Kings and their demesnes · Kamarupa · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Vallabhadeva of Kamarupa

The one name the sources give for the Brahmaputra valley in the late twelfth century.

Vallabhadeva is a king on a single inscription of 1185; whether he or a son reigns on 1 January 1200 the sources do not say. The realm record (Kamarupa) deliberately seats no king; this record lets the campaign seat Vallabhadeva as the likely ruler if a player needs a name, with the warning that the name is an inference from one plate. His world: the temple towns (Pragjyotishpura, Hajo, Kamakhya), the river road, silk and gold, and a Brahman court that reads its descent from the old Varman and Pala kings.

Who he is

Name
Vallabhadeva (or an unnamed successor)
Title
King of central Kamarupa, last name attested before the silence
Since
not known; the only dated record is an inscription of 1185 (Saka 1107)
Born
not known
Family
A "lunar" line in central Kamarupa: Bhaskara, Rayarideva, Udayakarna and Vallabhadeva are listed in a single inscription of 1185, and English Wikipedia gives the line dates of 1120 to 1200 (a table that rests on that one inscription). After him the first dated ruler is the unnamed king who meets Bakhtiyar in 1206, sometimes called a son of Vallabhadeva; Prithu appears in 1226 to 1228.
Confidence
low

English Wikipedia, Kamarupa (Boruah 2011, p. 81; Sircar 1990). Saka 1107 plus 78 is 1185 CE. The same page offers three incompatible dates for the end of the old kingdom (1140, "by the 12th century", "by the 13th century").

Overlord

None attested.

What it holds

  • Central Kamarupa: the valley round Guwahati and the Kamakhya hill, Hajo and Sualkuchi
  • Claims on the Kamata country to the west and on Sylhet to the south

Allies and rivals

The Senas to the west (claim, no rule), the Kachari and Chutia to the east, the Koch-Mech and Bodo of the west bank, the hill peoples to the south; the Turks come only in 1206.

How things stand that morning

A king of the valley whose name is Vallabhadeva on the best reading; not attested for 1200. Do not assume he has an army: the 1206 account shows a force able to cut a bridge and let the flood do the rest.

Wealth

Silk, gold-washing, elephants, aloe wood, the Tibet road by Tawang.

Military

Boats, elephants, archers; no numbers.

Threats

  • Bakhtiyar's Tibet expedition by the north-bank road in 1206
  • Koch-Mech and Kachari rivalry
  • The Brahmaputra floods

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. 1206The Kamarupa king (not named in Minhaj) cuts the road and the bridge fails; Bakhtiyar returns with about a hundred men.Depends on: Lakhnauti held by the Ghurids. Stopped by: The column turns back or goes by another route.
  2. 1226 to 1228Prithu is believed to have beaten the Turks of Gauda twice.Depends on: Later. Stopped by: Not applicable.

Places of note

  • Guwahati (Pragjyotishpura): The old capital.

Where the sources disagree

  • The realm record says no king can be named; this record names Vallabhadeva as the nearest attested. The GM should treat the name as a convenience.
  • English Wikipedia lists the lunar line as 1120 to 1200 in a table; the table is built on the 1185 inscription alone.

Evidence: One inscription of 1185 and a later Persian account.

On the map: A claimed disc; no ruler is proven for 1200.

Primary sources for Kamarupa

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

Sources and studies

  1. English Wikipedia, Kamarupa

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