Sultan Alaedin Muhamat Shah was an Achehnese sultan who reigned from 1824 to 1838. He is chiefly remembered in the surviving Achehnese diplomatic tradition as one of the monarchs whose mediation (afwah) is invoked in the preamble of the sultans’ letters patent (sarakata), in addition to those whose names appear on the ninefold seal.
As C. Snouck Hurgronje explains, the chab sikureu’eng — the ninefold seal placed at the head of sultans’ edicts — consists of a central circle with the reigning sultan’s name surrounded by eight smaller circles each bearing the name of a celebrated predecessor. The choice of the eight names lies with the reigning sultan, but four recur on almost every seal: Sultan Sayyidi al-Mukamnal (Alaedin al-Qahhar), Sultan Meukuta Alam (Iskandar Muda), Sultan Tajul-alam (Sapiatodin), and Sultan Ahmat Shah.
Alaedin Muhamat Shah’s name is not on that core list. He is exceptional rather in the opposite sense: he is the only sultan whose mediation is invoked in the letters patent in addition to those whose names appear on the ninefold seal. As the footnote to the preamble of the letters patent given to Panglima Meuseugit Raya observes, “the blessing is invoked of the identical sultans whose names appear in the chab sikureu’eng. The only additional one is this Muhamat (1824–1838).” As a rule, only three or four of the names contained in the seals are repeated in such documents.
The reign of Alaedin Muhamat Shah fell within the decadent period of the Achehnese sultanate, when the effective power of the port-kings had been reduced to little more than the limits of the Dalam (the Sultan’s Court at Banda Acheh). He was succeeded by Sultan Jauhar Alain Shah (1802–1824) — though these dates are confusingly given in the native sources — and ultimately by Sultan Mansur Shah (1838–1870), whose son Sultan Alaedin Muhamad Daud Shah Juhan was the last sultan recognised by the Achehnese before the Dutch war.
See Also
- Sultan Jauhar Alain Shah
- Sultan Mansur Shah
- Sarakata with chab sikureu’eng
- Panglima Meuseugit Raya
- Tuanku Muhamat Dawot
Source
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.
Sultan Alaedin Muhamat Shah was an Achehnese sultan who reigned from 1824 to 1838. He is chiefly remembered in the surviving Achehnese diplomatic tradition as one of the monarchs whose mediation (afwah) is invoked in the preamble of the sultans’ letters patent (sarakata), in addition to those whose names appear on the ninefold seal.
As C. Snouck Hurgronje explains, the chab sikureu’eng — the ninefold seal placed at the head of sultans’ edicts — consists of a central circle with the reigning sultan’s name surrounded by eight smaller circles each bearing the name of a celebrated predecessor. The choice of the eight names lies with the reigning sultan, but four recur on almost every seal: Sultan Sayyidi al-Mukamnal (Alaedin al-Qahhar), Sultan Meukuta Alam (Iskandar Muda), Sultan Tajul-alam (Sapiatodin), and Sultan Ahmat Shah.
Alaedin Muhamat Shah’s name is not on that core list. He is exceptional rather in the opposite sense: he is the only sultan whose mediation is invoked in the letters patent in addition to those whose names appear on the ninefold seal. As the footnote to the preamble of the letters patent given to Panglima Meuseugit Raya observes, “the blessing is invoked of the identical sultans whose names appear in the chab sikureu’eng. The only additional one is this Muhamat (1824–1838).” As a rule, only three or four of the names contained in the seals are repeated in such documents.
The reign of Alaedin Muhamat Shah fell within the decadent period of the Achehnese sultanate, when the effective power of the port-kings had been reduced to little more than the limits of the Dalam (the Sultan’s Court at Banda Acheh). He was succeeded by Sultan Jauhar Alain Shah (1802–1824) — though these dates are confusingly given in the native sources — and ultimately by Sultan Mansur Shah (1838–1870), whose son Sultan Alaedin Muhamad Daud Shah Juhan was the last sultan recognised by the Achehnese before the Dutch war.
See Also
- Sultan Jauhar Alain Shah
- Sultan Mansur Shah
- Sarakata with chab sikureu’eng
- Panglima Meuseugit Raya
- Tuanku Muhamat Dawot
Source
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.