A sultana who reigned 1675-1677, the second of the four female rulers of Acheh, succeeding Sapiatodin Shah in an era of female sovereignty that lasted until its abolition in 1699.
Expanded account from The Achehnese, Vol. I — Nurul-alam Nakiatodin
Nurul-alam Nakiatodin was a sultana of Acheh who reigned from 1675 to 1677. She is mentioned by Snouck Hurgronje in Vol. I of The Achehnese in connection with the traditional account of the origin of the three sagis — the great confederacies of uleebalangs into which Acheh proper was divided outside the limits of the actual sultanate.
According to the historical notes preserved by some of the Achehnese chiefs, “the distribution into sagis came into being in the reign of the sultana Nurul-alam Nakiatodin (1675–1777).” Snouck Hurgronje at once cautions that “such traditions are of very little value,” and compares them to the Achehnese attribution of the introduction of Islam to the saint Abdurra’uf of Singkel, although it is clearly established that this man lived no earlier than the seventeenth century. To judge of their reliability, he reflects, one need only consider how readily the Achehnese confound chronology and project the institutions of their own day backward onto the reigns of famous sovereigns.
The substantive point that Snouck Hurgronje extracts from the tradition is not that the sagis were created by a royal edict of Nurul-alam, but that under her “weak female rule, which was highly favoured by the uleebalangs for reasons easy to conceive,” the chiefs “were able to bring it to pass that every succession to the throne should take place in conformity with the decision of the representatives of the three sagis.” The sagis — that is, confederations of uleebalangships — had however “undoubtedly been long in existence before they succeeded in bringing the sultanate like an infant under their joint guardianship.” The reign of the sultana thus marks not an act of creation, but a moment of acknowledged subjection: the formal recognition by the throne that it could no longer be filled without the consent of the confederated chiefs.
The rule of Nurul-alam Nakiatodin falls within the long period of female rule that succeeded the death of Iskandar Muda in 1636. The first of the sultanas was Sapiatodin (Tajul-alain), who reigned from 1639 or 1641 until 1675; Nurul-alam succeeded her; and the female line continued until the close of the century. Snouck Hurgronje observes that this period of female rule was highly advantageous to the uleebalangs, whose power was consolidated under sovereigns who could not, by reason of their sex and the weakness of their position, oppose the chiefs’ encroachments.
The wider significance of the tradition attaching to Nurul-alam’s reign is that the sagis, however originated, did not — like so many other Achehnese institutions — fall into disuse after the lapse of the shortlived period of prosperity of the port-kingship. “This has not taken place”: the confederacies endured, and continued to play a decisive part in the choice of every subsequent sultan down to the Dutch intervention of 1873.
See Also
- Acheh
- Cheh Abdora’oh
- Female rule of Acheh (1641–1699)
- Princess Sapiatodin
- Sapiatodin Shah
- Sultan Iskandar Muda
Source
The Achehnese, Vol. II, by Dr. C. Snouck Hurgronje, translated by A.W.S. O’Sullivan, indexed by R.J. Wilkinson. Leyden: E.J. Brill, 1906.
The Achehnese, Vol. I, by Dr. C. Snouck Hurgronje, translated by A.W.S. O’Sullivan, indexed by R.J. Wilkinson. Leyden: E.J. Brill, 1906.
A sultana who reigned 1675-1677, the second of the four female rulers of Acheh, succeeding Sapiatodin Shah in an era of female sovereignty that lasted until its abolition in 1699.
Expanded account from The Achehnese, Vol. I — Nurul-alam Nakiatodin
Nurul-alam Nakiatodin was a sultana of Acheh who reigned from 1675 to 1677. She is mentioned by Snouck Hurgronje in Vol. I of The Achehnese in connection with the traditional account of the origin of the three sagis — the great confederacies of uleebalangs into which Acheh proper was divided outside the limits of the actual sultanate.
According to the historical notes preserved by some of the Achehnese chiefs, “the distribution into sagis came into being in the reign of the sultana Nurul-alam Nakiatodin (1675–1777).” Snouck Hurgronje at once cautions that “such traditions are of very little value,” and compares them to the Achehnese attribution of the introduction of Islam to the saint Abdurra’uf of Singkel, although it is clearly established that this man lived no earlier than the seventeenth century. To judge of their reliability, he reflects, one need only consider how readily the Achehnese confound chronology and project the institutions of their own day backward onto the reigns of famous sovereigns.
The substantive point that Snouck Hurgronje extracts from the tradition is not that the sagis were created by a royal edict of Nurul-alam, but that under her “weak female rule, which was highly favoured by the uleebalangs for reasons easy to conceive,” the chiefs “were able to bring it to pass that every succession to the throne should take place in conformity with the decision of the representatives of the three sagis.” The sagis — that is, confederations of uleebalangships — had however “undoubtedly been long in existence before they succeeded in bringing the sultanate like an infant under their joint guardianship.” The reign of the sultana thus marks not an act of creation, but a moment of acknowledged subjection: the formal recognition by the throne that it could no longer be filled without the consent of the confederated chiefs.
The rule of Nurul-alam Nakiatodin falls within the long period of female rule that succeeded the death of Iskandar Muda in 1636. The first of the sultanas was Sapiatodin (Tajul-alain), who reigned from 1639 or 1641 until 1675; Nurul-alam succeeded her; and the female line continued until the close of the century. Snouck Hurgronje observes that this period of female rule was highly advantageous to the uleebalangs, whose power was consolidated under sovereigns who could not, by reason of their sex and the weakness of their position, oppose the chiefs’ encroachments.
The wider significance of the tradition attaching to Nurul-alam’s reign is that the sagis, however originated, did not — like so many other Achehnese institutions — fall into disuse after the lapse of the shortlived period of prosperity of the port-kingship. “This has not taken place”: the confederacies endured, and continued to play a decisive part in the choice of every subsequent sultan down to the Dutch intervention of 1873.
See Also
- Acheh
- Cheh Abdora’oh
- Female rule of Acheh (1641–1699)
- Princess Sapiatodin
- Sapiatodin Shah
- Sultan Iskandar Muda
Source
The Achehnese, Vol. II, by Dr. C. Snouck Hurgronje, translated by A.W.S. O’Sullivan, indexed by R.J. Wilkinson. Leyden: E.J. Brill, 1906.
The Achehnese, Vol. I, by Dr. C. Snouck Hurgronje, translated by A.W.S. O’Sullivan, indexed by R.J. Wilkinson. Leyden: E.J. Brill, 1906.