Malay Annals in the context of "Parameswara (sultan)"

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⭐ Core Definition: Malay Annals

The Malay Annals (Malay: Sejarah Melayu, Jawi: سجاره ملايو‎), originally titled Sulalatus Salatin (Genealogy of Kings), is a literary work that gives a romanticised history of the origin, evolution and destruction of the Malacca Sultanate. The work, composed in the 17th century by court historians, draws from earlier accounts prior to that century, is considered one of the finest literary and historical works in the Malay language.

The original text has undergone numerous changes, with the oldest surviving version from 1612, through the rewriting effort commissioned by the then regent of Johor, Raja Abdullah. It was originally written in Classical Malay on traditional paper in old Jawi script, but today exists in 32 different manuscripts, including those in Rumi script. Notwithstanding some of its mystical contents, historians have looked at the text as a primary source of information on past events verifiable by other historical sources, in the Malay world. In 2001, the Malay Annals was listed on UNESCO's Memory of the World Programme International Register. Today, more than 30 manuscript copies survive, but the 1612 copy is believed to contain the earliest changes to the original text.

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👉 Malay Annals in the context of Parameswara (sultan)

Parameswara (1344 – c. 1414), thought to be the same person named in the Malay Annals as Iskandar Shah, was the last king of Singapura and the founder of Malacca. According to the Malay Annals, he ruled Singapura from 1389 to 1398. The king fled the island kingdom after a Majapahit naval invasion in 1398 and founded his new stronghold on the mouth of Bertam river in 1402. Within decades, the new city grew rapidly to become the capital of the Malacca Sultanate. Portuguese accounts however, written a hundred years after his death, suggest he was from Palembang in Sumatra and usurped the throne of Singapura; he was driven out, either by the Siamese or the Majapahit, and went on to found Malacca.

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Malay Annals in the context of Kingdom of Singapura

The Kingdom of Singapura (Malay: Kerajaan Singapura) was a Malay polity believed to have been founded as a HinduBuddhist kingdom during the early history of Singapore on the island of Temasek, lasting from 1299 until its decline and fall between 1396 and 1398. Conventional view marks c. 1299 as the founding year of the kingdom by Sang Nila Utama (also known as "Sri Tri Buana"), whose father is Sang Sapurba, a semi-divine figure who according to legend is the ancestor of several Malay monarchs in the Malay world.

The historicity of this kingdom based on the account given in the Malay Annals is uncertain and many historians only consider its last ruler, the Muslim convert Parameswara (or Sri Iskandar Shah), to be a historically attested figure in his role as the first ruler of the Malacca Sultanate. Archaeological evidence from Fort Canning Hill and the nearby banks of the Singapore River has nevertheless demonstrated the existence of a thriving settlement and a trade port in the 14th century, corroborating the eyewitness testimony of Yuan dynasty sojourner Wang Dayuan concerning the settlements of Long Ya Men and Ban Zu upon Temasek.

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Malay Annals in the context of Inderapura

Inderapura was the capital city of the medieval kingdom of Pahang that existed from 5th to 15th century. The city was mentioned several times in the Malay Annals in narrating the conquest of Pahang in 1454. The word Inderapura means "Town of Indra" in Sanskrit, Indra being the leader of the Devas and the lord of Svargaloka in Dharmic religions.

Throughout Pahang history, the capital has always been known as 'the town'. The pre-Melakans calling it by the short form Pura, while the Melakans refer it as Pekan ('the town' in Malay language), while the people of Rompin and Bebar traditionally described the capital as Pekan Pahang. Pura may have covered a much larger than the town known as Pekan today. In addition to modern Pekan, it appears to have comprised the land on the banks of Pahang river as far as Tanjung Langgar.

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Malay Annals in the context of Sang Nila Utama

Sang Nila Utama was a prince from Palembang and is the founder of the Kingdom of Singapura in 1299. His official title adopted upon his coronation was Sri Tri Buana (Sanskrit: श्री त्रि भुवन, romanizedśrī tri bhuvana), which can be translated as "Lord of Three Worlds"; the "Three Worlds" may refer to the three realms of the universe—the heaven of the gods, the world of humans, and the underworld of demons or his lordship over Java, Sumatra and Temasek/Singapura. This title is attested to elsewhere in Southeast Asia.

Sang Nila Utama died in 1347 and his son, Sri Wikrama Wira succeeded him. Malay Annals stated that the name of the founder of Singapore was Sri Tri Buana, who was later associated with the Maharaja of Bhumi Malayu, Srimat Tribhuwanaraja Mauli Warmadewa. The account of his life and those of his successors is given in the Malay Annals; the historicity of the events as recorded there is debated by scholars, and some contend that Sang Nila Utama may be a mythical figure, even if the historicity of Singapore's 14th-century settlement is no longer disputed. Even so, as De Jong argued in his article The Character of Malay Annals, the stories of the Malay Annals could have been realistically mixed with the historical figures and events.

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Malay Annals in the context of Gangga Negara

Gangga Negara (literally City of the Ganges) was a semi-legendary Malay-Hindu kingdom mentioned in the Malay Annals. Researchers believe that the kingdom was centred at Beruas and it collapsed after an attack by King Rajendra Chola I of Tamilakam, between 1025 and 1026. According to another Malay annals, the Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa known as the Kedah Annals, Gangga Negara may have been founded by Merong Mahawangsa's son Raja Ganji Sarjuna of Kedah, allegedly a descendant of Alexander the Great or by the Khmer royalties no later than the 2nd century. Raja Gangga Shah Johan was one of its kings.

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