Peureulak Sultanate or

Perlak Sultanate Peureulak Sultanate or Perlak Sultanate is the earliest sultanate in Southeast Asia, believed to have converted to Islam as early as the 9th century. The location of Peureulak is in what is now the East Aceh Regency, Indonesia. Perlak or Peureula ...

is the earliest sultanate in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

, believed to have converted to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

as early as the 9th century. The location of Peureulak is in what is now the East Aceh Regency,

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

. Perlak or Peureulak is well known as a ''perlak'' wood producing area, a type of wood that is very good for shipbuilding. Its natural products and strategic position made Perlak develop as a commercial port that advanced in the 8th century, visited by ships which included Arab and Persian origin. This led to the development of Islamic societies in this area, mainly as a result of mixed marriages between Muslim merchants and local women.

Hikayat Aceh

The ''Hikayat Aceh'' text reveals that the spread of

in northern

Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...

was carried out by an

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

scholar named Sheikh Abdullah Arif in 1112. The book Zhufan Zhi (諸蕃志), written by Zhao Rugua in 1225, cited the record of a geographer, Chou Ku-fei, in 1178 that there is a

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

country with only five days of voyage from

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mo ...

. Perhaps the intended land is Peureulak because Chu-fan-chi declared a voyage from

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely surrounded by th ...

took 15 days. The existence of the Peureulak state was reinforced by the famous Venetian traveller Marco Polo a century later. When Marco Polo returned from China by the sea in 1291, he stopped in the state of Ferlec who had embraced

Development and turbulence

The first Sultan of Perlak was Sultan Alaiddin Syed Maulana Abdul Aziz Shah, a Shiite and an

Arabian The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plat ...

descendant, who founded the Perlak Sultanate at 1 Muharram 225 H (840 AD). He changed the name of the royal capital from Bandar Perlak to Caliph City. The Sultan was buried in Paya Meuligo, Peureulak, East Aceh with his wife, Princess Meurah Mahdum Khudawi. During the reign of the third sultan, Sultan Alaiddin Syed Maulana Abbas Shah, the

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a dis ...

movement began to enter Perlak. After the death of the sultan in 363 AH (913 AD), there was a civil war between Shiite and Sunnis so that for the next two years there was no sultan. The Shiites won the war and in 302 H (915 AD) and Sultan Alaiddin Syed Maulana Ali Mughat Shah from the Shi'ite stream ascended. At the end of his reign, there was another turmoil between Shiite and

rulers. This time, the

rulers won and subsequent sultans came from the

stream. In 362 H (956 AD), after the death of the seventh sultan, Sultan Makhdum Alaiddin Abdul Malik Shah Johan Sovereignty, there was another upheaval for about four years between

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mos ...

and

which ended with peace and division of the empire into two parts: * Perlak Pesisir (

), led by Sultan Alaiddin Syed Maulana Shah (986 – 988) * Perlak Pedalaman (

), led by Sultan Makhdum Alaiddin Malik Ibrahim Shah Johan Berdaulat (986 – 1023) Sultan Alaiddin Syed Maulana Shah died when the Kingdom of Sriwijaya invaded Perlak and the whole of Perlak reunited under the leadership of Sultan Makhdum Alaiddin Malik Ibrahim Shah Johan Berdaulat, who continued the struggle against Sriwijaya until 1006.

Merge with Samudera Pasai

The 17th Sultan of Perlak, Sultan Makhdum Alaiddin Malik Muhammad Amin Shah II Johan Berdaulat (ruled 1230 – 1267) carried out friendship politics by marrying his two daughters with the neighboring state of Peureulak: * Princess Ratna Kamala, married to the King of Malacca, Sultan Muhammad Shah (Parameswara). * Princess Ganggang, married to the King of the Kingdom of Pasai, Al Malik al-Saleh. The last Sultan of Perlak was the 18th Sultan, Sultan Makhdum Alaiddin Malik Abdul Aziz Johan Berdaulat (ruled 1267 – 1292). After he died, Perlak was united with the Samudera Pasai Kingdom under the reign of Sultan Samudera Pasai, Sultan Muhammad Malik Al Zahir, son of Al Malik al-Saleh.

Religion

Perlak was the center of early

ic learning in the Malay Archipelago. The Perlak sultans patronized foreign scholars and missionaries who were mainly Persian Shi'ites. The

ic scholars from Perlak also worked as missionaries further afield to convert the Malays living across the Strait of Malacca.

Islam became popular by the reign of Sultan Alaiddin Syed Maulana Abbas Shah and both sects flourished and at times influenced each other. Despite the division of Perlak into two kingdoms, both continued to dispatch missionaries to nearby Malay kingdoms.

List of Sultans of Perlak

The Perlak Sultans can be grouped into two dynasties: the Syed Maulana Abdul Azis Shah dynasty and the Johan Bedaulant dynasty. # Sultan Alaiddin Syed Maulana Abdul Azis Shah (840 – 864) # Sultan Alaiddin Syed Maulana Abdul Rahim Shah (864 – 888) # Sultan Alaiddin Syed Maulana Abbas Shah (888 – 913) # Sultan Alaiddin Syed Maulana Ali Mughat Shah (915 – 918) # Sultan Makhdum Alaiddin Malik Abdul Kadir Shah Johan Berdaulat (928 – 932) # Sultan Makhdum Alaiddin Malik Muhammad Amin Shah Johan Berdaulat (932 – 956) # Sultan Makhdum Alaiddin Abdul Malik Shah Johan Berdaulat (956 – 983) # Sultan Makhdum Alaiddin Malik Ibrahim Shah Johan Berdaulat (986 – 1023) # Sultan Makhdum Alaiddin Malik Mahmud Shah Johan Berdaulat (1023 – 1059) # Sultan Makhdum Alaiddin Malik Mansur Shah Johan Berdaulat (1059 – 1078) # Sultan Makhdum Alaiddin Malik Abdullah Shah Johan Berdaulat (1078 – 1109) # Sultan Makhdum Alaiddin Malik Ahmad Shah Johan Berdaulat (1109 – 1135) # Sultan Makhdum Alaiddin Malik Mahmud Shah Johan Berdaulat (1135 – 1160) # Sultan Makhdum Alaiddin Malik Usman Shah Johan Berdaulat (1160 – 1173) # Sultan Makhdum Alaiddin Malik Muhammad Shah Johan Berdaulat (1173 – 1200) # Sultan Makhdum Alaiddin Abdul Jalil Shah Johan Berdaulat (1200 – 1230) # Sultan Makhdum Alaiddin Malik Muhammad Amin Shah II Johan Berdaulat (1230 – 1267) # Sultan Makhdum Alaiddin Malik Abdul Aziz Johan Berdaulat (1267 – 1292)

References

External links

Bandar Kalifah
{{coord missing, Aceh Populated places in Aceh Peureulak Former sultanates Sultanates