Malacca Sultanate

The Malacca Sultanate was a Malay sultanate based in the modern-day state of Malacca, Malaysia. Conventional historical thesis marks as the founding year of the sultanate by King of Singapura, Parameswara, also known as Iskandar Shah, although earlier dates for its founding have been proposed. At the height of the sultanate's power in the 15th century, its capital grew into one of the most important transshipment ports of its time, with territory covering much of the Malay Peninsula, the Riau Islands and part of the central eastern coast of Sumatra in present-day Indonesia.
As a bustling international trading port, Malacca emerged as a centre for Islamic learning and dissemination, and encouraged the development of the Malay language, literature and arts. It heralded the golden age of Malay sultanates in the archipelago, in which Classical Malay became the lingua franca of Maritime Southeast Asia and Jawi script became the primary medium for cultural, religious and intellectual exchange. It is through these intellectual, spiritual and cultural developments, that the Malaccan era witnessed the establishment of a Malay identity, the Malayisation of the region and the subsequent formation of the Malay world.
In 1511, the capital of Malacca fell to the Portuguese Empire, forcing the last Sultan, Mahmud Shah, to retreat south, where his progenies established new ruling dynasties, Johor and Perak. The political and cultural legacy of the sultanate has endured for centuries, where Malacca has been held up as an example of Malay-Muslim civilisation to this day. It established systems of trade, diplomacy, and governance that persisted well into the 19th century, and introduced concepts such as daulat—a distinctly Malay notion of sovereignty—that continues to shape contemporary understanding of Malay kingship.

History

Early foundation

The founding of Malacca is generally taken to be. The region was dominated by the Srivijaya empire centered on Palembang in Sumatra until it was weakened by the Chola Empire in the 11th century. By the end of the 13th century, the Javanese Singhasari followed by the Majapahit had become dominant.
According to the Malay Annals, a prince from Palembang named Seri Teri Buana who claimed to be a descendant of Alexander the Great and Rajendra Chola I, stayed on Bintan Island for several years before he set sail and landed on Temasek in 1299. The Orang Laut, known for their loyal services to Srivijaya, eventually made him king of a new kingdom called Singapura. In the 14th century, Singapura developed concurrently with the Pax Mongolica era and rose from a small trading outpost into a centre of international trade with strong ties to the Yuan dynasty.
In an effort to revive the fortune of Malayu in Sumatra, in the 1370s, a Malay ruler of Palembang sent an envoy to the court of the first emperor of the newly established Ming dynasty. He invited China to resume the tributary system, just like Srivijaya did centuries earlier. Learning of this diplomatic maneuver, King Hayam Wuruk of Majapahit sent an envoy to Nanking and convinced the emperor that Malayu was their vassal, and not an independent country. Subsequently, in 1377—a few years after the death of Gajah Mada, Majapahit sent a punitive naval attack against a rebellion in Palembang, which caused the diaspora of the Palembang princes and nobles.
By the second half of the 14th century, the Kingdom of Singapura grew wealthy. However, its success alarmed two regional powers at that time, Ayutthaya to the north and Majapahit to the south. As a result, the kingdom's fortified capital was attacked by at least two major foreign invasions before it was finally sacked by either Ayutthaya or Majapahit in 1398. The last king of Singapura then fled to the west coast of the Malay Peninsula.
Malay and Portuguese sources give different accounts of the fall of Singapura and its last king. In Portuguese sources, he is referred to as Parameswara and originated in Palembang but usurped the throne of Singapura, but in Malay sources he is Iskandar Shah, a descendant of Seri Teri Buana who became the fifth king of Singapura. Parameswara fled north to Muar, Ujong Tanah and Biawak Busuk before reaching a fishing village at the mouth of Bertam River. The village belonged to the Orang Laut who were left alone by Majapahit's forces that not only sacked Singapura but also Langkasuka and Pasai. As a result, the village became a safe haven and in the 1370s it began to receive a growing number of refugees fleeing Majapahit's attacks. By the time Parameswara reached Malacca in the early 1400s, the place was already cosmopolitan feel with Buddhists from the north, Hindus from Palembang and Muslims from Pasai.
Legend has it that Parameswara saw a mouse deer outwit his hunting dog into the water when he was resting under the Malacca tree. He thought this bode well, stating, "this place is excellent, even the mouse deer is formidable; it is best that we establish a kingdom here". Tradition holds that he named the settlement after the tree he was leaning against while witnessing the portentous event. Today, the mouse deer is part of modern Malacca's coat of arms. The name "Malacca" itself was derived from the fruit-bearing Melaka tree scientifically termed as Phyllanthus emblica. Another theory to the origin of Malacca's name is that it originated from Arab merchants, during the reign of Sultan Muhammad Shah, who called the kingdom "Malakat" because it was home to many trading communities.

Growth

Following the establishment of his new city in Malacca, Parameswara began to develop the city and laid the foundation of a trade port. The Orang Laut, were employed to patrol the adjacent sea areas, to repel pirates, and to direct traders to Malacca. Within years, news about Malacca becoming a centre of trade and commerce began to spread across the eastern part of the world. In 1405, the Yongle Emperor of the Ming dynasty sent his envoy headed by Yin Qing to Malacca. Yin Qing's visit paved the way for the establishment of friendly relations between Malacca and China. Two years later, Admiral Zheng He made his first of six visits to Malacca. Zheng He called at Malacca and brought Parameswara with him on his return to China, a recognition of his position as ruler of Malacca. In exchange for regular tribute, the Chinese emperor offered Malacca protection from the constant threat of Siamese attack. Due to Chinese involvement, Malacca had grown as a key alternative to other important and established ports. Chinese merchants began calling at the port and pioneering foreign trading bases in Malacca. Other foreign traders, notably the Arabs, Indians, and Persians came to establish their trading bases and settle in Malacca, raising its population to 2,000. In 1411, Parameswara headed a royal party of 540 people and left for China with Admiral Zheng He to visit the Ming court. In 1414, the Ming Shilu mentions that the son of the first ruler of Malacca visited the Ming court to inform Yongle that his father had died.
There is uncertainty in the chronology of the early rulers of Malacca due to discrepancies contained in Malay, Chinese and Portuguese sources, such as the names, number of rulers and reign details:

