hinduism | ||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||
| Maharaja | |||||||||
• c. 1440 – c. 1460 | Niladhwaj | ||||||||
• c. 1480– c. 1498 | Nilambar | ||||||||
| Historical era | Medieval India | ||||||||
• Established | 1440 | ||||||||
• Disestablished | 1498 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Part of a series on the |
| History of Assam |
|---|
 |
| Categories |
|
The Khen dynasty or Khang dynasty of Assam was a late medieval dynasty of erstwhile Kamata kingdom. After the fall of the Pala dynasty of Kamrupa, the western region was reorganized into Kamata kingdom, when Sandhya moved his capital from Kamarupanagara to Kamatapur in about 1250.[1] The Khen dynasty at a later period took control of the kingdom.
Origin[]
According to the Gosani Mangala (1823), the Khen rulers had a humble origin, implying that they were probably local non-Aryan chieftains that rose to power after the fall of the Palas. Ethnically, the Khen rulers belonged to a Tibeto-Burman ethnolinguistic group,[2] possibly of Kheng-Bhutanese stock from the mountains. They worshipped Kamatashwari (also called Chandi or Bhavani), thus providing a break from the earlier dynasties that drew their lineage from Narakasura, the son of Vishnu.
Fall[]
The kingdom of Kamatapura finally fell to Alauddin Husain Shah in 1498. But Hussein Shah could not rule the kingdom— Bhuyan chiefs of the region defeated the invaders in 1505. Soon control of the Kamata kingdom passed into the hands of the Koch dynasty.[3]
Rulers[]
- Niladhwaj (1440–1460)
- Chakradhwaj (1460–1480)
- Nilambar (1480–1498)
Notes[]
- ^ (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.(Sarkar 1992, pp. 40–41)
- ^ "A Tibeto-Burman Khyan or Khen dynasty had risen there, holding sway from the Karatoya to the Barnadi, with its capital at Kamatapur on the left bank of the Dharala." (Sarkar 1992:44)
- ^ "The kingdom again passed on to the rule of the Bhuyans till the rise of the Koches in about 1515 AD." (Baruah 1986:181)
References[]
- Acharyya, N. N. (1966), The History of Medieval Assam (From the 13th to the 17th century), Guwahati
- Baruah, S L (1986), A Comprehensive History of Assam, New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd.
- Sarkar, J. N. (1992), "Chapter II The Turko-Afghan Invasions", in Barpujari, H. K. (ed.), The Comprehensive History of Assam, 2, Guwahati: Assam Publication Board, pp. 35–48
- History of Assam
- Dynasties of India