Parameswara (sultan)

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Parameswara (1344 – 1414) was a Hinduism-Melayu prince (from Palembang district of Srivijaya Empire) that founded Melaka around 1402. The historical Malay literary work, Sejarah Melayu, alleged that Parameswara was a descendant of Alexander the Great.

Marriage with Pasai princess

In 1409 he married princess of Pasai and became a Muslim Sultan, also adopted the Persian title 【Sultan Iskandar Shah 】 . The marriage was believed introduced by Rowther and Marakkar from Tamil Nadu. Records of the Chinese Ming Dynasty Admiral Zheng He's visit to Melaka in 1409 indicate references to the ruler and his subjects as being already Muslims.

Died

In 1414, Parameswara passed away at the age of 70. It is generally believed that he was buried on top of a hill at Tanjung Tuan (also known as Cape Rachado), near Port Dickson. A symbolic grave exists near Fort Canning in Singapore. Parameswara was succeeded by his son, Megat Iskandar Shah who in turn ruled Malacca until 1424.

UNESCO World Heritage Site

In July 2008, the old Melaka founded by Parameswara, was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, on Cultural criteria.

Origins

Raden Wijaya, the first king (1293-1309) of Majapahit was married to Sri Gayatri Rajapatni, a daughter of Sri Kertanegara, the last king (1268-1292) of Singhasari Kingdom, and had a daughter Tribuana Tunggadewi, the third leader/queen (1326-1350) of Majapahit. She married Kertawardana, and had a daughter: Iswari. She married Singawardana, and had a daughter: Sarawardani. She married Ranamenggala, and had a son: Parameswara who was born in 1344 during the reign of his great grandmother, Tribuana Tunggadewi, the third monarch of Majapahit.

Etymology

Paramesvara came from Sanskrit (परमेश्वर), meaning the supreme voice, the attribute of being god or a god.

From Palembang to Malacca

In the 14th century, Srivijaya was losing its influence and faced threats from various corners of the Malay Archipelago. Around the same time, the Majapahit empire, centered in Java, was expanding its borders beyond the island. The Srivijaya empire had previously controlled Java but it was driven out of the island earlier in 1290 by Singhasari, a predecessor to Majapahit. As a result, Srivijaya had to move its court from Palembang, on the bank of Musi River in southern Sumatra, to Malayu (now Jambi province) on Batang Hari River bank. Although the royal court had moved to Malayu, Palembang remained an important imperial city. Some time in the later half of the 14th century, Majapahit sent its navy towards Palembang and Malayu, thus conquering the city. This invasion ended a 1000-year old empire.

Parameswara lived in Palembang as a prince within the Srivijayan empire but conquest forced him and many others to flee Palembang. Parameswara in particular sailed to Temasek to escape persecution and came under the protection of Temagi, a Malay chief from Patani who was appointed by the King of Siam as Regent of Temasek. Within a few days, Parameswara killed Temagi and appointed himself as regent. Some 5 years later he had to leave Temasek due to threats from Siam. During this period, Temasek was also attacked by a Javanese fleet from Majapahit.

He later headed north to found a new settlement. At Muar, Parameswara contemplated establishing his new kingdom at either Biawak Busuk or at Kota Buruk. Finding that the Muar location was not suitable, he continued his journey northwards. Along the way, he reportedly visited Sening Ujong (former name of present day Sungai Ujong) before reaching a fishing village at the mouth of the Bertam River (former name of the Malacca River). This evolved over time to become the location of modern day Malacca Town. According to the Malay Annals, it was here that he witnessed a mouse deer outwitting a dog while resting under a Malacca tree. He took what he saw as a good omen and decided to establish a kingdom called Malacca.He made all the facilities for Mallaca so that they can trade at Malacca.

Foreign relations with the Ming Dynasty

The diplomatic relations started in the early 1400s when Parameswara embarked on several voyages to China to visit Emperor Yongle (Chinese: 永樂)(Wade-Giles name is Yung-Lo). He was escorted by Zheng He, Yin Qing (Wade-Giles names are Cheng Ho and Ying Ching) and other envoys in his successful visits. Malacca's diplomatic relationships with Ming granted protection to Malacca against attacks from Siam and Majapahit and Malacca officially summited as a protectorate of Ming China. This encouraged the development of Malacca into a major entrepot on the trade route between China and India, Middle East, Africa and Europe.

