The first century CE onwards, Gandhara, Mathura in northern India and Vengi in Andhra Pradesh emerged as important centres of art production. Buddha in the symbolic form got a human form in Mathura and Gandhara. The sculptural tradition in Gandhara had the confluence of Bactria, Parthia and the local Gandhara tradition.
The local sculptural tradition at Mathura became so strong that the tradition spread to other parts of northern India. The best example in this regard is the stupa sculptures found at Sanghol in the Punjab. The Buddha image at Mathura is modelled on the lines of earlier Yaksha images whereas in Gandhara it has Hellenistic features. Images of Vaishnava and Shaiva faiths are also found at Mathura but Buddhist images are found in large numbers. It may be noted that the images of Vishnu and Shiva are represented by their ayudhas/weapons. There is boldness in carving the large images, the volume of the images is projected out of the picture plane, the faces are round and smiling, heaviness in the sculptural volume is reduced to relaxed flesh. The garments of the body are clearly visible and they cover the left shoulder.
Images of the Buddha, Yakshas, Yakshinis, Shaivite and Vaishnavite deities and portrait statues are profusely sculpted. In the second century CE, images in Mathura get sensual, rotundity increases, they become fleshier. In the third century CE, treatment of sculptural volume changes by reducing the extreme fleshiness, movement in the posture is shown by increasing distance between the two legs as well as by using bents in the body posture. Softness in the surface continues to get refined. The trend continues in the fourth century CE but in the late fourth century CE, the massiveness and fleshiness is reduced further and the flesh becomes more tightened, the volume of the drapery also gets reduced and in the fifth and sixth centuries CE, the drapery is integrated into the sculptural mass. Transparent quality in the robes of the Buddha images is evident. In this period, two important schools of sculptures in northern India are worth noting. The traditional centre, Mathura, remained the main art production site whereas Sarnath and Kosambi also emerged as important centres of art production.
Many Buddha images in Sarnath have plain transparent drapery covering both shoulders, and the halo around the head has very little ornamentation whereas the Mathura Buddhaimages continue to depict folds of the drapery in the Buddha images and the halo around the head is profusely decorated.
Alamgirpur in Meerut District of Uttar Pradesh, India
Babar Kot, Saurashtra – A stone fortification wall, plant remains of millets & gram.
Balu, Haryana – Earliest evidence of garlic. Several plant remains were found here include various types of barley, wheat, rice, horse gram, green gram, various types of a pea, sesamum, melon, watermelon, grapes, dates, garlic, etc. which is comparable to a nearby IVC site Kunal, Haryana revealed remains of rice.
Banawali, Fatehabad District of Haryana – Barley, terracotta figure of plough
Baror, Sri Ganganagar district of Rajasthan- Human skeleton, ornaments, 5 meter long and 3 meter clay oven, a pitcher filled with 8000 pearls
Bet Dwarka in Dwarka district, Gujarat- Late Harappan seal, inscribed jar, the mould of coppersmith, a copper fishhook
Bhirrana, Fatehabad District of Haryana – Graffiti of a dancing girl on pottery, which resembles a dancing girl statue found at Mohenjo-Daro
Daimabad, Ahmadnagar District of Maharashtra – A sculpture of a bronze chariot, 45 cm long and 16 cm wide, yoked to two oxen, driven by a man 16 cm high standing in it; and three other bronze sculptures. Southernmost IVC site
Desalpur in Nakhtrana Taluka, Kutch District of Gujarat – Massive stone fortification, Harappan pottery, three script bearing seals; one of steatite, one of copper and one of terracotta.
Dholavira, Kutch District of Gujarat – Water reservoir, Dholavira Figure of chariot tied to a pair of bullocks and driven by a nude human, Water harvesting and number of reservoirs, use of rocks for constructions
Farmana, Rohtak District of Haryana – Largest burial site of IVC, with 65 burials, found in India
Gola Dhoro, kutch district of Gujarat – Production of shell bangles, semi-precious beads, etc.
Hisar mound inside Firoz Shah Palace of Hisar District, Haryana – Unexcavated site
Juni Kuran, Kutch District of Gujarat – fortified citadel, lower town, public gathering area
Jognakhera, Kurukshetra of Haryana – Copper smelting furnaces with copper slag and pot shards
Kaj, Gir Somnath District of Gujarat – Ceramic artifacts, including bowls. Ancient port.
Kanjetar, Gir Somnath District of Gujarat – Single phase Harapppan site.
