The Talatal Ghar[tɔlatɔlɡʱɔɹ]) is an 18th century palace and military base located in Rangpur, 4 kilometres (2.5mi) from present-day Sivasagar, Assam, India. It is the largest of the monument built during the Ahom era. King Rudra Singha was responsible for the construction of Kareng Ghar, but the present structure was built by king Rajeswar Singha (Surempha). It was initially built as an army base. It had 2 tunnels and 3 underground floors. Currently this structure is in dilapidated condition, the present ruins betray the grandeur that the palace was once endowed with.
King Rudra Singha had shifted his capital from Garhgaon to Rangpur in 1707 (then known as Tengabari). He started the construction of the Talatal Ghar, but it was initially built of semi-permanent materials. He especially brought an architect from Cooch Behar, Ghanashyam,[1] whom he appointed as the chief architect and entrusted him with the duty of designing the new capital city of Rangpur. Later his successor king Rajeswar Singha constructed the Talatal Ghar with major additions in bricks. The upper floor which is currently exposed had earlier chambers made of wood, timber and other impermanent materials, which were burnt during the Moamaria rebellion, Burmese invasions and by British.[2]
The palace consisted of 7 storeys, of which 4 storeys can be seen on the ground and the other 3 storeys which were underground were sealed and filled during the British era[3][4]
Architecture and Compartments
Talatal Ghar
Room adjacent to the Puja Ghar, the wall of this chamber was used to keep the idols of the gods
The Talatal Ghar was initially built as an army base. It houses two secret tunnels, and three floors below ground level which were used as exit routes during the Ahom conflicts with other kingdoms or enemy attack (and which give the structure its name).[5] At present the palace appears to be a building with irregular shape. The ground storey was used as horse stables, store rooms and, servant quarters. The royal apartments were located in the upper floors which are now to a great extent disappeared due to being made of semi-permanent materials.
Entrance of Kareng (Royal-Chamber) with few surviving floral relics on the top
(SwargadeoRajeswar Singha) added the three floors below ground, which make up the Talatal Ghar. This is made of brick and an indigenous type of cement (a mixture of Bora Chaul—a sticky variety of rice grain—eggs of swan, etc.). The Talatal Ghar had two secret tunnels. One, about 3 kilometres (1.9mi) in length, connected the Talatal Ghar to the Dikhow River, while the other, 16 kilometres (9.9mi) long, led to the Garhgaon Palace, and was used as an escape route in case of an enemy attack.[6]
Chambers and Compartments
Three big cannons kept in Talatal Ghar. In middle there is one of the biggest cannon produced during Ahom era named as Bahikhowa Barphukanar Bortop
From east to west, several rooms run along a long corridor; and from north to south are numerous smaller wings. The ground floor served as stables, store rooms, and servants' quarters. The Kareng Ghar was built mainly of wood, which deteriorated over time. The Royal apartments were on the upper story, of which only a few rooms now remain, close to an octagonal room on the northern wing which once served as the prayer house. There are stairs leading up to the terrace. To the north of the staircase, there is the Mantranaghar (Conference-room) and east of it there is the Barcharā (Assembly hall) which was made of bamboo and wooden pillars near it, was the royal archives called Ghandia Bhoral under the Gandhia Baruah and Gandhia Phukan.[7] To the east there is the assembly hall of Nyay-Sodha-Phukan (Court of chief justice), to the south there is the assembly hall of Bhitarual Phukan (the secret Assembly Hall). An isolated room stands in the south which is believed to have been used by the queen during her confinement. On the south-west there stands another isolated room, possibly the royal kitchen.[8][9] The interior and exterior of the palace were once beautifully engraved with reliefs of hunting scenes, floral designs, god and goddesses which only a few has survived.[10]
Horse stables in the ground floor
The Rangpur Palace was once surrounded by a brick fortification and an earthen fort (Garh) with dikes filled with water. There is a Gola Ghar built in Do-chala styel, for the purpose of storing (gunpowder and ammunition), near the palace.
Archaeological excavations of Talatal Ghar in 2000-2001, unearthed a buried structure on the North-western and North-eastern side of the complex. Among the archaeological remains were brick platform, pathway, long walls, drain made of terracotta pipes and the ceramic objects found were vases, vessels, dishes, bowls etc.[11]
However, the first Ground Penetrating Survey (GPR) in the northeast, undertaken at two Ahom monuments in the Sivasagar district in early April 2015, did not reveal the existence of any secret tunnel. The survey was carried out by IIT Kanpur, in collaboration with the Guwahati circle of the Archaeological Survey of India, over a period of five days at Talatal Ghar and Ahom Royal Palace (Kareng Ghar), both in Sivasagar district.[12]
↑ "Ghanashyam, the artisan from Bengal employed to construct the Ranghar and the Kareng of Rangpur city, was put to death after being caught red handed with a map of the city concealed between two layers of a water pot." (Gogoi 2017:71)
↑ "(B)uranjis were closely guarded, at least the official ones, the reason why they were kept in the Gandhia Bhoral (store house/library) under the supervision of an Ahom official called Gandhia Barua." (Narzary 2021:13)
Archaeological Survey Report (March 1902), Archaeological Survey Report, Government of India, Bengal Circle
Narzary, Dharitri (2021). "Buranjis and the Asian History Writing Tradition". History and Sociology of South Asia. 15 (1–2): 7–27. doi:10.1177/22308075221077716. S2CID247544118.
