This AI-Imagined Video Makes The Battle Of Saraighat Look Like An Epic Movie

Creating and reimagining photos and videos with the help of Artificial Intelligence has recently caught the Internet by storm.

From Bollywood and Hollywood celebrities to myriad politicians - none have been spared. 

The Battle of Saraighat was an epic naval battle fought in 1671 between the Mughal Empire and the Ahom Kingdom on the Brahmaputra River at Saraighat, now in Guwahati, Assam. 

Recently, a video was posted on Instagram imagining the epic proportions of the Saraighat Battle with the help of AI. 

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The Ahom kingdom 

Around the 13th century, a group of people (later known as the Ahoms) migrated from present-day Myanmar to the Brahmaputra valley. 

Ahom Kingdom/ youthkiawaaz.com

They settled into the area and eventually established a new state known as the Ahom Kingdom. 

Ahom-Mughal conflicts 

From the beginning, the relationship between the Ahoms and Mughals was fraught with hostility, mainly due to the growing advance of the Mughals in the northeastern frontier. 

During the 17th century, there were a series of conflicts between the Ahoms and the Mughals over the control of the Brahmaputra valley. 

After Aurangzeb ascended to the Mughal throne, he ordered Mir Jumla to invade Assam, which he did so in 1662 and took the Ahom capital of Garhgaon. 

Mir Jumla's invasion had left the Ahom kingdom depopulated, fortifications destroyed, and the treasury depleted due to the conditions of the January 1663 Treaty of Ghilajharighat. 

The Ahoms then made a renewed effort to wrest back their kingdom from the Mughals. Military production was increased, forts constructed, and the army was reorganized under an able commander Lachit Borphukan. 

Battle of Saraighat 

This Battle is considered unique in India's history, not only because the smaller Ahom army was able to defeat the stronger Mughal army but also because the war was fought in the middle of a river. 

Saraighat war shown on the stone plate in Saraighat War Memorial Park in North Guwahati at Agyathuri/ Wikimedia Commons

Lachit Bophukan knew that the Mughal cavalry was far superior, so engaging in cavalry warfare would be foolish. Instead, he focused on the Ahom army's strength, naval warfare, which the Mughals lacked. 

The Brahmaputra at Saraighat in Guwahati was hence chosen as the war location. At its narrowest width here, it was ideal for naval defence. 

Lachit set up his headquarters at the sandbanks between the Kamakhya and Sukreshwar hills. Ram Singh of the Mughals rallied his troops in the opposite bank but did not cross the Brahmaputra, knowing the risk involved. 

For months, a stalemate ensued. Finally, at Aurangzeb's insistence, the Mughal troops crossed the Brahmaputra and attacked the Ahoms. A long war began, in which both sides fought valiantly. 

During the last stage of the Battle of Saraighat, some elements on the Assamese side retreated. Though Lachit was seriously ill, he boarded a boat among the seven advancing against the Mughal fleet. 

He said: "If you (the soldiers) want to flee, flee. The king has given me a task here and I will do it well. Let the Mughals take me away. You report to the king that his general fought well." 

Lachit Borphukan and his soldiers, installed in the middle of the Brahmaputra/ ANI

Following his orders, the Ahom soldiers rallied, and a desperate battle ensured on the river Brahmaputra. Finally, the Ahoms were victorious, and the Mughals were forced to retreat from Guwahati. 

The Battle of Saraighat thus brought decisive victory for the Assamese and officially closed their long-drawn conflict with the Mughals. 

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