Kalibangan, Hanumangarh District of Rajasthan- Baked/burnt bangles, fire altars, Shiva Lingam, small circular pits containing large urns and accompanied by pottery, bones of camel
Karanpura near Bhadra city, Hanumangarh district of Rajasthan – Western mound called citadel Skeleton of child, terracotta like pottery, bangles, seals similar to other Harappan sites
Khirasara, Kutch district of Gujarat – Ware House, Industrial area, gold, copper, semi-precious stone, shell objects, and weight hoards
Kerala-no-dhoro or Padri in Saurashtra, Gujarat – Salt production centre, by evaporating sea water
Kunal, Fatehabad District in Haryana India – Earliest Pre-Harappan site, Copper smelting.
Kuntasi in Rajkot District of Gujarat – Small port
Loteshwar in Patan District of Gujarat – Ancient archaeological site
Lothal, Ahmedabad District of Gujarat – Bead making factory, dockyard, button seal, fire altars, painted jar, earliest cultivation of rice (1800 BC)
Manda in Jammu & Kashmir India- northernmost Harappan site in Himalayan foothills
Malwan in Surat District, Gujarat – Southernmost Harappan site in India
Mandi, Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh
Mitathal of Bhiwani District in Haryana
Pabumath in Kutch District in Gujarat – A large building complex, unicorn seal, shell bangles, beads, copper bangles, needles, antimony rods, steatite micro beads; pottery include large and medium size jars, beaker, dishes, dish-on-stand, perforated jars etc.; fine red pottery with black painted designs etc.
Rakhigarhi in Hisar District of Haryana – Terrecotta wheels, toys, figurines, pottery. Large site, partially excavated.
Rangpur in Ahmedabad District of Gujarat – Seaport
Sanauli in Baghpat District, Uttar Pradesh – Burial site with 125 burials found
Shikarpur, Gujarat – Food habit details of Harappans
Surkotada in Kutch District of Gujarat – only site where Bones of a horse were found
Kotada, Kutch District of Gujarat – Fortification bastion few houses foundations
Nageshwar, Kutch District of Gujarat – Shell working site
The Indian Sub-continent is one of the earliest civilisations and thus attracted many travellers and scholars since ancient times.
1.Al-Biruni
Country: Iran
Period of Travel: 1017 AD
He travelled to the Indian subcontinent and authored a study of Indian culture Tārīkh al-Hind (History of India) after exploring the Hindu faith practiced in India.
Under Reign : Sultan of Muhammad of Ghazni
2. Marco Polo
Country: Italy
Period of Travel: 1288-1292 AD
Under Reign : Pandya Kingdom
3. Ibn-e-Batuta
Countr: Morocco
Period of Travel: 1333-1342 AD
Under Reign : Mohammad Bin Tughlaq
4. Nicoloi Conti
Country: Italy
Period of Travel: 1420-1422 AD
Under Reign : Dev Ray I (Vijay Nagar)
Abdur Razzak-Ambassador
Country: Iran
Period of Travel: 1442-1443 AD
Under Reign : Dev Ray II (Vijay Nagar)
Athnasius Niketin
Country: Russia
Period of Travel: 1470-1474 AD
Under Reign : Mohammad III Bahmani
Alberuni’s Description of India
Bartholomu Diaz
Country: Italy
Period of Travel: 1503-1508 AD
Under Reign : Deccan
Eduardo Barbosa
Country: Portugal
Period of Travel: 1516-1518 AD
Under Reign : Krishna Dev Ray (Vijay Nagar)
Domingo’s Paes
Country: Portugal
Period of Travel: 1520-1522 AD
Under Reign : Krishna Dev Ray (Vijay Nagar)
Nuniz
Country: Portugal
Period of Travel: 1535-1537 AD
Under Reign : Achyut Dev Ray (Vijay Nagar)
Anthony Monserrate
Country: Portugal
Period of Travel: 1578-1582 AD
Under Reign : Akbar
Ralph Fisch
Country: Britain. He was the First English traveller
Although the volume of trade between India and Rome seems to have been large, it was not carried on it articles of daily use for the commerce people there was a brick commerce in luxury goods.
The Romans mainly imported spices for which south India was famous. They imported muslin, pearls, jewels, and precious stones from central and south India. Iron goods, especially cutlery, formed an important item of export to the Roman Empire.