Konwar, Paranan (2014). "Town Planning and Architectural Study of The Medieval Ahom Royal Palaces at Che-Hong (Gargāon) and Che-Muan (Rangpur)".{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
The Ahom dynasty (1228–1826) ruled the Ahom Kingdom in present-day Assam, India for nearly 598 years. The dynasty was established by Sukaphaa, a Shan prince of Mong Mao who came to Assam after crossing the Patkai mountains. The rule of this dynasty ended with the Burmese invasion of Assam and the subsequent annexation by the British East India Company following the Treaty of Yandabo in 1826.
Sivasagar is a town and headquarter of the Sivasagar district, Assam. Sivasagar is situated about 360 kilometers (224 mi) northeast of Guwahati. It is well known for its Ahom palaces and monuments. Sivasagar is an important centre for tea and oil industries today.
Sivasagar district, formerly known as Sibsagar, is one of the 34 districts of Assam state in Northeast India. Sivasagar city is the administrative headquarters of this district. This historic place is also known for its rich biodiversity. The districts covers an area of 2668 square kilometers. The district comprises two sub-divisions – Sivasagar and Nazira. The district of Sivasagar lies between 26.45°N and 27.15°N latitudes and 94.25°E and 95.25°E longitudes. The district is bounded by the Brahmaputra River to the north, Nagaland to the south, the Charaideo district to the east and the Jhanji River to the west. The Sivasagar district has acquired its distinct identity due to the co-existence of different races, tribes, languages and cultures.
The Moamoria rebellion (1769–1805) was an 18th-century uprising in Ahom kingdom of present-day Assam that began as power struggle between the Moamorias (Mataks), the adherents of the Mayamara Sattra, and the Ahom kings. This uprising spread widely to other sections of Ahom kingdom including disgruntled elements of the Ahom aristocracy leading to two periods in which the Ahom king lost control of the capital. Retaking the capital was accompanied by a massacre of subjects, leading to a steep depopulation of large tracts. The Ahom king failed to retake the entire kingdom; a portion in the north-east, Bengmara, became known as Matak Rajya ruled by a newly created office called Borsenapati, became a tribute-paying but virtually independent territory.
The Ahom kingdom was a late medieval kingdom in the Brahmaputra Valley that retained its independence for nearly 600 years despite encountering Mughal expansion in Northeast India. Established by Sukaphaa, a Tai prince from Mong Mao, it began as a mong in the upper reaches of the Brahmaputra based on wet rice agriculture. It expanded suddenly under Suhungmung in the 16th century and became multi-ethnic in character, casting a profound effect on the political and social life of the entire Brahmaputra valley. The kingdom became weaker with the rise of the Moamoria rebellion, and subsequently fell to repeated Burmese invasions of Assam. With the defeat of the Burmese after the First Anglo-Burmese War and the Treaty of Yandabo in 1826, control of the kingdom passed into East India Company hands.
Garhgaon is a town in Assam, India and was the capital of the Ahom kingdom for many years. It was built by the Ahom king Suklenmung in 1540. Suklenmung who interverned against a Toungoo dynasty attack on MongKwang in Kachin State of Myanmar was married to the princess Nang Sao Seng, the daughter of Chao Siu-Kwei of MongKwang. It is said that the Ahom capital Garhgoan was built at the suggestion of this Mong Kwang queen Nang Sao Seng In 1575, Mongkwang king Chao Ka Pha II took shelter in Ahom territory after his state was devastated by the Burmese. It lies 13 km east of present-day Sivasagar town, headquarters of Sivasagar district. The palace structures were made of wood and stones. In 1747 Pramatta Singha, son of Rudra Singha, constructed the brick wall of about 5 km in length surrounding the Gargaon palace and the masonry gate leading to it.
Joymoti Konwari was the wife of Ahom prince Gadapani. She died at the hands of the royalists under Sulikphaa Loraa Roja without disclosing her exiled husband Gadapani's whereabouts in the Naga Hills, thereby enabling her husband to rise in revolt and assume kingship.
