Teh / Zulfaqar J. Def. Mgt. Soc. Sci. Hum. 2 (2) 2019 Zulfaqar J. Def. Mgt. Soc. Sci. Hum. Vol.2 Issue 2 (2019) 86-95 ZULFAQAR Journal of Defence Management, Social Science & Humanities Journal homepage: https://zulfaqar.upnm.edu.my/ RISE AND FALL OF THE KINGDOM OF MALACCA IN THE CONTEXT OF IBN KHALDUN’S CYLICAL THEORY Wan Hashim Wan Teha a Faculty of Defence Studies & Management, National Defense University of Malaysia, Sg. Besi Camp, 57000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia *Corresponding author: [email protected] ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article history: Malacca which had a humble beginning as a fishing village of a mixed population of Received local Malays and ‘orang laut’ was transformed to become the most significant 01-11-2018 trading emporium and entreport after the arrival of a ‘fugitive prince’ Received in revised Parameswara or ‘Permai-Suara’ later re-named as Iskandar Shah from Temasik 28-10-2019 (Singapore) having his origins from Palembang. This had attracted not only Accepted regional traders of the Malay world but also those engaged in long distance trade 30-11-2019 like the Indians, Arabs, Chinese and especially the European powers. Under the Available online capable leadership of Tun Perak, also known as Bendahara Seri Maharaja during 31-12-2019 Sultan Muzaffar, Sultan Mansur and Alauddin Riayat Shah, it became a regional centre to supply products from the spice islands as well as iron and gold from the Keywords: hinterland that were in great demand in Europe, the Middle East, India and China. Parameswara, entreport The capability of its defence was further enhanced with the protection it received trade, Ibn Khaldun’s from the Ming dynasty of China which had a symbiotic and affective diplomatic relationship with Malacca. The coming of Portuguese fleet in 1509 lead by Diego cyclical theory, Ming Lopez de Sequira had radically changed its fate and future. Two years later, a dynasty, Alfonso de Portuguese Admiral Allfonso de Albuquerque arrived with a bigger fleet with a Albuquerque determination to crush the trading monopoly of the Muslims in the East, and finally able to take over control of Malacca which led to its final downfall as an Empire and e-ISSN: Kingdom that had the image as the centre of world trading activities which lasted Type: Article for approximately 110 years. The paper will analyse both the beginning of Malacca and its rise as well as its final downfall in the context of Ibn Khaldun cyclical theory on the rise and fall of civilizations. © 2020 UPNM Press. All rights reserved. Introduction Malacca has been widely acknowledged as founded by a Prince from Palembang Parameswara or Permai-Suara (lit. a pleasant voice) who migrated to Temasik (modern Singapore) after his revolt to obtain independence from the Majapahit empire failed as Palembang was then a tributary of the Majapahit Empire centred in Java (Muhammad, 2008). Some sources suggest that Parameswara who was married to the daughter of a Majapahit ruller had a problem with his father in-law and decided to vacate his position as a local ruler in Palembang to migrate to Temasik (Mohd Yusoff, 2014). While in Temasik, he managed to declare himself as the ruler after killing a Siamese representative, Temagi. Some three or five years later, he had to flee northwards because of problem with the Siamese state in the north that wanted to take revenge against him for killing her representative. 86 Teh / Zulfaqar J. Def. Mgt. Soc. Sci. Hum. 2 (2) 2019 It was partly Permai-Suara’s wisdom and partly his fortune that he decided to settle down among the Orang Laut villagers at the estuary of the Bertam, later re-named as Malacca river which some years later became among the busiest port in the world handling a huge activity of entreport trade, and being well known as the largest seaport in the East. After approximately five years establishing the Kingdom of Malacca, Permai-Suara was converted from Buddhism (but not Hinduism as claimed by some writers) to Islam and adopted the little Sultan Iskandar Shah. Also during this early years, he was able to establish a strong diplomatic ties with China which became the protector of Malacca Sultanate at least in the first half of the 15th century. The world famous Chinese Admiral Cheng Ho (Zheng He) or his Muslim name Ma Sam Poh in all his seven voyages overseas had each time stopped at Malacca to pay homage to the Sultan as well as to obtain fresh water and replenish food items for the long journey into the Indian Ocean and sometimes reaching the Middle Eastern ports of the Arabian Peninsula and Egypt which were then under the Uthmaniyyah. This special diplomatic ties between Malacca Sultanate and the Ming dynasty has been well documented in Liang Liji’s work, Lembaran