The Koch Kingdom was a state situated between the Mughal Empire and the Ahom Kingdom. For the Ahom Kingdom, it was an important buffer state for keeping Mughal imperialist expansions at bay. Things began to change when the erstwhile ruler of the Koch Kingdom, Nara Narayana died in 1587. As a result, the Koch kingdom was divided into two – the western Koch Bihar rule by his son Lakshmi Narayan and the eastern Koch Hajo rule by his nephew, Raghudev Lakshmi Narayan formed an alliance with the Mughal Empire, following which the governor of Bengal, assistance attacked Parikshit Narayan, son of Raghudev at Dhubri in 1602. Following a series of battles, Parikshit Narayan was defeated but his brother Bali Narayana took refuge in the Ahom Kingdom.