Introduction

As a crossroads of trade between the Indian Ocean and East Asia,

the Malay Archipelago has consistently been a wealthy, diverse, and
politically important region. Islam began to spread in the region
through trade not long after the life of Prophet Muhammad .
Perhaps the most important of these kingdoms was the Sultanate of
Malacca (Melaka in Malay), which reached its peak in the mid-1400s.
As a powerful and influential kingdom, the continued spread of Islam
was intricately tied with the rise of the Malacca Sultanate.
Unfortunately, however, the Malacca Sultanate would not last, as
the newly powerful Portugal conquered the kingdom in 1511 and
began a centuries-long period of European domination.

Factors for the rise of Malacca kingdom

1 The strategic location of Malacca provided trade routes between India and
China. Malacca hence became a stop by on the way for all traders from
China,India or other Europe countries.
2
The monsoon winds Malacca itself is protected from monsoon winds.
Enabled Arab and Indian traders from the west to travel to China in the east
and vice versa
3
Capable leaders The Malacca Empire was led by many capable leaders
such as Sultan Muzaffar Shah (14461459) He managed to solve the internal
problems and strengthened the country.
4 The taxation system The Malacca Empire offered a reasonable taxation
system according to priority to the merchants.
5 The currency system Usage of a currency system which facilitated
transactions and the development of trade.
6 Efficient administrative system
Malacca had efficient administrative
structures and a good legal system. Sultan,the absolute ruler was assisted by
four main officers namely Bendahara,Laksamana,Temenggung and Bendahari.
7 Facilities Various facilities provided such as warehouse, accommodation,
boat repairs, food and beverage facilities attract ed many traders to Malacca.
8 Malay Language Over 82 languages were spoken at Malacca with more
than 4000 traders trading at there. The Malay language was chosen as the
lingua franca (medium of communication)
9 Economic factors Abundant natural resources such as spices, rattan and
timber, gold and tin.

2) Establishment of Malay Malacca Kingdom

The series of raids launched by the Chola Empire in the 11th century had
weakened the once glorious empire of Srivijaya
By the end of the 13th century, the already fragmented Srivijaya caught the
attention of the expansionist Javanese King, Kertanegara of Singhasari. In
1275, he decreed thePamalayu expedition to overrun Sumatra. By 1288,
Singhasari
naval
expeditionary
forces
successfully
sacked Jambi and Palembang and brought Srivijaya to its knees.

According to the Malay Annals, a prince from Palembang named Seri

Teri Buana who claimed to be a descendant of Alexander the Great,
stayed in the island of Bintan for several years before he set sail and
landed on Temasek in 1299.[9] The Orang Laut (Sea People),
famous 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 with the Yuan Dynasty. Its wealth
and success however, alarmed two regional powers at that
time, Ayuthaya from the north andMajapahit from 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 Majapahit in
1398.[10][11][12] The fifth and last king, Iskandar Shah fled to the
west coast of the Malay Peninsula.
Iskandar Shah (also known as "Parameswara" in some accounts) fled
north to Muar, Ujong Tanah and Biawak Busuk before reaching a
fishing village at the mouth of Bertam river (modern-day Malacca
River). Legend has it that the king saw a mouse deer outwit his
hunting dog into the water when he was resting under the Malacca
tree. He thought this boded well, remarking, '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 (Malay: Pokok Melaka) scientifically termed
as Phyllanthus emblica.

Kings of Malacca:

1) Iskandar Shah (1380-1414)

initiated the development of the place and laid the foundation of a trade port
2) Iskandar Shah's son, Megat Iskandar Shah (r. 14141424)
the kingdom continued to prosper.
3) Raja Tengah (1424-1444)
spread the teaching of Islam. Introduced the title Sultan. Before there were
kings.
4) Sultan Abu Syahid Shah (1444-1446)
Was a weak ruler and had been killed
5) Sultan Muzaffar Shah ( 1446-1459)
A strong political leader. Won a battle against Siamese.
6) Muzaffar Shah's son, Sultan Mansur Shah (1459-1477)
the major expansion of the sultanate to reach its greatest extent of influence
7) Sultan Alauddin Riayat Shah (r. 14771488)
laced a great importance in maintaining peace and order during his reign
8) his son, Sultan Mahmud Shah (r. 14881511)
Malacca was at the height of its power and glory.
In 1511 Portugal invaded and captured Malacca. The Golden Era of Malacca
came to an end.
Following the 1511 conquest, the great Malay city port of Malacca passed into
Portuguese hands and for the next 130 years remained under Portuguese
governance despite incessant attempts by the former rulers of Malacca and
other regional powers to dislodge the Europeans.
3) Sultans authority and their role

A sultan is a secular ruler, usually in an Islamic country. Sultans had

absolute power in Malacca.

The head of state is also the head of government and the

administrative, judiciary and legislative powers are held in the
hands of the Sultan
Though the sultan should be strongly moral and an upright person,
his interest in guiding the religious thoughts of the people was
minimal, and he normally deferred to the religious leaders in his
country.Thus a religious leader in Malacca was Caliph and Sultan
was a political leader. However, some history experts claim that in
Malacca Sultan was religious and political leader at the same time.