Muhammad Shah of Brunei
| Muhammad Shah محمد شاه | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sultan of Brunei | |||||
| Reign | 1363/68–1402[1] | ||||
| Predecessor | Title established | ||||
| Successor | Abdul Majid Hassan | ||||
| Born | Awang Alak Betatar | ||||
| Died | c. 1402[1] | ||||
| Spouse | Puteri Dayang Pingai[2] | ||||
| Issue |
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| Father | Dewa Emas Kayangan | ||||
| Religion | Sunni Islam | ||||
Muhammad Shah (born Awang Alak Betatar; died c. 1402)[1] established the Sultanate of Brunei and was its first sultan, from 1368 to his death in 1402.[3][1] The genealogy of Muhammad Shah remains unclear.[4][3] He converted to Islam in the 14th century and assumed the name Sultan Muhammad Shah. Subsequent sovereigns of Brunei, governed by a Muslim administration, were referred to as sultans.[5]
Background[edit]
Awang Alak Betatar and his half-brother Awang Semaun were among the 14 siblings born to their father,[6] Dewa Emas Kayangan, and a Murut woman from Limbang.[7] Dewa Emas Kayangan embarked on a quest for a specific type of cattle, the tembadau, to fulfill his wife's desires while she was pregnant.[8] Throughout his journey, he married women in four villages, fathered children, and ultimately had the 14 siblings mentioned. Upon finding the tembadau, Dewa Emas Kayangan chose to ascend to the celestial realms, where he was known as Batara Kala di Kayangan.[9] Awang Alak Betatar was crowned despite not being the firstborn prince. Charming and attractive, he rose to become Brunei's first monarch.[10]
Reign[edit]
The current state of Brunei was formed by Muhammad Shah, with the help of his brothers. He ruled as Raja Awang Alak Betatar until the early 1360s, until his conversion to Islam.[3] Before the Brunei River colony was established, Awang Alak Betatar established a new village in Negeri Garang in the current Temburong District.[10] Following a period at Negeri Garang, Awang Alak Betatar then moved to Brunei on the waters around Kota Batu. The reason for the migration was because they felt the new place was more suitable as the centre of administration. The location of Kota Batu near a river enabled Awang Alak Betatar to control the rural areas and enlarge his political influence.[10]
The Syair Awang Semaun (Poem of Awang Semaun) explains the history of Brunei, which was ruled by Awang Alak Betatar and his siblings; Awang Semaun at Kota Batu; Pateh Mambang and Pateh Tuba at Luba: Pateh Sangkuna and Pateh Manggurun at Saba, Pateh Malakai at Bukit Panggal, Pateh Pahit at Labuhan Kapal, Damang (Damong) Sari at Bukit Salilah, Pateh Sindayung at Panchor Papan, Demang Lebar Daun, Hapu Awang, Pateh Berbai (also known as Sultan Ahmad of Brunei), and Pateh Laila Langgong.[10]
Awang Alak Betatar's power was resisted by Tugan, the ruler of the Retus and the leader of the Igan people in Melanau,[11] together with his in-law Besiong. The soldiers of Awang Alak Betatar, under the command of Pateh Berbai, defeated them.[12]
Conversion to Islam[edit]
Local customs, recorded in the Syair Awang Semaun and the Salasilah Raja-Raja Brunei (Royal Genealogy of Brunei), state that Awang Alak Betatar turned to Islam in order to marry Puteri Dayang Pingai,[2] the daughter of the Sultan of Johor. While archeological data points to Brunei's emergence in the 10th century, some historians of Brunei have placed this event as early as 1368 (Jamil Al-Sufri 1997), which has come to be accepted as the official date of the sultanate's Islamic conversion, though there is still room for disagreement.[10]
According to Jamil Al-Sufri, the Johor in the Salasilah Raja-Raja Brunei should be understood as Tumasik,[3][1] or ancient Singapore, as Johor was not created until 1512. Pengiran Mohammad (1992), who seems to have known that Singapore was not a Muslim country, proposes that Melaka, whose kings converted to Islam in the early 15th century, should be considered as the correct interpretation.[10] It is unclear whom Muhammad Shah married, but it is reported either as the daughter of Iskandar Shah, or the daughter of Sang Nila Utama, both of the House of Sang Sapurba.[10]
Influence of Islam[edit]
Awang Alak Betatar's conversion of the Malay Hindu-Buddhist monarchy of Brunei to Islam transformed its religious landscape. However, because of the strong Hindu-Buddhist influence, Islam had not yet thoroughly permeated Bruneian society in the immediate wake of his conversion. According to Mahmud Saedon in 2003, Islamic missionary activities also hadn't established a solid foundation at that point.[10] Despite this, evidence also suggests that the present-day region of Brunei was home to an Islamic presence before to the establishment of the Sultanate, as well as a pre-existing Muslim monarchy.[4][3]
