Paduka Sri Sultan Muhammad Jiwa Zainal Adilin Mu'adzam Shah II ibni al-Marhum Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin Halim Shah I was the 19thSultan of Kedah. He reign from 1710 to 1778 and is widely known as the founder of Alor Setar and many current landmarks in the city are attributed to him. He was also the all time longest reigning Malay ruler in Malayan history and one of the longest reigning monarchs in the world after having ruled for a total of 68 years. He went on pilgrimage to Jambi and Palembang, where he met the Arab religious teacher Shaikh Abdul Jalil, then journeyed with him to Java and India. He returned to the mainland from his exile in Langkawi and formally installed at the Balai Penghadapan, Istana Bukit Pinang, May 1710. He transferred his capital to Alor Star in 20 December 1735. He accepted Burmese suzerainty after the sack of Ayutthaya Kingdom in 1767, but submitted tribute to avoid a Siamese invasion by Taksin in 1769. He fled to Kangar, in Perlis, when the Bugis invaded and took Kuala Kedah Fort in March 1771. He appealed to the British for help and signed a contract of alliance with Edward Monckton, 20 April 1772. Alor Setar was founded in 1735 by Sultan Muhammad Jiwa and was the Kedah’s eighth administrative centre since the establishment of the Kedah Sultanate in 1136. The earlier administrative centres were located in Kota Bukit Meriam, Kota Sungai Emas, Kota Siputeh, Kota Naga, Kota Sena, Kota Indera Kayangan and Kota Bukit Pinang. After founding the city, Sultan Muhammad Jiwa went on to build his palace, Istana Kota Setar. The original building was a wooden structure which had undergone demolitions several times due to attacks by the Bugis and the Siamese. The current concrete building was completed during the reign of Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin Mukarram Shah. This palace is also renowned as the Istana Pelamin Palace when the space of the palace was extended to add a pavilion and several rooms when Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah wanted to marry off his five princes and princesses. After 1941, this palace was used as a school and an office for several organizations including the office for the Kedah chapter of St John's Ambulance and the Scout movements. On 25 July 1983, this palace was declared the Kedah Royal Museum. Another structure attributed to Sultan Muhammad Jiwa was the Balai Besar. Initially the function of the building was as the Balai Rong Seri or Balai Penghadapan, that was situated at the back area of the Istana Kota Setar complex. The pillars, roofs and floors were made of wood. It still stands to this day Balai Nobat was also built by Sultan Muhammad Jiwa upon founding of Alor Setar. The 18 metre-tall and 5 metre-wide three-tiered octagonal tower sole purpose is to keep all the royal musical instruments including the serunai, nafiri, gendang and gong, which is known as nobat. Kedah achieve its greatest extend during his reign reaching from Terang to the north and Krian to the south.
