Sultan Iskandar Moeda (took power 1607 at age 17) was a Greatest Sultan of Atjeh mentioned in Jongejan’s Land en Volk van Atjeh Vroeger en Nu in connection with Aceh. Aceh’s greatest ruler.
Role
Greatest Sultan of Atjeh
Dates
took power 1607 at age 17
Account from Jongejans
Aceh’s greatest ruler. Took power in 1607 at age 17. During his reign conquered half of Sumatra’s coastal area and an equal portion of the Malacca peninsula. Reputed to have organized/introduced the ‘nanggroe’ (family system) in Atjeh. Fought the Portuguese as ‘ungeloovigen’ (unbelievers). Golden age 1550-1650 is centered on his reign. His death triggered crisis - a successor’s brief reign was followed by a female Sultana (and three more female sultanas in the 17th century), evidence of the post-Iskandar crisis.
Significance
Sultan Iskandar Moeda appears in Jongejan’s account as one of the figures shaping the history of Aceh during the period covered by the book.
See Also
Source
Land en Volk van Atjeh Vroeger en Nu, by J. Jongejans, Oud-Resident van het Gewest Atjeh en Onderhoorigheden, with a foreword by Dr. H. Colijn (Baarn: Hollandia Drukkerij N.V., c. 1938), pp. 26, 28, 29, 34.