Koch Kingdom Koch dynasty
Kingdom
← 1515–1947 →
Flag of Cooch Behar
Historical map of Cooch Behar
Capital	Chikana Kamatapur
Language(s)	Bengali Assamese
Religion	Hinduism
Government	Monarchy
Maharaja	Viswa Singha
	Nara Narayan
	Jagaddipendra Narayan
Historical era	Medieval India
- Established	1515
- Disestablished	1947

Origin of the Koch dynasty, based on the Darrang Raja Vamsavali.^[1]

Cooch Behar Palace.

The Koch dynasty of Assam and Bengal, named after the Koch tribe,^[2] emerged as the dominant ruling house in the Kamata kingdom in 1515 after the fall of the Khen dynasty in 1498. The first of the Koch kings, Viswa Singha and then his sons, Nara Narayan as the subsequent king and Chilarai as the general, soon occupied the western portion of the erstwhile Kamarupa Kingdom as well as some regions of south Assam. The dynasty forked for the first time into two major branches that controlled Koch Bihar and Koch Hajo. Koch Bihar became a vassal of the Mughals, whereas Koch Hajo came under Ahom control and was subsequently absorbed. Koch Bihar became a princely state during British rule and was absorbed after Indian independence. A third branch of this dynasty at Khaspur disappeared into the Kachari kingdom.

History[link]

Historical background[link]

After the fall of the Pala dynasty of Kamarupa, the Kamarupa fractured into differing domains. In the extreme east the Sutiya kingdom emerged on the north bank of Brahmaputra river. The Ahom kingdom emerged in the south bank and to their west was the Kachari kingdom. Further west was the region of the Baro-Bhuyan landlords and still further west was the Kamata kingdom. The last of the Kamata kings before the Koches emerged was Nilambar, who was defeated and whose kingdom was occupied by Alauddin Husain Shah of Gaur in 1498. After the conquest, he left his son Daniyal to rule over and expand the conquered region. He soon came into conflict with the Baro-Bhuyans led by one Harup Narayan of the Brahmaputa valley, and was defeated, captured and executed.^[3]

It was at this historical moment that Bisu, son of a Mech chieftain with a Koch mother emerged as one who could unify different tribal groups and engage the Bara Bhuyans and defeat them to become the sole authority in the erstwhile Kamata region. On coming into power, he assumed the name Viswa Singha.

Beginning of the Koch dynasty[link]

The first ruler of the Koch dynasty was Vishwa Singha, who established himself in 1515 as the ruler of the Kamata kingdom. According to J N Sarkar, Viswa Singha belonged to one of the dominant Koch tribes,^[4] which were a collection of Mongoloid tribes,^[5][6] loosely allied to the Meches, Garos, Tharus and also Dravidians. When Bisu, as Viswa Singha was then known, acquired power, the Brahmins found him out and conferred on him the status of the Kshatriya varna; and the subsequent interaction with Brahmans lead to the Hinduization of his tribesmen.^[7] The earliest known ancestor of Viswa Singha was his father Haria Mandal,^[8] from the Chiknabari village in Goalpara district, the head of the twelve most powerful Mech families. He was married to Jira and Hira, daughters of a Koch chief named Hajo, after whom Koch Hajo was named. Viswa Singha was the son of Haria Mandal and Hira.^[9]

Viswa Singha sought the alliance of tribal chiefs^[10] against the more powerful Baro-Bhuyans and began his campaign around 1509.^[11] Successively, he defeated the Bhuyans of Ouguri, Jhargaon, Karnapur, Phulaguri, Bijni and Pandunath (Pandu, in Guwahati). He was particularly stretched by the Bhuyan of Kanrnapur, and could defeat him only by a stratagem during Bihu. After subjugating the petty rulers, he announced himself the king of Kamata bounded on the east by Barnadi river and on the west by the Karatoya river^[10] in the year 1515.^[12] He moved his capital from Chikana to Kamatapur (also called Kantapur) which is just a few miles southeast of the present-day Cooch Behar town.^[13]

Viswa Singha's two sons, Naranarayan and Shukladhwaj (Chilarai), the king and the commander-in-chief of the army respectively, took the kingdom to its zenith. Nara Narayan made Raghudev, the son of Chilarai, the governor of Koch Hajo, the eastern portion of the country. After the death of Nara Narayan, Raghudev declared independence. The division of the Kamata kingdom into Koch Bihar and Koch Hajo was permanent.

