Malay Annals

Originally entitled "Sulalat us-Salatin" (meaning "Genealogy of the Sultans" in arabic), this book is commonly known as "Sejarah Melayu" in malay -or- the "Malay Annals".

There have been several versions of the Malay Annals. Original copies of Sejarah Melayu were in hand-written manuscript in jawi, which is the malay language in arabic script. The oldest known manuscript called "Raffles MS#18" is from 1612 authored by Tun Bambang under commission from Raja Bongsu.

Over the centuries, copies of these manuscripts have been transliterated into roman script and some translated into english (and other european languages). For more details, read "The Variant Versions Of The Malay Annals" found at Sabri Zain Org or KnolSearch.

For this document, the versions we shall refer to are :-

• "Leyden" or JL - translated into english by (Dr.) John Leyden, published posthumously in 1821 [1] [2] [3] [4],

• "Samad" or ASA - transliterated into roman by A Samad Ahmad for Dewan Bahasa & Pustaka from 1979,

• "CCBrown" or CCB - Uses Raffles MS#18 transliterated into roman by (Sir) Richard O Winstedt in 1938, translated into English by Charles Cuthbert Brown in 1952 [1] 

• "Shellabear" or WGS - transliterated into roman by Abdullah Abdul Kadir in 1831, compiled into english by William G Shellabear in 1896.

Although they tell the same stories, they are all presented with some small differences.

CCB & JL versions can be found at Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (MBRAS). A collection set of Leyden, CCBrown (with included Shellabear), plus a new Raffles MS#18 2009 transliteration is available at MBRAS by Abd Rahman Ismail & Cheah Boon Kheng. 

In the Malay Annals, Kida Hindi was defeated by Alexander the Great of Macedon, surrendered to Alexander, and befriended by him. Note that the act of befriending the enemy was not normal for Alexander of Macedon, who after conquest would kill all males and sell all females as slaves.

Later, Alexander would marry Kida Hindi's daughter, Shahr ul-Bariyah (in arabic, princess of the wilderness).

RO Winstedt (writer on malay subjects) in 1944 refers to Kida Hindi as " Kaid, an Indian ruler", a name also found in Shahnama (or Shahnameh; c. 977 - 1010 AD) by Firdausi. This is possibly King Kaydi, as mentioned in a book painting, "Alexander the Great bedding an Indian Girl given by King Kaydi".

Around the time of Alexander, Kaid Raj was the King of Marwar, a ruler of the Sindh. Kaid Raj invaded & occupied Punjab for a time and was later expelled & replaced by Porus.

King Porus (Fur) of Paurava was defeated by Alexander in 326 BC at the Battle of Hydaspes river (Jihlam), surrendered and eventually was appointed as a "satrap" (govenor) for the Macedons. After conquering the Punjab, Alexander marched down the Indus river, past the Sindh.

Marwar may have also been a conquest (like Punjab) as Kaid Raj or "Kand" is described as a powerful king ruling a distant part of the country, as well as a man of wisdom, virtue and good administration.

Muslim-indian history refers to Kaid Raj as "King Kafandh", who established peace with Alexander of Macedon to whom he sent his daughter. Kafandh was not a Hindu but we can only speculate as to whether he was a Buddhist, Jain, Zoroastrian or something else. Later, Kafandh split the Sindh into 4 parts for his children to rule.

Also written as "Kend" in Les Praries d'Or [2] (or Meadows of Gold, by Al-Masudi, 896 - 956 AD), Alexander writes to Kend demanding his surrender. Instead, Kend offers him 4 enticing rare gifts: a beautiful girl, a profound philosopher, a skillful medical doctor and an inexhaustible cup (or vase). They deal through ambassadors and, after a few tests of wit, they eventually meet and become great friends. The enchanted cup is said to have belonged to Adam (father of men) who lived in Serendib (Sri Lanka) and made of unworldly indian substances.

The above story of the "4 wonders" given to Alexander is also told in Shahnama. 

Frankly, the early part of the tree is quite incredulous. Especially given that the period from Alexander the Great to Anushirwan the Great is 880 years for 5 generations.

