The history of Assam is the history of a confluence of peoples from the east, west and the north; the confluence of the Indo-Aryan, Austro-Asiatic and the Tibeto-Burman cultures. Politically, it has been invaded, but has never served as a vassal or a colony to an external power till the advent of the Burmese in 1821 and subsequently the British in 1826. The Indo-Aryan languages form a subgroup of the Indo-Iranian languages, thus belonging to the Indo-European family of languages. ... The Austroasiatic languages are a large language family of Southeast Asia and India. ... The Tibeto-Burman linguistic subfamily of the proposed Sino-Tibetan language family is spoken in various central and south Asian countries: Myanmar (Burmese language), Tibet (Tibetan language), northern Thailand (Mong language), Nepal, Bhutan, India (Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and the Ladakh region of... 1821 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1826 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

Prehistory

Paleolithic Cultures

The earliest inhabitants of the region are assigned to the Middle Pleistocene period in the Rongram valley of Garo Hills. The Paleolithic sites, which used handaxe-cleaver tools, have affinities to the Abbevillio-Acheulean culture. Other Paleolithic sites include those in the Daphabum area of Lohit district in Arunachal Pradesh which used stone tools from metamorphic rocks. The cave-based Paleolithic sites at Khangkhui in Ukhrul, Manipur, is placed in the Late Pleistocene period. The Middle Pleistocene is the central part of the Pleistocene Epoch from about 780,000 YA to the penultimate cold pulse at about 125,000 YA. Millions of Years Categories: Graphical timelines | Geology stubs | Pleistocene ... The Garo Hills are part of the Garo-Khasi range in Meghalaya, India. ... The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (Greek παλαιός paleos=old and λίθος lithos=stone or the Old Stone Age) was the first period in the development of human technology of the Stone Age. ... Acheulean (also spelled Acheulian) is the name of an industry of stone tools used by prehistoric hominines. ... Arunachal Pradesh (अरुणाचल प्रदेश) is a region administered by India as a state. ... The term Metamorphic can be associated with a number of meanings:- Metamorphic rock The term for rocks that have been transformed by extreme heat and pressure. ... Manipur (মনিপুর) is a state in northeastern India making its capital in the city of Imphal. ... Late Pleistocene (also known as Upper Pleistocene or the Tarantian) is a stage of the Pleistocene Epoch. ...

There exists evidence of a microlithic culture in the Rongram Valley of Garo Hills that lie between the neolithic layers and virgin soil. The microliths here were made of dolerite, unlike those from the rest of India. Shreds of crude hand-made pottery indicate that the microlithic people were hunters and food-gatherers. A microlith is a small stone tool, typically knapped of flint or chert. ... Dolerite (from the Greek word doleros meaning deceptive), in petrology is the name given by Hauy to those basaltic rocks which are comparatively coarse grained. ...

Neolithic Cultures

Early Neolithic cultures based on the unifacially flaked hand-axe in the Garo hills have developed in line with the Hoabinhian culture, and it is conjectured that this region was the contact point for the Indian and the Southeast Asian cultures. The Neolithic (or New Stone Age) was a period in the development of human technology that is traditionally the last part of the Stone Age. ... Location of Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia. ...

The Late neolithic cultures have affinities with the spread of the Mon Khmer speaking people from Malaysia and the Irrawady valley and Late neolithic developments in South China. Since these cultures have been dated to 4500 BC-4000 BC, the Assam sites are dated to approximate that period. The Mon-Khmer languages are the autochthonous languages of Indo-China. ... The Irrawaddy (newer spelling Ayeyarwaddy) is a river that flows through the centre of Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is Myanmars most important commercial waterway. ... North China (北方 Hanyu pinyin: Běifāng) and South China (南方 Hanyu pinyin: Nánfāng) are two approximate regions within China. ... (6th millennium BC – 5th millennium BC – 4th millennium BC – other millennia) Events 4860 BC - Mount Mazama in Oregon collapses, forming a caldera that later fills with water and becomes Crater Lake, the deepest lake in the United States. ... (5th millennium BC – 4th millennium BC – 3rd millennium BC - other millennia) Events City of Ur in Mesopotamia (40th century BC). ...

These neolithic sites, though spread widely, are concentrated in the hills and high grounds, due possibly to the floods. These cultures performed shifting cultivation called jhum, which is still practiced by some communities in the region. Some typical sites are Daojali Hading in North Cachar hills, Sarutaru in Kamrup district and Selbagiri in the Garo Hills. The NC Hills is dominated by the Hmar tribes External Link: ======== Voice of the Northeast India Sinlung Movement The Hmar Web Portal Hmar Students Association, Delhi Delhithurawn ... Kamrup was the mighty Kingdom ruled by Narayana Dynasty before the British broke the Kingdom into two big districts. ...

Metal Age

There exists no archeological evidence of Copper-Bronze or Iron age culture in the region. This might seem as an impossibility given that corresponding cultures have been discovered in Bengal as well as Southeast Asia. It can only be conjectured that metal age sites in the region have not yet been discovered. Iron Age Axe found on Gotland This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age, for the mythological Iron Age see Iron Age (mythology). ... Bengal, known as Bôngo (Bengali: বঙ্গ), Bangla (বাংলা), Bôngodesh (বঙ্গদেশ), or Bangladesh (বাংলাদেশ) in Bangla (Bengali), is a region in the northeast of South Asia. ...

