The death of Bhaskar Varman in 650 A.D marks the end of Varman Kingdom and Kamarup came under the rule of the Salastambha dynasty, who ruled until 900 A.D and after the downfall of Salastambha dynasty, it came under the rule of the Pallas who ruled from 900 A.D to 1100 A.D. With the fall of Pallas, Kamarup split up into a number of principalities with the birth of potent landlords known as Bhuyans till the beginning of the 13th century. It was the eyewitness of two major events during the early 13th century. One was a series of Muslim invasions from the west starting from 1206 A.D and the other, the entrance of the Tai in 1228 A.D who came to be known as Ahoms in Assam from the east.
The Ahom dynasty that ruled over Assam for almost 600 years was founded by Chaolung Sukaphaa during the 13th century. Sukhaphaa was the prince of Mang Mao, in South Western Yunan had a dispute with his maternal uncle’s son and left Mang Mao in 1215 AD and along with 9000 soldiers armed with superior weapons conquered the Nagas and other hill tribes along the routes. It took him 13 years to reach Assam through the known routes of the Hukwang Valley and the hilly Patkai pass and many people from the Tai community of the Hukwang Valley joined him on the way. The advent of the highly Tai Ahoms under Sukapha in the year 1228 A.D changed the whole history of the state and led to the unification of the entire state of Assam. While establishing a kingdom in the new state, he became friends with the Moran and Bohari, the two ethnic groups that resided in the region. Many of his followers married into these groups and the Boharis were included as part of the Ahoms. Finally, in the year 1253, the capital of Ahom Kingdom was established at Charaideo, which lies close to the present-day Sibasagar and eventually initiated the mission of building a state.
Under Sukhaangpha, the 4th Ahom King, kingdom got into the first most important conflict with their neighbors and fought a long war, beginning about 1324, against the Kamata king Pratapdhvaj. The war did not end in a win for either, but concluded in a respite after Sukhangpha married Rajani, the sister of Pratapdhvaj. Suhungmung, popularly known as Swarganarayan, Dihingia Raja was one of the most important ruler of the Ahom Dynasty, who ruled during the end of the medieval period of Assam’s history. He was the 14th ruler of the dynasty, who ruled from 1497 to 1539 A.D. He was the one who first initiated the work of Assamese history and augmented Hindu influence according to which, the Ahom kings were the descendents of God. They were the result of union of Lord Indra (identified with Lengdon) and Syama (a low-caste woman), and were declared Indravamsa kshatriyas, a lineage created for the Ahoms and hence, they were called Swargadeo in Assamese Language and Chao-Pha in the Ahom language. Succession was by agnatic primogeniture, where kingship was determined by tracing through only male ancestors. Under him the Ahom Kingdom expanded greatly for the first time since Sukaphaa, at the cost of the Chutiya and the Kachari kingdoms. He also successfully defended his kingdom against the first Muslim invasions under Turbak Khan. Suhungmung was assassinated by a servant, Ratiman, who stabbed him while he was sleeping and it is alleged that his son Suklenmung, who descended the throne, was responsible for his death.
Susenghphaa, popularly known as Pratap Singha or Burha Raja, the 17th king was one of the famous kings of the Ahom kingdom as during his reign the dynasty saw an expansion to the west. It was during his rule that conflict between the Ahoms and Mughal started and a reorganization of the kingdom with an expanded Paik system and reoriented village economy designed by Momai Tamuli Borbarua. His expansion to the west is highlighted by the creation of two new offices, namely the Borbarua and the Borphukan. The alliances he formed with the rulers of Koch Hajo resulted in formation that successfully thwarted Mughal expansion. The administrative structure that he created survived until the end of the Ahom kingdom in 1826.
It was during the rule of Supangmung, also known as Chakradhwaj Singha, who ruled from 1663 to 1670 and Guwahati was taken back from the Mughals following the repeal at the hands of Mir Jumla and the Treaty of Ghilajharighat. One year after his death, the major battle of Saraighat took place, which is considered to be the landmark in the history of Assam where the Mughals were defeated by the eminent warrior of his kingdom Lachit Borphukan. In the year 1672, Sarugohain (Suklamphaa), the youngest brother of Chakradhwaj Singha (Supangmung), ascended the throne of the Ahom kingdom after overthrowing his brother Udayaaditya Singha (Sunyatphaa, 1670-1672), and took the the Hindu name Ramadhwaj Singha. Udayaaditya Singha was killed by Ramadhwaj Singha and during his reign, the Ahom Kingdom saw its dark phase. This was started with the rule of week rulers and lasted for almost 9 years. This period was dominated by Debera Borbarua, Atan Burhagohain and Laluk-sola Borphukan in succession and ended with the succession of Gadadhar Singha to the throne. Debera Borborua, the actual ruler under whose instruction, Ramadhwaj Sinha ruled for almost two years, killed the king when he tried to aver his power.
Gadadhar Singha, who is famous by the name of Gadapaani established the rule of the Tungkhungia clan of the Ahoms, which lasted until the downfall of the whole dynasty. He was able to stabilize the kingdom after a 9 years long turmoil and dirty politics played against the princes and kings of the dynasty by the three subordinates. He changed his capital to Barkola and again took back Guwahati from the Mughals and established a strong hold over the state. He also entered into a conflict with the Vaishnava sattras and paved the path for his son and successor of the throne, Rudra Singha to take the kingdom to the pinnacle of glory and power. It was during the reign of Rudra Singha; Bihu was celebrated for the first time in the courtyard of the place and gave royal benefaction in promotion of it. He was the one to build the Joysagar tank, which is the largest artificial tank in the World. Besides, he also constructed the Ranganath Dol and the Namdang Stone Bridge. Rudra Singha had four sons and each became the Kings one after another. In the year 1771, his 4th son Suremphaa, ascended the throne of Ahom Kingdom and as he was a hardcore Hindu, who constructed a number of temples along with the historical monuments Rang Ghar and Kareng Ghar in Rangpur, present-day Sibasagar.
After his death, Sunyeophaa and Suklingphaa became the kings one after the other. In the year 1811, Sudingphaa was crowned as the king of the Ahom dynasty. He was crowned twice as the king once from 1811–1818 and then from 1819–1821, during which, the Burmese attacked the state of Assam. After him, Purandar Singha, the last Ahom King, who was as well crowned twice, became the ruler of the state. His first tenure was from 1818 to 1819 after which Sudingphaa was made the king. It was during this time, the 2nd Burmese invasion took place and in the year 1821, Jogeshwar Singha was made the king by the Burmese but Punadar Singha regained the throne in the year 1833 and ruled over Assam until 1838 when the British East India Company finally annexed the state of Assam, which brought an end to the rule of Ahom Dynasty in Assam.
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