Tun Sri Lanang
Tun Muhammad bin Tun Ahmad, better known as Tun Sri Lanang,
is the Bendahara (Grand Vizier) of the royal Court of Johor Sultanate who lived
between the 16th and 17th centuries.[1] He served under two Sultans of Johore
namely; Sultan Ali Jalla Abdul Jalil Shah II (1570–1597) and Sultan Alauddin
Riayat Shah III (1597–1615) and also advisers to 3 Acheh sultans namely; Sultan
Iskandar Muda (until 1636), Sultan Iskandar Thani (1636–1641) and Sultana Tajul
Alam Safiatuddin Shah (1641–1675). He had two honorific titles throughout his
lifetime; as the Bendahara of Johor, Bendahara Paduka Raja Tun Mohamad, while
he was given the title of Orang Kaya Dato' Bendahara Seri Paduka Tun Seberang
after settling in Aceh.
Early life and events in Johore
Tun Sri Lanang was born in 1565 in Seluyut, Johore, and was
descended from Tun Tahir, a brother of Bendahara Tun Mutahir of Malacca. There
are not many records about his period as Bendahara in Johore. However during
the rule of Sultan Alauddin Riayat Shah III, he shouldered a heavier burden on
the affairs of the state as the Sultan is a weak ruler. He shared the
responsibility with the Sultan's brother Raja Abdullah (later to become Sultan
Abdullah Maayah Shah which reigns between 1615 to 1623).
During the period the Dutch were attacking the Portuguese
for the port of Malacca. The Dutch signed a friendship treaty with the Johore
Sultanate (in 1606) with Tun Sri Lanang as a representative. Tun Sri Lanang
refused the Dutch request of helping the Dutch to blockade the port of Malacca
preferring the Dutch do it themselves.
In 1612, at the request of Raja Abdullah to pen the Malay
Annals to ensure " ... all the adat, the rules and the ceremonies of the
Malay Sultans and Rajas to be heard by our descendants and is made known all
utterances so that it may benefit them". At this time, under the orders of
Sultan Alauddin Riaayat Shah, Tun Sri Lanang oversaw the editorial and
compilation process of the Malay Annals, better known as Sejarah Melayu in
Malay.
In 1613, Acheh attacked Johore and in the battle of Batu
Sawar. Johore was defeated and the Royal Family and Tun Sri Lanang was captured
and brought to Acheh. The Bendaharaship was continued by his descendants. His
notable descendants include Bendehara Tun Habib Abdul Majid and the Raja
Temenggung of Muar.
Later life in Acheh
In Aceh a brief "reeducation" the Johor Royal
Family was returned to Johore. Tun Sri Lanang elected to stay in Acheh. He
became advisor to the third Sultan of Acheh and was bestowed an Acheh honorific
title. He was awarded a personal fief in Samalanga, Aceh in 1613 and held the title
Uleebalang of Samalanga. He died in 1659 in Samalanga.
Legacy
Some of Tun Sri Lanang's descendants rule as the Uleebalang
of Samalanga until 1949, when Indonesia was formed in the same year. Many of
his descendants are fervent nationalists including the female warrior Pocut
Meuligo, Teuku Muhammad Daud, Teuku Abdul Hamid Azwar and Teuku Hamzah
Bendehara. Some of his descendants carry the "Bendahara" suffix to
their names indicating their ancestry.
His legacy is not only the magnum opus "Sejarah Melayu"
but also includes the strongly Islamic flavor of Samalanga. Samalanga is also
known as "Kota Santri", or "Town of Medrassas" is the
centre of Islamic propagation in Acheh until today. Samalanga was also among
the last town to fall to the Dutch during the time of the last Sultan of Acheh,
Sultan Muhammad Daud Shah and also one of his strongholds.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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John Leyden
(September 8, 1775 – August 28, 1811) was a
British orientalist.
Biography
Leyden was born at Denholm on the River Teviot, not far from
Hawick. His father, a shepherd, had contrived to send him to Edinburgh
University to study for the ministry. Leyden was a diligent but somewhat
haphazard student, apparently reading everything except theology, for which he
seems to have had no taste. Though he completed his divinity course, and in
1798 was licensed to preach from the presbytery of St Andrews, it soon became
clear that the pulpit was not his vocation.
In 1794, Leyden formed an acquaintance with Dr Robert
Anderson, editor of The British Poets, and of The Literary Magazine. It was
Anderson who introduced him to Dr Alexander Murray, and Murray, probably, who
led him to the study of Eastern languages. They became warm friends and generous
rivals, though Leyden excelled, perhaps, in the rapid acquisition of new
tongues and acquaintance with their literature, while Murray was the more
scientific philologist.
Through Anderson also he came to know Richard Heber, by whom
he came to the notice of Sir Walter Scott, who was then collecting materials
for his Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border (1802). Leyden was admirably fitted
for helping in this kind of work, for he was a borderer himself, and an
enthusiastic lover of old ballads and folklore. Scott tells how, on one
occasion, Leyden walked 40 miles to get the last two verses of a ballad, and
returned at midnight, singing it all the way with his loud, harsh voice, to the
wonder and consternation of the poet and his household.
Other work on Scottish customs includes the editing of the
16th-century tract The Complaynt of Scotland, adding an essay exploring
Scottish folk music and customs, printing a volume of Scottish descriptive
poems, and nearly finishing his Scenes of Infancy, a diffuse poem based on
border scenes and traditions. Leyden meanwhile compiled a work on the
Discoveries and Settlements of Europeans in Northern and Western Africa,
suggested by Mungo Park's travels, He also made some translations from Persian
and Arabic poetry.
At last his friends got him an appointment in India on the
medical staff, for which he qualified by a year's hard work. In 1803, he sailed
for Madras, and took his place in the general hospital there. He was promoted
to be naturalist to the commissioners going to survey Mysore, and in 1807, his
knowledge of the languages of India procured him an appointment as professor of
Hindustani at Calcutta; this he soon after resigned for a judgeship, and that
again to be a commissioner in the court of requests in 1805, a post which
required a familiarity with several Eastern languages.
In 1811, Leyden joined Lord Minto in the expedition to Java.
Having entered a library which was said to contain many Eastern manuscripts,
without having the place aired, he was seized with Batavian fever (possibly
malaria or dengue) and died, after three days' illness, on 28 August 1811. He
was buried on the island, underneath a small firefly colony, which remains as
his tombstone to this day.
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