Nara Narayan was impressed by the bhakti saint Srimanta Sankardeva who became a member of his court in the last three years of his life and who established a sattra in the kingdom.

Early history of Cooch Behar[link]

The princely state known as Cooch Behar during the British rule was part of the Kamarupa Kingdom from the 4th to 12th century, ruled by the Varman, Mlechchha and Pala dynasties. From the 12th century, the area became a part of Kamata kingdom, first ruled by the Khen dynasty from their capital at Kamatapur. The most important Khen rulers were Niladhaj (1440-1460), Chakradhaj (1460-1480) and Nilambar (1480-1498) The Khens were an indigenous tribe and they ruled till about 1498 CE when they fell into the trick of Alauddin Hussain Shah, the independent Pathan Sultan of Gour and lost their empire. The new invaders came into conflict with the local Bhuyan chieftains and the Ahom king Suhungmung, and lost control of the region.

After the Muslims left the area there was confusion and commotion in the country. During this time independent Bhuiyans started ruling over small areas. Among these a Koch Bhuiyan named Hajo had two daughters named Jira and Hira. On the other side there was a small territory at Chikna Mountains situated between the Sankosh River and the Champabati River, about 80 kilometers north of Dhubri in the present-day Goalpara District of Assam. This territory was ruled by Haridas Mondal, a Mech chieftain. To establish unity with Chikna, Hajo wedded off his daughters to Chief Haridas Mandal. In due time Jira gave birth to Madan and Chandan while Hira gave birth to Sishu (Sisya Singha) and Bishu (Biswa Singha). Among the four brothers Bishu was the cleverest and strongest.

One day the four brothers were praying to Goddess Bhagwati in a playful mood and they offered one of their friends for sacrifice; it is believed that mysteriously the head of the friend was cut off his body. Turka Kotwal ordered their arrest. Fearing capture they took shelter in the forest.

Later they collected soldiers, elephants and horses and attacked the Turka Kotwal. Madan was killed in the battle; to take revenge Biswa Singha killed Turka Kotwal. To please stepmother Jira, whose son Madan was killed instead of becoming himself the king, Biswa Singha enthroned Chandan as the King. In this way in 1510 the Koch kingdom was started.

Kings[link]

Rulers of undivided Koch kingdom[link]

• Biswa Singha (1515-1540)
• Nara Narayan (1540-1586)

Rulers of Koch Bihar[link]

• Lakshmi Narayan
• Bir Narayan
• Pran Narayan
• Basudev Narayan
• Mahindra Narayan
• Roop Narayan
• Upendra Narayan
• Devendra Narayan
• Dhairjendra Narayan
• Rajendra Narayan
• Dharendra Narayan
• Harendra Narayan
• Shivendra Narayan
• Narendra Narayan
• Nripendra Narayan^[14]
• Rajrajendra Narayan
• Jitendra Narayan (father of Gayatri Devi)
• Jagaddipendra Narayan
• Virajdendra Narayan

Rulers of Koch Hajo[link]

• Raghudev (son of Chilarai, nephew of Nara Narayan)
• Parikshit Narayan

Rulers of Darrang[link]

Parikshit Narayana was attacked by the Mughals stationed at Dhaka in alliance with Lakshmi Narayan of Koch Bihar in 1612. His kingdom Koch Hajo, bounded by Sankosh river in the west and Barnadi river in the east, was occupied by the end of that year. Parikshit Narayan was sent to Delhi for an audience with the Mughal Emperor, but his brother Balinarayan escaped and took refuge in the Ahom kingdom. The region to the east of Barnadi and up to the Bharali river was under the control of some Baro-Bhuyan chieftains, but they were soon removed by the Mughals. In 1615 the Mughals, under Syed Hakim and Syed Aba Bakr, attacked the Ahoms but were repelled back to the Barnadi river. The Ahom king, Prataap Singha, then established Balinarayan as a vassal in the newly acquired region between Barnadi and Bharali rivers, and called it Darrang. Balinarayan's descendants continued to rule the region till it was annexed by the British in 1826.^[15]

• Balinarayan (brother of Parikshit Narayan)
• Mahendra Narayan
• Chandra Narayan
• Surya Narayan
• ...

Rulers of Beltala[link]

• Gaj Narayan (brother of Bali Narayan)
• ...

