Paduka Sri Sultan Muhammad Jiwa Zainal Adilin Mu'adzam Shah II ibni al-Marhum Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin Halim Shah I ( Jawi: ; 1699 – 23 September 1778; also spelt Sultan Muhammad Jiwa Zain al-‘Adilan Mu’azzam Shah) was the 19th

Sultan of Kedah The Kedah Sultanate () is a Muslim dynasty located in the Malay Peninsula. It was originally an independent state, but became a British protectorate in 1909. Its monarchy was abolished after it was added to the Malayan Union but was restored ...

and reigned from 1710 to 1778. He is widely known as the founder of

Alor Setar Alor Setar ( Kedah Malay: ) is the state capital of Kedah, Malaysia. It is the second-largest city in the state after Sungai Petani and one of the most-important cities on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It is home to the third-tallest ...

with many current landmarks in the city being attributed to him.

Reign (1710–1778)

He went on pilgrimage to

Jambi Jambi is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the east coast of central 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 list of i ...

and Palembang, where he met the Arab religious teacher Shaikh Abdul Jalil, then journeyed with him to

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. He returned to the mainland from his exile in Langkawi and formally was installed at the Istana Bukit Pinang in May 1710. Kedah achieved its greatest extent during his reign, its borders stretched from Terang in the north to Krian in the south.

Founding of capital and building developments

Sultan Muhammad Jiwa founded

in 1735, which was Kedah’s eighth administrative centre since the establishment of the

Kedah Sultanate The Kedah Sultanate () is a History of Islam, Muslim dynasty located in the Malay Peninsula. It was originally an independent state, but became a British protectorate in 1909. Its monarchy was abolished after it was added to the Malayan Union but ...

. The earlier administrative centres were located in Kota Bukit Meriam, Kota Sungai Emas, Kota Siputeh, Kota Naga, Kota Sena, Kota Indera Kayangan and Kota Bukit Pinang. After founding the city, Sultan Muhammad Jiwa went on to build his palace, the ''Istana Kota'' ''Setar''. The original building was a wooden structure which had been demolished several times due to attacks by the

Bugis The Bugis people, also known as Buginese, are an Austronesian ethnic groupthe most numerous of the three major linguistic and ethnic groups of South Sulawesi (the others being Makassarese and Torajan), in the south-western province of Sula ...

(1770) and the Siamese (1821). The current concrete building was completed during the reign of Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin Mukarram Shah in the mid-19th century. This palace is also renowned as the ''Istana Pelamin Palace'' when the building was expanded to add a pavilion and several rooms when Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim wanted to marry off his five children. After 1941, this palace was used as a school and an office for several organizations including the office for the Kedah chapter of

St John Ambulance St John Ambulance is an affiliated movement of charitable organisations in mostly Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries which provide first aid education and consumables and emergency medical services. St John organisations are primari ...

and the Scout movements. On 25 July 1983, this palace was declared the ''Kedah Royal Museum''. Another structure attributed to Sultan Muhammad Jiwa was the ''Balai Besar'' (Grand Audience Hall). Initially the function of the building was as the ''Balai Rong Seri'' or ''Balai Penghadapan'' (audience hall), that was situated at the back area of the ''Istana Kota Setar'' complex. The pillars, roofs and floors were made of wood and still stands to this day. The ''Balai Nobat'' was also built by Sultan Muhammad Jiwa upon founding of Alor Setar. The 18 metre-tall and 5 metre-wide three-tiered octagonal tower's purpose was to keep all the royal musical instruments including the serunai (wooden flute), nafiri, gendang (drum) and

gong A gongFrom Indonesian language, Indonesian and ; ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ; ; ; ; is a percussion instrument originating from Southeast Asia, and used widely in Southeast Asian and East Asian musical traditions. Gongs are made of metal and ...

(also known as a nobat).

Notes

References

External links

List of Sultans of Kedah
* * * {{Authority control 1778 deaths Year of birth unknown 18th-century sultans of Kedah City founders