The Conflict between Sultan Mahmud Syah and Bendahara Seri Maharaja Tun Muzahir, and the Fall of Melaka City 1511

(Konflik Antara Sultan Mahmud Syah dengan Bendahara Seri Maharaja Tun Muzahir dan Kejatuhan Kota Melaka 1511)

  • Azmi Arifin Universiti Sains Malaysia

Abstract

This study re-evaluates the claims of some scholars linking the fall of Melaka in 1511 with the atrocities and shortcomings of Sultan Mahmud Syah's reign (1481-1528). In their writings, Sultan Mahmud Syah was described as a very cruel and absolute ruler. Among his major atrocities was his decision to mete out the death sentence on several individuals, especially on Bendahara Tun Muzahir and his family. This was allegedly done because of the king's jealousy with regard to the Bendahara's decision to marry his daughter Tun Fatimah to her cousin Tun Ali, without introducing Tun Fatimah to the king first. The 'murder' is said to have left a devastating impact on Melaka's political stability, which enabled the Portuguese to conquer Melaka in 1511. By reviewing the conflict between Sultan Mahmud Syah and Tun Muzahir and the fall of Melaka as described in the Sulalat-us-Salatin, Portuguese sources and secondary sources, this study attempts to reassess the truth behind the allegations. This study suggests that Sultan Mahmud Syah's decision to punish the weak and corrupt Bendahara Tun Muzahir was a necessary act and a process of political cleansing that saved Melaka from greater damage. This study also shows that the fall of Melaka had no direct connection with the execution of Tun Muzahir. Instead,th is study explains that the fall of Melaka was largely due to foreign betrayal, which took advantage of the weakness of Tun Muzahir's administration to conspire with the Portuguese to capture the city of Melaka in 1511.


Keywords: Sultan Mahmud Syah, Bendahara Tun Muzahir, Melaka, Portuguese, Tun Fatimah, Sulalat-us-Salatin

References

Abdul Rahman Haji Ismail & Haron Daud (Eds.) (2008). Sulalat-us-Salatin (Sejarah Melayu): Cerakinan Sejarah, Budaya dan Bahasa. Pulau Pinang: Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia.

Abdul Rahman Haji Ismail (Perumi) 2010. Sejarah Melayu (The Malay Annals). Cheah Boon Kheng (Ed). Reprint No. 17. Selangor: MBRAS.

Abdul Rahman Haji Ismail. (1985). Kewibawaan Mutlak Raja dan Ketaatsetiaan Mutlak Rakyat kepada Raja: Satu Penilaian Semula tentang Lunas Perhubungan Raja-Rakyat Masyarakat Melayu Tradisional seperti yang Terdapat di dalam Kitab-Kitab Sastera Sejarah Melayu. Kajian Malaysia, 3, 32-57.

Abdul Rahman Haji Ismail. (1993). Kekerasan Pada Zaman Kesultanan Melayu Melaka: Penelitian Berdasarkan Sejarah Melayu. Qasim Ahmad (Ed.). Kekerasan dalam Sejarah: Masyarakat dan Pemerintah. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.

Abdul Rahman Haji Ismail. (2008). Sulalat-us-Salatin dan Perjuangan Orang Melayu Melawan Portugis pada Awal Kurun Ke-16. Abdul Rahman Haji Ismail & Haron Daud (Eds.). Sulalat-us-Salatin: Cerakinan Sejarah, Budaya dan Bahasa. Pulau Pinang: Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia.

Abdur-Rahman Mohamed Amin dan Ahmad Murad Merican. (2014). The Images of "Keling" in Sulalat al-Salatin. International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, 4(3), 178-182.

Aiza Maslan @ Baharudin. (2018). Analisis Kejatuhan Peradaban Islam Melaka Berdasarkan Teori Umran ibn Khaldun. Jurnal Sejarah Melaka, 1, 129-152.

Ali Ahmad. (1987). Karya-Karya Sastera Bercorak Sejarah. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.

Ali Ahmad. (2008). Halangan dalam Pengislahan Pemimpin Melaka Berdasarkan Sulalat-us-Salatin. Abdul Rahman Haji Ismail dan Haron Daud (Eds.). Sulalat-us-Salatin (Sejarah Melayu): Cerakinan Sejarah, Budaya dan Bahasa. Pulau Pinang: Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia.

Andaya, Barbara W. (1976). The Role of the Anak Raja in Malay History: A Case Study from Eighteenth-Century Kedah. Journal of Southeast Asian History, 7(2), 162-186.

Andaya, Leonard Y. dan Andaya, Barbara W. (1982). A History of Malaysia (Macmillan Asian Histories Series). Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire and London: Macmillan Press Ltd.

