Other lordship · Self-governing peoples of Northern India · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Kachari (Dimasa)

The Dimasa, the "children of the great river", whose capital in the Ahom chronicles is Dimapur on the Dhansiri.

English Wikipedia (Bhattacharjee 1987) says that in the thirteenth century the kingdom "extended along the south bank of the Brahmaputra", with Dimapur as early capital (Rajbari radiocarbon dates reach back to the third century); no Dimasa chronicle exists before the eighteenth century and the earliest named evidence is a coin of 1520. The Ahoms meet a Kachari group near Tirap under Sukaphaa (after 1228) and push them west of the Dikhou in the reign of Sutepha (1268 to 1281). For 1200 there is a people and a place, not a king.

Who he is

Name
not named
Title
Chiefs and kings of the Dimasa clans
Since
not known
Born
not known
Family
English Wikipedia names early kings Mahamanipha, Manipha and Ladapha without dates; we do not seat them in 1200.
Confidence
low

English Wikipedia, Dimasa Kingdom.

What it holds

  • Dimapur and the Dhansiri valley
  • The south bank of the Brahmaputra between the Dikhu and the Kolong (later accounts)
  • The North Cachar hills (Shin 2020)

Allies and rivals

Kamarupa (said by tradition to be their predecessor kingdom), the Chutia (shared religion), the Naga hills (borders), the Ahoms (after 1228).

How things stand that morning

A rice and forest people under clan chiefs; the Hachengsa legend of a boy raised by a tiger who replaced the king is undated.

Wealth

Rice, cotton, bamboo, iron and salt trade with the Naga hills.

Military

Bowmen and clan levies; no numbers.

Threats

  • Ahom entry after 1228

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

  1. 1228 and afterThe Ahoms under Sukaphaa meet a Kachari group near Tirap and avoid early confrontation.Depends on: The Ahoms cross the Patkai. Stopped by: Not applicable.

Places of note

  • Dimapur: Early Kachari capital.

Where the sources disagree

  • The campaign board entry dimapur-kachari is "contested" under Kamarupa; English Wikipedia places the Dimasa in the south bank and in Dimapur, as a successor to Kamarupa. We draw it as peoples' ground.

Evidence: The Ahom buranjis and chronicles of the eighteenth century; one coin of 1520.

"The campaign board" is OMNIA's working map. These notes record where its earlier claims were checked against the sources.

On the map: The range is drawn as a province (the matching nie-prov record); this record draws no ground of its own.

Sources and studies

  1. English Wikipedia, Dimasa Kingdom

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.