History:
The ancient kingdom of Kamarupa once covered the present state of Assam. Pragjyaisha, the capital, was located near Guwahati. Kamarupa is mentioned as a frontier kingdom and tributary of the Gupta Empire in the Allahabad inscription of Samudra Gupta (A.D. 330-375).

Until the 1200's, the area was ruled by a succession of dynasties, including the Salastamba, the Brahmapala, and the Bhuyan. The Ahoms, a Thai-Buddhist tribe from the southeast, arrived in the area in the early 1200's. They deposed the ruler and established a kingdom with its capital in Sibsagar. By 1353, the Ahoms controlled a major part of the area, which they renamed Assam. The Ahoms adopted the language and Hindu religion of the conquered people and ruled Assam for about 500 years.

A part of the Ahom territory bordered the Mughal Empire. The attempts of the Mughals to extend their territory into Assam resulted in conflict for several hundred years. Although the Ahoms temporarily lost control in 1663, they inflicted a crushing defeat on the Mughals in 1671.

Internal dissension led to the fall of the Ahom kingdom. In 1771, the British East India Company gave military assistance to the Ahom ruler to quell a revolt. In return, the Company received commercial privileges.

In 1817, the Burmese took advantage of the rivalry between the Ahom chiefs, invaded Assam, and established political control. The Burmese presence threatened British commercial interests. In the first Burmese War (1824-1826), the British drove the Burmese out of Assam. Under the Treaty of Yandabo, the territory was annexed by the East India Company on 24 Feb., 1826.

During the 1800's, many Muslim settlers moved to Assam from Bengal. The British (United Kingdom) government administered the state from 1858 until 1947. India achieved independence in 1947 and Assam became a state of the Indian Union.