Sultan Ali Ri'ayat Syah I, also known as Sultan Husein (d. 8 June 1579), was the fourth

sultan of Aceh The Sultanate of Aceh, officially the Kingdom of Aceh Darussalam (; Jawi alphabet, Jawoë: ), was a List of Muslim states and dynasties, sultanate centered in the modern-day Indonesian province of Aceh. It was a major regional power in the 16th ...

in northern

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

. He reigned from 1571 to 1579 and continued his father's policy of fighting the Portuguese in

Melaka Malacca (), officially the Historic State of Malacca (), is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Strait of Malacca. The state is bordered by Negeri Sembilan to the north and west and Johor to t ...

Succession and dynastic rivalry

Sultan Husein, the later Sultan Ali, was the second son of Sultan Alauddin al-Kahar. His elder brother Abdullah fell against the Portuguese in the siege of Melaka in January 1568. This left Sultan Husein the heir to the kingdom. When Alauddin al-Kahar died on 28 September 1571, he succeeded to the throne under the name Sultan Ali Ri'ayat Syah. According to the chronicle ''Bustanus Salatin'', he was of a mild disposition and friendly towards scholars and other subjects. During his reign an

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

scholar called Shaykh Nur ad-Din arrived from

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

. He belonged to the

Shafi'i The Shafi'i school or Shafi'i Madhhab () or Shafi'i is one of the four major schools of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), belonging to the Ahl al-Hadith tradition within Sunni Islam. It was founded by the Muslim scholar, jurist, and traditionis ...

school of law and taught metaphysics in Aceh until his death. This may be seen against the important commercial and political relations with the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

at the time. Another chronicle, ''Hikayat Aceh'', tells of dissent within the royal family. His envious brothers Sultan Mughal and Sultan Ghori plotted to depose him. Sultan Mughal visited Fansur (

Barus Barus is a town and ''kecamatan'' (district) in Central Tapanuli Regency, North Sumatra Province, Sumatra, Indonesia. Historically, Barus was well known as a port town or kingdom on the western coast of Sumatra where it was a regional trade cente ...

) and got help from two

Batak Batak is a collective term used to identify a number of closely related Austronesian peoples, Austronesian ethnic groups predominantly found in North Sumatra, Indonesia, who speak Batak languages. The term is used to include the Karo people ( ...

sorcerers. He then proceeded to the capital Kutaraja (

Banda Aceh Banda Aceh (; , Jawi script, Jawi: ) is the capital and largest city in the province of Aceh, Indonesia. It is located on the island of Sumatra and has an elevation of 35 metres. The city covers an area of and had a population of 223,446 peopl ...

) and was friendly received by Sultan Ali. Some time later he let the two Bataks enter the palace compound and perform

black magic Black magic (Middle English: ''nigromancy''), sometimes dark magic, traditionally refers to the use of Magic (paranormal), magic or supernatural powers for evil and selfish purposes. The links and interaction between black magic and religi ...

, with the result that the sultan fell ill. The other brother Sultan Ghori arrived to Kutaraja but was refused entrance. Now Sultan Mughal made preparations to smuggle his accomplices into the part of the palace where he stayed in order to perform the coup. This came to the ears of Sultan Ali, who in turn resorted to strategy: he brought in atap (leaves to cover houses) where weapons were hidden. Sultan Mughal was attacked and killed in the tumult in spite of orders by the sultan to spare him. Sultan Ali gave orders to kill all the men of Sultan Mughal but withdrew the order at second thought.

War with the Portuguese

Sultan Ali continued his father's policy of unbending hostility towards the Christian Portuguese, who were ensconced in

since 1511. The period around 1560–1580 was the highest point for the military enterprise of

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

in the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies) is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The ''Indies'' broadly referred to various lands in Eastern world, the East or the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainl ...

. Through its considerable naval power Aceh contested the Melaka Straits with the support from the Malay sultanate

Johor Johor, also spelled Johore,'' is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. It borders with Pahang, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the north. Johor has maritime borders with Singapore ...

and the

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

nese emporium Japara. However, the military capabilities of the Acehnese were not sufficient to expel the Portuguese. A first attempt on Melaka was made in 1573, but in spite of the formidable armada and Turkish assistance the attempt failed. A new expedition got under way in February 1575, supported by Johor and

Bintan Bintan Regency (originally the Riau Islands Regency; ) is an administrative area in the Riau Islands Province of Indonesia. Bintan Regency includes all of Bintan Island (except for the city of Tanjung Pinang which is separately administered ...

. The attack was moderately successful to the extent that a few Portuguese ships were destroyed. However, after a 17 days long siege the armada suddenly withdrew from the walls of Melaka. A last attempt in 1577 was likewise a failure; this time the Achnese suffered great losses and the enterprise was called off. In spite of their considerable resources, the Acehnese suffered from inferior artillery, less robust ships, and inferior military tactics compared to their European enemy. More success was scored on the

Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula is located in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area contains Peninsular Malaysia, Southern Tha ...

where the tin-producing kingdom

Perak Perak (; Perak Malay: ''Peghok'') is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kel ...

was attacked and defeated in 1573. Since Perak was an ally of Johor, the event signaled worsened relations with that state.Hadi (2004), pp. 24–30. Sultan Ali Ri'ayat Syah died on 8 June 1579. He left a new-born son called

Sultan Muda Sultan Muda (b. and d. 1579; literally "young sultan") was a nominal sultan of Aceh in northern Sumatra. His brief tenure started a decade-long period of dynastic weakness and strife in the Aceh kingdom. Sultan Muda was the only known child of th ...

who was formally enthroned. With this, a decade-long period of dynastic instability and weakness began in Aceh.

References

Literature

* Djajadiningrat, Raden Hoesein (1911) 'Critisch overzicht van de in Maleische werken vervatte gegevens over de geschiedenis van het soeltanaat van Atjeh', ''Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde'', 65, pp. 135–265. * Hadi, Amirul (2004) ''Islam and State in Sumatra: A Study of Seventeenth-Century Aceh''. Leiden: Brill. * Iskandar, Teuku (1958) ''De Hikajat Atjeh''. 's Gravenhage: M. Nijhoff. * Reid, Anthony (2010) 'Aceh and the Turkish Connection', in Arndt Graaf et al. (eds), ''Aceh: History, Politics and Culture''. Singapore: ISEAS, pp. 26–38. {{s-end Sultans of Aceh 1579 deaths 16th-century Indonesian people