Kedah Sultanate

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 per annum.^[11] While the acquisition improved Penang Island's military and food security, for Kedah it provided a protective strip against enemy attack from the sea.^[12] The treaty also provided for the free flow of food and commodities from Kedah to Penang Island and Province Wellesley.^[13] To this day, the Malaysian federal government still pays Kedah, on behalf of Penang, RM 10,000 annually as a symbolic gesture.^[14]

Partition of Kedah and Siamese vassalage

After the death of

From 1821, a Siamese invasion of Kedah brought much dislocation to the region and territories within Kedah were broken up. This period marked the exile of Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin Halim Shah II^[16] 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^[17] but the town was retaken soon after. After 20 years of living in exile, Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin was restored to the Kedah throne 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 Kedah rule over Setul, as the Siamese and British agreed to exclude Setul from Kedah jurisdiction, thus separating Kedah and Setul.

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Prehistoric Malaysia Paleolithic  Lenggong Valley c. 2.000.0000 BCE  Mansuli Valley 235,000 BCE Mesolithic  Niah cultures 65,000–40,000 BCE Neolithic  Bewah man/woman 16,000 BCE  Perak man/woman 11,000–200 BCE  Neolithic Klang 500 – 200 BCE
Early kingdoms Ancient Kedah <100 BCE Chi Tu 100 BCE–642 CE Langkasuka 100 BCE–1474 CE Gangga Negara c. 100 CE–1025 Pan Pan 424–775 Old Kedah 170–1135 Old Pahang 449–1454 Srivijaya 700s–1025 Majapahit 1300s
Rise of Muslim states Kedah Sultanate 1136–present Pattani Sultanate 1516– 1902 Johor Sultanate 1528–present Sarawak Sultanate 1599–1641 Selangor Sultanate 1766–present Besut Kingdom 1780–1899 Setul Kingdom 1808–1916 Reman Kingdom 1810–1902 Kubang Pasu Kingdom 1839–1864
Colonial era Portuguese Malacca 1511–1641 Dutch–Portuguese War 1601–1661 Acehnese conquest of Perak 1620 Dutch Malacca 1641–1824 Pahang Kingdom 1770–1881 Straits Settlements 1786–1946 Siamese invasion of Kedah 1821–1826 Anglo-Dutch Treaty 1824 Burney Treaty 1826 Naning War 1831–1832 Kingdom of Sarawak 1841–1946 Separation of Perlis from Kedah 1843 Crown Colony of Labuan 1848–1946 Pahang Civil War 1857–1863 Larut Wars 1861–1874 Klang War 1867–1874 Pangkor Treaty 1874 Perak War 1875–1876 British Malaya / Borneo 1874–1946 Jementah Civil War 1879 North Borneo 1882–1946 Pahang Uprising 1891–1895 Mat Salleh Rebellion 1894–1905 Federated Malay States 1895–1946 Anglo-Siamese Treaty 1909 Unfederated Malay States 1909–1946 Battle of Penang 1914 Kelantan rebellion 1915
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List of rulers

The list of rulers of Kedah as given here is based to some extent on the Kedah Annals beginning with the Hindu ruler Durbar Raja I. According to the Kedah Annals, the 9th Kedah maharaja, Derbar Raja, converted to Islam and changed his name to Sultan Muzaffar Shah, thereby starting the Kedah sultanate.^[18] A genealogy was compiled in the 1920s, Al-Tarikh Salasilah Negeri Kedah Darul Aman or Kedah Genealogy.^[19] The historicity and the dating of the list of rulers however is questionable as Kedah may have remained Hindu-Buddhist until the 15th century when its king converted to Islam.^[20]

Hindu era

The following is a list of kings of Kedah Kingdom. Each used the Hindu title of

Source for the list of sultans is the Muzium Negeri Kedah, Alor Setar, Malaysia. "The sultans of Kedah".

Islamic era

Sultan of Kedah
Provincial
Arms of His Royal Highness the Sultan of Kedah
Incumbent
Sallehuddin since 12 September 2017
installation 22 October 2018
Details
Style	Tunku Sarafuddin Badlishah
First monarch	Mudzaffar Shah I (first)
Formation	1136; 888 years ago (1136)
Residence	Istana Anak Bukit, Alor Setar

The beginning of the use of the title sultan in Kedah is attributed to a visit by a Muslim scholar from Yemen, Sheikh Abdullah bin Ja'afar Quamiri, to Durbar Raja II's palace at Bukit Meriam in 1136.^{[citation needed]} The audience resulted in the king's conversion to Islam. He adopted the name Mudzaffar Shah and established the sultanate of Kedah.^[18]

The source for the list of sultans given here is the official genealogy given for the sultan of Kedah.^[21] There are however discrepancies with the Kedah Annals as it lists only five sultans from the first convert Mudzaffar Shah to Sulaiman Shah, who was captured by Aceh in 1619, in contrast to the twelve listed here. The rest of the list largely follows as that given in the Kedah Annals with the exception of a few changes and more recent updates in the 20th and 21st century.^[22]

Culture

Nobat

The nobat musical instruments of Nagara and Nepiri were introduced to Kedah by Maharaja Derbar Raja. The instrument is also called semambu. The band is led by the king, and it consists of drums, a gong, a flute and a trumpet. Today, nobat is a royal orchestra, played only during royal ceremonies such as inaugurations, weddings, and funerals. The building which houses the instruments and where the ensemble rehearses is known as the Balai Nobat, literally the Office of Nobat, in Alor Setar city proper.^[6]

See also

• Bujang Valley
• Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa
• Sultanate of Johor
• Sultanate of Malacca
• Sultanate of Singgora
• Kingdom of Kubang Pasu Darul Qiyam, another historical Malay Kingdom born during the Partition of Kedah
• Family tree of Kedah monarchs
• Family tree of Malaysian monarchs
• List of Sunni Muslim dynasties

Notes