Rulers of Bijni[link]

The Bijni rulers reigned between the Sankosh and the Manas rivers, the region immediately to the east of Koch Bihar.

• Chandra Narayan (son of Parikshit Narayan)
• Joy narayan
• Shiv Narayan
• Bijoy Narayan
• Mukunda Narayan
• Haridev Narayan
• Indra Narayan
• Amrit Narayan
• Kumud Narayan
• Bhairabendra Narayan

Rulers of Khaspur[link]

• Kamal Narayan (Gohain Kamal, son of Viswa Singha, governor of Khaspur)
• Udita Narayan (declared independence of Khaspur)
• Vijay Singha
• Dhir Singha
• Mahendra Singha
• Ranjit Singha
• Nara Singha
• Bhim Simha (his only issue, daughter Kanchani, married prince Lakshmichandra of Kachari kingdom, and Khaspur merged into the Kachari kingdom.)

Gallery[link]

• 

  Shri Sir Nripendra Narayan, Maharaja of Cooch Behar.

• 

  H.H. Maharaja Shri Sir Jitendra Narayan Bhup Bahadur, Maharaja of Cooch-Behar, KCSI, 1913.

• 

  Maharaja Jagaddipendra Narayan.

Notes[link]

References[link]

Andre Berto
Berto in 2010
Statistics
Real name	Andre Michael Berto
Nickname(s)	The Beast
Rated at	Welterweight
Height	5 ft 8.5 in (1.74 m)
Born	(1983-09-07) September 7, 1983 (age 28) Miami, Florida, USA
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	29
Wins	28
Wins by KO	22
Losses	1
Draws	0
No contests	0

Andre Michael Berto (born September 7, 1983) is a Haitian-American professional boxer. On June 21, 2008, Berto became the WBC welterweight champion by defeating Miguel Rodriguez by seventh round technical knockout. He lost his WBC welterweight title on April 16, 2011 to Victor Ortiz via unanimous decision. Berto bounced back in his very next fight on 4th September 2011, to defeat Dejan Zaveck and became the IBF welterweight champion, until he vacated it.

Personal life[link]

Raised one of seven children in Winter Haven, Florida, Berto was introduced to boxing by his father after getting beat multiple times by him. Dieuseul, who competed professionally in mixed martial arts and taught the sport at a school in Winter Haven. For Berto, the sport of boxing became a solace to stay out of trouble. His brother, James Edson Berto, is a professional mixed martial artist. Berto is often called "Mike", his middle name.^[1]

Amateur career[link]

As an amateur, Berto won a bronze medal in the 2003 World Amateur Championships. He was also a two-time National Golden Gloves champion, a two-time National PAL champion, a three-time U.S. amateur championship medalist, and also won 22 state titles in Florida.^[1]

2004 Olympics[link]

Berto was an odds-on favorite to breeze through the 2004 Olympic Trials and qualify as a member of the US Olympic boxing squad. Those dreams were dashed in the opening round of the trials, when he was disqualified for throwing Juan McPherson to the canvas. Berto was winning the fight, before McPherson bumped into him before being pushed to the canvas, and was deemed in no condition to continue. The act was ruled a flagrant foul, and Berto was disqualified. A protest was ruled in his favor, as he was declared the winner and advanced to the next round. Berto won that bout as well and prepared for the finals before a follow-up meeting the night before reverted back to the initial ruling, eliminating Berto from the tournament. Because his parents emigrated from Haiti, Berto was able to keep his Olympic hopes alive, qualifying for Team Haiti, and subsequently granted Haitian citizenship alongside his American nationality, an exception the island country awarded the Olympian.^[2] Berto lost in the first-round to Xavier Noel of France.^[1]

Professional career[link]

From December 2004 to October 2006, Berto won 15 fights, with 13 coming by way of knockout. On December 12, 2006, at the Alltel Arena in North Little Rock, Arkansas, Berto stepped up in competition and fought Miguel Figueroa. Berto put together a one-sided destruction of Figueroa, eventually forcing the referee to stop the fight in round six. He was named ESPN.com’s 2006 Prospect of the Year. His next fight took place on February 17, 2007, at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, New York, against Norberto Bravo of The Contender. Berto defeated Bravo by first round technical knockout after Bravo was knocked down three times, triggering the three knockdown rule. On May 19, 2007, Berto defeated Martinus Clay by seventh round technical knockout.^[3]

