Kamata Kingdom

The Kamata kingdom (Assamese: কমতা ৰাজ্য) appeared in the western part of the older Kamarupa kingdom in the 13th century, after the fall of the Pala dynasty. The rise of the Kamata kingdom marked the end of the ancient period in the History of Assam and the beginning of the medieval period. The first rulers were the Khens, who were later displaced by Alauddin Hussain Shah, the Turko-Afghan ruler of Gauda. Though Hussain Shah developed extensive administrative structures, he could not maintain political control and the control went to the Koch dynasty. The Koches called themselves Kamateshwars (the rulers of Kamata), but their influence and expansions were so extensive and far reaching that their kingdom is sometimes called the Koch Kingdom.

The Kamata Kingdom, according to Sailen Debnath, comprised the tract of land bounded by the Karatoya in the west, the Brahmaputra in the east, the Himalayas in the north and the Padma-Brahmaputra basin in the south. Most probably, Nalrajar Garh in Chilapata Forest was the earliest capital of Kamatapur; and subsequently through a long course of changes and developments the capital was shifted to Maynaguri and then to Prithu Rajar Garh; before its final shifting to Gosanimari, an ancient river port-town since the seventh century, for sometime, the capital was at Singijani. After the destruction of the kingdom of Kamata by Hussain Shah of Gauda, there emerged the Koch kingdom.

Sangaldip in the mid-seventh century, according to Sailen Debnath, was the first king of Kamatapur; though the continuous history of Kamatapur is available only after the fall of the Kamarupa Palas and the consequent disintegration of the ancient kingdom of Kamrup. Maharaj Prithu, Raja Sandhya, Maharaj Durlabhnarayan and Niladhwaj were the most powerful and influential rulers of the kingdom. Nilambar of the Khen dynasty was the last ruler of Kamatapur. Though he was a valiant fighter in the battlefield, yet, he had to give in to the tricks and military game-plans used by the generals of the army of Hussain Shah. But in earlier times the rulers of Kamatapur nearly in most of the occasions defeated the invaders from Gaur.