Parameswara

The monarch who founded the Malacca Sultanate and established friendly ties with the Ming dynasty.

Life

Palembang royal

Parameswara was a descendant of the royal house of Srivijaya (Palembang). Under pressure from Majapahit he fled into exile in Temasek (present-day Singapore); driven out again, he made his way to Malacca on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula.

Malacca

In c. 1402 he founded a kingdom at Malacca, using the strategic position of the strait to attract merchant ships from many lands. In 1405 Emperor Chengzu of Ming (the Yongle Emperor) sent envoys to invest him as King of Malacca, and Zheng He's fleets passed through Malacca many times and set up warehouses there. In 1411 he personally led his wife and more than 500 retainers to Nanjing for an audience with the Yongle Emperor of Ming.

Audience with the Yongle Emperor of Ming

He died c. 1414. Malacca went on to become the largest trading port in Southeast Asia.

Legacy

The Malacca Sultanate founded by Parameswara was the cultural wellspring of the Malay world, and Malaysia regards him as the beginning of its national history.

Did you know? Malacca's name is said to come from a "Malacca tree" he leaned against while resting by a river.

Key dates

• 1402Founded Malacca (approx.)
• 1405Accepted investiture from the Ming dynasty
• 1411Audience with the Yongle Emperor of Ming in Nanjing
• 1414Died (approx.)