State formation in the Indian subcontinent has been a subject of research among historians and social scientists for decades. Based on their approaches and findings, scholars have conceptualized and propagated various models of early and secondary state formation. Kingdom Formation in Precolonial India explores the possibility of an alternative model of kingdom formation by examining the precolonial history of the Koch Kingdom, which flourished in the Tista–Brahmaputra region between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. It provides new insights into the role of warfare in kingdom formation, centralization of political authority, surplus appropriation through unusual means, monetization of the economy, and the correlation between legitimization of the ruler and cultural change of the ruled. This book may be of interest to students, academicians, and scholars studying north-east India and north Bengal.

Content

List of Illustrations
Preface

Introduction

1. State Formation in Theoretical Perspective
2. The Geo-Historical Location and Social Background of the Precolonial Tista– Brahmaputra Region
3. From Chiefdom to Kingdom: The Political Societies of the Tista–Brahmaputra Valley till 1540
4. Consolidation, Segmentation and Survival of the Koch Kingdom, 1540–1773
5. Economic Sustainability of the Koch Kingdom
6. Institutionalization of Leadership and Centralization of Power and Administration
7. State Formation, Legitimacy and Cultural Change

Conclusion