On July 27, 2007, at the City Center in Saratoga Springs, New York. Berto fought Cosme Rivera. Berto was in full control until he was down for the first time in his career in round six. He was able to recover and open up a bad cut over Rivera's right eye in the seventh round. Rivera stood his ground in the remaining rounds to test Berto, but Berto won by unanimous decision.^[4] On September 29, 2007, at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Berto defeated David Estrada by eleventh round technical knockout to win the NABF welterweight title. Rounds three and eight were described by BoxingScene.com as "round of the year" candidates as both men went toe-to-toe with flush power shots. The end came when Berto dropped Estrada with an uppercut that was followed up by a huge right hand. Estrada made it to his feet, but could not defend himself as Berto attacked with more damaging shots that prompted the referee to jump in and stop the fight.^[5]

On February 9, 2008, at the Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, California, Berto fought Michael Trabant in his first defense of the NABF welterweight title. Trabant stayed on the defensive for the entire fight with Berto landing a variety of punches from all angles. In the fifth and sixth rounds, Trabant was barely able to land a single punch, as he was frequently taking punches to the head. Trabant told the referee after round six that he was no longer willing to continue with the fight. It was the first time that Trabant had ever been stopped.^[6]

WBC welterweight title[link]

On June 21, 2008, Berto captured the vacant WBC welterweight title by defeating Miguel Rodriguez in the seventh round by technical knockout at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee. Berto knocked Rodriguez down twice in the seventh round, before the referee stopped the bout with 47 second left as Berto continually hurt Rodriguez with right hands.^[7] Berto's first title defense of the WBC welterweight title occurred on September 28, 2008, at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California against Steve Forbes. Berto consistently outpunched Forbes, winning the fight by unanimous decision with scores of 118–109 on two of the scorecards and 116–111 on the third scorecard.^[8]

Berto made the second defense of his title on January 17, 2009, at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Mississippi against former WBA welterweight champion Luis Collazo. Berto got off to a rough start as he was hurt in the first round and had a point deducted in the fourth round for holding Collazo's arm. In round seven, Berto opened a cut over the left eye of Collazo. Berto won the fight by a controversial unanimous decision with scores of 114–113 on two of the scorecards and 116–111 on the third scorecard.

On Saturday, May 30, 2009, Berto defended his WBC welterweight title against Juan Urango and won a lopsided unanimous decision.^[9]

Berto was to defend his title against "Sugar" Shane Mosley for a WBC, WBA welterweight title unification bout on January 30, 2010. However, Berto announced that he was withdrawing from his title unification bout against Mosley on January 18, 2010 due to family loss in the Haiti earthquake.^[10] With Mosley subsequently landing a bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr, Berto faced former WBO welterweight champion Carlos Quintana on April 10, 2010 and won by an eighth round knockout, despite injuring his left biceps during the fight.

On November 27, 2010 he got a TKO victory over Freddy Hernandez. Berto successfully defended his WBC welterweight title, stopping Freddy Hernandez at 2:07 of the first round.^[11] He hammered Hernandez (29-2) with a left hook, then floored him with a straight right during the co-feature fight of the Juan Manuel Marquez-Michael Katsidis lightweight championship bout.

Berto vs Ortiz I & II[link]

On April 16, 2011 Berto's reign as champion came to an end at the hands of Victor Ortiz. Ortiz defeated Berto by unanimous decision in a fight that was named the Fight of the Year for 2011 with 4 ruled knockdowns.^[12]

Berto relinquished his IBF Welterweight title rather than face mandatory challenger Randall Bailey in order to facilitate the rematch with Ortiz because he wanted the opportunity to avenge his only defeat.^[13]

Berto vs Zaveck[link]

On September 3, 2011, Berto returned after his defeat to Victor Ortiz to face IBF Welterweight Champion Dejan Zaveck. After 5 rounds of a closely competitive fight, Zaveck's corner stopped the fight as he had been cut. The two men embraced and Berto thanked the Slovenian fans for traveling over to America to cheer their countryman on. Berto called his performance "so-so", becoming a two time world champion and the new IBF Welterweight Champion.

