Vol. VI, No. 4.] History and Ethnology of N.-E. India — I. 157 



[N.S.] 



proceeded to the conquest of the surrounding countries. In 

 A.H. 899 he is found issuing coins from Fathabad, the modern 

 Farfdpur, in which he proclaims himself the conqueror of 

 Kamrup, Kamata, Jajnagar and Orissa (I.M.C., Bengal coins, 

 No. 175). Only the two former conquests need be considered 

 here. The north of the present Rajshahi Division as well as 

 the modern districts of Goalpara and Kamrup had then for at 

 least two centuries been under the control of a race of Khen 

 kings (allied to the Kacharfs of the central Brahmaputra 

 Valley) who ruled from Kamatapur, a town situated not far 

 from the modern capital of Kuch Bihar. Subsequent to his 

 conquest of Orissa, Husain Shah captured Kamatapur by 

 stratagem (vide Gait's History y page 43), the date being 

 certainly (from the evidence of the Fathabad coin) 1493 

 or 1494, and not 1498 as given by Prinsep (Thomas' edition, 

 Useful Tables, page 273). It is possible that Husain Shah 

 may then have marched into Kamrup, e.g., from the appear- 

 ance of the gateway of the Kachari fortress of Dimapur, 

 which (as the illustration opposite p. 245 of Gait's History 

 shows) is very similar to one of Husain Shah's mosques: it 

 seems possible that the Kacharis may also have come into 

 contact with Husain Shah ; but from the absence of any 

 reference to Assam on his coins or inscriptions, as well as the 

 silence of the Buranjis, it is certain that Husain Shah never 

 invaded Assam proper, which was then confined to the eastern 

 half of the Brahmaputra valley. The constantly repeated 

 story that he did, appears to be based on the statement^ of the 

 author of the Riyazu-s-Salattn (quoting from the 'Alamgir- 

 namah; cf. Blochmann, Koch Bihar and Asam, J.A.S.B., 

 1872, p. 79). " After this (the conquest of Orissa) he planned 



to conquer Assam and conquering the whole of that 



country up to Kamrup, Kamtah and other districts, which 

 were subject to powerful Rajahs like Rup Narayan, Mai Kun- 

 war, Gos Lakhan and Lachmi Narayan and others, he collected 



much wealth from the conquered tracts The Rajah of 



Assam not being able to oppose him, relinquishing his country 

 fled to the mountains. The king, leaving his son ' .... re- 

 turned to Bengal . . . ., but when the rainy season set in, the 

 Rajah with his adherents issued from the hills, surrounded the 

 royal army, and in a short time put all to the sword. M As Mr. 

 Gait suggests (History , p. 88, note) the Riyaz (or rather the 

 author of the ■ Alarngtrnamah) here undoubtedly mixes up the 

 accounts of two expeditions, Husain Shah's expedition against 

 Kamata in 1494 and the disastrous invasion* of the Assam 

 valley by Muhammadans in 1527 (934 AH.) and 1531—1533, of 



) Evidently not Prince Danyal, as this son of Husain Shah erected 

 a mosque ar Mongir in 903 \.H. (Blochmann. A New King of Bengal, 

 J.A.S.B., 1872. pp. 384 and 335). 



