Tuanku Sri Paduka Gocah Pahlawan (titled Laksamana Khoja Bintan,) also known as Muhammad Dalik according to ''Hikayat Deli'', was the founder of the

Sultanate of Deli Sultanate of Deli (Indonesian: ''Kesultanan Deli Darul Maimoon''; Jawi: ) was a 1,820 km² Malay state in east Sumatra founded in 1630. A tributary kingdom from 1630 it was controlled by various Sultanates until 1814, when it became an in ...

and the

Sultanate of Serdang The Sultanate of Serdang () was an ancient Malay-Indonesian monarchy, Serdang was founded in 1723 and joined the Republic of Indonesia in 1946. The Sultanate separated from Sultanate of Deli after a dispute over the royal throne in 1720. Lik ...

North Sumatra North Sumatra ( id, Sumatra Utara) is a province of Indonesia located on the northern part of the island of Sumatra. Its capital and largest city is Medan. North Sumatra is Indonesia's fourth most populous province after West Java, East Java and ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. According to the ''

tarombo ''Tarombo'' is a term for genealogy in Batak Batak is a collective term used to identify a number of closely related Austronesian ethnic groups predominantly found in North Sumatra, Indonesia, who speak Batak languages. The term is used t ...

'' (ancestor genealogy) from Deli and Serdang, Gocah Pahlawan was of ''

keling Keling () or Kling is a derogatory term used in parts of Southeast Asia to denote a person originating from the Indian subcontinent. This includes both those from India and overseas Indians. In modern usage it is not commonly capitalised. The ...

'' (Indian) ethnicity, sent by Sultan

Iskandar Muda Iskandar Muda (1583? – 27 December 1636Yusra Habib Abdul Gani, accessed on 4 January 2007) was the twelfth Sulṭān of Acèh Darussalam, under whom the sultanate achieved its greatest territorial extent, holding sway as the strongest po ...

in 1612 to rule in the former

Aru Kingdom The Aru (كراجأن ارو; or Haru) was a major Sumatran kingdom from the 13th to the 16th century. It was located on the eastern coast of North Sumatra, Indonesia. In its heyday the kingdom was a formidable maritime power, and was able to co ...

. He was appointed as a representative commander (''wali negara'', guardian of the state) of the

Aceh Sultanate The Sultanate of Aceh, officially the Kingdom of Aceh Darussalam ( ace, Keurajeuën Acèh Darussalam; Jawoë: كاورجاون اچيه دارالسلام), was a sultanate centered in the modern-day Indonesian province of Aceh. It was a major ...

for the area, to fight the

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

influence and establish alliances with the local population, who generally were Karo peoples. Deli sources mentioned that Gocah Pahlawan came from India and that his original name was Muhammad Delikhan, while Serdang sources mentioned that his original name was Yazid and he was a descendant of the rulers of Bukit Siguntang Mahameru, who left the

Pagaruyung Kingdom Pagaruyung (ڤاڬارويوڠ; also Pagarruyung, Pagar Ruyung and, Malayapura or Malayupura) was the seat of the Minangkabau kings of Western Sumatra, though little is known about it. Modern Pagaruyung is a village in ''Tanjung Emas'' subdistr ...

on an Indian merchant ship. Both sources agreed that before Gocah Pahlawan went to Deli, he was first stranded in Pasai, Aceh. He then made services to the Aceh Sultanate by leading its forces in the wars in

Bengkulu Bengkulu is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the southwest coast of Sumatra. It was formed on 18 November 1968 by separating out the former Bencoolen Residency area from the province of South Sumatra under Law No. 9 of 1967 and was fi ...

Johor Johor (; ), also spelled as Johore, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. Johor has land borders with the Malaysian states of Pahang to the north and Malacca and Negeri Sembilan ...

, and

Pahang Pahang (;Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , Pahang Hulu Malay: ''Paha'', Pahang Hilir Malay: ''Pahaeng'', Ulu Tembeling Malay: ''Pahaq)'' officially Pahang Darul Makmur with the Arabic honorific ''Darul Makmur'' (Jawi: , "The Abode of Tranquility") is a ...

. He successfully captured the two daughters of the king of Pahang, namely Princess Kamariah and Princess Khairul Bariah. Gocah Pahlawan married the younger sister of the

Sunggal Sunggal is a town and district of Deli Serdang Regency in the province of North Sumatra, Indonesia. The population of the town was 10,933 in 2010 and 10,071 in 2020. It is the district capital of the Sunggal district (''kecamatan''). Sunggal Dist ...

chieftain ( Karo: ''raja urung''), Datuk Itam Surbakti, who was the strongest chieftain in that area (Deli Tua), and made alliances with the other three chieftains. The name of the Sunggal chieftain's sister was Princess Nang Bulan (Baluan) beru Surbakti, and the marriage was conducted around 1632. The Karo chieftains who had converted to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

and adopted the

Malay culture Malays ( ms, Orang Melayu, Jawi: أورڠ ملايو) are an Austronesian ethnic group native to eastern Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula and coastal Borneo, as well as the smaller islands that lie between these locations — areas that are col ...

then regarded him as their supreme leader (''

primus inter pares ''Primus inter pares'' is a Latin phrase meaning first among equals. It is typically used as an honorary title for someone who is formally equal to other members of their group but is accorded unofficial respect, traditionally owing to their sen ...

'') for the region. The early kingdom led by Gocah Pahlawan was then called the Bintan Kingdom. Its initial territory was from the border of the Tamiang river to the Rokan Pasir Ayam Denak river. With the help of the Karo chieftains, he expanded his power to Percut and other areas in Deli. Gocah Pahlawan died around 1641, his tomb is located in Batu Jerguk, Deli Tua. His rule was continued by his son, Tuanku Panglima

Perunggit Tuanku Panglima Perunggit, also titled Kejuruan Padang, was the second ruler (1641–1700) of the Sultanate of Deli (now in North Sumatra, Indonesia). He continued the rule of his father Tuanku Panglima Gocah Pahlawan, who was the representative co ...

References

Indonesian monarchs 1641 deaths Indonesian people of Indian descent 17th-century Indonesian people {{indonesia-bio-stub

See also

References