Relations with China[edit]
It was noted that Muhammad Shah founded the Sultanate. He sent a mission to China in 1371; the Ming-shih (Book 325), a contemporaneous Chinese reference book, noted that the King of Brunei in 1370 was Ma-ho-mo-sa. Local Brunei historians take this to refer to "Muhammad Shah" the first Islamic Sultan of Brunei, however others take it to read as "Mahmud Shah".[4] Another viewpoint is that it could be pronounced as "Maha Moksha", which means Great Eternity, a Buddhist name; this is in keeping by the Chinese record of his successor also having a Buddhist name.[4]
His daughter, Princess Ratna Dewi,[2] allegedly married a Chinese immigrant by the name of Ong Sum Ping who started a trading station at Mumiang on the Kinabatangan River. For this he was conferred the nobility title of Pengiran Maharaja Lela and elected Chief of Kinabatangan.[13][14]
Legend[edit]
The remaining portions of what seems to be a distinct, albeit damaged, version of the Syair Awang Semaun that was converted from an oral to a written script in 1947 were released by Allen R. Maxwell in 2005. It tells mostly mythological tales about pre-Islamic Brunei and how it came to be, including the political structure that prevailed under Awang Alak Betatar's rule—possibly the first monarch of Brunei ever documented. One of the most notable local heroic figures in the Syair Awang Semaun is Awang Semaun, for whom the poem is named after. Awang Semaun appears to have been a Bruneian Malay. Rather than because of his connection with Awang Alak Betatar, he is the main character in the local narratives because of his bravery and physical strength.[10]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e Jatswan S. Sidhu (22 December 2009). Historical Dictionary of Brunei Darussalam. Scarecrow Press. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-8108-7078-9.
- ^ a b c "Pusat Sejarah Brunei - Sultan - Sultan Brunei". www.history-centre.gov.bn (in Malay). Retrieved 14 May 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Elisseeff, Vadime (January 2000). "Chapter 8: A Brunei Sultan of the Early Fourteenth Century - A Study of an Arabic Gravestone". The Silk Roads: Highways of Culture and Commerce. Berghahn Books. pp. 145–157. ISBN 978-1-57181-222-3. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
- ^ a b c d "The golden history of Islam in Brunei | the Brunei Times". Archived from the original on 3 October 2015. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
- ^ Borneo Bulletin Year Book 2024 (1 May 2024). "HISTORY AND CULTURE". borneobulletinyearbook.com.bn. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Mohammad bin Pengiran Haji Abd Rahman (Pengiran Haji) (2001). Islam di Brunei Darussalam (in Malay). Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Brunei, Kementerian Kebudayaan Belia dan Sukan. p. 19. ISBN 978-99917-0-181-3.
- ^ Traditional Literature of ASEAN. ASEAN Committee on Culture and Information. 2000. p. 37. ISBN 978-99917-0-196-7.
- ^ Barrington, Brook (1997). Empires, Imperialism and Southeast Asia: Essays in Honour of Nicholas Tarling. Monash Asia Institute. p. 204. ISBN 978-0-7326-1153-8.
- ^ Schulze, Fritz (2004). Abstammung und Islamisierung als Motive der Herrschaftslegitimation in der traditionellen malaiischen Geschichtsschreibung (in German). Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 59. ISBN 978-3-447-05011-1.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Gin Ooi Keat; Victor T. King (29 July 2022). Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Brunei. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-000-56864-6.
- ^ Chong, Chin Seng (1987). Traditional Melanau Woodcarving (Bilum) in Dalat, Sarawak. Persatuan Kesusasteraan Sarawak. p. 19.
- ^ Gin Ooi Keat; King, Victor T. (29 July 2022). Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Brunei. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-000-56864-6.
- ^ Pusat Sejarah Brunei "Pusat Sejarah Brunei". Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
- ^ Muhammad Jamil Al-Sufri.(1990). Tarsilah Brunei- Sejarah Awal dan Perkembangan Islam. Bandar Seri Begawan: Jabatan Pusat Sejarah
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