Nushirwan Adil = Anushirvan the Just = Khosraw I Anushirwan the Great

In our story, the lineage of Alexander joins with the line of Raja Shulan, who is apparently the great x3 grandchild of Nusyirwan Adil, son of Kobat Shahriar ["Adil" means fair or just, in arabic]. The lineage of Alexander is joined to the Sassanid through Ardashiri Papagan's marriage to Nushirwan's daughter.

Kavadh_I (Qobad), from the house of Sassan and emperor of Persia, lived 449 - 531 AD. Khosrau_I Anushirwan the Just, aka Anushirvan the Great, the most famous of the Sassanid Emperors of Persia, lived from 501 - 579 AD.

Khosrau I Anushirwan's reign was glorious but his successors were much less. His lineage extended as follows: Anushirwan -->-- Hormizd_IV (530-90) --> -- Khosrau_II Aparvez (c.570-628) --> -- Kavadh_II Siruya (590-628) --> -- Ardashir_III (621-630)

Hormizd IV killed off his brothers ; Khosrau II Aparvez was fairly successful but ; Kavadh II Siruya executed his father and killed off his 18 brothers including all male heirs while ; Ardashir III reigned at 7 years old but was murdered soon after. A male heir, Yazdegerd III (son of Shahryar & grandson to Khosrau II), survived to be the last Sassanid ruler.

The linkage to the Alexander line is from a daughter of Anushirwan. From the above information, Shulan would most probably be son (if at all) of another daughter of Anushirwan. Sadly, genealogy on his daughters is lacking.

The importance of a link to Anushirwan the Just was his bloodline to Zoroaster and Solomon; both of whom are related to Abraham and ultimately Adam & Eve (see  Genealogy to Adam & Eve [1] [2] [3]). 

In JL & ASA versions, Raja Suran attacked Gangga Negara ruled by Gangga Shah Johan, defeats him and marries his sister, Princess Segangga. Raja Suran then attacked Kota Gelanggi (Langgiu) ruled by Raja Chulan (described as siamese), defeats him and marries his daughter, Princess Onang Kiu.

In CCB, it is a Raja Shulan of Nagapatam who attacks Gangga Nagara ruled by Raja Linggi Shah Johan, defeats him (without mention of his sister). Raja Shulan then attacks Klenggiu ruled by Raja Chulin, defeats him and marries his daughter, Princess Onang Kiu.

WGS is similar to CCB, with Raja Shulan as above but differs with Princess Onang Kiu being the daughter of Raja Linggi of Gangga Nagara.

Ancient tamil inscriptions tell that Rajendra_Chola_I of the Chola empire from South India destroyed the malay fort in Gangga Negara and raided the siamese fort in Kota Gelanggi in 1025.

Rajendra Chola I the Great (or Sola Deva) reigned 1012 - 1044 and was considered the greatest tamil emperors. Rajendra's armies conquered south-india, then west-india, and then north-east taking the Ganges, earning him the title "GangaiKonda Chola", the Chola Ganges conqueror.

The Cholas enjoyed huge profits from their trade ties with the persians, arabs and chinese. With his chola navy base in the Andamans, Rajendra launched the expeditionary campaigns into Sumatra & Malaya for their Srivijaya ally to control piracy and protect shipments in the Straits of Malacca. His envoys arrived in China in 1015 & 1033.

Whether he was Shulan or Suran, the story tells that he eventually returned to Kalinga and built Bijaya Nagara ("Victory City" in sanskrit) with a fort of black stone, encompassing seven hills and with a great lake at the centre. This description matches Rajendra Chola I's new capital city, Gangaikonda Cholapuram, built of well-burnt bricks and contains a lake in the centre which spreads 22km.

Rajendra's father was RajaRaja Chozan I (or Arulmozhi Thevar, Kesari Varman, PeruvuDaiyar) reigned 985 - 1014. Three of Rajendra's sons succeeded to the throne: RajaDhiRaja Chola I [reign 1018 - 54] ; Rajendra Chola II [reign 1053-63]; ViraRajendra Chola (Vira Solan) [reign 1063-70]. ViraRajendra also led an invasion against Kedah (1068) in Malaya. 