Sejarah Gemilang – Hubungan Melaka Dinasti Ming Pada Abad Ke-15 (Liang, 1996). Under a tributary relationship between the two kingdoms, Malacca was able to develop peacefully without threats and interference from her neighbours, especially the Siamese Kingdom in the north who was envious of Malacca’s prosperity. This lasted for more than a hundred years until the arrival of the first colonial power in the Malay world, the Portuguese in the first decade of the 16th century. By the end of the 15th century, Malacca had grown to become an empire which controlled the whole of Malay Peninsula and most of the Malay States and Kingdoms on the Island of Sumatera. Theories on the Rise and Fall of Empires There are several theories on the rise and fall of empayers or civilizations (Wan Hashim, 1996). But the two that interest us most and also relevant to this discourse are that by an Arab scholar of the 15th century, Ibn Khaldun, and another by a renowned British historian, Arnold Toynbee. Ibnu Khaldun had studied on the rise and fall of empires or civilizations like Rome, Turkey, Constantinople and some others including research on the social and economic life of people living in the city. He finally produced what is now known as a cyclical theory on the rise and fall of civilizations which can be divided into three phases (Dawood, 1978). First is the early stage or its Birth where the spirit of assabiyah which can be literally translated as ‘solidarity’, ‘esprit d’corps’ or integration, which is akin to the concept of ‘organic solidarity’ by Emile Durkheim, is high. The society lives in harmony in an organization led by the elite class who are also united. The situation makes it possible to enter into the second phase that gives rise to the Development of Cities which is characterised by division of labour and the high possibility of producing surplus goods for the larger community, both rural and urban. Unlike the theories proposed by others, Ibn Khaldun proposes the importance of religion that binds the people together. This second phase is strengthened by the establishment of a governing body or political system headed by the elites of that particular society. But unfortunately, argued Ibn Khaldun, the powerful elite class will not be able to sustain it if they are indulged in pleasures and worldly affairs and began to distance themselves from religion. This will be followed by disintegration or the erosion of the spirit of assabiyah or ‘social solidary’ among both the ruling class and the subject class. The civilization will then enter the third phase which is Weakening and the Fall. Members of the elite class are still indulging themselves with pleasures and worldly affairs, while political and economic foundation are weakened and plagued by divisiveness. People will be downgraded into poverty while corruption will be rampant. The key factor in this situation is the total erosion of assabiyah or social integration and solidarity. That will result in the down fall of an empire or a civilization. The renowned British historian Arnold Toynbee who was a great admirer of Ibn Khaldun and his work seemed to have a total agreement with Ibn Khaldun’s cyclical theory and ideas. Being a scholar who was religious himself, and through his work in Toynbee (1954), he proposed the role of a group of creative elites who were capable of developing its society to a higher stage of its development. To Toynbee, religion played a very important part in the development of a civilisation. A religion which was born among the community which was weak would be capable to act as a catalyst for the development of a civilisation. 87 Teh / Zulfaqar J. Def. Mgt. Soc. Sci. Hum. 2 (2) 2019 Likewise, a civilization would ultimately fall when the society began to move away from religion and discarded religious values. This was what was termed as ‘civilizational crisis’. In the theory above, both scholars seem to be emphasising on the importance of internal factors that are crucial in bringing down a civilization. In so far as this paper is concerned, we shall put forward an argument on the importance of both the internal and external factors that brings down a civilization or the down fall of an empire and in our case study, the Malacca empire of the 15th century. Parameswara and the Rise of Malacca Kingdom Parameswara or Sri Tri Buana or Iskandar Shah in Sejarah Melayu deserves to be credited for selecting the estuary of the Bertam or Malacca river as his final abode after a long, arduous and adventurous journey from his original homeland Palembang. As a prince from the declining empire of Sriwijaya, he was forced to abdicate and migrate to avoid an unnecessary war with the uncle of his consort who was the ruler of the Javanese kingdom of Majapahit (Mohd Yusoff, 2014a).