Sutuphaa

Sutuphaa was the king of the Ahom kingdom in late medieval India from 1369 to 1376. He ruled after an interregnum and historians differ regarding his year of accession, with some saying his rule began in 1364. His reign was marked by conflicts with the Chutia kingdom, which later resulted in his murder by the Chutias.

Ancestry and accession Sutuphaa was the second son of Ahom king Sukhaangphaa. After the death of his father, his elder brother Sukhrangpha ascended the throne. After a reign of thirty-two years, Sukhrangpha died in 1364 CE. Historians differ from this point. While accounts of early historians stated that after the death of Sukhrangpha, his brother Sutuphaa directly ascended the throne in 1364 CE. But modern historians, Padmeswar Gogoi and S. L. Baruah stated that there was a period of interregnum after the death of Sukhrangpha, from 1364 CE and 1369 CE, thereby placing the year of Sutuphaa’s accession in 1369 CE.

Reign and assassination

The Satsari Buranji states that the Ahoms maintained cordial relations with the Chutia kingdom from the time of Sukapha’s sons until Sutuphaa’s death.

Sutuphaa wanted to expand the territory of the Ahom kingdom. This led to frequent conflicts with the neighbouring Chutia kingdom. In 1376 CE, the Chutia King visited Sutuphaa at Chapaguri, and, pretending to be reconciled, invited him to a regatta on the Safrai river. According to the Buranji accounts, the Chutia king lured Sutuphaa onto his barge without his attendants and had him killed. The Buranjis, however, provide conflicting accounts of the manner of his death: some state that he was killed by a rampaging bull, while others claim that he was drowned in the river. The Ahom soldiers accompanying Sutuphaa subsequently returned to the capital and reported his death. The Ahom Buranji, written in the Ahom language, states that the Chutias (referred to as Tiura) carried Sutuphaa away and killed him, but does not mention the involvement of a Chutia king (Khun).

Saikia (1997) argues that, facing political opposition from the Kacharis, the Ahoms in the early days sought friendship with the Chutias, whose established royal court and commercial links with neighbouring regions made them an attractive ally. However, Sutuphaa’s death led to the failure of this early effort and contributed to a change in the Ahom attitude towards the Chutias.

Some historians question the authenticity of this episode. Sarbeswar Barua argues that Sutuphaa’s death was not premeditated and that the Chutia king was wrongfully blamed for the incident during the boat race, which had taken place at his invitation. Swarnalata Barua (2007) notes that the assassination of a king in a foreign land would likely have triggered an immediate military response, yet no such conflict is recorded. Furthermore, there is no mention of the Ahom forces accompanying Sutuphaa taking steps either to protect him or to launch a counterattack.

Interregnum After Sutuphaa's death, there was no prince whom the Ahom nobles thought worthy of the throne, and so, for four years (1376–1380 CE), Chao Phrongdam Burhagohain and Taphrikhin Borgohain carried on the administration themselves. In 1380 CE, finding it difficult to govern the country without a king, the nobles raised Sutuphaa's younger brother Tyao Khamti, the third son of Sukhaangphaa, to the throne.