Despite the story differences, all variants of the story tell that Princess Onang Kiu had a daughter named Princess Chendani Wasis. It doesn't help that the names are similar like Sulan, Shulan, Suran and Chulan.

In ASA, Raja Suran marries Princess Onang Kiu and they beget a daughter, Princess Chendani Wasis. Later, Chendani Wasis marries Raja Chu Lan, son of the king of China.

In JL, Raja Suran marries Princess Onang Kiu and they beget a daughter, Princess Chanduwani Wasias. Later, Chanduwani Wasias marries Raja Chulan, son of Raja Hiran.

In WGS, Raja Shulan marries Princess Onang Kiu and they beget a daughter, Princess Chendana Wasis. Later, Chendana Wasis marries Raja Suran Padshah, descendant of Alexander.

In CCB, Raja Shulan marries Princess Onang Kiu and they beget a daughter, Princess Chendani Wasis. Later, Chendani Wasis marries Raja Suran Padshah, son of Raja Narsi Biradarash. Then, Suran and Chendani beget 3 children: Raja Jiran (ruler of Chendragiri); Raja Chulan (successor to Shulan); and, Raja Pandayan (ruler of Nagapatam). 

Apparently invented by Aristotle in the 4th century BC, the diving bell was supposedly used by Alexander the Great in the Mediterranean Sea to dismantle the enemy's underwater defence structures.

Our story also has a voyage under the sea in a glass chest.In JL & ASA, continuing after the conquest of Gangga Nagara and Glang Giu, Raja Suran makes this undersea journey. In WGS & CCB, Raja Shulan returns to Kalinga to found Bija-Nagara and is succeeded by Raja Chulan, who makes the undersea journey. From herein, we shall just refer to him as "our hero".

Under the sea, our hero falls into at a realm called Dika (or Zeya) where the people are called Barsam (Bu Sum). Half the people are of-the-faith and half are unbelievers. Our hero meets the king, Aftab ul-Ard [Sunlight of the Earth], who marries our hero to Aftab's daughter, Mahtab ul-Bahri [Moonlight of the Sea]. Three years later, they have 3 children.

In ASA version, a jinn (genie) king named Asmaghiah [most senior] Peri arrives at the court, befriends our hero and gives him 3 crowns from King Solomon's treasury. With these, our hero asks King Aktab to give a crown to each of his sons when they are of age.

The Malay Annals continue with our hero asking King Aftab to release our hero's children to the human world so that the lineage of Alexander the Great can continue. Our hero yearns to leave and bids a tearful farewell to his wife and 3 children. Then he rides off on the brazen winged-steed named Faras ul-Bahri [horse of the sea]. Leaving the nether-world, he arrives at the shores of Bentiri (or Baniras).

Once on land, our hero commissions the people to erect a great marker engraved with the undersea story, the marker to be pushed into the sea for our hero's descendents to find in the future and learn of their heritage. 

The Coromandel coast is named from Cholamandalam, the land of the Cholas in Tamil. The Cholas are from the south-eastern India but, through conquest, their empire stretched across the whole eastern coast to the Ganges.

The Malay Annals makes reference to locations in India; some of which we can identify and some we can speculate:-

Vijaya Nagar, means "Victory City" (in Sanskrit/ Hindi), and not surprisingly there are several cities which qualify with this name. However the description in Malay Annals of black walls and giant lake could possibly match GangaiKonda CholaPuram, which was built to celebrate victory over the Ganges territory.

There are 2 different Mandakini rivers. One is a tributary to Alaknanda and then Ganges. The other Mandakini river is in Khordha (Kalinga), also called Mallaguni river near Chilka lake. Chilka lake was a trade port for ships to south-east asia in the 10th century.

Amdan Nagara, means "Revenue City" (in Sanskrit/ Hindi), and again there are several cities with this name. There are towns called Amdan in West Bengal as well as Punjab in India. Under the Cholas, it is likely that Amdan refers to Thanjavur (or Tanjore), their capital city before GangaiKonda CholaPuram. 

