The sunny weather was clearly visible in the eastern hemisphere, the reminder alarm on the smartphone sounded loud that morning, the reminder ring signal was an appointment with a friend who had not met for a long time. Understandably, I have been working in Jakarta, while my friend settled in Aceh.
This is my first meeting with him, the last 5 months we have never met, plus the coronavirus state, after returning from Jakarta I had to undergo an independent quarantine.
Since in Aceh I have never visited one of the historical tourist destinations that stands majestically around 15 kilometers from the city where I live, of course, I will lose my lovely memorize if I really cannot visit the Islamic Samudera Pasai Kingdom Monument.
A friend who made an appointment, we agreed to visit there while documenting a beautiful building standing on the shoreline of the Malacca Straits, yeah right. If you are in the ocean, the monument is clearly visible approximately 50 miles offshore.
The trip took approximately 3O minutes to reach the location, the road conditions were quite decent, after special autonomy, the roads in the regencies/cities in Aceh were very decent compared to the Orde Baru era, or even during the Reformasi regime before the creation of a peace agreement in Helsinki, Finland, between The Free Aceh Movement and the Republic of Indonesia.
The magnificent building began to appear, it seems like soon I will arrive at the courtyard of the historic monument. Being in Aceh but never visiting there was the biggest loss, in my opinion, it was at least that crossed my mind when I actually stand in the yard of this magnificent building.
Samudera Pasai Kingdomlocated in Aceh, and was the first Islamic kingdom in Indonesia. This kingdom was founded by Merah Silu in 1267 AD. Archaeological evidence of the existence of this kingdom is the discovery of the tomb of the Pasai kings in Geudong village, North Aceh. This tomb is located near the ruins of the central kingdom of Samudera in Beuringin village, Samudera sub-district, about 17 km east of Lhokseumawe. Among the tombs of these kings, there is the name of Sultan Malik al-Saleh, the first King of Pasai. Malik al-Saleh is the new name of Merah Silu after he converted to Islam, and was the first Islamic sultan in Indonesia. More or less than 29 years (1297-1326 AD). The Samudera Pasai Kingdom was a combination of the Kingdoms of Pase and Peurlak, with the first king Malik al-Saleh.
A Muslim wanderer from the Maghribi, Ibnu Bathutah visited Pasai in 1346 AD he also told that, when he was in China, he saw the ship Sultan Pasai in China. Indeed, Chinese sources say that Pasai messengers routinely come to China to submit a tribute. Other information also states that Sultan Pasai sent an envoy to Quilon, West India in 1282 AD This proves that Pasai had quite extensive relations with the outside kingdom
During its heyday, the Samudera Pasai was an important trading center in the region, visited by merchants from various countries, such as China, India, Siam, Arabia, and Persia. The main commodity is pepper. As a large trading port, Samudera Pasai issued a gold currency called dirham. This money is used officially in the kingdom. Aside from being a trading center, Samudera Pasai is also a center for the development of the Islamic religion.
Along with the times, Samudera Pasai suffered a loss identity, until it was conquered by Majapahit around 1360 AD In 1524 AD was conquered by the kingdom of Aceh.
FAMILY TREE
- Sultan Malikul Saleh (1267-1297 AD)
- Sultan Muhammad Malikul Zahir (1297-1326 CE)
- Sultan Mahmud Malik Az-Zahir (1326 ± 1345
- Sultan Malik Az-Zahir (? - 1346)
- Sultan Ahmad Malik Az-Zahir who rules (ca. 1346-1383)
- Sultan Zain Al-Abidin Malik Az-Zahir who ruled (1383-1405)
- Sultanah Nahrasiyah, who ruled (1405-1412)
- Sultan Sallah Ad-Din who ruled (ca.1402-?)
- The ninth Sultan, Abu Zaid Malik Az-Zahir (? -1455)
- Sultan Mahmud Malik Az-Zahir, ruling (ca. 1455-ca. 1477)
- Sultan Zain Al-bAbidin, commanding (ca.1477-ca.1500)
- Sultan Abdullah Malik Az-Zahir, who ruled (ca.1501-1513)
- Sultan Zain Al'Abidin, who ruled in 1513-1524
GOVERNMENT PERIOD
The span of the Samudera Pasai lasted for about 3 centuries, from the 13th century to 16 AD
AREA OF POWER
Samudera Pasai's territory covered Aceh at that time.
GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE
The highest leadership of the kingdom was in the hands of the sultan who usually ruled for generations. besides there is a sultan as head of the kingdom, there are also several other positions, such as the Chief Minister (Prime Minister or Orang Kaya Besar), a Treasurer, a Military Commander or Navy Commander better known by the title of Admiral, a Royal Secretary, a Chief Justice A religion called Qadi, and a number of Syahbandar people who headed and supervised foreign traders in the port cities under the influence of the kingdom. Usually, the Syahbandar also served as a liaison between the sultan and foreign traders.