Megalithic Cultures

Though the metal age seems to be missing in Assam, the Iron Age Megalithic culture of South India finds an echo in the rich megalithic culture in the region, which begins to appear in the first millennium BCE, and which continues till today among the Khasi and the Naga people. The affinity is with Southeast Asia. The megalothic culture was the precursor of the fertility cult and the saktism and the vajrayana Buddhism that followed. Megalithic tomb, Mane Braz, Brittany A megalith is a large stone which has been used to construct a structure or monument either alone or with other stones. ... A map of Southern India, its rivers, regions and water bodies. ... (2nd millennium BC – 1st millennium BC – 1st millennium AD – other millennia) Events The Iron Age began in Western Europe Egypt declined as a major power The Tanakh was written Buddhism was founded Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon and created the Persian Empire (6th century BC) Sparta and Athens fought the... The Khasi are a tribe in Meghalaya, India who call themselves Hynniewtrep (which means belonging to seven celestial families in their local language). ... The Naga people of about two and half million are found in Nagaland, parts of Manipur, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Myanmar. ... Shaktism is a denomination of Hinduism that worships Shakti, the Divine Mother, in all of her forms whilst not rejecting the importance of masculine and neuter divinity. ... A mandala used in Vajrayana Buddhist practices. ...

Early evidence of political formations

Prehistoric Assam is reconstructed from epics and literature from earlier times. The earliest political entity seems to be a non-Aryan Danava dynasty with Mahiranga mentioned as the first king. This dynasty was removed by Narakasura. Naraka appears to be the generic name of kings belonging to this dynasty. According to legend, the last of the Naraka kings was killed by Krishna and his son Bhagadatta took the throne. Bhagadatta is said to have participated in the Mahabharata war with an army of "chinas, kiratas and dwellers of the eastern sea", thereby indicating that his kingdom, Pragjyotisha, included part of Bangladesh. Narakasura was the son of Goddess earth, (referred to as Dharthi), by Lord Vishnu himself during his Varaha (boar) avatar. ... Krishna (कृष्ण in Devanagari, IAST ) is according to common Hindu tradition the eighth avatar of Vishnu. ...

Ancient Assam

Main article: Kamarupa (History) Kamarupa is the ancient name of the kingdom/region that consisted of the Brahmaputra valley and adjoining region. ...

The first historical kingdom was Kamarupa, and the first historical dynasty is the one begun by Pushyavarman. According to records left behind by later kings, this dynasty drew its lineage from the Naraka kings, and is called the Varman dynasty. The Kamarupa kingdom reached the zenith of its power and glory under Bhaskarvarman. Xuanzang visited Kamarupa during his rule and left a good account. Bhaskarvarman did not have any children and this dynasty came to an end. The king was heriditary and ruled with a council of ministers. The administration seem to have been well established as evidenced from Bhaskarvarman's absence from his kingdom when he accompanied Xuanzang to attend a religious conference organized by Harsha. Kamarupa is the ancient name of the kingdom/region that consisted of the Brahmaputra valley and adjoining region. ... Xuanzang, Dunhuang cave, 9th century. ... Harsha or Harshavardhana (606-648) was an Indian emperor who ruled northern India as paramount monarch for over forty years. ...

After the Varman rule, Kamarupa passed into the hands of mlechchha kings, the first of whom was Salasthamba, who began his rule about 655. One of his successors, Harshavarman (725-745) is said to have ruled over Gauda, Kalinga and Kosala. Events November 15 - Northumbrian king Oswiu defeats the pagan Mercian king Penda in the Battle of Winwaed Empress Saimei ascends to the throne of Japan. ... Events Births Deaths Wihtred, king of Kent Categories: 725 ... Events Births November 10 - Musa al-Kazim, Shia Imam (d. ...

This was followed by the rule of the Pala kings, the first of whom, Brahmapala, was elected.

Medieval Assam

The medieval Assam is marked by the beginning of Muslim invasions from the west, the replacement of the original Kamarupa kingdom by first the Kamata kingdom and then the Koch kingdom in the west and the Ahom kingdom in the east. This period ends with the invasion of the Ahom kingdom by the Burmese and the subsequent absorption of the kingdom into British India after the Treaty of Yandaboo. The Tai Ahoms ruled parts of present day Assam for nearly 600 years: from 1228 to 1826. ... The Ahom Dynasty ruled parts of Assam for nearly 600 years, from the thirteenth century to the nineteenth century. ... British India (otherwise known as The British Raj) was a historical period during which most of the Indian subcontinent, or present-day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Myanmar, were under the colonial authority of the British Empire (Undivided India). ... The Treaty of Yandaboo between the British East India Company and the Burmese King of Ava, signed on February 24, 1826 marked the end of the First Burmese War. ...

Colonial Assam

The British were unsure of how to rule Assam profitably. In 1833, a protectorate was set up in Upper Assam to be ruled by an ertwhile Ahom king, Purandar Singha, only to dismantle it in 1838. To increase agricultural revenue, the British settled cultivators from Mymensingh, which started an influx of immigrants that has continued to present times and which has had a strong impact on the politics of the 1980s. 1833 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Jöns Jakob Berzelius, discoverer of protein 1838 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The 1980s decade refers to the years from 1980 to 1989, inclusive. ...

In 1916 the Assam Association was formed by Manik Chandra Baruah, which later merged with the Indian National Congress to form its Assam branch. After the Partition of Bengal, Assam included the undivided Sylhet district. Assam protested its Group C status vociferously, and the issue was settled with a referendum in Sylhet, that narrowly voted to join East Pakistan. 1916 (MCMXVI) is a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January-February January 1 - The Royal Army Medical Corps first successful blood transfusion using blood that had been stored and cooled. ... Indian National Congress (also known as the Congress Party or Congress (I), abbreviated INC) is a major political party in India. ... East Bengal was the name used during two periods in the 20th century for a territory that roughly included the modern state of Bangladesh. ... Sylhet is the Northeastern division of Bangladesh, named for its main city, Sylhet. ... It has been suggested that East Bengal (province) be merged into this article or section. ...

Post-independence Assam