Background
Mughal interest in the Brahmaputra valley began in 1602 when the Nawab of Dhaka attacked Parikshit Narayan of Koch Hajo at Dhubri, the western most corner of Assam. The first Mughal-Ahom conflict took place in 1615 when the Mughals attacked the Ahoms, then under Pratap Singha, for protecting Bali Narayan, the brother of Parikshit. This resulted in a period of Mughal-Ahom war with fluctuating fortunes that ended with the Treaty of Asurar Ali in 1639. The Treaty fixed Barnadi river in the north bank and Asurar Ali in the south bank of the Brahmaputra as the boundary between the Ahoms and the Mughals. This, and the defeat of the Koch king at Pandu in 1641, resulted in a period of Mughal administration in Kamrup (Guwahati and Hajo.)
Taking advantage of the Mughal succession wars after the fall of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in 1658, Pran Narayan of Koch Bihar tried to occupy Koch Hajo, but the Ahoms under Jayadhwaj Singha took Guwahati and pushed him back beyond Dhubri. That the Ahoms reached Dhubri by defeating the Koch king and not the Mughals would form a central tenet in later Ahom diplomacy. Soon after, Aurangzeb occupied the Delhi throne. Mir Jumla II, pursuing Shah Shuja in Bengal, was appointed the Subahdar of Bengal in 1660 and asked to retake Assam. Mir Jumla marched in 1661 and defeated the Ahoms at successive encounters to finally take the Ahom capital Garhgaon. But the daga juddha (guerrilla warfare) of Atan Burhagohain and the rains succeeded in cutting off Mughal communication lines making it impossible for Mir Jumla to consolidate Mughal rule. Unaware of Mir Jumlas difficulties and unnerved by Baduli Phukan's defection, Jayadhwaj Singha sued for peace, an opportunity Mir Jumla seized on. The Treaty of Ghilajharighat (1663) brought an end to Mughal occupation of Garhgaon, but the conditions of this treaty were so severe that the Ahoms were soon resolved to reverse them.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Saraighat
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