In 1411, Admiral Zheng He brought Parameswara, his wife and 540 officials to China to pay homage to the Yongle Emperor (r. 1402–1424). Upon arriving, a grand welcoming party was held. Animals were sacrificed, Parameswara was granted a two-piece gold-embroidered clothing with dragon motifs, Kylin robe, gold and silverwares, silk lace bed quilt, and gifts to all officials and followers. Upon returning home, Parameswara was granted the jade belt, brace, saddle, and coroneted suit to the wife. Upon reaching the heaven’s gate (China), Parameswara was again granted jade belt, brace, saddle, a hundred gold & platinum, 400,000 banknotes, 2600 cash, 300 pieces of silk brocade voile, 1000 pieces of silk, 2 pieces of whole gold plait, 2 pieces of knee-length gown with gold threads woven through sleeves….

Tributes that Malacca paid to Ming included: agate, carnelian, pearl, hawksbill, coral, crane peak, golden female crane peak, suit, white cloth, Western fabric, Sa-ha-la, rhino horn, ivory, black bear, black ape, white muntjac, turkey, parrot, pian-nao, rosebush dew, su-he oil, gardenia flower, wu-ye-ni, aromatic wood, incense sticks, gold silver incense sticks.

Parameswara's trading port

The arrival of Zheng He (Hajji Mahmud) and his marriage with a princess of Pasai led to an unprecedented success in the history of the Malay people and Malay culture. Melaka grew into an international trading port and heralded the golden age of Nusantara Islam. 80 languages were reportedly spoken in Malacca: Moors of Cairo, Mecca, Aden, Abyssinians, men of Kilwa, Malindi, Ormuz, Parsees, Rumes, Turks, Turkomans, Christian Armenians, Gujarati, men of Chaul, Dabhol, Goa, of the kingdom of Deccan, Malabars and Klings, merchants from Orissa, Ceylon, Bengal, Arakan, Pegu, Siamese, men of Kedah, Malays, men of Pahang, Patani, Cambodia, Champa, Cochin China, Chinese, Lequeos, men of Brunei, Lucoes (Luzon), men of Tamjompura, Laue, Banka, Linga (they have a thousand other islands), Moluccas, Banda, Bima, Timor, Madura, Java, Sunda, Palembang, Jambi, Tongkal, Indragiri, Kappatta, Minangkabau, Siak, Arqua (Arcat?), Aru, Bata, country of the Tomjano, Pase (Pasai?), Pedir, Maldives.

Malacca became an important port in the far east during the 16th century. It became so rich that the Portuguese writer and trader Duarte Barbosa said "He who is lord of Malacca has his hand on the throat of Venice".

Post-Parameswara

Parameswara's Sultanate of Malacca (as a prosperous international port) changed the entire Malay Archipelago. Its success was admired by kings from neighbouring kingdoms. Melaka's dominance in the region also influenced the spread of Islam in the Malay Archipelago. In 1447, Kertawijaya became King of Majapahit and converted to Islam on the advice of his wife, Darawati, a princess of Champa. The nephew of Kertawijaya, Sunan Ampel works to spread Islam around Surabaya, and around the same time, Palembang converted to Islam. In 1459, Sultan Mansur Shah of Malacca sent Tun Perak to conquer Kedah and Pahang. Pahang became an Islamic sultanate under Malacca. In 1470, Dai-Viet captured Vijaya, the capital of Champa, killing 60,000 Cham and caused a mass Cham emigration to Malacca and Cambodia. The Islamic Kingdom of Demak was founded in 1478 by Raden Patah, son of King Kertawijaya and his Champa wife. An Islamic Sultanate was founded at Cirebon too.

Chronology

1344 - Born, as a Hindu prince of Srivijaya
1396 - Fled to Temasek
1402 - Founded Melaka port
1405 - Visited Ming Emperor
1409 - Married Pasai's princess, Sultanate of Melaka founded.
1411 - Visited Ming Emperor
1414 - Died

References

Other references

The Encyclopedia of Malaysia: Languages & Literature, edited by Prof. Dato' Dr Asmah Haji Omar (2004) ISBN 981-3018-52-6

External links

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Last updated on Friday July 25, 2008 at 22:33:17 PDT (GMT -0700)
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