Malay Annals Raffles MS	Bustan al-Salatin 1638	Suma Oriental 1512-1515	Ming Shilu 1425-1455
Raja Iskandar Shah	Sri Rama Adikerma	Parameswara	Parameswara
Raja Kechil Besar	Raja Besar Muda	Iskandar Shah	Megat Iskandar Shah
Raja Tengah	Raja Tengah		Sri Maharaja
Raja Ibrahim	Raja Kechil Besar		Sri Parameswara Dewa Shah
Raja Kassim	Raja Kasim	Sultan Muzaffar Shah	Sultan Muzaffar Shah

Due to the differences, there are disagreements about the early rulers of Malacca. It is, however, generally accepted that the Parameswara of Portuguese and Chinese sources and Iskandar Shah of the Malay Annals were the same person, but a number of authors also accept the similarly named Megat Iskandar Shah as Parameswara's son. During the reign of Megat Iskandar Shah, the kingdom continued to prosper, the Sultan's control spread from Kuala Linggi to Kuala Kesang, roughly corresponding to the modern state of Malacca. The period saw the diversification of economic sources of the kingdom with the discovery of two tin mining areas in the northern part of the city, sago palms in the orchards and nipah palms lining in the estuaries and beaches. To improve the defence mechanism of the city from potential aggressors, Megat Iskandar Shah ordered the construction of a wall surrounding the city with four guarded entrances. A fenced fortress was also built in the town centre where the state's treasury and supply were stored. The growth of Malacca coincided with the rising power of Ayutthaya to the north. The growing ambitions of Ayutthaya against its neighbours and the Malay Peninsula had alarmed the ruler of Malacca. In a preemptive measure, the king headed a royal visit to China in 1418 to raise his concerns about the threat. Yongle responded in October 1419 by sending his envoy to warn the Siamese ruler. Relationship between China and Malacca were further strengthened by several envoys to China, led by the Malaccan princes, in 1420, 1421 and 1423.
Between 1424 and 1433, two more royal visits to China were made during the reign of the third ruler, Raja Tengah, named Sri Maharaja in some sources. During Raja Tengah's rule, it was said that an ulama called Saiyid Abdul Aziz came to Malacca to spread the teaching of Islam. The king together with his royal family, senior officials and the subjects of Malacca listened to his teachings. Shortly after, Raja Tengah adopted the Muslim name, Muhammad Shah and the title Sultan on the advice of the ulama. He began to Islamise his administration—customs, royal protocols, bureaucracy and commerce were made to conform to the principles of Islam. As Malacca became increasingly important as an international trading centre, the equitable regulation of trade was the key to continued prosperity—and the Undang-Undang Laut Melaka, promulgated during the reign of Sultan Muhammad Shah, was an important facet of this. So too was the appointment of four Shahbandars for the different communities of the port. This accommodated foreign traders, who were also assigned their own enclaves in the city. In the 1430s, China had reversed its policy of maritime expansion. However, by then Malacca was strong enough militarily to defend itself. In spite of these developments, China maintained a continuous show of friendship, suggesting that it placed Malacca in high regard. In fact, although it was China's practice to consider most foreign countries as vassal states – including Italy and Portugal – its relations with Malacca were characterised by mutual respect and friendship, such as that between two sovereign countries.
Muhammad Shah died in 1444 after reigning for twenty years and left behind two sons; Raja Kasim, the son of Tun Wati who in turn a daughter of a wealthy Indian merchant, and Raja Ibrahim, the son of the Princess of Rokan. He was succeeded by his younger son, Raja Ibrahim, who reigned as Sultan Abu Syahid Shah. Abu Syahid was a weak ruler and his administration was largely controlled by Raja Rokan, a cousin of his mother who stayed in the court of Malacca during his reign. The situation prompted court officials to plan the assassination of Raja Rokan and to install Raja Kasim on the throne. Both the Sultan and Raja Rokan were eventually killed in the attack in 1446. Raja Kasim was then appointed as the fifth ruler of Malacca and reign as Sultan Muzaffar Shah. The looming threat from the Siamese kingdom of Ayutthaya became a reality when it launched a land invasion of Malacca in 1446. Tun Perak, the chief of Klang brought his men to help Malacca in the battle against the Siamese, in which Malacca emerged victorious. His strong leadership qualities gained the attention of the Sultan, whose desire to see Malacca prosper made him appoint Tun Perak as the Bendahara. In 1456, during the reign of King Trailokanat, Ayutthaya launched another attack, this time by sea. When news about the attack reached Malacca, naval forces were immediately rallied and a defensive line was made near Batu Pahat. The forces were commanded by Tun Perak and assisted by Tun Hamzah, a warrior known as Datuk Bongkok. The two sides clashed in a fierce naval battle in which the more advanced Malaccan navy succeeded in driving off the Siamese, pursuing them to Singapura and forcing them to return home. Malacca's victory in this battle gave it new confidence to devise strategies to extend its influence throughout the region. The defeat of Ayutthaya brought political stability to Malacca and enhanced its reputation in South East Asia.