Aubin, Jean Luis, & Thomaz, Filipe F. R. (2007). Un opuscule latin sur la prise de Malacca par les Portugais, imprimé en Italie en 1514. Archipel, 74, 107-138

Buyong Adil. (1973). Sejarah Melaka dalam Zaman Kerajaan Melaka. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.

Cheah Boon Kheng. (1993). 'Ketidakadilan Raja dan Keruntuhan Kerajaan Melaka: Pengadilan Moral dalam Sejarah Melayu. Qasim Ahmad (Ed.). Kekerasan dalam Sejarah: Masyarakat dan Pemerintah. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.

Cheah Boon Kheng. (1994). Feudalism in Pre-Colonial Malaya: The Past as a Colonial Discourse'. Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 25(2), 243-269.

Dalboquerque, Afonso Brás de (terj. Walter de Gray Birch). (1875). The Commentaries of the Great Afonso Dalboquerque: Second Viceroy of India Vol. II-III. London: The Hakluyt Society.

Duarto Barbosa (terj. M. L. Dames). (1921). The Book of Duarto Barbosa: An Account of the Countries bordering of the Indian Ocean and their Inhabitants, Written by Duarte Barbosa, and Completed about the Year 1518. Vol. 2. London: The Hakluyt Society.

Haron Daud. (1989). Sejarah Melayu: Satu Kajian daripada Aspek Pensejarahan Budaya. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.

Haron Daud. (2008). Sulalat-us-Salatin: Landasan Kehancuran Negara Kota Melaka? Abdul Rahman Haji Ismail & Haron Daud (Eds.). Sulalat-us-Salatin: Cerakinan Sejarah, Budaya dan Bahasa. Pulau Pinang: Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia.

http://www.kosmo.com.my/jurnal/iktibar-di-sebalik-kejatuhan-melaka-1.704406.

https://www.thepatriots.asia/10-faktor-kekalahan-melaka-kepada-portugis/

Jelani Harun. (2016). Sulalatus Salatin and Tun Perak's Charisma in the Practice of the Laws of Nusantara Multiethnic Society'. Malay Literature, 29 (1), 42-72.

Josselin de Jong, P. E. de. (1964). Character of the Malay Annals. J. Bastin dan R. Roolvink (Eds.). Malayan and Indonesia Studies. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Kassim Ahmad. (1964). Perwatakan dalam Hikayat Hang Tuah. Cetakan Ke-5. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 1973.

Lach, Donald F. (1965). Southeast Asia in the Eyes of Europe: The Sixteenth Century. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press.

Loureiro, Rui Manuel. (2008). Historical Notes on the Portuguese Fortress of Malacca (1511-1641). Revista de Cultura, 27, 78-95.

Maxwell, W. G. (1909). An Account of De Siqueira's Voyage to Malacca. Journal of Straits Branch Royal Asiatic Society, 57, 193-95.

McRoberts, R, W. (1984). An Examination of the Fall of Melaka in 1511. Journal of Malayan Branch Royal Asiatic Society, 57(1), 26-39.

Mitrasing, Ingrid. (2014). Negotiating a New Order in the Straits of Malacca (1500-1700. Kemanusiaan: The Asian Journal of Humanities, 21(2), 55-77

Mohd Jamil Mukmin. (2011). The Fall of Melaka to the Portuguese in 1511 and Sultan Mahmud Syah’s Struggle to Free Melaka (1511-1528). Melaka: Journal of Heritage 1, 1-14.

Muhammad Yusoff Hashim 1989. Kesultanan Melayu Melaka. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.

Muhd. Yusof Ibrahim. (1998). Kesultanan Melayu Melaka 1400 (?)-1511: Pensejarahan dan Kesejarahan. Malaysia dari Segi Sejarah, 26, 1-14.

Mustafa Mohammad Isa. (1977). Perwatakan dalam Sejarah Melayu. Alor Setar: Pustaka Jasmin.

Pacnikel, B. B. (1960). An Attempt of Interpretation of the Main Characters of the Malay Hikayat Hang Tuah. Moscow: Oriental Literature Publishing House.

Pintado, M. J. (Penyusun dan penterjemah). (1993). Portuguese Documents on Malacca, 1509-1511. Vol 1. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.

Pinto, Paulo Jorge de Sousa. (2013). Chincheus and Sangleys: Ten Remarks on the Chinese Presence in Melaka and Manila (16th-17th Centuries). Revista de Cultural, 43, 59-69.

Pinto, Paulo Jorge de Sousa. (2013). Share and Strife: The Straits of Melaka and the Portuguese (16th and 17th Centuries)'. Orientierungen - Zeitschrift zur Kultur Asiens, Themenheft, 64-85.

