Far East Kingdoms

Chutiya (Sutiya) Kings
AD 1187 - 1673

This kingdom was established on the north bank of the River Brahmaputra in north-eastern Assam and parts of Arunachal Pradesh by Birpal. The Chutiyas were a Tibeto-Burmese race who secured power in Assam at the same time as the Khen kings and Barobhuyan chieftains (to the west), during the decline of the Kamarupa kingdom. They claimed descent from remnants of the former Mlechha kings of Assam. Unfortunately, there seems to be no list of the names of the Chutiya kings, apart from the three most famous of them, who top and tail the list. Even the name of a king involved in what must have been a major incident in 1376 is unrecorded.

(Information by Abhijit Rajadhyaksha.)

1187 - ?

Birpal

Gaurinarayan / Ratnadhwajpal

Son. Brought many other Chutiya groups into the kingdom.

1224

Gaurinarayan (or Gauri Narayan) defeats Bhadrasena, the king of Swetagiri. Then he subjugates Nyayapal and marches to Kamatapur, where he forms an alliance with the Kamata ruler by marrying one of his daughters (this contradicts the claim that the Kamata kingdom is destroyed in 1187 by Gauda and the area is ruled by the Khen kings by this time). He also absorbs many other Chutiya groups during his reign, or encourages them to join the growing kingdom, providing the basis for its survival.

1228

The Ahom kings emerge in Assam.

The Brahmaputra, which ran through the Chutiya kingdom, swells greatly in the monsoons

13th century

The Kachari kings emerge in Assam.

1376

A second interregnum hits the Ahoms following Sutupha's untimely death at the hands of the (unnamed) Chutiya king. The event sparks a simmering feud between the two kingdoms.

1500

The Jayantiya kingdom emerges, perhaps due to the chaos caused by the Bengalese invasion of Assam.

? - 1522

Nityapal

Last Chutiya ruler at Sadiya.

1522

As a partial culmination of the inter-kingdom feud, the Ahoms take Sadiya and kill the Chutiya king. The position of sadiyakhowa gohain is created, the governor of Sadiya. The Chutiyas, forced away from their capital, rally in the countryside and conduct guerrilla warfare against the Ahoms.

1673

The Chutiyas fall under the domination of the Ahom kings, finally accepting their overlordship, and are absorbed into their state. The Kachari and Jayantiya kings remain in power in various other parts of Assam.