History of Kedah

Part of a series on the
History of Malaysia
Prehistoric Malaysia Prehistoric Malaysia 100–6th century
Early kingdoms Gangga Negara 2nd–11th century Langkasuka 2nd–14th century Chi Tu 2nd–6th century Pan Pan 3rd–5th century Kedah Tua 5th–9th century Pahang Tua 5th–15th century Melayu 6th century Srivijaya 650–1377 Majapahit 1293–1500
Rise of Muslim states Kedah Sultanate 1136–present Brunei Sultanate 1368–present Malacca Sultanate 1402–1511 Sulu Sultanate 1450–1899 Pahang Sultanate 1470–1623 Aceh Sultanate 1496–1903 Pattani Sultanate 1516– 1902 Johor Sultanate 1528–present House of Jamalullail 1843–present
Colonial era Portuguese Malacca 1511–1641 Dutch–Portuguese War 1601–1661 Dutch Malacca 1641–1824 Siamese invasion of Kedah 1821–1826 Straits Settlements 1826–1946 Kingdom of Sarawak 1841–1946 Crown Colony of Labuan 1848–1946 British Malaya / Borneo 1874–1946 North Borneo 1882–1946 Federated Malay States 1895–1946 Unfederated Malay States 1909–1946
World War II Japanese occupation of Malaya / of Borneo 1941–1945 Malayan Campaign 1941–1942 Battle of Muar 1942 Parit Sulong Massacre 1942 Battle of Singapore 1942 Syburi 1942 Si Rat Malai 1943–1945 Sandakan Death Marches 1942
Formation of Malaysia British Military Administration of Malaya / of Borneo 1945–1946 Crown Colony of N. Borneo 1946–1963 Crown Colony of Sarawak 1946–1963 Malayan Union 1946–1948 Federation of Malaya 1948–1963 Independence of Malaya 1957 Self-government of Singapore 1959 Self-government of North Borneo 1963 Self-government of Sarawak 1963 Formation of Malaysia 1963 Singapore in Malaysia 1963–1965 Federal Territory of KL 1974 Federal Territory of Labuan 1984 Federal Territory of Putrajaya 2001
Incidents Anti-cession movement 1946–1963 Malayan Emergency 1948–1960 Bukit Kepong incident 1950 Baling Talks 1956 Brunei revolt 1962–1966 Sarawak Communist Insurgency 1962–1990 Philippine claim over North Borneo 1962–present Philippine militant attacks in Borneo 1962–present Confrontation with Indonesia 1963–1966 Singapore race riots 1964 ASEAN Declaration (ASEAN) 1967 Brunei's claim over Limbang 1967–2009 Second communist insurgency 1968–1989 13 May Incident 1969 Ligitan and Sipadan dispute 1969–2002 Malaysian New Economic Policy 1971–1990 Malaysian haze crisis 1972–present Pedra Branca dispute 1979–2008 South China Sea islands dispute (Spratly Islands) 1980–present 1985 Lahad Datu ambush 1985 Memali Incident 1985 Operation Lalang 1987 Constitutional crisis 1987–1988 Financial crisis 1997–1998 Al-Ma'unah Incident 2000 Ligitan and Sipadan dispute 1969–2002 Bersih rally 2007 Anti ISA rally 2009 Bersih 2.0 rally 2011 Bersih 3.0 rally 2012 People's Uprising rally 2013 Lahad Datu standoff 2013 Anti-price hike rally 2013 Black-Out rally 2013 MAS MH370 Incident 2014 MAS MH17 Incident 2014 AirasiaQZ8501 Incident 2014 Bersih 4 rally 2015 2015 Malay Dignity rally 2015 Bersih 5 rally 2016
By topic Communications Economic Military
Malaysia portal

