A History of Assam c7.s1.24

c7.s1.24

Probable cause of successive chief to swoop down with his tribesmen, or a confederacy of kindred tribes, and, after sweeping away the effete remains of a worn-out nationality, to establish his followers in its place. For a time the material resources of the plains would add to his strength, and he would be able without much difficulty to consolidate his rule and beat back external aggression. But time would bring its revenge; and, in the end, the new dynasty would sink just like the one which it had subverted. The history of the Ahoms shows how a brave and vigorous race may decay in the ‘sleepy hollow’ of the Brahmaputra valley; and it was only the intervention of the British that prevented them from being blotted out by fresh hordes of invaders, first the Burmese, and then the Singphos and Khāmtis, and also, possibly, the Daflas, Abors and Bhutias.