Peureulak Sultanate

Part of a series on the
History of Indonesia
Timeline
Prehistory Paleolithic Java Man 1,000,000 BP Flores Man 94,000–12,000 BP Neolithic Toba catastrophe 75,000 BP Buni culture 400 BCE
Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms Kutai kingdom 350–1605 Tarumanagara kingdom 400s–500s Kantoli 400s-500s Kalingga kingdom 500s–600s Melayu kingdom 600s–1347 Srivijaya Empire 600s–1025 Shailendra Dynasty 600s–900s Mataram kingdom 716–1016 Bali kingdom 914–1908 Sunda kingdom 932–1579 Kahuripan kingdom 1019–1045 Kediri kingdom 1045–1221 Dharmasraya kingdom 1183–1347 Pannai kingdom 1000s–1300s Singhasari Empire 1222–1292 Majapahit Empire 1293–1527
Islamic sultanates Spread of Islam 800–1600 Peureulak Sultanate 840–1292 Aru kingdom 1225–1613 Ternate Sultanate 1257–1914 Samudera Pasai Sultanate 1267–1521 Pagaruyung kingdom 1347–1833 Brunei Sultanate 1368–1888 Malacca Sultanate 1400–1511 Sulu Sultanate 1405–1851 Cirebon Sultanate 1445–1677 Demak Sultanate 1475–1554 Aceh Sultanate 1496–1903 Sultanate of Ternate 1486–1914 Sultanate of Bacan 1515–1946 Sultanate of Tidore 1500s–1967 Sultanate of Jailolo 1496–1903 Banten Sultanate 1526–present Banjar Sultanate 1526–1863 Kalinyamat Sultanate 1527–1599 Mataram Sultanate 1586–1755 Johor Sultanate 1528s–1877 Kingdom of Kaimana 1600s–1926 Palembang Sultanate 1659–1823 Siak Sultanate 1725–1946 Surakarta Sunanate 1745–present Yogyakarta Sultanate 1755–present Deli Sultanate 1814–1946 Riau-Lingga Sultanate 1824–1911
Christian kingdoms Larantuka kingdom 1515–1904 Kingdom of Bolaang Mongondow 1670–1950
Chinese Kongsi federations Heshun Confederation 1776–1854 Lanfang Republic 1777–1884 Santiaogou Republic 1777–1853
European colonization Portuguese 1512–1850 Spanish 1521–1677 Dutch East India Company 1602–1799 British 1685–1824 French and British interregnum 1806–1816 Dutch East Indies 1800–1942 1945–1949
Emergence of Indonesia National Awakening 1908–1942 Japanese occupation 1942–1945 National Revolution 1945–1949 United States of Indonesia 1949–1950
Republic of Indonesia Liberal democracy 1950–1959 Guided Democracy 1959–1966 Transition 1966–1967 New Order 1967–1998 Reform era 1998–present
Regions Jakarta Bali Bogor Bandung
By topic Agriculture Archaeology Currency Economy Education Javanese historical texts Religion Buddhism Christianity Hinduism Islam Judaism Mass media Military Sport Women
Indonesia portal
v t e

Peureulak Sultanate or Perlak Sultanate is the earliest sultanate in Southeast Asia,^[1] believed to have converted to Islam as early as the 9th century.^[2] The location of Peureulak is in what is now the East Aceh Regency, Indonesia.

Perlak or Peureulak is well known as a perlak wood producing area, a type of wood that is very good for ship building and house building.^[3] 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.

The Hikayat Aceh text reveals that the spread of Islam in northern Sumatra was carried out by an Arab 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 country with only five days of voyage from Java. Perhaps the intended land is Peureulak because Chu-fan-chi declared a voyage from Java to Brunei 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 Islam.^[4]

The first Sultan of Perlak was Sultan Alaiddin Syed Maulana Abdul Aziz Shah, a Shiite and an Arabian descendant, who founded the Perlak Sultanate at 1 Muharram^{[citation needed]} 225 H (840 CE).^[5] 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.^[6]

During the reign of the third sultan, Sultan Alaiddin Syed Maulana Abbas Shah, the Sunni movement began to enter Perlak. After the death of the sultan in 363 AH (913 CE), 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 CE) 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 Sunni rulers. This time, the Sunni rulers won and subsequent sultans came from the Sunni stream.

In 362 H (956 CE), after the death of the seventh sultan, Sultan Makhdum Alaiddin Abdul Malik Shah Johan Berdaulat, there was another upheaval for about four years between Shia and Sunni which ended with peace and division of the empire into two parts:

• Perlak Pesisir (Shia), led by Sultan Alaiddin Syed Maulana Shah (986 – 988)
• Perlak Pedalaman (Sunni), 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.

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.

Perlak was the center of early Islamic learning in the Malay Archipelago. The Perlak sultans patronized foreign scholars and missionaries who were mainly Persian Shi'ites. The Islamic scholars from Perlak also worked as missionaries further afield to convert the Malays living across the Strait of Malacca. Sunni 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.^[2]

The Perlak Sultans can be grouped into two dynasties: the Syed Maulana Abdul Azis Shah dynasty and the Johan Bedaulat dynasty.

1. Sultan Alaiddin Syed Maulana Abdul Azis Shah (840 – 864)
2. Sultan Alaiddin Syed Maulana Abdul Rahim Shah (864 – 888)
3. Sultan Alaiddin Syed Maulana Abbas Shah (888 – 913)
4. Sultan Alaiddin Syed Maulana Ali Mughat Shah (915 – 918)
5. Sultan Makhdum Alaiddin Malik Abdul Kadir Shah Johan Berdaulat (928 – 932)
6. Sultan Makhdum Alaiddin Malik Muhammad Amin Shah Johan Berdaulat (932 – 956)
7. Sultan Makhdum Alaiddin Abdul Malik Shah Johan Berdaulat (956 – 983)
8. Sultan Makhdum Alaiddin Malik Ibrahim Shah Johan Berdaulat (986 – 1023)
9. Sultan Makhdum Alaiddin Malik Mahmud Shah Johan Berdaulat (1023 – 1059)
10. Sultan Makhdum Alaiddin Malik Mansur Shah Johan Berdaulat (1059 – 1078)
11. Sultan Makhdum Alaiddin Malik Abdullah Shah Johan Berdaulat (1078 – 1109)
12. Sultan Makhdum Alaiddin Malik Ahmad Shah Johan Berdaulat (1109 – 1135)
13. Sultan Makhdum Alaiddin Malik Mahmud Shah Johan Berdaulat (1135 – 1160)
14. Sultan Makhdum Alaiddin Malik Usman Shah Johan Berdaulat (1160 – 1173)
15. Sultan Makhdum Alaiddin Malik Muhammad Shah Johan Berdaulat (1173 – 1200)
16. Sultan Makhdum Alaiddin Abdul Jalil Shah Johan Berdaulat (1200 – 1230)
17. Sultan Makhdum Alaiddin Malik Muhammad Amin Shah II Johan Berdaulat (1230 – 1267)
18. Sultan Makhdum Alaiddin Malik Abdul Aziz Johan Berdaulat (1267 – 1292)

• Bandar Kalifah