Silk was directly sent from China to the Roman Empire through north Afghanistan at Iran. But the establishment of the Parthian rule in Iran and the neighbouring are created difficulties. Therefore silk had to be diverted to the western Indian ports through the north-west part of the subcontinent. Sometimes it also found its way from China to India via the east coast of India. From there was considerable transit trade in silk between India and the Roman empire.
The Romans exported to India wine, wine-amphorae and various other types of pottery. Roman writer Pliny, who wrote his account called Natural History in Latin in A.D. 77, believed that Rome was being drained of gold on account of her trade with India. Since the Westerners were very much fond of Indian pepper, it is called yavanpriyai.
The concept of the balance of trade may not have been known to the people. But numerous finds of Roman coins and pottery in the peninsula leave no doubt that India was a gainer in its trade with the Roman Empire.
The loss of Roman money was felt so much that eventually steps had to be taken Rome to ban its trade with India in pepper and steel goods.
Although Roman traders resided in south India, there is little evidence for Indians residing in the Roman Empire.
Black Pepper was one of the most thing thing imported by Greek traders from Ancient India. In ancient times the people in Central Asia are called as Yavanas in India. They liked the pepper and imports large amount of pepper from India so the pepper is named as Yavana-the people of foreign countries. Priya-they like pepper so it was called as Yavanapriya.
The Economic History of India in the Victorian Age: From the Accession of Queen Victoria in 1837 to the Commencement of the Twentieth Century is written by Romesh Chunder Dutt
Open Letters to Lord Curzon on Famines and Land Assessments in IndiaBook by Romesh Chunder Dutt
Poverty and un-British rule in India – by Dadabhai Naoroji
From Prosperity to Decline: Eighteenth Century Bengal – by Sushil Chaudhury
The Economic History of India 1857-1947 – by Tirthankar Roy
The peasantry of Bengal – by Romesh Chunder Dutt
Raj: The Making and Unmaking of British India – by Lawrence James
‘Prosperous’ British India – by William Digby
Revenue and Reform: The Indian Problem in British Politics 1757-1773 – by H. V. Bowen
Arthashastra – Chanakya
Perspectives in Social and Economic History of Early India – Ram Sharan Sharma
An Economic History of Early Modern India – Tirthankar Roy
The Cambridge Economic History of India – Tapan Raychaudhuri, Dharma Kumar, Irfan Habib, Meghnad Desai.
Economic History of Medieval India – Irfan Habib
A People’S History Of India 28 : Indian Economy, 1858-1914 – Irfan Habib
The Agrarian System of Mughal India, 1556-1707 – Irfan Habib
History of Ancient Indian Economy – Abdul Sabahuddin and Rajshree Shukla
The temple on Tirumala hills is also known as Tirupathi Balaji. It is the richest Hindu temple in the world.
The temple is in Dravidian Architecture style.
Mahabodhi Temple
Bihar
It is a Buddhist Stupa, discovered in 260 BC situated in Bodhgaya.
The Central Tower Of Mahabodhi is 180 feet tall i.e. 54 metres.
The brickwork depicts the life of Buddha.
Somnath Temple
Gujarat
Also known as Prabhas Patan and Deo Patan.
It is one of the 12 jyotirlinga shrines of Lord Shiva.
There is no land in between seashores from Somnath temple to Antarctica.
1947 – Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel renovated the temple.
Constructed in Chalukya style
Dwarkadhish Temple
Gujarat
Also known as Jagat Mandir. It is one of the four Hindu pilgrimages (Char Dham).
The original structure was destroyed by Mahmud Brgada in 1472.
Presently, in the Chalukya architecture style.
Vaishno Devi Temple
Jammu & Kashmir
5200 feet above sea level atop Trikuta Hills.
It is a Cave temple.
Amarnath Temple
Jammu & Kashmir
A cave temple situated at an altitude of 3888 metres.
One of the 51 Shakti Peeth and Bhrigu Muni was the first to have discovered Amarnath.
Virupaksha Temple
Karnataka
It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Hampi, Bellari district.
Built by Lakkana Dandesha, a chieftain under the ruler Deva Raya II of the Vijayanagara Empire.
Gomateshwara Temple
Karnataka
The tallest monolithic statue in the world carved out of a single block of granite.
It is a Jain temple that is 57 feet high.
One of the largest free-standing statues in the world depicting the prolonged meditation of Bahubali.
Padmanabhaswamy Temple
Kerala
Build in the fusion of Chera and Dravidian style of architecture.
Khajuraho Temple
Madhya Pradesh
They are a group of temples built by the rulers of Chandela Dynasty.
