The kingdom did not have standing army units of professional soldiers till late 18th and early 19th centuries, when Purnandan Burhagohain raised one after noticing the effectiveness of Captain Thomas Welsh's sepoys in subjugating the Moamoria rebellion.
The Ahom Army had various confrontations, the most significant ones were against the west, from Bengal Sultans and the Mughal Empire; and against the south from the Konbaung dynasty (Burma).
Its major failures were against the army of Chilarai (1553), the forces led by Mir Jumla II (1662), and finally the Burmese invasions of Assam (1817, 1819, 1821).
Though the Ahom kingdom withstood all invasions from the west, it fell to the single significant challenge from the south and was destroyed.
Therefore the entire population formed a trained militia on which the Ahom Army was based; and even at times of wars agricultural and other economic activities continued.