Malacca sultanate
Malaysia, 1400–1511. Draft, not yet reviewed
The Malacca Sultanate was a Malay sultanate based in the modern-day state of Malacca, Malaysia. 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. 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.
Seat of power: Malacca
Rulers
Muzaffar Shah of Malacca
Sultan of Malacca, 1445–1459
He was the fifth Sultan of Malacca. Raja Kassim, son of Sultan Muhammad Shah and Tun Wati, was installed as the fifth ruler of Malacca after the death of his half-brother Sultan Muhammad Shah.
Culture
- 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.
- In 1811 the British destroyed all of the original fortress and most of the outer walls. The Porta de Santiago gateway, and the rebuilt Middelburg Bastion, are the only parts of the fortress that remain today.
Picture
A Famosa was a Portuguese fortress built in Malacca, Malaysia, around 1512.
Image: Chongkian, CC BY-SA 4.0, file
Sources
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.