Kedah Sultanate

The information regarding the formation of this sultanate and the history before and after its creation comes from the "Kedah Annals". The annals were written in the 18th century, over a millennium after the formation of the supposed Kedah Kingdom. It describes the first king of Kedah as arriving on the shores of Kedah as a result of an attack by a mythical gigantic beast. It states that the nation was founded by the offspring of Alexander the Great. However, Thai chronicles mention that Kedah was a Thai city like Nakhon Si Thammarat and was a part of the Siamese kingdom but later was changed into a Malay state after invasion by Muslim kingdoms until today.

The Kedah Annals provides unreliable information on the sultans of Kedah, listing the first sultan of Kedah as Sultan Mudzafar Shah I in 1136, while an Acehnese account gives the conversion of Kedah to Islam in 1474. Although not impossible, the year 1136 is also unlikely since it pre-dates the Terengganu Inscription Stone by almost three centuries. Claims made by the Kedah Annals also directly contradict the fact that the Buddhist Srivijaya kingdom was in direct control of Kedah at the time Sultan Mudzafar Shah I allegedly converted the region to a sultanate. Kedah may have remained Hindu-Buddhist until the 15th century.

History

By around 788 BCE, a systematic government of a large settlement of Malay native of Kedah had been established around the northern bank of the Merbok River. The state consisted of a large area of the Bujang Valley, covering the Merbok and Muda River branches in an approximately 1,000-square mile area. The capital of the settlement was built at the estuary of a branch of the Merbok River, now known as Sungai Batu. Around 170 CE, groups of Hindus arrived at Kedah, who were soon joined by peoples from nearby islands and from the northern Mon-Khmer region. At the same time, traders from India, Persia and the Arabian Peninsula arrived at the brink of the Malacca Strait, using Gunung Jerai (the Kedah Peak) as a marking point. Ancient Kedah covered the areas of Kuala Bahang, Kuala Bara, Kuala Pila and Merpah.

The king from Gombroon

According to the At-Tarikh Salasilah Negeri Kedah, written by Muhammad Hassan bin Dato' Kerani Muhammad Arshad in 1928, in around 630 CE, Maharaja Derbar Raja of Gombroon (now known as Bandar Abbas) in Persia was defeated in battle and escaped to Sri Lanka, and was later blown off course by a storm to the remote shores of Kuala Sungai Qilah, Kedah. The inhabitants of Kedah found him to be a valiant and intelligent person and made him the king of Kedah. In 634 CE, a new kingdom was formed in Kedah consisting of Persian royalty and native Malay people of the Hindu faith; the capital was Langkasuka.

Conversion to Islam

Based on the account given in Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa (also known as the Kedah Annals), the Sultanate of Kedah was formed when King Phra Ong Mahawangsa converted to Islam and adopted the name Sultan Mudzafar Shah. At-Tarikh Salasilah Negeri Kedah described the conversion to Islam as starting in 1136 AD. However, historian Richard Winstedt, quoting an Acehnese account, gave 1474 as the year of conversion to Islam by the ruler of Kedah. This later date lines up with an account in the Malay Annals, which describes a raja of Kedah visiting Malacca during the reign of its last sultan seeking the honour of the royal band that marks the sovereignty of a Malay Muslim ruler. The request by Kedah was in response to be Malacca's vassal, probably due to fears of Ayutthayan aggression.

British colonisation of Penang and Seberang Perai

The first British vessel arrived in Kedah in 1592. In 1770, Francis Light was instructed by the British East India Company (EIC) to take Penang from Kedah. He achieved this by assuring Sultan Muhammad Jiwa Zainal Adilin II that his army would protect Kedah from any Siamese invasion. In return, the Sultan agreed to hand over Penang to the British. However, Light made the agreement without the consent of his superiors in India. The EIC did not provide military support, as promised by Light, when Siam attacked Kedah. The Sultan demanded that Light return Penang, but Light was reluctant to hand it back. He offered compensation for the damage but was refused by the Sultan. In 1790, Abdullah planned to launch an amphibious invasion of the island of Penang to recapture it. The EIC, with the help of the British military made a preemptive strike and attacked Kedah's navy and fort in Seberang Perai, damaging them. The Sultan signed a ceasefire agreement with Light in 1791.

On 7 July 1800, while George Alexander William Leith was Lieutenant-Governor of Penang, a treaty came into effect that gave the British sovereignty over Seberang Perai, subsequently named Province Wellesley. The treaty, negotiated by Penang's First Assistant George Caunter and Sultan of Kedah Dziaddin Mukarram Shah II, increased the annual payment to the sultan from 6,000 to 10,000 Spanish dollars. While the acquisition improved Penang Island's military and food security, for Kedah it provided a protective strip against enemy attack from the sea. The treaty also provided for the free flow of food and commodities from Kedah to Penang Island and Province Wellesley. To this day, the Malaysian federal government still pays Kedah, on behalf of Penang, RM 10,000 annually as a symbolic gesture.

Partition of Kedah and Siamese vassalage

After the death of Sultan Abdullah Mukarram Shah in 1797, the throne was given to his half brother Sultan Dziaddin Mukarram Shah II. However Sultan Dziaddin was forced to abdicate in 1803 by the King of Siam and was replaced by his nephew Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin II. This sparked a succession crisis as crown prince, Tunku Bisnu claimed to be the rightful heir to the throne. Fearing civil war, Siam reconciled the two parties by appointing Tunku Bisnu as ruler of Setul, thus establishing the Kingdom of Setul Mambang Segara in 1808.

From 1821, a Siamese invasion of Kedah fragmented Kedah's territory. This period marked the exile of Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin Halim Shah II and the imposition of direct Siamese rule on Kedah for a time. Tengku Kudin, a nephew of Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin, captured Alor Setar from the Siamese in 1831 but the town was retaken soon after. After 20 years of living in exile, Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin was restored to the throne of Kedah in 1842.

In 1892, the kingdom was reunified with the Kedah Sultanate. However, the assimilation of the Siamese people and their culture in Setul had weakened Kedah rule over it. The Anglo-Siamese Treaty in 1909 finally ended Kedahan rule over Setul, as the Siamese and British agreed to exclude Setul from Kedah's jurisdiction.