Part of a series on the
History of Thailand
Prehistory
Early history
Initial states Legendary Suvarnabhumi Central Thailand Dvaravati Lavo Supannabhum Northern Thailand Singhanavati Ngoenyang Hariphunchai Southern Thailand Pan Pan Raktamaritika Langkasuka Srivijaya Tambralinga Nakhon Si Thammarat Sultanate of Pattani Kedah Sultanate
History
Sukhothai Kingdom Ayutthaya Kingdom Thonburi Kingdom Rattanakosin Kingdom Military period Democratic period
Regional history Isan Lanna Phitsanulok Bangkok
Related topics Peopling of Thailand Constitutional history Military history Economic history
Thailand portal

Kedah, also written as Queda, and known in the early days as Qalha, Kalah Bar, Kalah or Kalaha by the Arabs and Persians, Cheh-Cha, Ka-Cha by the Chinese and Kedaram, Kidaram, Kalagam and Kataha by the Tamils is an early kingdom on the Malay Peninsula and an important early trade centre. Early west-coast trade centres are few in number as they were overshadowed by Kedah. Her nearness to the entrances to the Straits of Malacca — and more importantly — being on latitude 6° north of the equator, the same as Ceylon to the south of India, meant that ships sailing the Bay of Bengal in a sea lane heading due east or west between the two were in little danger of becoming lost. The early transpeninsular routeway is part of the Sea trade route of the Spice Route for Arab, Persian, Tamil Nadu and India-to-China traders, as the route through the Straits does not seem to have been in general use. Early sea traders from the west, upon reaching the coast, engaged porters to transport goods by raft, elephant and man-carry along the rivers (Kelantan River, Pattani River, Pahang River, Muda River, Bernam River, Muar River, and others) to the opposite coast. The Sungai Muda in particular favoured the development of Kedah.

After the 7th century, Srivijaya subjugated Kedah, but due to her fame, Indian sources continue to depict Kedah. Early Kedah also supplied its own tin, and jungle products such as rattan, resin, honey, beeswax, elephants, ivory, areca nuts, sepang wood and black woods, as well as profiting from tax collections.

The early history of Kedah can be traced from various sources, from the prehistoric period to the archaeological site of Bujang Valley, the early Maritime trade of India, Persia, and the Arabs to the written works of early Chinese pilgrims and early Chinese records, the Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa (known as Kedah Annals) to Al-Tarikh Salasilah Negeri Kedah.

Origins

Austronesians began migrating to the Malay Archipelago approximately 3,500 years before present. It is now accepted that Taiwan is the cradle of Austronesian languages. Some 4,000 years ago, Austronesian began to migrate to the Philippines. Later on, some of their descendants started to migrate southwards to what is now Indonesia and eastwards to the Pacific islands.

Ancient history

Sketch of an 8th-century seafaring ship taken from Borobodur bas relief in central Java, Indonesia.

Austronesians were great seafarers, colonising as far as New Zealand, Hawaii and Madagascar. In some regions they intermarried with the local inhabitants (Orang Asli, India, the Persian Empire, Arabs, Han Chinese, etc.), becoming the Deutero-Malays. Possibly as early as the 4th century BCE, Austronesians started to sail westwards in search of new markets for their products. They reached the eastern coast of southern India, initiating trade. Gradually, rulers from western Indonesia began to adopt Tamil-Indian cultural and political models. However, the earliest evidence of such models found so far have been dated to only the early 5th century.

Some Greco-Roman merchants in the 1st century CE described huge non-Indian ships coming from the east with rich cargoes, possibly from the Malay Archipelago. This would indicate that the Malay participated actively in Indian Ocean trade, and likely handled much of the traffic between Southeast Asia and India.

Three kinds of craft are described by the author of the Periplus: light coasting boats for local traffic, larger vessels of a more complicated structure and greater carrying capacity, and lastly the big ocean-going vessels that made the voyages to Malaya, Sumatra, and the Ganges.^[1]

Flag of Kedah in the 18th century.

Medieval history

Map of early Sea Trade Route (in red) and the Early transpeninsula routeways of Malay Peninsula.

