"Jorhat" or "Jorehaut" refers to two hats or mandis, "Macharhat" and "Chowkihat," that existed in the 18th century on opposite sides of the Bhugdoi River. Jorhat was the Ahom Kingdom's last capital. In 1794, King Gaurinath Singha of Ahom moved the capital from Sibsagar (formerly "Rangpur") to Jorhat. The city was a prosperous commercial metropolis, but it was completely destroyed after a series of Burmese invasions in 1817 until the arrival of British troops under the leadership of David Scott and Captain Richard in 1824. 

 The British administrative system became popular with the establishment of the Tana Police. During the great "sepoy mutiny", the anti-British conspiracy planned by Maniram Dewan and Piyali Barua was destroyed, and these leaders were publicly hanged at this location in 1858. 

 In 1885, the narrow-gauge train service (Jorhat Provincial Railway) started operating, which eventually became a key factor in the rapid growth of the tea industry. It was declared the administrative seat of the undivided Sibsagar district in 1911, which includes today's Sibsagar, Jorhat, and Golaghat as well as parts of the Karbi Anglong district. The current Jorhat district was created in 1983 when it was separated from the Sibsagar district. This place has the history of the mighty Ahom Kingdom; one of the Ahom fighters liberated the city from the Mughal rulers, and the people of Assam respected this.