There were 85 temples scattered over an area of 9 square miles, of which only 25 temples are remaining.
Famous for nagara style architecture and known for extensive erotic sculptures.
Sanchi Stupa
Madhya Pradesh
Commissioned by emperor Ashoka, it is the finest example of Mauryan sculpture.
It is the oldest stone structure in India.
The famous Ashoka Pillar i.e. four lions like that of Sarnath is found in Sanchi as well and are constructed in a Greco-Buddhist style.
Symbolises Buddha, i.e. a symbol of his final release from the cycle of birth and rebirth called the Parinirvana or ‘Final Dying.
Siddhivinayak Temple
Maharashtra
The richest Temple in India was constructed by Laxman Vithu & Dubai Patil in 1801.
Konark Sun Temple
Odisha
Build in the 13th century by King Narasimhadeva I (AD 1238-1264) during the Ganga Empire.
It is conceived as a gigantic chariot of the Sun God built in Kalinga architecture.
Jagannath Temple
Odisha
Called Yamanika Tirtha.
This temple in Puri is famous for its annual chariot festival, Ratha Yatra.
The first Jagannath temple was commissioned by King Indradyumna.
Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra are a trio of deities worshipped at the temple.
Golden Temple
Punjab
Build in the 15th century the temple is also known as Harmindar Sahib.
Temple was plated in Gold in 1980 from the wealth and material donated by Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
Ramanathaswamy Temple
Tamil Nadu
One of the twelve Jyotirlinga temples build in the 12th Century.
It has the longest corridor among all Hindu temples in India.
Built in Dravidian Architecture
Creators – Pandyas and Jaffna Kings
There are 64 Tīrthas i.e. holy water bodies in and around the island of Rameswaram.
One of the Char Dhams.
Meenakshi Temple
Tamil Nadu
Built by King Kulasekara Pandya -12-13 Century.
Dravidian Architecture and have over 40 inscriptions.
There are 985 richly carved pillars that depict scenes from the wedding of Meenakshi (Parvati) and Sundareswarar (Shiva).
It is famous for its 3 storied Gopuram at the main entrance.
Ranganathaswamy Temple
Tamil Nadu
One of the most important of 108 (Divya Desam )Vishnu Temple.
Build in Dravidian Style, constructed in Vijayanagar Period.
Located on the island formed by twin river- Cauvery & Coleroon
1st temple to be awarded by the UN Body for protecting and conserving cultural heritage.
Its Gopuram is the biggest Gopuram in Asia.
Brihadeeswara Temple
Tamil Nadu
Also known as Raja Rajeswara Temple located at Thanjavur.
This Dravidian style temple was built by the Chola emperor Raja Raja Chola I.
One of the tallest temples in India that is completely made of Granite.
It is one of the Great Living Chola Temples, along with Gangaikonda Cholapuram temple and Airavatesvara temple.
It is also called Dakshin Meru and is situated on the bank of Cauvery river.
Rajagopalaswamy Temple
Tamil Nadu
Created in Dravidian style, it is also called Dakshina Dwaraka.
It has one of the largest Temple tanks in India called Haridra Nadhi.
Nataraja Temple
Tamil Nadu
The temple wall carvings display all the 108 karanas from the Natya Shastra by Bharata Muni; these postures form the foundation of Bharatanatyam, a classical Indian dance.
Build in the 10th century when Chidambaram was the capital of the Chola dynasty.
It is one of the oldest surviving active temple complexes in South India
Vishwanath Temple
Uttar Pradesh
The original Vishwanath temple was destroyed by the army of Qutb-Uddin Aibak in 1194 CE when he defeated the Raja of Kannauj.
There is a small well in the temple called the Jnana Vapi also spelt as Gyaan Vapi
In 1669 CE, Emperor Aurangzeb destroyed the temple and built the Gyanvapi Mosque in its place.
In 1780, Malhar Rao’s daughter-in-law Ahilyabai Holkar constructed the present temple adjacent to the mosque
One of the 12 Jyotirlingas.
Badrinath Temple
Uttarakhand
Located in Garhwal hill along the banks of Alaknanda River, it is at an elevation of 3,133 metres i.e. 10,279 ft above the mean sea level.
The temple is mentioned in ancient religious texts like Vishnu Purana and Skanda Purana.
Yamunotri Temple
Uttarakhand
Situated at an altitude of 3,291 metres i.e. 10,797 ft.
