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In the process of becoming an empire,   the Riau-Lingga archipelago, Batam                    Indische Compagnie). During the time of   there, with the support of Muslim traders,
                                   it is important to stress that Aceh     is described in the Sejarah Melayu                    Johor and Aceh the political conditions   he was recognized as the king of Perak.
                                   produced commodities it could sell in   as a safe and very friendly area and                  in the archipelago were characterized   Around 1528, Perak proclaimed itself a
                                   international markets. Areas conquered   eventually it became the center of a                 by the presence of two western powers,   kingdom, just like Johor, as the direct
                                   by Ali Mughayat Shah, especially Pidie,   new kingdom the Sultan had created                  the Portuguese in Malacca and the      successor of Malacca.
                                   Pasai, and Daya, were famous for their   with the full support of the “orang laut”            Netherlands in Batavia. This had
                                   pepper and spices products. Therefore,   (lit. sea people), a group of Malay                  important repercussions for the political   Perak was experienced a vital
                                   the conquest of these areas turned out   communities that had settled on the                  developments of these kingdoms, as     development in the Malay world.
                                   to be a strategic step in the development   sea. However, Sultan Mahmud found                 they were scattered over various regions   Located about eighty kilometers from
                                   of the kingdom and not only because of   himself again under Portuguese attack                of the archipelago. However, regardless   the estuary of the Perak River, the
                                   the commercial relations they had with   in 1526 and he relocated to the center               of the clear influence of these western   kingdom was renowned for its production
                                   international traders who visited the   of his new kingdom to Kampar on the                   powers, which will be discussed later, it is   of tin, that made it very attractive to
                                   kingdom. It also controlled regions that   east coast of Sumatra. After his death,            important to explain here that the alliance   foreign merchants. During the reign
                                   were politically significant to the ruler’s   he was replaced by his son, Sultan              the rulers of Johor had struck with the   of the second king, Sultan Mansur
                                   consolidating efforts, which had mainly   Alauddin Ri’ayat Shah, who resumed                  VOC seemed to have been a determining   Shah (1549-1577), Perak was visited
                                   taken place during the reign of the later   his efforts to build up the kingdom.              factor in the development and progress   by European and Indian traders who
                                   kings of Aceh, as they successfully gave   Between 1530 and 1536, he finally                  of the kingdom.                        wanted to make investment in tin mining.
                                   the kingdom its dominant political and   succeeded in establishing his power                  Perak and Brunei were two other        By then, Perak had undergone rapid
                                   economic position in the western region   in the upstream regions of the Johor                kingdoms in the western part of        change. The number of inhabitants of
                                   of the archipelago.                     River and he is remembered as the first               Nusantara that were established        the main city of Perak had reached more
                                                                           king of the Malaccan dynasty of the                                                          than five thousand people. Moreover,
                                   Alongside Aceh, various other Islamic                                                         following the fall of Malacca. Especially   as one the successors of Malacca,
                                   kingdoms had been established that      Sultanate of Johor.                                   Perak can be said to have been, like   the rulers of Perak were also noted for
                                   also participated in maritime trade     Although Johor did not progress in the                Johor, a response of the Malay people to   their contribution to the development of
                                   after the fall of Malacca. One of the   same way as Aceh, in many respects                    their defeat in Malacca. The Keingdom   Malaccan-Malay culture and they are
                                   most important and frequently in rivalry   it also developed into a leading Islamic           of Perak was established an empire     also reported to have introduced the
                                   with Aceh was Johor in the southern     kingdom. This development took place                  in the early 15  century. The first king,   royal governmental system that was
                                                                                                                                             th
                                   Malay Peninsula. The Johor rulers       mainly after it had gained access                     Muzaffar Shah, was the son of Sultan   similar to the one that had been in force
                                   were the direct heirs of the Malacca    to international maritime trade. It is                Mahmud Shah, the last ruler of Malacca.   in Malacca.
                                   dynasty. Sultan Mahmud, the last        important to emphasize that Johor’s                   He was also a half-brother of Sultan
                                   king of Malacca fled after to Johor his   involvement in maritime trade was                   Alauddin Ri’ayat Shah, the first ruler of   Brunei is located on the north coast of
                                   kingdom had fallen into the Portuguese   mainly the result of an alliance it had              Johor. According to the Malay Annals, he   Borneo and it had become an Islamic
                                   hands. He selected to flee via Batam    established with the Netherlands Trading              abandoned Malacca to go to Siak and    Kingdom upon the arrival of Muslim
                                   or commonly called Bintan. Located in   Company, the VOC (Vereenigde Oost-                    continued his journey to Kelang. From   traders might also some members of



          84   Indonesian Islamic Culture in Historical Perspectives                                                                                                                    Indonesian Islamic Culture in Historical Perspectives  85
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