Battle of Kaliabor
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| Battle of Kaliabor | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Mir Jumla's invasion of Assam | |||||||
 Assam and the river flowing through it | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Ahom kingdom |
 Mughal Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Borgohain (POW) |
Mir Jumla II | ||||||
 | |||||||
The Battle of Kaliabor, also known as Battle of Kaliabar, was a riverine naval battle fought between the Mughal Empire, under the command of its general Mir Jumla II, and the Ahom Kingdom, under the command of Bargohain. The battle was fought on March 3, 1662 near Kaliabor, on the Brahmaputra River situated in modern-day Assam state.
Many wars raged between the Ahom Kingdom and During the Mughal war of succession, the Ahoms seized the opportunity of the civil war to seize Kamrup. After the new Emperor Aurangzeb ascended to the Mughal throne, he appointed Mir Jumla II, one of the Mughal generals from the Deccan who had supported him in the civil war as the Governor of Bengal.[1]
By November 1661, Mir Jumla was ready to begin the campaign, described as "a holy war with the infidels of Assam," as reported by his official news correspondent.[2]
Preparations and initial conflicts
The Ahom forces
The exact number of war-boats carried by the Ahoms is uncertain as is information on the exact construction of many of them as well as their and manning.[citation needed]
The Mughal forces
The Mughal governor Mir Jumla gathered a force consisting of 12,000 cavalry, 30,000 foot soldiers, and a flotilla comprising hundreds of vessels. Among these vessels were ten ghurabs, or floating batteries, each carrying fourteen guns and towed by four rowing boats.[2]
Capturing Ahom forts
The Mughals invasion force upriver slowly investing strategic forts such as at Jogigopa. These were subdued before they proceeded on.[citation needed]
The Battle
The Mughal army reached Kaliabar in the Nowgong district,. Due to the presence of hills along the Brahmaputra River from this point onward, the Mughal army had to move away from the riverbank, and they became disconnected from the fleet. This temporary separation of the invading army from the navy gave the Ahoms with the opportunity they desired to launch an attack. The isolation of the Mughal fleet, along with the unexpected absence of its admiral Ibn Husain (along with some ships) from the main fleet, created favourable conditions for the Ahoms to attack the Mughal fleet.[3]
However the attack proved unsuccessful with the differing construction of Mughal warships as well as a contingent of European ships giving them an advantage.