Jambi - Johor civil war ( 1667 AD - 1681 AD)

• Impact of Malacca Conquest

The fall of Malacca into the hands of the Portuguese in 1511, had brought down the impact of the decline and changed the port of Malacca to become the city left by its traders. The fall of Malacca has brought fundamental changes to the political and trade constellation in the Malacca Strait waters, because:

1. For the kingdom around the waters of the Malacca Strait the Portuguese victory over Malacca in  1511 was a real threat to its sovereignty, especially for Aceh, Patani, Banten and Mataram.
2. Portuguese power over Malacca had led to increasingly strong competition between the Portuguese, the Dutch and the British.
3. Malacca became an arena of fighting and royal attacks around the waters of the Malacca Strait.
4. Old trade centers such as Aceh, Jambi, Palembang and Banten became crowded again and Johor emerged as a potential new port.
5. Bugis adventurers scattered around the coastal waters of the Malacca Strait began to play their role as King Maker, which at any time could potentially be a source of threats and tension around the Malacca Strait waters.

Jambi - Johor civil war Ilustrated (kajanglako.com)

The fall of Malacca into the hands of the Portuguese, Johor emerged as an important port in the Straits of Malacca. In the early 17th century between Jambi and Johor there was competition for hegemony over the trade in the sea. Under the conditions of this competition, the British, Dutch and Portuguese parties began to want to intervene in political affairs.

They systematically took a approach, were hostile and or cooperated with local indigenous rulers. During the 17th century it was clear that their involvement in various upheavals around the waters of the Strait of Malacca.

Jambi Early 17th Century

In the early 17th century the country of Jambi was under the rule of the Sultan of Keda Abdul Kohar, the title of Sultan Abdul Kohar (1615-1643). In the country of Jambi in the early 17th century, there were several important events, including the following:

Domestic conditions are experiencing a period of heyday, and trade ports are crowded with foreign traders. In 1616 the Dutch succeeded in establishing a VOC office a year after its presence in Jambi.

Legal experts and adat experts are carrying out reconstruction of the Jambi kingdom's law to apply elements of Islamic teachings into customary law and government regulations.

The relationship with Mataram is at its peak.

Relations with Johor are tense because of the Tungkal Problem

Long before the arrival of the Dutch in 1615, the Jambi area became the main producer of large pepper and gold, areca nut, agarwood, red balam gum, jernang gum, and jelutung sap. In the early 17th century, Jambi was visited by Chinese, Indian, Persian, Arab, Portuguese and English and Dutch traders. Portuguese and British traders first came to Jambi but did not get permission to set up a trading office, but they were allowed to sell and buy with local residents. It was only 1 year since he set foot in Jambi that the Dutch obtained permission from the Sultan to open a VOC trading office in Jambi. This aroused suspicion from other western traders and neighboring countries. But because it was disliked by the people and the difficulty of dealing with trade with farmers, the Dutch closed their offices in 1623. And in 1636 the Dutch got permission to open a VOC trading office in the city of Muara Kumpeh. Jambi main trade route through 2 doors. The first door is through Zabaq city, Koto Kandis, Muara Kumpeh, Jambi, Muara Tembesi and Muara Tebo. The second door is through the Tungkal river in the Trade Port city.

Problem about Tungkal 

The Tungkal waters region is located on the east coast of Jambi overlooking the Malacca strait which borders Riau and Bukit Tigapuluh. In the interior of Tungkal there is a river port, namely the Dagang Port, which is located in the upper reaches of the Tungkal River today. The Trade Port City is visited by trade boats from various countries that transport crops such as pepper, resin, rhinoceros horn, cockroaches, gold, and other items. Therefore, whoever controls Tungkal, he will control a portion of the sea trade routes in the 16th and 17th centuries.

The meaning of the Tungkal problem is the dispute over ownership of the Tungkal waters between the Jambi state and the Johor state. The dispute arose after Johor took control of Tungkal in the period towards the end of the 16th century. Johor placed its guardianship officials in Tungkal as an area conquered by the country of Johor. The Tungkal problem has disrupted traditional relations between the two countries. The dispute over Tungkal lasted a long time and caused many political problems in the Malacca Strait waters. During the 17th century the Tungkal problem had prompted the two countries to suspect each other, and attack each other. At least there were four major wars between Jambi and Johor, and after this war the Jambi and Johor countries began to weaken. Johor Lama Palace was destroyed and Riau and Indragiri conquered areas one by one separated from the influence of Johor. In this Tungkal problem, both Jambi and Johor both directly or indirectly dragged the Dutch, Palembang and Bugis adventurers led by Daeng Mangika to take part in it.

