In the 13th century, the Ahoms, a Shan tribe from Myanmar(Burma), conquered Assam, adopted Hinduism and established a dynasty which lasted until 1826. In the course of which they repulsed 17 attacks from the mighty Mughals. The Dynasty reached its peak under Rudra Singha (1696 - 1714), who built trade links with Tibet and won renown as a military strategist.

During the late 16th century, the philosopher saint Sankardeva began a movement denouncing the Hindu caste system and the rituals of Tantrik Hinduism. Creating instead a society based on community prayers, as preached by satras. The monasteries soon became centres for arts such as dance, manuscript painting and music.

In 1874, Assam was separated from Begal, and was constituted into a separate province by itself, with its capital in Shillong. In 1905, on the initiative of the British Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon, the province was amalgamated with East Bengal following the paritition of Bengal into the west and the east. In 1912, the partition was nullified, and Assam was made a separate provinve once more.

Early in the twentieth century, the Government of India, made vast tracts of land available to predominantly Muslim farmers from the provinces of East Bengal for settlement and cultivation. Nepalis were employed as diary herders and similarly encouraged to colonize new lands. The subsequent immigration of Indian traders, merchants and small-scale industrialists, such as Marwaris and Sikhs, stimulated capital development in Assam and strengthened its ties to India.