c. 1590.—"The dominions of the Rajah of Asham join to Kamroop; he is a very powerful prince, lives in great state, and when he dies, his principal attendants, both male and female, are voluntarily buried alive with his corpse."—Gladwin's Ayeen (ed. 1800) ii. 3; [Jarrett, trans. ii. 118].
1682.—"Ye Nabob was very busy dispatching and vesting divers principal officers sent with all possible diligence with recruits for their army, lately overthrown in Asham and Sillet, two large plentiful countries 8 days' journey distant from this city (Dacca)."—Hedges, Diary, Oct. 29th; [Hak. Soc. i. 43].
1770.—"In the beginning of the present century, some Bramins of Bengal carried their superstitions to Asham, where the people were so happy as to be guided solely by the dictates of natural religion."—Raynal (tr. 1777) i. 420.
1788.—"M. Chevalier, the late Governor of Chandernagore, by permission of the King, went up as high as the capital of Assam, about the year 1762."—Rennell's Mem., 3rd ed. p. 299.
ASSEGAY, s. An African throwing-spear. Dozy has shown that this is Berber zaghāya, with the Ar. article prefixed (p. 223). Those who use it often seem to take it for a S. African or Eastern word. So Godinho de Eredia seems to use it as if Malay (f. 21v). [Mr Skeat remarks that the nearest word in Malay is seligi, explained by Klinkert as 'a short wooden throwing-spear,' which is possibly that referred to by G. de Eredia.]
c. 1270.—"There was the King standing with three 'exortins' (or men of the guard) by his side armed with javelins [ab lur atzagayes]".—Chronicle of K. James of Aragon, tr. by Mr. Foster, 1883, i. 173.
c. 1444.—"... They have a quantity of azagaias, which are a kind of light darts."—Cadamosto, Navegação primeira, 32.
1552.—"But in general they all came armed in their fashion, some with azagaias and shields and others with bows and quivers of arrows."—Barros, I. iii. 1.
1572.—
"Hum de escudo embraçado, e de azagaia,