sultanate · Maritime Southeast Asia

Kedah Sultanate

1136 CE – present (approx.) · capital Alor Setar

One of the oldest continuous monarchies in the world, a Malay sultanate that converted to Islam in the 12th century and survives as a state of Malaysia.

Origins

According to the Kedah annals, the ruler of Old Kedah, Phra Ong Mahawangsa, accepted Islam in 1136 and took the name Sultan Mudzaffar Shah, founding a line that continues today. The date is traditional. The sultans later moved their seat to Alor Setar on the rice plains of the Kedah River.

Rule and society

Kedah was the rice bowl of the peninsula, exporting grain, tin and elephants. Its rulers sent the bunga mas, golden flowers, to Siam as a sign of tribute while seeking other allies. In 1786 Sultan Abdullah Mukarram Shah allowed Francis Light of the British East India Company to occupy Penang, hoping for protection that never came.

To the present

Siam invaded in 1821 and ruled directly until 1842. By the Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909 Kedah passed to British protection as one of the Unfederated Malay States, and it joined the Federation of Malaya in 1948. Its royal house still reigns, and Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia's first prime minister, was a Kedah prince.

Lineage

Old Kedah 300 CE – 1136 CEKedah Sultanate

Connections (5)

Kedah Sultanate paid tribute to Ayutthaya Kingdom1351 CE – 1767 CE
Kedah Sultanate was a vassal of Rattanakosin Kingdom1782 CE – 1909 CE
Perlis split from Kedah Sultanate1843 CE
Kedah Sultanate was part of Unfederated Malay States1909 CE – 1946 CE
Kedah Sultanate was part of Malaysia1963 CE – 2030 CE

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Cite this page

APA: The Epoch Institute. (2026). Kedah Sultanate. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kedah-sultanate
MLA: “Kedah Sultanate.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kedah-sultanate. Accessed .
Chicago: The Epoch Institute. “Kedah Sultanate.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kedah-sultanate.
Harvard: The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Kedah Sultanate’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kedah-sultanate (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