In addition, according to M. Yunus Jamil's records, officials of the Samudera Pasai Islamic Kingdom consisted of pious and wise people. The names and positions are as follows:
- Seri Kaya Saiyid Ghiyasyuddin, as Prime Minister.
- Saiyid Ali bin Ali Al Makaarani, as Shaykh of Islam.
- Bawa Kayu Ali Hisamuddin Al Malabari, as Foreign Minister
POLITICAL LIFE
The Samudra Pasai Kingdom founded by Merah Silu had the title Sultan Malik al-Saleh, as the first king to rule in 1285 - 1297. During his reign, a traveler from Venetia (Italy) in 1292 named Marcopolo could find out through his travel records. that the King of Samudra Pasai has the title Sultan. After Sultan Malik al-Saleh died, his government was replaced by his descendants namely Sultan Muhammad who was titled Sultan Malik al-Tahir I (1297 - 1326). The substitute of Sultan Muhammad is Sultan Ahmad who also holds the title Sultan Malik al-Tahir II (1326 - 1348). During this time Samudra Pasai's government developed rapidly and continued to establish relations with Islamic empires in India and Arabia. Even though the visit of Ibn Battuta an emissary from the Sultan of Delhi in 1345 it was known that Samudra Pasai was an important port and his palace was arranged and regulated in India and the governor had the title, Amir. In the next period, Samudra Pasai's government was not well known because the government of Sultan Zaenal Abidin who also held the title Sultan Malik al-Tahir III was less clear. According to Malay history, the Samudra Pasai kingdom was attacked by the Siamese kingdom. Thus due to the absence of complete historical data, the collapse of Samudera Pasai is not clearly known. From the explanation above, do you understand? If you already understand refer to the next material description.
ECONOMIC LIFE
With its strategic location, Samudera Pasai develops as a maritime kingdom and a city of transit. Thus Samudra Pasai replaced Sriwijaya's role in the Malacca Strait. Samudra Pasai Kingdom has hegemony (influence) over important ports in Pidie, Perlak, and others. Samudra Pasai developed rapidly during the reign of Sultan Malik al-Tahir II. This is also in accordance with the description of Ibn Batulah. The important trading commodities from the ocean are pepper, Kapurbarus, and gold. And for the purposes of trade, money is known as a medium of exchange, namely gold called Deureuham (dirham).
SOCIAL CULTURAL LIFE
It has been mentioned earlier that, Pasai is a large kingdom, the center of trade, and the development of Islam. As a big kingdom, in this kingdom also developed a life that produces good writing. A creative minority group succeeded in utilizing Arabic letters brought by Islam, to write their work in Malay. This is what came to be called Jawi, and the letters are called Jawi Arabic. Among the papers is Hikayat Raja Pasai (HRP). The initial part of the text is estimated to have been written around 1360 AD HRP marked the start of the development of classical Malay literature on the archipelago. The Malay language was then also used by Shaykh Abdurrauf al-Singkili to write his books.
In line with that, also developed Sufism. Among the books of Sufism translated into Malay is Durru al-Manzum, by Maulana Abu Ishak. This book was then translated into Malay by Makhdum Patakan, at the request of the Sultan of Malacca. The information above tells a bit of the role that Samudera Pasai had played in its position as the center of Islamic civilization in Southeast Asia at that time.
Reminder of the Glory of the Samudera Pasai Kingdom
Monument the Islamic Kingdom of Samudera Pasai is a reminder of the glory of the Samudera Pasai Kingdom. This monument was erected on an area of 7.7 hectares in Gampong Beuringen, Samudera District, North Aceh. 300 meters from the tomb complex of Sultan Malikussaleh, founder of the Samudra Pasai Islamic Kingdom. With this monument, we are not only proud of Aceh, but also in love with its history.
Completion of construction in 2016
In 2016 the work carried out four works started from 2012 at the Samudera Pasai Islamic Monument completed. The fourth work is the manufacture of building floor slab sides (4 sides) and building floor slab columns side (4 sides). Also the manufacture of building floor slab sides (4 sides), and stairs of the building site (3 sides).
This monument building is designed with 3 stories. The first floor will function as an exhibition hall, cultural field, tourism sector, mashallah, dance and music training room, multipurpose room, warehouse, management secretariat, tour guide secretariat, and research secretariat. The second floor will function as a cafe, restaurant, and souvenir gallery, and dioramas will be made on the third floor.
After visiting this historic tourist destination, I feel this travel experience is not easy to forget. Especially with a number of photo galleries that I got, of course, there is a value of satisfaction in myself as a descendant of the people of Aceh. That all was my trip a few days ago to visit one of the historical monuments in my province, Aceh, Indonesia.
All photos were My own and taken by Canon Mark IV
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