Sukhrungphaa or Swargadeo Rudra Singha was the thirtieth Ahom king, who reigned from 1696 to 1714. His father Gadadhar Singha freed Assam from the Mughal disturbances and internal conspiracies, thereby Rudra Singha inherited a stable domain and government and had the advantage of the solid foundations laid by his father and devoted his time to transform Assam into a first-rate power in India. He stopped the persecution of the Neo-Vaisnava sect and built temples, several public works, and patronized art, literature, and culture. Rudra Singha is also famed for being the real father of Ahom architecture. He giving up the isolationist policy of his predecessors forged diplomatic ties with various states of that time and established extensive trade with Bengal.
Borboruah was one of the five patra mantris (councillors) in the Ahom kingdom, a position created by the Ahom king Prataap Singha in 1621. The position included both executive and judicial powers, with jurisdiction of the Ahom kingdom east of Kaliabor river and those regions not governed by the three great Gohains, and the princely estates. The region to the west of Kaliabor was governed by the Borphukan.
Rangpur is the 4th capital of the Ahom kingdom, was established by Swargadeo Rudra Singha in "Meteka" in 1707 after shifting the capital from Garhgaon. It is currently a part of Sibsagar town. The place holds many monuments build by the Ahom dynasty, the most notable of which are the Talatal Ghar and the Rang Ghar.
Suremphaa, or Rajeswar Singha, the fourth son of Rudra Singha, became the king of the Ahom kingdom after the death of his brother King Pramatta Singha. Rudra Singha's third son, Mohanmala Gohain, was considered ineligible for kingship as his face was pitted with smallpox marks. According to the norm established after Sulikphaa Lora Roja, an Ahom prince had to be free from any physical disability, defects or deformities to become a king.
Sunenphaa also, Pramatta Singha, was the king of Ahom Kingdom. He succeeded his elder brother Swargadeo Siva Singha, as the king of Ahom Kingdom. His reign of seven years was peaceful and prosperous. He constructed numerous buildings and temples. The most famous of his buildings was the Rang Ghar, which is also considered as the oldest amphitheatre in Asia.
The Rang Ghar, is a two-storeyed building which once served as the royal sports-pavilion where Ahom kings and nobles were spectators at games like buffalo fights and other sports at Rupahi Pathar - particularly during the Rongali Bihu festival in the Ahom capital of Rangpur.
Sunyeopha also Lakshmi Singha, was the 34th Ahom king, who reigned from 1769 to 1780. After Rajeswar Singha's death, he married Queen Kuranganayani and became the king of the Ahom kingdom. Shortly after he was installed he became a captive of the rebels of the Moamoria rebellion for a few months but soon regained his kingdom. With the help of Kuranganayani, after destroying all the Moamoria rebels including Borbaruah Ragho, Lakshmi Singha was once again crowned as king of Ahom kingdom.
A maidam is a tumulus of the royalty and aristocracy of the medieval Ahom Kingdom (1228–1826) in Assam. The royal maidams are found exclusively at Charaideo; whereas other maidams are found scattered in the region between Jorhat and Dibrugarh towns. Structurally, a maidam consists of vaults with one or more chambers. The vaults have a domical superstructure that is covered by a hemispherical earthen mound that rises high above the ground with an open pavilion at the peak called chow chali. An octagonal dwarf wall encloses the entire maidam.
Kareng, also known as The Garhgaon Palace, is located in Garhgaon 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from Sivasagar, Assam, India. The palace structures were made of wood and stone. In 1751 Sunenphaa, son of Sukhrungphaa, constructed the brick wall of about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) in length surrounding the Garhgaon Palace and the masonry gate leading to it.
Sujinphaa also Arjun Konwar, was a Namrupiya king of the Ahom kingdom. Atan Burhagohain installed him on the throne after removing Debera Borbarua from power and deposing the previous king, Gobar Roja. Sujinphaa began his reign well with proper advice and support from Atan Burhagohain and other nobles. But soon, acting on the advice of his wife and other advisors, the king began to defy the authority of the Burhagohain, which resulted in a head-on collision between both sides. The king successfully defended the first onslaught of Atan Burhagohain's forces, but fell to the second, which was reinforced with troops from Guwahati. Sujinphaa was deposed and blinded. Some sources state that he killed himself, while some sources maintain that he was murdered by Bhatdhara Phukan, the brother of Laluksola Borphukan.
The Gola Ghar is a historical monument located in Joysagar, 4 km from Sivasagar, Assam. It is an ammunition store house used by the Ahoms and is situated near the Talatal Ghar. The Gola Ghar was built during the reign of Chakradhwaj Singha.
Ahom Raja's palace is an historic building in Garhgaon, Assam State, India.
Ghanashyam House or Nati Gosain dol is an early 18th-century brick monument built during the reign of the king Rudra Singha dedicated to the architect Ghanashyam. This monument is situated on the west bank of Joysagar Tank. It is 4 km away from Sivasagar town towards west.
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