Peureulak Sultanate is one of the earliest Islamic kingdoms in Southeast Asia, believed to be as early as 9th century. The location of Peureulak is in what is now the East Aceh Regency. Perlak or Peureulak is well known as a perlak wood producing area, a type of wood that is very good for shipbuilding. Its natural products and strategic position made Perlak develop as a commercial port that advanced in the 8th century, visited by ships which included Arab and Persian origin. This led to the development of Islamic societies in this area, mainly as a result of mixed marriages between Muslim merchants and local women.
Hikayat Aceh
The Hikayat Aceh text reveals that the spread of Islam in northern Sumatra was carried out by an Arab scholar named Sheikh Abdullah Arif in 506 H or 1112 M. The book Zhufan Zhi, written by Zhao Rugua in 1225, cited the record of a geographer, Chou Ku-fei, in 1178 that there is a Muslim country with only five days of voyage from Java. Perhaps the intended land is Peureulak, because Chu-fan-chi declared a voyage from Java to Brunei took 15 days. The existence of the Peureulak state was reinforced by the famous Venetian traveler Marco Polo a century later. When Marco Polo returned from China by the sea in 1291, he stopped in the state of Ferlec who had embraced Islam.
Development and turbulence
The first Sultan of Perlak was Sultan Alaiddin Syed Maulana Abdul Aziz Shah, a Shiite and an Arabian descendant, who founded the Perlak Sultanate at 1 Muharram 225 H. Hechanged the name of the royal capital from Bandar Perlak to Caliph City. The Sultan was buried in Paya Meuligo, Peureulak, East Aceh with his wife, Princess Meurah Mahdum Khudawi. During the reign of the third sultan, Sultan Alaiddin Syed Maulana Abbas Shah, the Sunni movement began to enter Perlak. After the death of the sultan in 363 AH, there was a civil war between Shiite and Sunnis so that for the next two years there was no sultan. The Shiites won the war and in 302 H and Sultan Alaiddin Syed Maulana Ali Mughat Shah from the Shi'ite stream ascended. At the end of his reign there was another turmoil between Shiite and Sunni Sunni rulers. This time, the Sunni rulers won and subsequent sultans came from the Sunni stream. In 362 H, after the death of the seventh sultan, Sultan Makhdum Alaiddin Abdul Malik Shah Johan Sovereignty, there was another upheaval for about four years between Shia and Sunni which ended with peace and division of empire into two parts:
Perlak Pesisir, led by Sultan Alaiddin Syed Maulana Shah
Perlak Pedalaman, led by Sultan Makhdum Alaiddin Malik Ibrahim Shah Johan Berdaulat
Sultan Alaiddin Syed Maulana Shah died when the Kingdom of Sriwijaya invaded Perlak and the whole of Perlak reunited under the leadership of Sultan Makhdum Alaiddin Malik Ibrahim Shah Johan Berdaulat, who continued the struggle against Sriwijaya until 1006.
Merge with Samudera Pasai
The 17th Sultan of Perlak, Sultan Makhdum Alaiddin Malik Muhammad Amin Shah II Johan Berdaulat carried out friendship politics by marrying his two daughters with the neighboring state of Peureulak:
Princess Ganggang, married to the King of the Kingdom of Pasai, Al Malik Al-Saleh.
The last Sultan of Perlak was the 18th Sultan, Sultan Makhdum Alaiddin Malik Abdul Aziz Johan Berdaulat. After he died, Perlak was united with the Samudera Pasai Kingdom under the reign of Sultan Samudera Pasai, Sultan Muhammad Malik Al Zahir, son of Al Malik Al-Saleh.
