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Malacca Sultanate

Type Object Region Southeast Asia Time c. 1400–1511

The Malacca Sultanate was a Malay Islamic maritime kingdom ruling the southern Malay Peninsula and the Strait of Malacca from 1400 to 1511.

Timeline

  1. c. 1400–1444Malacca · Malay PeninsulaParameswara (Iskandar Shah) established his capital at the mouth of the Malacca River, basing the state on controlling the strait's sea lanes and attracting merchant ships, while gradually integrating surrounding Malay communities.
  2. 1444–1477Strait of Malacca region · Strait of MalaccaMuzaffar Shah established Islam as the state religion; under Mansur Shah the sultanate's power expanded to the southern Malay Peninsula and parts of the Sumatran coast, with tributary and trade networks covering Southeast Asia and Ming China.
  3. 1488–1511Malacca · Malay PeninsulaAfter Mahmud Shah's accession the sultanate still controlled strait trade in the 1490s and withstood surrounding pressures, but in 1511 a Portuguese fleet captured Malacca city, ending the sultanate as an independent political entity.

Sources