[Historical Short Story by Fatchuri Rosidin]
King Peureulak Dalam, Sultan Ibrahim Syah, continue to pay attention to developments in the Peureulak Pesisir sultanate which is struggling to deal with attacks by Sriwijaya troops. If Sriwijaya succeeds in defeating Peureulak Pesisir, it is only a matter of time that they will continue their attack on Peureulak Dalam and control all of Aceh. He must be prepared for the worst possibility.
Perlak Pesisir and Perlak Dalam was once a sultanate; founded by Sultan Abdul Aziz Syah right on the hijriyah new year, 1 Muharam 225 H, or 840 AD Peureulak or Perlak was the first Islamic kingdom in the archipelago; it even stood much earlier than the Majapahit Empire which was only established in 1293. As a maritime empire that controlled international trade routes, Perlak's position in the Malacca Strait was indeed strategic. Perlak became a transit and meeting point for traders from Arabia, Persia, India, China, and the kingdoms of the archipelago. No wonder Sriwijaya has the ambition to master Perlak.
What was worried about Sultan Ibrahim Syah also happened. Perlak Pesisir fell into the hands of Sriwijaya. Sultan Perlak Pesisir Maulana Mahmud Syah died in battle. Sultan Ibrahim Syah immediately moved quickly. He united the two sultanates and led the Perlak people to fight against the Srivijaya troops.
"O Perlak people, now is the time for us to unite after being divided for years. Divisions have made us weak. We are easily crushed by the enemy. Now there are no more Perlak Pesisir and Dalam people. All the people of Perlak. Let us fight together against the enemy who killed our brothers and sisters, ”Sultan Ibrahim Syah gave a speech to unite the people and ignite the spirit to fight Sriwijaya.
The war between Srivijaya and Perlak lasted for years. Sriwijaya sent troops many times since 986. Bravely, Perlak defended against the onslaught of Sriwijaya's maritime forces. Persistence finally bore fruit. In 1006, after 20 years of attacking, Sriwijaya finally withdrew his troops. The long battle drained Sriwijaya's energy and attention so that he did not realize the arrival of an attack from the Medang kingdom from the island of Java, which was led directly by Prabu Dharmawangsa.
Sultan Ibrahim Syah finally breathed a sigh of relief and began to rebuild his war-torn country. Under his leadership, Perlak again became a major country and center of international maritime trade. Perlak is not only a maritime country but also known as the world's best producer of spices since the 9th century, especially pepper. Pepper itself is actually not a native Aceh commodity. Pepper seeds come from Madagascar; brought by Arab and Persian traders who along the coasts of Sumatra on their trading journey since the 7th century. It turns out that Aceh's natural conditions are very suitable for pepper cultivation.
The following years were times of peace. The union of the two sultanates strengthened Perlak's position and enabled Perlak to continue to build its country. At that time the port of Malacca was not yet developed. Trading ships from Arabia, India and China sailed to the islands of the archipelago through the west side of the Malacca Strait, along the east coasts of Sumatra. Perlak ports in Aceh and Melayu at the mouth of the Batanghari Jambi river are the most important ports for large ships to anchor.
Not only prosperous economically, Perlak has also been the center of Islamic preaching in the archipelago for 300 years. The sultans who ruled Perlak paid great attention to the propagation of Islam. They brought in scholars from the Arabian peninsula and sent them for da'wah assignments to Malacca, Champa, areas along the coast of Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, to Maluku. Perlak became the entrance to the light of Islam into the archipelago, until it was dubbed the porch of the city of Mecca.
Sultan Ibrahim Syah pays important attention to education. In each village, the Sultan established a meunasah as a place for basic Islamic education which was managed by a Teungku Meunasah. At an advanced level, a junior high school education called Dayah was established which was managed by a Teungku Lube. Dayah graduates can continue their education to Dayah Cut (SMA level). Perlak even has a college called Dayah Chik.
Thanks to the Perlak kings, Islam became an important religion and center of civilization in the western archipelago. In the 13th century, several centers of Malay civilization emerged and developed into Islamic kingdoms such as Malacca and Samudera Pasai. To strengthen relations between Islamic kingdoms, Sultan Muhamad Amin Syah II married his son, Princess Ratna Kemala, to Sultan Muhamad Syah from the kingdom of Malacca. Another child, Putri Ganggang, she married Sultan Malik al-Saleh from Samudera Pasai kingdom. The alliance of these 3 kingdoms further strengthened the Aceh and Malacca regions as world trade centers that connected traders from Arabia, Persia, China and the archipelago.
After the death of the 18th Sultan of Perlak, Sultan Abdul Aziz, Perlak was united with the kingdom of Samudera Pasai. This incident occurred in 1292 when Samudera Pasai was led by Sultan Muhamad Malik al-Zakir, son of the sultan Malik al-Saleh and grandson of the 17th Sultan of Perlak, Sultan Muhamad Amin Syah II. Since then the greatness of Aceh has been held by the sultans of Samudera Pasai until 1521 when the Portuguese attacked and controlled Samudera Pasai in an effort to achieve its ambition of controlling the spice trade of the archipelago. [Source: www.fatchuri.com] [DDHK News]
Fatchuri Rosidin is the Director of IMZ Consulting, a consultant and public speaker in the fields of motivation, human resource development, leadership, parenting, and community empowerment.
