A river mouth with a rice plain behind it, near the later Lhokseumawe.
The English Wikipedia article on Samudera Pasai gives 1267 as the conventional foundation and the tomb of Malik al-Salih, dated 696 AH (about 1297), as the first fixed point; the earliest dated Muslim stone it names in North Aceh is the grave of Ibnu Mahmud at Leubok Tuwe, 622 AH (1226), a grave and not a ruler. On 1 January 1200 no state, ruler or Muslim community of weight is attested here. It is shown on the campaign board because of what it becomes.
Who holds it
- Title
- Lord or headman of Samudra
- Since
- not known
- Born
- not known
- Family
- not known
- Confidence
- low
Lord in 1200
not known: no source names a lord, governor or headman for 1 January 1200
How things stand that morning
No state. A river mouth and a rice plain; who speaks for it is not known.
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- 1267 (conventional; 1297 for the first dated tomb)Samudera Pasai is said to be founded here and the first Muslim ruler's tomb is dated 696 AH (about 1297).Depends on: A local chief uniting the river mouth and its rice, and the Muslim traders of the coast backing him. The founding story (Hikayat Raja-raja Pasai) is legend, so the 1267 date is a convention. Stopped by: No such chief, or a stronger neighbour (Lamuri or Perlak) taking the mouth first.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Thin: the place is a later fixed point read back; nothing of 1200 names it.
Primary sources for Malay ports
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- The Leiden grants of Rajaraja I and Kulottunga I concerning the Srivijaya vihara at Nagapattinam, The Chola chancery (Rajaraja I, Rajendra I, Kulottunga I) (the Larger plates about 1005 to 1014 (completed under Rajendra I); the Smaller plates 1090). Background documents for the relations between the Cholas and the Malay world. Read online
- The Grahi (Chaiya) Buddha inscription and the Tambralinga records, Various (the officers of Grahi and the kings of Tambralinga), edited by George Coedes (the Chaiya bronze Buddha inscription 1183; the Nakhon Si Thammarat records 13th century; edited 1929, revised 1961). The peninsula in 1200 has one near-contemporary dated text: the Old Khmer inscription on the base of a bronze Buddha from Wat Hua Wiang at Chaiya, dated 1183, which records the image's casting by order of the mahasenapati Galanai, governor of Grahi, under the king Srimat Trailokyaraja Maulibhusanavarmadeva, a name that is argued to be either a Malayu (Srivijaya) overlord or a local king.
- A Description of the Foreign Peoples (Records of Foreign Nations), Zhao Rukuo (Zhao Rugua) (1225 at Quanzhou). The best single text for the island world around 1200, written by the superintendent of maritime trade at Quanzhou from merchants' reports a generation after the date. Read online
- The Description of the Country, called the Nagarakretagama, Mpu Prapanca (1365 at the Majapahit court). A Majapahit court poem of 1365 listed here only for its retrospect. Read online
Sources and studies
- Wikipedia (English): Samudera Pasai Sultanate
- OMNIA board note (a lead only, checked against the sources above)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.