History of The Pedir Kingdom in Aceh

The territory of the Pedir Kingdom. (Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons)

INDEPHEDIA.com - The Kingdom of Pedir (Pidie) is a kingdom that was established in the 15th century AD in Aceh Province, Sumatra Island, Indonesia.

The boundaries of this kingdom are to the east of the Samudera Pasai Kingdom, to the west of the Aceh Darussalam Kingdom, to the south by mountains and to the north by the Malacca Strait.

Sources regarding the existence of this kingdom came from foreign news, including from Portuguese, Chinese and Arab/Persian people who made voyages and had anchored in this small kingdom.

In the story of the voyage of the Portuguese, they call Pidie as Pedir. Meanwhile, in the story of the voyage of the Chinese people it is referred to as Poli.

According to records from China, the Pedir Kingdom covered about a hundred times two hundred miles, or about 50 days' journey from east to west and 20 days' journey from north to south.

The kingdom is described as located in a lowland region. Its territory is wide and fertile so that its inhabitants live in prosperity.

Tome Pires in his news at the beginning of the 16th century AD said that in Sumatra, especially along the coast of the Malacca Strait, there had been many Islamic kingdoms, one of which was the Kingdom of Pedir.

Apart from Pasai, Pedir was also a kingdom with abundant natural products and became a trading center. Its mainstay productions at that time included pepper, silk, camphor and gold.

The second Arab/Persian expedition took place in 724 AD, the ships went to the coast of Aceh to buy gold, silver, camphor, frankincense and also sandalwood.

In this trade, they brought pepper seeds from Madagascar to be developed in Aceh.

In another Arabic date it is stated that in 322 H / 950 AD, the Arabs had stopped at Rami (Lamuri) which was not far from the port of Poli (Pidie). Since then, Arabs and Persians have been increasingly visiting Sumatra.

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Acehnese historian, M. Junus Jamil in his book entitled "Silsilah Tawarrick Radja-Radja Kingdom of Aceh", contains the history of Pidie/Sjahir Poli Country.

This kingdom, according to the book written by the Acehnese historian, as quoted by Wikipedia, said that the tribe that inhabited this kingdom came from the Mon Khmer who came from Southeast Asia, namely from the Kingdom of Champa.

The Mon Khmer tribe came to Poli several centuries before our era. This group was led by Syahir Pauling who later became known as Syahir Poli.

The group then mingled with the surrounding community who had previously inhabited the area.

After anchoring and settling in the area (Pidie), Sjahir Poli founded a kingdom called the Kingdom of Sama Indra.

At that time, they still adhered to Mahayana or Himayana Buddhism, which also came under Hindu influence.

During its development, the Sama Indra Kingdom which was founded by Sjahir Poli broke into several small kingdoms.

The split kingdom, such as the Kingdom of Indra Purwa (Lamuri) became the Kingdom of Indrapuri, Indrapatra, Indrapurwa and Indrajaya which was known as the Kingdom of Panton Rie or Kantoli in Lhokseudu.

At that time, the Kingdom of Sama Indra became a rival to the Kingdom of Indrapurba (Lamuri) in the west and the kingdom of Plak Plieng (Kingdom of Five Colors) in the east.

In the mid-14th century AD, the people of the Sama Indra Kingdom switched from their old religion to embrace Islam.

This change in the religion adopted by the people, especially after the kingdom was attacked by the Kingdom of Aceh Darussalam led by Sultan Mansyur Syah (1354 – 1408 AD).

Furthermore, the influence of Islam brought by people from the Kingdom of Aceh Darussalam gradually replaced Hindu and Buddhist teachings in this area.

The first king and founder of the Aceh Sultanate, Sultan Ali Mughayat Syah or Sultan Ibrahim, succeeded in bringing his kingdom to be big and strong.

In 1520, the Aceh Sultanate broke away from the Pedir Kingdom. In 1524, the Pedir Kingdom was conquered and since then it has been subordinate to the Aceh Sultanate. (SJ/SBB)