Early in the Medieval era, Kedah became part of Srivijaya (the dominant Malay state and a major power in the Indian Ocean trade). This led to rivalries with the Indian states, especially the Chola Empire from the 9th to 13th centuries CE. The Cholas had a powerful merchant and naval fleet in the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal. In the early 11th century, Tamil Chola King Rajendra Chola I sent an expedition to attack Kedah (Sri Vijaya) on behalf of one of its rulers who sought his assistance to gain the throne.

In ancient Kedah there is an important and unmistakably Hindu settlement which has been known for about a century now from the discoveries reported 1840s by Col. James Low, later subjected to a fairly exhaustive investigation by Dr. Quaritch Wales. Dr. Wales investigated no fewer than thirty sites round about Kedah . The results show this site was in continuous occupation for centuries, by people who under strong South Indian, Buddhist and Hindu influences.^[2]

An inscribed stone bar, rectangular in shape, bears the Ye Dharma Hetu formula^{[nb 1]} in South Indian characters of the 4th century CE, thus proclaiming the Buddhist character of the shrine near the find-spot (site I) of which only the basement survives. It is inscribed on three faces in Pallava script, or Vatteluttu rounded writing of the 6th century CE, possibly earlier.^[3] One of the early inscription stones discovered by James Low, at Bukit Meriam and in Muda River, mention of Raktamrrtika. The word Raktamrrtika means ‘Red Earth’ (Tanah Merah).

Inscriptions, both in Tamil and Sanskrit, relate to the activities of the people and rulers of the Tamil country of South India. The Tamil inscriptions are at least four centuries posterior to the Sanskrit inscriptions, from which the early Tamils themselves were patronizers of the Sanskrit language.^[4]

In Kedah, an inscription in Sanskrit dated 1086 CE has been found. This was left by Kulothunga Chola I (of the Chola empire, Tamil country). This too shows the commercial contacts the Chola Empire had with Malaya.^[4]

An indigenous style develops

The Tamils coming from Southern India and the local Malays were already using the rounded script, or Vatteluttu writing styles which differed from the Devanagari script of Northern India. Vatteluttu was also commonly known as the Pallava script by scholars of Southeast Asian studies such as George Coedes and D.G.E. Hall. The Tamil script of Vatteluttu later evolved into Old Kawi script which was used in Java, the Philippines, and Bali as well.

There are stone inscriptions which indicate that the Kedah region at 400 CE or before was already an established trade centre. One of the early Malay texts include the karma verses refers to a king named Ramaunibha, he may be the first local ruler whose name is recorded in history. The history of this period showed the influence of Indian cultures on the region while the locals in return, influenced the Indians in their living skills on the sea and in the hills.

Map based on the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, a source of information about the Indian Ocean region during the early centuries CE.

See also

• Red Earth Kingdom / Chi Tu
• Sultanate of Kedah
• Trade route
• Cities along the Silk Road

Notes

References

1. ↑ Sastri, K.A. Nilakanta (2000) [1935]. Cholas (fifth printing ed.). Chennai: University of Madras. pp. 86 & 318. 
2. ↑ Sastri, K.A. Nilakanta (1949). South Indian Influences in the Far East. Bombay: Hind Kitabs Ltd. pp. 82 & 84. 
3. ↑ Sastri, K.A. Nilakanta (1949). South Indian Influences in the Far East. Bombay: Hind Kitab Ltd. pp. 28 & 48. 
4. 1 2 Arokiaswamy, Celine W.M. (2000). Tamil Influences in Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Manila s.n. p. 41. 

Further reading

• The Encyclopedia of Malaysia: Early History, Volume 4 / edited by Nik Hassan Shuhaimi Nik Abdul Rahman (ISBN 981-3018-42-9)

External links

• The Geopolitical Situation
• Seafaring of India.
• The Development of Kedah's Early History Based on Archeological Finds