Itakhuli: A Battle That Saved Assam

Introduction

On a small hill on the south bank of the Brahmaputra in 1682, the fate of the Ahom Kingdom was decided.

It may sound hyperbolic, but it is true. For that small hill, known as Itakhuli was where an Ahom army under the command of Alun Borbarua defeated a superior Mughal army commanded by Mansur Khan and Ali Akbar.

But how were they able to do this?

Preparation and superior tactics.

Preparation

After the Battle of Saraighat in 1671 there had been peace between the Ahoms and the Mughals. However, chaos in the Ahom Kingdom following that battle prompted the Mughals to start encroaching on Ahom territory once more.

This situation lasted until 1681, when the fearsome Gadadhar Singha became King. Upon ascending the throne, Gadadhar ordered preparations for war to begin. The King knew the only way to guarantee continued Ahom independence was to defeat the Mughals in the field.

Once preparations had been finalised, the army was placed under the command of Alun Borbarua, and it was decided that a three-pronged strategy would be adopted. One part of the army would attack from the north bank of the Brahmaputra River, whilst a second part would attack along the south bank and the final part would attack on the river itself.

Battle Begins

The Mughals were caught unawares by this advance and retreated from their advance outposts. These outposts-Bahbari and Kurua in the north and Kajali and Panikhaiti in the south-were strategic outposts and left the way to Itakhuli open.

Ali Akbar, the commander of the Itakhuli fort decided to leave the safety of the fort to attack the Ahom army. He soon realised his mistake, for under a barrage of artillery and infantry charges the Mughal army broke. Ali Akbar fled the field and kept running until he’d left Assam.

With Ali Akbar having fled, Mansur Khan, the Mughal governor had no choice but to flee as well, bringing with him the remaining Mughal troops.

Their flight left the fortress of Itakhuli open and more importantly it left Guwahati free for the taking. The Ahom army took both and welcomed Gadadhar Singha to Guwahati, where the King handed out rewards, titles and added a significant amount of wealth to the treasury.

The Treaty

Having won such an overwhelming victory, Gadadhar and the Ahoms were able to dictate terms to the Mughals.

In the following treaty, it was decided that the border between the Ahoms and the Mughals would be set at the Manas River. A border that would remain until the fall of the Ahom Kingdom in the 1820s.

Kingdom defining

Saraighat and the exploits of Lachit Borphukan helped shape the notion of the Ahom Kingdom. Itakhuli and the preparations laid out by Gadadhar Singha consolidated those notions and provided security for the Kingdom until its end.