Parameswara

The Melaka Sultanate · Life · 10 min read

The Man Who Escaped

At the end of the 14th century, a man from Palembang boarded a ship carrying a Sanskrit title. He didn't know he was establishing a sultanate.

Between 1400 and 1403, Malacca emerged from nothing. But who its founder was, what his name was, and whether he converted to Islam — these questions, across four contradictory historical traditions, still haven't received a unified answer today. What we do know is: a man escaped from Palembang, detoured to Temasek, and eventually stopped by a river on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula called Sungai Bertam. By the time the Ming Dynasty envoy arrived, a port was already there.