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Exploring Indonesia

The

Hikayat Aceh

Indonesia

Hikayat Aceh is a 17th-century manuscript that tells on
the life of Sultan Iskandar Muda (1583–1636), an
Indonesian national hero, and Aceh's relations with
other nations such as Portugal, China, Turkey, and
neighbours in Southeast Asia. This manuscript contains
stories about palace customs, wars, internal rivalries,
and the spread of Islam.

The Hikayat Aceh is important evidence that long
before the arrival of Europeans, Asia already had a
great civilization with its own literary, cultural, and
historical traditions.

This work is not only valuable for the history of Aceh,
but also important for understanding Islam,
international relations, and the cultural and trade
networks that once connected Asia with the rest of the
world. Of the three manuscripts that still exist, Or.
1954 is the oldest and most authentic, while the other
two manuscripts are complementary and interrelated.
Until now, Hikayat Aceh continues to be studied by
scholars around the world because of its extraordinary
value. Without this manuscript, we would lose an
important piece of history, and our perspective on the
past would be much narrower.