The Sultanate of Aceh, officially the Kingdom of Aceh Darussalam, was a sultanate centered in the modern-day Indonesian province of Aceh. It was a major regional power in the 16th and 17th centuries, before experiencing a long period of decline. Its capital was Kutaraja, the present-day Banda Aceh.
Ali Mughayat Syah was the first Sultan of Aceh Darussalam in Northern Sumatra, reigning from about 1514 until his death. His reign not only saw the foundation of the Aceh Sultanate, but also the conquest of neighboring Daya (1520), Pidie (1521), and Pasai (1524). Despite his accomplishments, Ali Mughayat's life is poorly documented and must be pieced together from various Acehnese, Malay and European accounts.
Salahuddin was the second Sultan of Aceh Darussalam, reigning from 1530 to either 1537 or 1539. He was the eldest son of Sultan Ali Mughayat Syah, the founder of the Aceh Sultanate. His reign was characterized by weakness, and he was deposed by his ambitious younger brother, Alauddin al-Kahar.
Alauddin Ri'ayat Syah al-Kahar was the third Sultan of the Aceh Sultanate, reigning from either 1537 or 1539 until his death. He is considered to be one of the strongest rulers in the history of the sultanate and greatly strengthened Aceh. Alauddin's reign was marked by increased conflict with his Portuguese and Malay rivals and his dispatching of envoys to the Ottoman sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent in the 1560s.
Iskandar Muda was the twelfth Sulṭān of Acèh Darussalam, under whom the sultanate achieved its greatest territorial extent, holding sway as the strongest power and wealthiest state in the western Indonesian archipelago and the Strait of Malacca. "Iskandar Muda" literally means "young Alexander," and his conquests were often compared to those of Alexander the Great. In addition to his notable conquests, during his reign, Aceh became known as an international centre of Islamic learning and trade. He was the last Sultan of Aceh who was a direct lineal male descendant of Ali Mughayat Syah, the founder of the Aceh Sultanate. Iskandar Muda's death meant that the founding dynasty of the Aceh Sultanate, the House of Meukuta Alam died out and was replaced by another dynasty.
Sultan Muda was a nominal sultan of Aceh in northern Sumatra. His brief tenure started a decade-long period of dynastic weakness and strife in the Aceh kingdom.
Sultan Sri Alam, also known as Sultan Mughal was the sixth sultan of Aceh in northern Sumatra. He led a very brief reign in the year 1579 before being deposed and killed.
Sultan Zainul Abidin was the seventh sultan of Aceh in northern Sumatra. His reign was the last of three brief ones in the year 1579.
Sultan Alauddin Mansur Syah was the eighth Sultan of Aceh in northern Sumatra. He ruled Aceh from 1579 to 1585 or 1586 and was known as a pious Muslim ruler with cultural interests. His reign also saw some military expansion on the Malay Peninsula. With his death ended a 65-year long period of warfare between Aceh and the Portuguese.
Sultan Buyung or Ali Ri'ayat Syah II was the ninth sultan of Aceh in northern Sumatra. He had a short and contested reign from 1585/85 to 1589, ending with his violent demise.
Sultan Alauddin Ri'ayat Syah Sayyid al-Mukammal was the tenth Sultan of Aceh in northern Sumatra, ruling from 1589 to 1604. His reign is important since it saw the arrival of three new European powers to the region of the Melaka Straits: the Dutch, English and French.
Sultan Ali Ri'ayat Syah III was the eleventh Sulṭān of Acèh Darussalam in northern Sumatra. He had a brief and turbulent reign from 1604 to 1607 before being succeeded by his more famous nephew Iskandar Muda.
Sulṭāna Nurul Alam Naqiatuddin Syah was the fifteenth ruler of Aceh in northern Sumatra, ruling from 1675 to 1678. She was the second of four queens regnant (sultanas) to rule in succession.
Jamal ul-Alam Badr ul-Munir was the twentieth Sulṭān of Acèh Darussalam in northern Sumatra and the third ruler of the Arab Jamal ul-Lail Dynasty. He ruled from 1703 to 1726 when he was deposed.
Sultan Alauddin Johan Syah was the twenty-fourth sultan of Aceh in northern Sumatra. He represented the second generation of the Bugis dynasty of Aceh and ruled from 1735 to 1760.
Sultan Alauddin Mahmud Syah I was the twenty-fifth sultan of Aceh in northern Sumatra. He ruled from 1760 to 1781, although his reign was twice interrupted by usurpers.
Sultan Alauddin Muhammad Da'ud Syah I was the thirty-first sultan of Aceh in northern Sumatra. He was the sixth ruler of the Bugis Dynasty and reigned from 1823 to 1838.
Sultan Alauddin Sulaiman Ali Iskandar Syah was the thirty-second sultan of Aceh in northern Sumatra. His largely nominal reign lasted from 1838 to 1857.
Sultan Alauddin Ibrahim Mansur Syah, also known as Ali Alauddin Mansur Syah was the thirty-third sultan of Aceh in northern Sumatra. He was the eight ruler of the Bugis Dynasty and ruled de facto from 1838, formally from 1857 to 1870.
Acehnese–Portuguese conflicts were the military engagements between the forces of the Portuguese Empire, established at Malacca in the Malay Peninsula, and the Sultanate of Aceh, fought intermittently from 1519 to 1639 in Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula or the Strait of Malacca. The Portuguese supported, or were supported, by various Malay or Sumatran states who opposed Acehnese expansionism, while the Acehnese received support from the Ottoman Empire.
