sultanate · Maritime Southeast Asia

Malacca Sultanate

1400 CE – 1511 CE (approx.) · capital Malacca

The great Malay trading sultanate on the Strait of Malacca, whose 15th-century port linked China, India and the spice islands until Portugal took it in 1511.

Origins

Around 1400 Parameswara, a prince who had fled the Kingdom of Singapura, founded a settlement at the mouth of the Malacca River. He won the protection of Ming China, receiving the visits of Zheng He's fleets and travelling to China himself in 1411, which shielded the port from Siam and Majapahit.

Rule and society

Malacca's rulers adopted Islam early in the 15th century, and the port became a centre for the faith's spread. Under Muzaffar Shah and Mansur Shah, and the long-serving bendahara Tun Perak, it ruled both sides of the Strait. Harbour masters handled merchants from Gujarat, China and Java, and its legal codes and court etiquette became models for later Malay states.

Decline and legacy

In 1511 Afonso de Albuquerque captured the city, founding Portuguese Malacca. Sultan Mahmud Shah fled, and his sons founded the Johor Sultanate and the Perak Sultanate, continuing the dynasty. The Malay Annals record Malacca's glory.

Lineage

Srivijaya Empire 650 CE – 1377 CE Kingdom of Singapura 1299 CE – 1398 CEMalacca SultanatePortuguese Malacca 1511 CE – 1641 CE Perak Sultanate 1528 CE – present Johor Sultanate 1528 CE – present

Connections (3)

Malacca Sultanate paid tribute to Ayutthaya Kingdom1400 CE – 1405 CE
Malacca Sultanate paid tribute to Ming Empire1405 CE – 1511 CE
Old Pahang Sultanate split from Malacca Sultanate1470 CE

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Cite this page

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

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