Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Seventh Ruler of Melaka : Sultan Alauddin Riayat Syah (1477 - 1488)

After the death of Sultan Mansur Syah, his son Raja Hussain was installed as the seventh ruler of Melaka with the title Sultan Alauddin Riayat Syah. He was still a youth at the time of his installation and was known for his strength and courage. At the beginning of Sultan Alauddin Riayat?s reign, Melaka was infested with thieves. There were reports of thefts every night. When the Sultan was informed of this, he was determined to get rid of the thieves by arresting and sentencing them so that his people could continued to have peace.


During Sultan Alaudin?s reign, several foreign rulers, one from the Moluccas Islands who were defeated by his enemies, one from Rekan and another from Terengganu called Telanai Terengganu, came to Melaka to pay homage to the Sultan and were welcomed by him. The Sultan was glad to receive the ruler of the Moluccas Islands owing to his extraordinary skill in playing sepak takraw or Malay basketball.


In 1488, after ruling Melaka for about eleven years, Sultan Alauddin Riayat Syah died at the age of thirty. He came to be known as Marhum Berdarah Putih or the White Blooded King and was buried at Pagoh near Muar. However, there was no information as to why Sultan Alauddin was buried in Pagoh, which was quite far from Melaka. It could possibly be that Pagoh had long been having connections with the Malay rulers of Melaka. There were also a few Malay rulers who were also buried in Pagoh.

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