Ali Mughayat Syah

Who was Ali Mughayat Syah?

Ali Mughayat Syah was the first sultan of Aceh, reigning from 1514 until his death. He is considered the founder of the Aceh, and is presumed to be the same person or a relative of Syah Pau Ling of Champa, the son of the King of Champa Syah Pau Kubah, who fled Champa when the Vietnamese sacked the capital, Vijaya in 1471. Indeed, Acehnese is the only non-Chamic relative in the subgroup Aceh-Chamic languages.

In 1520, he began military campaigns to dominate the northern part of Sumatra. His first campaign was to Daya, on the northwest coast, which, according to Tomé Pires, had not yet been Islamized. Further conquests extended down the east coast, incorporating several pepper-producing and gold-producing regions. The addition of such regions ultimately led to internal tensions within the Sultanate, as Aceh's strength was as a trading port, whose economic interests vary from those of producing ports.

Later attacks included the states of Deli and Aru. The first included the conquest of Pedir and Pasai, the conquest of which involved the expulsion of a Portuguese garrison. In the attack on Aru of 1524, his armies defeated a Portuguese fleet. These military actions challenged both the naval power of Portuguese and the holdings of the Sultanate of Johor on Sumatra.