At the beginning of the influx of Johor's influence in Tungkal, in the historical record of Jambi mentioned at that time Johor was ruled by Sultan Talun. During his reign, the country of Johor was in control of parts of Riau and Indragiri. The Minister of Johor Sea Affairs, Datuk Bendahara Laksamana, Datuk Mangku Bumi and Datuk Bandar Laut, and their troops were ordered to visit the conquered areas of Riau and Indragiri. Because of the storm attack his ship escaped to the waters around Tungkal, towards the upper reaches of the Betara river and partly to the upper reaches of the Mendahara river. Previously this area was completely unknown to Johor.

To find out more about the situation around Tungkal, Datuk Bendahara Laksamana was ordered to take a cruise to the upper reaches of the Tungkal river. This second voyage was also included with heavily armed soldiers and enough boats and supplies. In the waters and inland of Tungkal, Johor troops almost got no significant obstacles until Tungkal was under the rule of Johor. Johor's power in the Tungkal waters includes the Asam River, up to the Trade Port (Tungkal Ulu now). Many Johor troops were assisted by Riau soldiers, Indragiri, Laut people, Bugis adventurers and some Chinese.

To rule Tungkal, the Johor sultan appointed his two children Orang Kayo Rajo Depati as the ruler of Tungkal and Orang Kayo Laksamana, the title of Datuk Kayo. Since then the Tungkal region has been under the rule of Johor, and its people send tribute to Johor every year.

It has not been found in the historical record of Jambi about the exact number of years the beginning of Johor's arrival at Tungkal. And also no record has been found stating that there was a war between Jambi and Johor in the early days of Johor in power in Tungkal. However, it was estimated that Johor ruled Tungkal towards the end of the 16th century when Jambi was ruled by the Penembahan Bawah Sawo (1565 - 1590).

After Johor took control of Tungkal, there was an effort by both parties to reduce disputes through marital diplomacy. The turmoil between the two could be temporarily suppressed after Sultan Hammat Shah Johor married a princess of the Jambi palace. It is estimated that the wife of Sultan Hammat Syah Johor is the daughter of the Jambi Jambi Pening Koto Baru. In the historical record of Jambi there is no mention of the name of the princess of the palace. In the history of Jambi Penembahan Koto Baru began to rule Jambi in 1590 - 1615 AD

Towards an Open War

The Death of the Koto Baru Shooting in 1615, the successor of the Jambi ruler is the Keda Abdul Kohar Ruler immediately ascends the throne (1615-1643 AD). At the beginning of his rule, Prince Keda Abdul Kohar gathered forces to take control of Tungkal from the hands of Johor. This effort was successful and Tungkal was controlled by Jambi without significant resistance. However, the Tungkal problem during the reign of Prince Keda Abdul Kohar was increasingly complicated and widespread because Johor did not recognize Jambi. Johor is seen by Jambi as having the ability to attack suddenly. Therefore for Jambi there is no alternative but to prepare a strong army.

More and more Jambi was getting stronger and so was Johor starting to build a strong army by recruiting soldiers from various walks of life such as Malays, Chinese, Bugis adventurers, Bajau / Orang Laut, and soldiers from Riau and Indragiri.

In 1630 Raja Bujang, the title of sultan Abdul Jalil Riayat Syah Johor (1623-1677) issued a threat so that Jambi would hand over Tungkal. Johor's threat was ignored by Jambi. As a result, the years of Jambi's relations with Johor grew worse and began to heat up.

In 1642 the Dutch began a dangerous political maneuver in Jambi, accusing Jambi of alliance with the great enemy Sultan Agung of Mataram. The accusation was accompanied by the threat of the Dutch Governor-General in Batavia that the Dutch would take up arms if Jambi was hostile to the Dutch. In the Jambi situation like that, in 1643 Prince Keda Abdul Kohar the title of Sultan Abdul Kohar died and power was handed over to his son Prince Depati Anom, the title of Sultan Agung (1643 -1665 AD). During his reign the Jambi state faced 3 main problems.

1) Complete the reconstruction of the Jambi Law.

2) Facing the Johor threat regarding the Tungkal issue.

3) Facing the Dutch who began to intervene in trade policies and domestic government policies.

Towards the end of the reign of Sultan Agung, the Tungkal problem almost dragged Jambi and Johor to face an open war. Both of them have no signs of wanting to make peace. The Jambi-Johor dispute began to be seen openly by the involvement of third parties such as Palembang, the Netherlands, and Bugis adventurers led by Daeng Mangika.

However, both parties still realized that the road to war would invite the involvement of other parties such as the Netherlands and Palembang. If this happens then the war zone will expand and consequently will be destroyed. In the historical record of Jambi there is indeed an attempt to resolve through marriage diplomacy II. In 1659 Raja Raja Johor, son of Sultan Hammat Syah Johor married the daughter of the Jambi palace. The daughter of the Jambi palace was allegedly the daughter of Prince Keda Abdul Kohar. Through this diplomacy, it is hoped that the Johor Jambi tension can be resolved peacefully. But the fate of marriage diplomacy II did not produce anything, only able to reduce tension for a while. Even this marriage diplomacy II is seen as one of the factors driving the Tungkal problem towards an open war situation between Jambi and Johor.

