Sukaphaa from 1228–1268, also Siu-Ka-Pha, the first Ahom king in medieval Assam, was the founder of the Ahom kingdom and the architect of Assam. A prince of the Su/Tsu (Tiger) clan of the Mao-Shan sub-tribe originally from present-day Mong Mao, Yunnan Province, China, the kingdom he established in 1228 existed for nearly six hundred years and in the process unified the various ethnic groups of the region that left a deep impact on the region. In reference to his position in Assam's history the honorific Chaolung is generally associated with his name. Since 1996, December 2 has been celebrated in Assam as the Sukaphaa Divas, or Asom Divas (Assam Day), to commemorate the advent of the first king of the Ahom kingdom in Assam after his journey over the Patkai Hills.
According to Ahom tradition, Sukaphaa was a descendant of the god Khunlung, who had come down from the heavens and had ruled Mong-Ri-Mong-Ram. Sukaphaa brings a divine diamond chum-Phra-rung-sheng-mung in a box, a divine tusked elephant, a divine chicken Kaichengmung, a divine embroidered cloth, a divine pair of drums, a divine sword Hengdan.
The foundations of the Ahom Kingdom were laid when the first Ahom king, Chaolung Sukaphaa came from Mong Mao, a kingdom located on the eastern most reach of the Indian subcontinent. He entered the Brahmaputra valley by crossing the Patkai mountain range. Along with him came his three queens, two sons and a retinue of nobles and officials and soldiers. He reached modern-day Namrup on 2 December 1228 and settled in the area on the south bank of the Burhidihing river, the Dikhau reiver in the south and Patkai mountains in the east. Making his capital at Charaideo, he befriended the local tribes consisting of the Barahi and the Marans peoples. The technology Sukaphaa and his people had bought with them was shared with the local people of the region. This technology was the wet rice cultivation with an increased agricultural output of the region. Gradually, the Ahom way of life and polity absorbed other people of the region such as the Barahi, increasing the Ahom numbers significantly. For his position Assamese history, the honorific Chaolung is associated with him. (Chao means great, while Lung means great). Sukaphaa would pass away in 1268 having laid the groundwork of a strong sovereign kingdom. The process of assimilation continued until the 16th century when the Ahom kingdom expanded enough to bring other ethnicities into its fold which made the kingdom multi-ethnic and inclusive in its outlook. The Ahom Kingdom came under regular attacks from the Turkic and Afghan rulers of Bengal but it successfully resisted its advances and even expanded westwards to include territory around the Karatoya river.
The Ahom Kingdom would see its first major engagement against an imperial power in the form of the Mughal Empire in 1615. The Ahom capital of Garhgaon was occupied by the Mughals in 1662, but they were dislodged in subsequent engagements. Finally, during the battle of Saraighat in 1671 the Ahoms under Lachit Borphukan managed to repel a major Mughal invasion and in the process extended their boundaries westward up to the Manas River. Mughal presence in the region would be permanently ended by 1682.
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