Iskandar Muda

Iskandar Muda (1583? – 27 December 1636 ) was the twelfth Sultan of Aceh, under whom the sultanate achieved its greatest territorial extent, holding sway as the strongest power and wealthiest state in the western Indonesian archipelago and the Strait of Malacca.

"Iskandar Muda" literally means "young Alexander," and his conquests were often compared to those of Alexander the Great. His father was Mansur Syah, son of Sultan Abdul Jalil, son of the third Sulṭān of the Acèh Darussalam, Alauddin al-Kahar. His mother Puteri Raja Inderabangsa was the daughter of the tenth Sultan Alauddin Ri'ayat Syah Sayyid al-Mukammal. Therefore, through his parentage he combined the two branches of the Acehnese sultan's dynasty. His childhood and youth are described at great length in the Hikayat Aceh, which extols his personal qualities. He was known under a number of names and titles, especially Perkasa Alam, which was also the name he used after his accession ("Iskandar Muda" is however not a posthumous name as sometimes suggested since it occurs on his coins ). In about 1605 he fell out with his uncle, Sultan Ali Ri'ayat Syah III, and fled to Pidië where another uncle, Husain, was the vassal ruler. Together they planned a rebellion against Sultan Ali. Perkasa Alam was put in command of the Pidië troops, but in the end they refused to fight and Perkasa Alam was imprisoned by the sultan. However, when the Portuguese invaded Aceh in 1606 he was let out of prison and distinguished himself in the fight against the infidels. The invasion force was beaten back and withdrew, and Perkasa Alam rose in esteem at the court. When Sultan Ali suddenly died on 4 April 1607, Perkasa Alam was able to secure the throne on the same day. He imprisoned his other uncle Husain and later had him killed.

Conquest and reign

Alam Peudeueng, the flag of the Aceh Sultanate, inspired by the Ottoman flag.

The successes of Iskandar Muda were based on his military strength. His armed forces consisted of a navy of heavy galleys each with 600–800 men, a cavalry using Persian horses, an elephant corps, conscripted infantry forces and more than 2000 cannons and guns (of both Sumatran and European origin). Upon gaining power, he began consolidating control over northern Sumatra. In 1612 he conquered Deli, and in 1613 Aru and Johor. Upon the conquest of Johor, its sultan, Alauddin Riayat Shah III, and other members of the royal family were brought to Aceh, along with a group of traders from the Dutch East India Company. However, Johor was able to expel the Acehnese garrison later that year, and Iskandar Muda was never able to assert permanent control over the area. Johor further built an alliance with Pahang, Palembang, Jambi, Inderagiri, Kampar and Siak against Aceh.

Iskandar Muda's campaigns continued, however, and he was able to defeat a Portuguese fleet at Bintan in 1614. In 1617 he conquered Pahang and carried its sultan Ahmed Syah to Aceh, and thus achieved a foothold on the Malayan peninsula.This conquest was followed by Kedah in 1619, in which the capital was laid waste and the surviving inhabitants were brought to Aceh. A similar capture of Perak occurred in 1620, when 5,000 people were captured and left to die in Aceh. Iskandar Muda was also known to be cruel as he devised torture techniques and caused humiliation to those who failed to please him. In one cockfighting match, a noble who won the match eventually suffered a humiliating death, while generals who failed in their exploits had been on occasion forced to "eat a plate of turds".

As the Sultans in Aceh exert their symbol of power prestige in elephant possessions, Iskandar Muda has about 900 elephants in possession, while his son-in-law, Iskandar Thani, possessed one thousand elephants. It is recorded that Sultanate of Aceh during reign of Iskandar Muda has managed relationship with the Mughal Empire, as both were exchanging gifts, with one of the presents from Iskandar Muda sending emperor Shah Jahan with twelve elephants, while later, his daughter, Sultanah Safiatuddin, also presenting gift to successor of Shah Jahan, Aurangzeb, with eight elephants. Other major exports included cloves and nutmegs, as well as betel nuts, whose narcotic properties bypassed the Muslim prohibition of alcohol. Exports, encouraged by the Ottoman Sultans as an alternative to the "infidel" (i.e. Portuguese)-controlled route around Africa, added to the wealth of the sultanate. Iskandar Muda also made shrewd economic decisions that supported growth, such as low interest rates and the widespread use of small gold coins (mas). However, like other sultanates in the area it had trouble compelling the farms in the hinterland to produce sufficient excess food for the military and commercial activities of the capital. Indeed, one of the aims of Iskandar Muda's campaigns was to bring prisoners-of-war who could act as slaves for agricultural production.

He was known as a centralizing leader who was intolerant of private trade and adopted a policy of monopolizing the court as the primary contact person with foreigners that were able to establish important terms of trade. He adopted a more predictable legal process and was able to amass a large fortune and a powerful army. He sought to create a new nobility of “war leaders” (Malay language: hulubalang; Acehnese: uleëbalang), whom he gave districts (mukim) in feudal tenure. After his reign, however, the elite often supported weaker sultans, to maintain their own autonomy. He also sought to replace the Acehnese princes with royal officials called panglima, who had to report annually and were subject to periodic appraisal. An elite palace guard was created, consisting of 3,000 women. He passed legal reforms which created a network of courts using Islamic jurisprudence. It was apparently inspired by the Persian Akbarnama for the Mogul Emperor Akbar. The Hikayat Aceh described Iskandar Muda as a scion of the lineage (nasab) and race (bangsa) of Iskandar Zulkarnain, Alexander the Great. Through this statement, the hikayat presented Aceh as a part of the Malay world, since Iskandar Zulkarnain was the purported ancestor of the Melaka, Johor, Perak and Pahang rulers.

Legacy Among the Acehnese, Iskandar Muda is revered as a hero and symbol of Aceh's past greatness. Posthumously he was given the title Po Teuh Meureuhom, which means "Our Beloved Late Lord", or "Marhum Mahkota Alam".

He has several buildings and structures in and near Banda Aceh named after him, including the Sultan Iskandarmuda Airport and Sultan Iskandar Muda Air Force Base. Kodam Iskandar Muda is the name of the military area commands overseeing Aceh Province.