Battle of Itakhuli

Part of the Ahom-Mughal conflicts

Date	August 1682
Location	Guwahati
Result	Decisive Ahom Victory

Belligerents

Ahom kingdom

Mughal Empire

Commanders and leaders

Dihingia Alun Borbarua

Mansur Khan, Ali Akbar

The Battle of Itakhuli was fought in 1682 between the Ahom Kingdom and the Mughal Empire. The Ahoms pushed back Mughal control to the west of the Manas river for good. The main battle was fought at a garrison island on the Brahmaputra, in which the Mughal fauzdar, Mansur Khan, was defeated and the remnant of the Mughal forces pursued to the Manas river. With this win, the Ahoms recovered Sarkar Kamrup from the Mughals.

After Gadadhar Singha became the Ahom king in 1681, preparations began in March 1682 for a war to expel the Mughals from Guwahati. An army was organized under the Dihingiya Alun Barbarua. A three-pronged advance was made in June and July 1682: under the commands of Holou Deka-Phukan and the Namdangiya Phukan along the north bank of the Brahmaputra river; under Garhgayan Sanikoi Neog Phukan and Khamrak Charingiya Phukan along the south bank; and the navy under Bandar Barphukan and Champa Paniphukan.

The Mughals were at a disadvantage, with the faujdar Mansur Khan ill, and widespread discontent among the soldiers. The Imperial attention was focused elsewhere: Aurangzeb, the Mughal emperor, was drawn toward the Deccan due to the Mughal–Maratha Wars (1680-1707), and the Subah of Bengal was busy with its dispute with the East India Company. As the Ahom forces advanced, the Mughals retreated from the advance outposts—Bahbari and Kurua in the north bank and Kajali and Panikhaiti in the south bank—to the fort of Itakhuli. The Ahoms now cast their focus on Shah Buruz on the north bank (Salal Borgohain, Bandar Borphukan, the Sadiyakhowa Gohain, the Marangikhowa Gohain and others) and on Itakhuli on the south bank (Dihingiya Borbarua, Saring Phukan and others posted at the Sarania fort). The Pani Phukan kept his fleet at the mouth of the Barnadi river.

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Wikipedia