Nupi Lan or Women’s war, is an important movement in the history of Manipur. The Manipuri women waged two historic wars in 1904 and 1939 against mass exploitation and artificial famine triggered by the British imperialists.
First Nupi Lan which broke out in 1904 was against the British order to send Manipuri men to Kabow Valley to fetch timber for re-building the then Police Agent’s bungalow after it was ravaged by fire. The first Nupi Lan was stirred up by the heirs-apparent of the erstwhile ruling family who did not like the selection of Chura Chand Singh as the King of Manipur. They persuaded the women of Manipur to resist the British government’s order to resuscitate the Lalup (forced labour where the male member of society between the age of 17 and 60 should work freely for ten days in every forty days of work). The struggle in which more than 5,000 women took part lasted for a week.
Second Nupi Lan was set off by the indiscriminate export of rice from Manipur by Marwari business men with the support of British rulers. It resulted in a famine-like situation in Manipur even though it was harvest season. Although the movement was started as an agitation by Manipuri women against the economic and administrative policies of the Manipur Maharaja and the Political Agent Mr. Gimson of the British Government (1933-45) in Manipur, it evolved into a movement for the constitutional and administrative reform in Manipur.
When the Manipuri women, whom had been playing a decisive role in the agrarian economy of the region, came out in legion on the streets against the British policy of massive export of rice, the authorities responded by deploying military and police force against the unarmed women protesters. The struggle lasted for several months but subsided as a result of the outbreak of Second World War.
During the Second World War, Lord Linlithgow had declared India to be at war with Germany without consultation. INC leaders were upset with the British government for having pulled India into a war without the consent of Indians.
France had fallen to the Axis Powers and the Allies were suffering many reverses in the war. The British government were keen to get Indian support for the war. Britain herself was in danger of being occupied by the Nazis and in this light, the INC softened its stand. It said that support for the war would be provided if power was transferred to an interim government in India. Viceroy Linlithgow made a set of proposals called the ‘August offer’ in 1940. For the first time, the right of Indians to frame their own constitution was acknowledged.
The terms of the August Offer
A representative Indian body would be framed after the war to frame a constitution for India. Dominion status was the objective for India.
The Viceroy’s Executive Council would be expanded right away to include for the first time more Indians than whites. However, defence, finance and home portfolios were to remain with the British.
An advisory war council was to be established.
An assurance was given to the minorities that no transfer of power would take place “to any system of government whose authority is directly denied by large and powerful elements in Indian national life.”
Linlithgow also stated that there would be no revision of the Government of India Act. He also said that before any real constitutional reform could be done, the differences between the INC and the Muslim League would have to be resolved.
Result of August Offer
INC rejected this offer at its meeting at Wardha in August 1940. It demanded complete freedom from colonial rule. Jawaharlal Nehru remarked that the dominion status concept was as dead as a doornail.
Muslim League also rejected the offer saying that nothing short of partitioning the country would be acceptable to them.
After this, Mahatma Gandhi initiated the Individual Satyagraha to affirm the right to free speech. The first three satyagrahis were Vinoba Bhave, Nehru and Brahma Datt.
The satyagrahis also started a march towards Delhi which was called the ‘Delhi Chalo Movement’.
After the failure of the August Offer, the British government sent the Cripps Mission to India in a bid to garner Indian support for the war.
Chaolung Sukaphaa (1189 – 1268 AD) - First Ahom King of Assam
Chaolung Sukaphaa, also Siu-Ka-Pha, the first Ahom king in medieval Assam, was the founder of the Ahom kingdom. A Tai prince originally from Mong Mao, the kingdom he established in 1228 existed for nearly six hundred years and in the process unified the indigenous ethnic groups of the region.
According to Ahom tradition, Sukaphaa was a descendant of the god Khunlung, who had come down from the heavens and had ruled Mong-Ri-Mong-Ram. During the reign of Suhungmung, which saw the composition of the first Assamese chronicles. Sukaphaa brings a divine diamond chum-Phra-rung-sheng-mung in a box, a divine tusked elephant, a divine chicken Kaichengmung, a divine embroidered cloth, a divine pair of drums, a divine sword Hengdan.
