Named after the Koch tribe of Assam, Koch dynasty played an important role in forming the history of Assam during the medieval period. The beginning of Medieval Assam is marked by the rise of the Khen dynasty of the Kamata kingdom, established by Prithu in the western part of the old Kamarupa Kingdom, and the beginning of attacks by the Turks of Bengal. The Kamata kingdom, named after the capital at Kamatapur, was frequently attacked by the rulers of Bengal, and Alauddin Hussain Shah finally removed the last Khen king in 1498. But Hussein Shah and subsequent rulers could not consolidate their rule in the Kamata kingdom, mainly due to the revolt by the Bhuyan chieftains and other local groups. The Koch dynasty emerged as the dominant kingdom after the fall of the Khen dynasty in 1498 and Kamat Dynasty in 1515.
The ‘Khen’ dynasty is well-known for the kings of Niladhvaja, the founder of the dynasty, his son Chakradhvaja and grandson Nilambar and it is stated by some historians that the ‘Koch’ dynasty followed the lineage of Nilambar. Viswa Singha was made the King of Kamata, who contributed to making of a glorious chapter in the history of Assam by forming the Koch Dynasty in the year 1515. His wife was Padmavati, who belonged to a place called Gaur, which is a ruined city situated in the Malda district of West Bengal. He had several sons but King Nara Narayana and Chilarai are the most renowned, who took the Koch dynasty to its zenith. The valor and bravery of the dynasty is famous because of Maharaja Nara Narayan.
According to the chronicles of history, Viswa Singha belonged to one of the dominant Koch tribes, which were a group of Mongoloids, droopily related to the Meches, Garos, Tharus and also Dravidians. When Viswa Singha, acquired power, the Brahmins conferred on him the status of the Kshatriya varna; and the ensuing contact with Brahmans helped him to convert of his tribesmen to Hindus. Viswa Singha sought the alliance of tribal leaders in opposition to the more authoritative Baro-Bhuyans and began his battle around 1509. One after another, he defeated the Bhuyans of Ouguri, Jhargaon, Karnapur, Phulaguri, Bijni and Pandunath (Pandu, in Guwahati) as he was mainly delayed by the Bhuyan of Kanrnapur and after defeating the petty rulers, he announced himself the king of Kamata, which was bounded by the Barnadi River on the east and by the Karatoya River on the west. He moved his capital from Chikana to Kamatapur (also called Kantapur) which is just a few miles southeast of the present-day Cooch Behar town.
After the death of Vishwa Singha, Nara Narayan was crowned as the king of Koch Dynasty and Shukladhwaj, popularly known as Bir Chilarai was appointed the commander-in-chief of the Koch Army as he was known for his skills in warfare. Nara Narayna, along with his brother Chilarai expanded the kingdom and emerged as one of the most powerful dynasties of Assam. In the year 1562 AD, a battle between the Koch and Ahom kingdom took place and Nara Narayan crossed the mighty River Brahmaputra to assail the Ahoms. Chilarai commanded both the army and the naval forces and helped King Nara Narayan defeat the Ahom rulers by occupying Gargaon, the capital of Ahom Kingdom. Nara Narayan with the help of Chilarai was able to defeat several kings, namely the king of Cachar, Manipur, Sylhet, Jayantia and Tripura and bring their kingdoms under his rul. On scrutinizing the condition of the neighboring states, the rulers of Dimoriya and Khairam surrendered their trivial states to the Koch Dynasty and thus with the help of Chilarai’s valor and intrepidness, King Nara Narayan unmitigated his huge empire and earned revenues from the rulers. Nara Narayan attacked Gour, which was under the rule of Sultan Sulaiman Karrani and in this battle, Chilarai was made prisoner by Kalapahar, the army commander of Sultan Sulaiman Karrani, who also along with his army destroyed many temples including Kamakhya while he proceeded towards Tezpur and Nara Narayan had to face defeat. After this, most part of the Koch Empire was captured by the Afghans but later on the two brothers rebuilt the Kamakhya temple.
Both Nara Narayan and Chilarai were impressed by the Srimanta Sankardeva who became a member of the court of Koch Dynasty. Chilarai protected him and helped him in promotion of the ‘Ek Saran Naam Dharma’ in Assam and create cultural renaissance. King Nara Narayan later established a Satra in his kingdom. After the death of Chilarai, who breathed his last in 1577 on the banks of the holy river Ganges as he was infected by small pox, Nara Narayan divided the kingdom into two parts, Koch Bihar and Koch Hajo and he gave Koch Hajo to Raghudev, the son of Chilarai. After the death of King Nara Narayan, the Raghudev declared himself independent forming the Koch Hajo dynasty.
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