One historical text mentions Amdan Nagara as -:: "The earliest incident chronicled in the Sajarah Malayu is the conquest of the Malay Peninsula by a Raja Suran, King of "Amdan Nagara," a place which one commentator has sought to identify with Hamadan, a town in Persia. I find, however, that in an article on the History of Yijayanagar, in Asiatic Researches, "Amdanagara" is treated as synonymous with Gujarat." ::- Account of the Malay Chiri, pg 15, by WE Maxwell, 1881. 

In "History of Java" vol 2 (1817) T S Raffles uses the city name as Bisnagur.

-:: On the return of Raja Suren he founded a city of great size, the fame of which became renowned, and the name of which was Bisnagur (a well known and celebrated city of the south of India), which even at the present time is a great city in the land of Kling. ::-

Bisnagur (Bijinagur, Bezenegur, Vijayanagar) was a famous city in its time. It was founded by King Belal-Deo of Narsinga (Veera Ballala III of Hoysala) in 1344. Later it became part of the Vijayanagara empire. The city was pillaged and razed to the ground in 1565 by the Deccans. The ruins of Bisnagur are near Hampi along the Tungabhadra river in Karnataka.

It is described in detail in several books:-

Sejarah Melayu mentions 2 battlefields which Suran fought in: (i) Gangga Negara, and (ii) Glang-Kiu (Langgiu).

(1) Gangga Nagara : Ruled by Ganggi Shah Juana (Johan). City is atop a hill of very steep in front; easy access at the rear. Fort is on on the Dinding riverbank, near Perak.

In Sanskrit, the words Gangga Nagara refers to "river nation". The Dinding river is now designated as Manjung river. My best-guess would be Lumut on a hilltop.

(2) Glang-Kiu : Ruled by Raja Chulan. Fort is of black stone up the river Johor. Klang Khaw is Siamese for emerald realm. Chulan marched 4 horizons to battle Suran at a river named Panggil or Pangkali.

Perhaps, Glang-Kiu refers to Kota Glanggi, which has its own legend but that isn't up the Johor river. My best-guess would be next to lake Linggiu, which is up Johor river. 

From an Islamic perspective, God made three types of beings; humans, angels and jinn. Humans are made from the sticky clay; angels are made of light; while jinn are made from fire, which is scorching and smokeless.

Angels never disobey God, never get tired nor bored; they are usually invisible but can manifest in earthly form; they have no gender and can have 2,3 or 4 wings. Note that angels do not have free will.

Conversely, jinn do have free will. Some jinn are good, while some jinn are bad. Some jinn are believers and of the faith, while some jinn are not. Humans encounter jinn because the jinn sometimes transgress into our dimensional realm. Apparently, jinn are sometimes used by humans in magic tricks, fortune telling and seances, since jin are able to mimick the voices of deceased humans.

Basically, the jin encompass all of what humans deem as supernatural. The Devil (or Satan) is a jinn and is named "Iblis". His followers are called "Shaitan" in arabic, which roughly translates to "demons". Plus there are many more types of jinn. 

The good jinn are called "Peri" in farsi (persian), which is roughly equivalent to "Faerie" or "Fay". The peri do good deeds in order to enter heaven. In middle eastern folklore, there is even a country called Paristan.

The Quran tells of King Solomon who managed to enslave some jinn to help with the building of his temple.

ASA mentions king Asmagiah Peri as a jinn. Malay Annals contains several strange or supernatural characters, hence, they are probably jinn. The entire kingdom under the sea are Peri (in ASA, as told by the 3 men on SiGuntang hill explaining their history) [also in Raffles MS#18 2009 transliteration]. Bat'h (companion to the 3 on SiGuntang) is formed from a cow's vomit.

After ViraRajendra Chola, the throne eventually passed to his cousin, Kulothunga Chola I (reign 1070-1120) of the Vengi & Chalukya-Cholas. Kulothunga is related to the Cholas through his grandmother, mother and wife. In 1067, Kulothunga Chola led the naval expedition to Kadaram (Kedah) to intervene in SriVijaya politics to re-install a usurped king and stayed on a while in Kadaram. Kulothunga married Maduranthaki, daughter of Rajendra Chola II, and she bore him 7 sons. His envoys were recorded in China in 1077.