No definitive records about Darrang are available for the pre-medieval period. According to
Maheswar Neog, the Darrang became mentioned only after the uprising of the king
Nara Narayan. Darrang at different times might have been under the rule of the
Chutia Kingdom,
Bodo people and
Baro-Bhuyans. During the reign of Dharmanarayan 3000
Chutia families were established in Darrang. In the 16th century, Darrang was subject to the
Kamata king
Nara Narayan, and on the division of his dominion among his heirs, Darrang became a part of
Koch Hajo. Early in the 17th century the Raja Bali Narayan invoked the aid of the
Ahoms of
Upper Assam against the
Mughal invaders; after his defeat and death in 1637 the Ahoms dominated the whole district. About 1785 the Darrang rajas took advantage of the decline of the Ahom kingdom to try and re-establish their independence, but they were defeated by a British expedition in 1792, and in 1826 Darrang, with the rest of Assam, passed under British control. By early 17th century, the
Kingdom of Bhutan took control of the Darrang
Duars as far as
Gohain Kamal Ali road. The Bhutan control over these regions were through local authorities, who were appointed by Bhutanese provincial governors called
Ponlops. By 1865, with the
Duar Wars the
British East India company took control of the Duars and removed Bhutanese influence from the area. In 1785 it was Darrang was surveyed by one Ahom officer named Dhani Ram Gohain. On 28 January 1894, there was a peasant's uprising against the increased land revenue by the
British Raj in
Patharighat, a village in Darrang district. In the British response that followed, 140 peasants belonging to both Hindu and Muslim communities died from bullet wounds and another 150 were injured. In 1984
Sonitpur district was formed from part of Darrang. This was repeated on 14 June 2004 with the creation of
Udalguri district. ==Geography==