The Lamuri Kingdom According to Foreign Sources and Hikayat

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INDEPHEDIA.com - The Lamuri Kingdom is one of the kingdoms whose royal center is identified as being in Aceh Besar District, Aceh Province, now.

This kingdom is estimated to have existed since the mid-IX century AD or around the 900s, first appearing before the founding of the Aceh Darussalam Sultanate.

The existence of the Lamuri Kingdom was generally based on news from outside, such as by foreign traders and sailors who came from China, Arabia and India before 1500 AD.

In addition, the existence of this kingdom which can be used as a reference comes from a number of local sources, such as the Hikayat Melayu and Hikayat Atjeh.

Foreign sources mention the name of the kingdom that preceded Aceh with several names, namely "Lamuri", "Ramni", "Lambri", "Lan-li" and "Lan-wu-li".

The Chinese writer Zhao Rugua (1225) mentions, "Lan-wu-li" annually sends tribute to "San-fo-chi" (Srivijaya).

Meanwhile, in the book Nagarakertagama (1365) it is mentioned, "Lamuri" was one of the areas that Majapahit claimed to be his subordinates.

The Portuguese writer, Tome Pires, in his Suma Oriental notes that Lamuri is subject to the king of Aceh.

According to the Malay saga, Lamuri was the second area on the island of Sumatra that was converted to Islam by Shaykh Ismail, before he converted to Islam the Sultanate of Samudera Pasai, one of the Islamic kingdoms in Aceh.

News sources from Arab traders said that Lamuri was the first place visited by traders and sailors who came from India and Arabia.

The Islamic teachings had been brought all at once by the migrants to Lamuri so that many local residents had become Muslims.

Based on W. P. Groeneveldt's analysis, in 1416 all the people in Lamuri had embraced Islam.

Due to the lack of sources and historical heritage that can be proven, several sources have their own opinions and are still debating about the location of the Lamuri Kingdom.

T. Iskandar in his dissertation De Hikayat Atjeh (1958), estimated that Lamuri was by the sea (beach), to be precise near Krueng Raya, Aceh Besar District, Nangroe Aceh Darussalam Province.

Meanwhile, H. M. Zainuddin, an Acehnese history enthusiast, said that Lamuri was located in Aceh Besar close to Indrapatra, which is now in Kampung Lamnga.

Another Aceh history enthusiast, M. Junus Jamil, said that Lamuri is located near Kampung Lam Krak in Suka Makmur District, Aceh Besar District, Aceh Province.

The Portuguese writer, Tome Pires, mentions the location of the Lamuri Sultanate between the Aceh Darusalam Sultanate and the Biheue region. That is, the territory of the Lamuri Sultanate extended from the coast to the interior.

During its time, the Sriwijaya Kingdom had become a kingdom that controlled and owned many conquered areas.

In 943, the Sriwijaya Kingdom conquered the Lamuri Kingdom until it came under its control. (*)