MUZIUM ISTANA KESULTANAN MELAKA / MELAKA SULTANATE PALACE MUSEUM
PARAMESWARA / ISKANDAR SYAH (1403-1424 A.D)
Parameswara was the son of a king from Palembang, but ruled in Temasik (now Singapore) . after the death of his father, Parameswara became the next king. His reign in Temasik, however, was cut short by the Siamese, who attacked and drove him out of Temasik. Parameswara fled northward to Muar, and after that to Malacca, where he founded that to Malacca, where he founded the Malacca sultanate. During his reign in Temasik, he was said to be an ignorant ruler who spent his day enjoying, without bothering about the peace and order of his Kingdom. He was easily influenced by news brought by the palace officials and did not investigate any allegations. It was said that he instructed the son of Sang Rajuna tapa to be impaled only through allegations which was not really proven. However when he ruled Malacca, embraced Islam and changed his name to Iskandar Syah, he fared for better. He ruled temasik for 32 years compared to only 11 in Malacca, but much more done during the shorter period in Malacca. After his death, he was succeeded by his son, Muhammad Syah, who was the Raja Muda besar.
SULTAN MUHAMMAD SYAH / SERI MAHARAJA (1424-1444 A.D)
Also known as Seri Maharaja, sultan Muhammad Syah changed his name when he embraced Islam. He was a pious ruler and adhered closely to the rules of Islam. This reverence made him a highly ethical and disciplined ruler. Sultan Muhammad Syah introduced new customs, changed some old customs and always treated his guests with honour, a sign of the disciplinarian that he was. Due to his credibility, Malacca managed to form diplomatic ties other Sultanate and government in the Nusantara. However, being human, Sultan Muhammad also had his weakness. One of them was his favor feelings towards one of his sons. He had two sons, Raja Ibrahim dan Raja Kasim. Although both were his own, he always favored Raja Ibrahim whose mother was a princess from Rokan, which means that Raja Ibrahim was a true Royal Prince (anak Gahara) where Raja Kasim whose mother was only a nobleman’s daughter, was not given the same favor.
SRI PARAMESWARA DEWA SYAH (1444-1446 A.D)
Sri Parameswara dewa Syah, whose real name was Raja Ibrahim was the youngest son of Sultan Muhammad Syah. His mother was a princess from Rokan. He came to throne when his father died and that happened when he was only a teenager. Due to his young age, he was not really capable to rule an empire. His role was reduced to being a puppet of his uncle, Raja Rokan, who was ambitious and greedy for power. His reign, however, came to an abrupt halt when he was killed by his uncle, Raja Rokan after ruling for less than two years. Sri Parameswara Dewa Syah was killed during an uprise by Raja Kasim to claim the throne.
SULTAN MUZAFFAR SYAH / RAJA KASIM (1446-1456 A.D)
Sultan Muzaffar Syah was the eldest son of Sultan Muhammad Syah. His mother was Tun Wati, the daughter of nobleman. However, because his father favor of his younger brother, Muzaffar Syah was denied his right to the throne, and his younger brother became the Sultan upon the death of his father. Muzaffar syah was forced to live in exile. During his stint in exile, muzaffar syah lived as a fisherman, and there he learned a lot about the life of an ordinary citizen. Thus, when he finally managed to claim the throne, he became a very successful Sultan. He was close to his people and understood them well. Historical documents wrote that he was a just and benevolent Sultan. During his reign, Malacca expanded its influence to Dinding, Selangor, Muar, Singapore, Bertam and pahang. He was the first ruler who both Malacca straits when he conquered Inderagiri, Kampar (in Sumatera) which produced black pepper and gold from the remote Minangkabau. He also encouraged missionaries to spread Islam to other Malacca colonies. Throughout his reign, he raised Malacca to a new platform and it marked the beginning of the golden era of Malacca Sultanate.
SULTAN MANSUR SYAH/ RAJA ABDULLAH (1456-1477 A.D)
Sultan Mansur Syah whose real name war Raja Abdullah was the only son Of Sultan Muzaffar Syah. He came to the throne at the death of his father. According to “Sejarah Melayu”, he become the Sultan at the age of 27. He was described as physically handsome and strong. Sultan Mansur Syah was very particular when dealing with religious issues. He was also known to be very cautious when making important decisions. He was to respect everybody including his prisoners. In the “Sejarah Melayu”, there was a caption which reflects the majestic degree of Sultan Mansur Syah. It was stated that the emperor of China caught a strange illness after Sultan Mansur Syah presented himself in front of the Emperor. In order to recover, the Emperor had to drink water which was used to wash Sultan’s feet. However, Sultan Mansur Syah had his weaknesses as well. Among his gravest mistake was when he instructed Hang Tuah to be executed without investigating allegation against the warrior. In summary, Malacca reached the peak of its glory during his reign. He was the Sultan of Malacca for 21 years. Sultan Mansur Syah look high upon Islamic principle where before his death, he advised his son to be loyal to god and before well. He also advised his son to rule his empire with justice.
SULTAN ALAUDDIN RIAYAT SYAH/ RAJA HUSIN (1457-1477 A.D)
Sultan Alauddin Riayat Syah was the son of Sultan Mansur Syah. He came to throne when his father death and he was a very young man at the time. According to Prof. Dato’ Dr. Mohd Yusoff Hashim in his book “Malacca Malay Sultanate” quoted an incident during his reign when thieves almost went out of control in Malacca. Sultan Alauddin, dressed as an ordinary citizen made nocturnal rounds to hunt them down. When he finally met them, a fight followed Sultan Alauddin’s greatness was reflected in the caption describing the killing of one of the thieves which read “…….And Sultan Alauddin yelled and swung his parang at one of the thieves, and managed to catch the thief’s waist, which was cut into two like a cucumber….”. Sultan Alauddin gave strong emphasis on the Islamic regulation in his administration style. He was also a very cautious ruler and did not give judgement in a rush. He always seeks advice of his nobleman and listens attentively to their opinion. He was also remembered as a sultan who was always dependable and reliable and did not act unwisely. Malacca reached the peak of its glory and harmony during his reign.
SULTAN MAHMUD SYAH (1488-1511 A.D)
Sultan Mahmud Syah was the son of Sultan Alauddin Syah and Tun Senaja. He came to throne at a very young age, upon the death of his father and was the last sultan to rule Malacca before the occupation. Malacca was unstable during his reign. There were always disagreement between the state officials, and corruption was beyond control. However, like other Sultan of Malacca, Sultan Mahmud Syah managed to expand Malacca’s colony to a number of districts. He also conscripted Paduka Tuan to attact and conquer Manjong, Kelantan and defend Pahang from the attack of Raja Legor. He also appointed several other kings such as**** Jamil from Pahang, Raja Abdullah from Kampar and another king from Kedah. Eventhough Sultan Mahmud was potrayed as a Sultan**** characteristics he was a very particular when dealing with religious issues. He even willing to travel on foot to see Maulana Sadar Jahan religious knowledge and he was also very particular that his sons received proper religious knowledge.