According to Phukan (1992), Sukaphaa was born to Chao Chang-Nyeu and Nang-Mong Blak-Kham-Sen in the Tai state of Mong Mao, close to present-day Ruili in Yunnan, China. Chao Chang Nyeu was a prince from Mong-Ri Mong-Ram, who had traveled to Mong Mao possibly on an expedition. Mong Mao was then ruled by Chao Tai Pung. Chao Chang Nyeu was later befriended by Pao Meo Pung, the son of the ruler, who gave his sister Blak Kham Sen in marriage. Sukaphaa was born of this union not later than 1189 CE and was brought up by his maternal grandparents. Pao Meo Pung, who eventually ruled Mong Mao, had no male heir and Sukaphaa, his nephew, was nominated to succeed him. A son born late to Pao Meo Pung’s queen ended Sukaphaa’s claim to the throne of Mong Mao.
After his 19 years as crown prince came to an end, Sukaphaa decided to leave Mong Mao. According to tradition, his grandmother advised him thus – “no two tigers live in the same jungle, no two kings sit on the same throne.” Accordingly, Sukaphaa is said to have left Chieng-Sen the capital of Mong Mao in the year 1215 CE.
Migration to Assam
According to most Buranjis, Sukaphaa left Mong Mao in 1215. Some Tai chronicles from outside Assam record the journey of Sukaphaa from Mong-Mit Kupklingdao in 1227 where he was the ruler. Sukaphaa followed an older known route from Yunnan to Assam that passed through Myitkyina, Mogaung and the upper Irrawaddy river valley.
On his way, he stopped at various places and crossed the Khamjang river to reach the Nangyang lake in 1227. Here he subjugated the Nagas very ferociously and established a Mong. He left one Kan-Khrang-Mong there to guard the passage back, and proceeded to cross the Patkai hills at the Pangsau pass and reached Namrup (in the Brahmaputra valley) in December 1228.
He was accompanied by three queens: Ai-Me-Chao-Lo, Nang-Sheng-Chum-Hpa and Yi-Lo-Weng-Ching-Chum-Hpa, two sons and a daughter; chiefs from five other dependent Mongs; members of the priestly class and soldiers—a total contingent of 9,000. Sukaphaa had with him 300 horses fitted with saddles and bridles and two elephants. Heavy arms were transported along a different route.
King of Ahom kingdom
The journey, from Mong Mao to Namrup thus took Sukaphaa about thirteen years and the year he reached Namrup is considered as the year the Ahom kingdom was established.
Even though Sukaphaa treated the people of the Patkai hills very severely on his way to the Brahmaputra valley, his approach to the population in Assam was conciliatory and non-confrontational. He married the daughters of Badaucha, the Matak Chief and Thakumatha, the Barahi chief and established cordial relations with them. As he began establishing his domain, he avoided regions that were heavily populated. He encouraged his soldiers as well as members of the Ahom elite to marry locally.
A process of Ahomization bolstered the process of integration. The Barahi and the Moran, speakers of Tibeto-Burman languages, called Sukaphaa’s people “Ha-Cham”, that later on developed into “Assam”, the name of the kingdom; and “Ahom”, the name of the people.
With the help of local recruits, he established three large farms for sali rice cultivation.
At the time of his death in 1268, his kingdom was bounded by the Brahmaputra River in the west, the Disang River in the north, the Dikhow River in the south and the Naga Hills in the east.
Ahom Capital
Over the next few years, he moved from place to place searching for the right capital, leaving behind his representative at each stage to rule the colonized land.
Having reached Namrup, Sukaphaa bridged the Sessa river, and went upstream along the Burhi Dihing river looking to establish a colony for wet rice cultivation. He did not find the region conducive to cultivation and returned downstream to Tipam.
In 1236, he left Tipam for Abhaypur. A flood made his move again in 1240 down the Brahmaputra to Habung. Another flood and he moved again in 1244, down the Brahmaputra to the Dikhowmukh, and then up the Dikhow river to Ligirigaon. Leaving a detachment at Ligirigaon, he moved again in 1246 to Simaluguri.
In 1253, he abandoned Simaluguri for Charaideo, his final capital, where he finally died in 1268. He built his capital city at Charaideo near present-day Sibsagar town.
The capital of the Ahom kingdom changed many times after this, but Charaideo remained the symbolic center of Ahom rule.
Memorial
Since 1996, December 2 has been celebrated in Assam as the Sukaphaa Day, or Assam Day (Axom Divawkh), to commemorate the advent of the first king of the Ahom kingdom in Assam after his journey over the Patkai Hills
An award is given by State Govt. that day to a prominent personality.
Sukapha Samannay Kshetra – Inaugurated on December 2, 2015, at Mohbondha, Jorhat.