Berto tested positive for a banned substance[link]

On mid-may, Berto have been tested positive for a banned substance, the rematch against Ortiz planned on June 23, 2012 is cancelled. ^[14]

Professional boxing record[link]

28 Wins (22 knockouts), 1 Loss, 0 Draws[15]
Res.	Record	Opponnent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes
Win	28-1	Dejan Zavec	RTD	5 (12), 3:00	2011-09-03	Beau Rivage Resort & Casino, Biloxi, Mississippi	Won IBF Welterweight World title.
Loss	27-1	Victor Ortiz	UD	12	2011-04-16	Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket, Conneticut	Lost WBC Welterweight title. The Ring magazine's "Fight of the Year" (2011)
Win	27-0	Freddy Hernandez	TKO	1 (12), 2:07	2010-11-27	MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada	Retained WBC Welterweight title.
Win	26-0	Carlos Quintana	TKO	8 (12), 2:16	2010-04-10	BankAtlantic Center, Sunrise, Florida	Retained WBC Welterweight title.
Win	25-0	Juan Urango	UD	12	2009-05-30	Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood, Florida	Retained WBC Welterweight title.
Win	24-0	Luis Collazo	UD	12	2009-01-17	Beau Rivage Resort & Casino, Biloxi, Mississippi	Retained WBC Welterweight title.
Win	23-0	Steve Forbes	UD	12	2008-09-27	Home Depot Center, Carson, California	Retained WBC Welterweight title.
Win	22-0	Miguel Angel Rodriguez	TKO	7 (12), 2:13	2008-06-21	FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tennessee	Won vacant WBC Welterweight title.
Win	21-0	Michel Trabant	RTD	6 (10), 3:00	2008-02-09	Pechanga Resort & Casino, Temecula, California	Retained NABF Welterweight title.
Win	20-0	David Estrada	TKO	11 (12), 1:17	2007-09-29	Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey	Won vacant NABF Welterweight title. WBC Welterweight title eliminator.
Win	19-0	Cosme Rivera	UD	10	2007-07-27	City Center, Saratoga Springs, New York
Win	18-0	Martinus Clay	TKO	7 (10), 2:15	2007-05-19	FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tennessee
Win	17-0	Norberto Bravo	TKO	1 (10), 2:28	2007-02-17	Hammerstein Ballroom, New York, New York
Win	16-0	Miguel Figueroa	TKO	6 (10), 1:59	2006-12-09	Alltel Arena, North Little Rock, Arkansas
Win	15-0	James Crayton	KO	5 (8), 0:34	2006-10-21	Don Haskins Center, El Paso, Texas
Win	14-0	Roberto Valenzuela	TKO	1 (8), 2:19	2006-08-05	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Win	13-0	Sammy Sparkman	TKO	2 (10), 2:50	2006-06-17	FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tennessee
Win	12-0	Gerardo Cesar Prieto	TKO	3 (4), 1:52	2006-05-17	Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, Connecticut
Win	11-0	Horatio García	RTD	3 (8), 3:00	2006-04-14	Agua Caliente Casino, Rancho Mirage, California
Win	10-0	Jonathan Tubbs	TKO	3 (8), 2:44	2006-02-03	Northern Quest Resort & Casino, Airway Heights, Washington
Win	9-0	Taronze Washington	KO	1 (8), 2:50	2005-12-03	Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	8-0	Maurice Chalmers	TKO	1 (6), 1:36	2005-11-04	Buffalo Run Casino, Miami, Oklahoma
Win	7-0	William Johnson	KO	1 (4), 1:36	2005-10-01	St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, Florida
Win	6-0	Anthony Little	TKO	6 (6), 1:36	2005-06-09	Grand Ballroom, New York, New York
Win	5-0	Tim Himes	TKO	1 (6), 2:10	2005-05-06	Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket, Connecticut
Win	4-0	Daniel Neal	UD	4	2005-02-24	Hammerstein Ballroom, New York, New York
Win	3-0	Edgar Galvan	TKO	1 (4), 1:59	2005-01-28	Hammerstein Ballroom, New York, New York
Win	2-0	Joseph Benjamin	UD	4	2005-01-21	Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, Connecticut
Win	1-0	Michael Robinson	TKO	3 (4), 2:15	2004-12-04	Barton Coliseum, Little Rock, Arkansas	Berto's first professional win.

Personal[link]

In a March 2010 column he wrote for The New York Times, Berto described some of his efforts for Project Medishare in Haiti after the earthquake, as well as relating that he is frequently mistaken for New Orleans Saints American football star Reggie Bush.^[16]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Professional boxing record for Andre Berto from BoxRec
• Bio - file interview with Andre Berto at BoxingInsider.com
• Andre Berto on Myspace