Pinto, Paulo Jorge de Sousa. (2014). A China pelos Olhos de Malaca: A Suma Oriental e o conhecimento europeu do Extremo Oriente. Roberto Carneiro, Guilherme de Oliveira Martins (Eds.). China e Portugal, cinco centúrias de relacionamento: uma leitura académica. Lisboa: CEPCEP-Centro Nacional de Cultura.

Pires, Tomé (diedit oleh A. Cortesao). (1944). The Suma Oriental of Tomé Pires: An Account of the East, From the Red Sea to Japan, Written in Malacca and India in 1512-1515. 2 Vols. London: The Hakluyt Society.

Qasim Ahmad (Ed.) (1993). Kekerasan dalam Sejarah: Masyarakat dan Pemerintah. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.

R. J. Wilkinson. (1912). 'The Capture of Malacca'. Journal of Straits Branch Royal Asiatic Society, 61, 71-76.

Raja Mohd Affandi. (1982). Tokoh-Tokoh Melayu yang Agung dalam Sejarah. Cetakan Ke- 2. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.

Ramerini. Marco, (n.d). Portuguese Malacca 1511-1641: History of Colonial Malaysia. https://www.colonialvoyage.com/portuguese-malacca-1511-1641/

Sá, A. Basílio de (Ed.). (1954). Documentação para a História do Padroado Português do Oriente – Insulíndia, 6 vols. Lisbon: Agência Geral do Ultramar.

Shaffer Marjorie. (2013). Pepper: A History of the World's Most Influential Spice. New York: Thomas Dunne Books, St. Martin's Press.

Shaharuddin Maaruf. (2014). Concept of a Hero in Malay Society. Petaling Jaya: Sird.

Syed Hussein Alatas. (1972). Feudalism in Malaysian Society: A Study in Historical Continuity. Modernization and Social Change. Sydney: Angus & Robertson.

Thomaz, Luis Filipe F. R. (1991). Nina Chatu and the Portuguese Trade in Malacca. Bandar Melaka: Luso-Malaysian Books.

Wheatley, Paul. (1964). Impressions of the Malay Peninsula in Ancient Times. Singapore: Eastern University Press Ltd.

Wilkinson, R. J. (1923). A History of the Peninsular Malays. Singapore.

Wilkinson, R. J. (1935). 'The Capture of Malacca, A.D. 1511'. Journal of Malayan Branch Royal Asiatic Society, 13, Pt. 2: 68-69.

Wilkinson, R. J. (1935). 'The Fall of Malacca.' Journal of Malayan Branch Royal Asiatic Society, 13(2), 68-69.

Wilkinson, R. J. (1935). 'The Malacca Sultanate.' Journal of Malayan Branch Royal Asiatic Society 13(2), 22-67.

Wilkinson, R. J. (1971). The Malacca Sultanate. Papers on Malay Subjects, Reprint (Selected and Introduced by P. L. Burns). Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press

Winstedt, R. O. (1982). A History of Malaya (Revised and Enlarged). Kuala Lumpur and Singapore: Marican and Sons.

Wolters, O. W. (1970).The Fall of Srivijaya in Malay History. New York and London: Ithaca.

Yahaya Abu Bakar. (1980). 'Catatan Mengenai Hubungan Awal Portugal-Melaka'. Jebat: Malaysian Journal of History, Politics and Strategic Studies, 10, 226-233.

Yahaya Abu Bakar. (1983). Melaka Sebagai Pusat Islam Abad Ke-XV. SARI: Jurnal IBKKM, 1(1), 31-55.

Yusoff Iskandar dan Abdul Rahman Kaeh. (1978). Sejarah Melayu: Satu Perbincangan Kritis dari Pelbagai Bidang. Kuala Lumpur: Heinemann Educational Book (Asia) Ltd.

Zainal Abidin (Za‘ba). (1961). Sejarah Ringkas Tanah Melayu. North Bridge Road: Singapore.

Zainal Abidin Abdul Wahid. (1997). Kesultanan Melayu Melaka: Pentadbiran Kuno atau Moden? Batu Berendam, Melaka: Institut Kajian Sejarah dan Patriotisme Malaysia (IKSEP).
Published
2020-01-03
How to Cite
ARIFIN, Azmi. The Conflict between Sultan Mahmud Syah and Bendahara Seri Maharaja Tun Muzahir, and the Fall of Melaka City 1511. Melayu: Jurnal Antarabangsa Dunia Melayu, [S.l.], v. 13, n. 1, p. 25-62, jan. 2020. ISSN 2682-8049. Available at: <https://jurnal.dbp.my/index.php/Melayu/article/view/5304>. Date accessed: 20 apr. 2024. doi: https://doi.org/10.37052/jm.13(1)no2.