A History of Assam c15.3

c15.3

In the early days of Ahom rule the succession devolved from father to son with great regularity, but in later times this rule was often departed from. Sometimes brothers took precedence of sons, as in the case of the four sons of Rudra Singh, who each became king in turn, in conformity, it is said, with the death-bed injunction of that monarch. At other times cousins, and even more distant connections, obtained the throne, to the exclusion of nearer relatives, but in such cases the circumstances were generally exceptional. Much depended on the wish, expressed or implied, of the previous ruler; much on the personal influence of the respective candidates for the throne; and much on the relations which existed between the chief nobles who, in theory at least, had the right to make the selection.