Marriage diplomacy II through the marriage of Raja Muda Johor with the daughter of the Jambi court turned out to be unable to ease the tension because it was not favored by Sultan Abdul Jalil Riayat Shah Johor and his followers Admiral Tun Abdul Jamil. In the view of the Johor sultan the marriage diplomacy II benefited Jambi on the grounds that Jambi's blue blooded King and his wife were also from the Jambi palace. When Viceroy would return to Johor to take his wife with him in 1660, the Sultan of Johor and Admiral Tun Abdul Jamil were opposed / blocked his arrival in Johor. The efforts of the sultan and admiral of Johor prevented the arrival of the Young King and his wife to contain multiple political objectives, including the following.

From one side the Johor sultan wanted to show his followers and people that the country of Johor was hostile and did not want peace with the country of Jambi.

From the other side, the arrival of the Young King of Johor gave rise to the anxiety of Sultan Abdul Jalil Riayat Shah of Johor and his followers, because his power was temporary waiting for the Young King to become an adult, his authority had to be handed over to Raja Muda as the legitimate sultan of Johor. Want to see how far the reaction of the country of Jambi.

• Approximately 3/4 of the century in the 17th century, Jambi's relations with Johor broke out with open war dominated by the Tungkal problem. But behind the Tungkal problem, Jambi's relationship with Johor actually had long been in competition for control of the trade road at sea. Tungkal at that time was very strategic and the pepper producing region was the main commodity of international trade. It is not wrong in Jambi's historical record, the Jambi Sultan accused the Sultan of Johor of deliberately raising the Tungkal problem as a political tool for King Bujang (Sultan Abdul Jalil Riayat Syah) to maintain his power. In his own country, it seems that King Bujang and his followers did not want to be judged by Jambi. Moreover, Jambi's influence in the Johor palace was quite large. Therefore Sultan Abdul Jail Riayat Shah along with Admiral Tun Abdul Jamil prevented Raja Muda Johor and his wife from returning to Johor. This limitation on the influence of Jambi cannot be separated from the dispute between the two who both want to master the trade hegemony in the sea. Therefore the Johor sultan really needed the support of the Bugis admiral and adventurer. However, the eruption of the Jambi Jambi war was inseparable from political developments in the Malacca Strait waters and the Western presence.

Jambi-Johor War Broke

In the historical record, open war between Jambi and Johor lasted approximately 14 years from 1667 - 1681 AD Within 14 years there have been at least 4 wars. In other words, Jambi's relations with Johor over a period of 14 years were marked by the suffering of the people due to the war. In the historical record of Jambi the year of the Jambi-Johor war is as follows.

Jambi-Johor War I in 1667 AD

Jambi-Johor War II in 1673.

Jambi-Johor War III III 1677-1679 M.

Jambi-Johor War to IV in 1680 - 1681 AD

Two (2) years before the war erupted, where the ruler of Jambi Sultan Agung died and was replaced by his son Raden Writer, the title Sultan Abdul Mahyi Sri Ingolopo (1665 - 1690). The culmination of decades of tension was the eruption of a great war between Jambi and Johor in 1667. In this war Jambi was attacked by Johor forces. Palembang was involved in the war by siding with Johor. While the Bugis adventurer led by Daeng Mangika, also took part in treason by helping Johor and attack Jambi. In this war Jambi suffered defeat and suffered many losses. But in 1673 Jambi could win Tungkal.

Jambi's defeat in the war against Johor in 1667 caused Sultan Abdul Mahyi Sri Ingologo to be very angry because this defeat was an insult by Sultan Abdul Jalil Riayat Syah Johor. In the difficult situation faced by the Jambi sultan, the Dutch offered cooperation and Jambi accepted the Dutch hand. The anger of the Jambi sultan then revealed in a letter of challenge to the Sultan of Johor. The sultan's letter was deliberately made with the name and letter stamp placed on the letter head. In the Malay tradition, when the name and letter stamp are above the letter head, it means that the country that receives the letter is the conquered territory of the country sending the letter. Reading the sultan's letter, the King of Bujang or Sultan Abdul Jalil Riayat Syah was very angry, as if the country of Jambi was more powerful than Johor. This letter is seen as a painful insult to all the sovereign Johor people. After sending this letter each party can feel that the war will repeat itself.

In the early 1673 there was an attempt by Johor to reconcile with Jambi through the Netherlands as an intermediary, but failed. Because of this failure of peace, Jambi and Johor had prepared themselves for all the possibilities of the Johor Johor war to II. Not waiting long in April 1673 the Jambi-Johor war was indeed repeated again on a larger scale. The Netherlands and Palembang and the Bugis adventurers led by Daeng Mangika supported Jambi. The Second Jambi-Johor War began with the Jambi attack on the center / heart of the Johor capital in Johor Lama, located on the banks of the Johor river. The Jambi army occupied the capital in Johor Lama, sultan Abdul Jalil Riayat Syah and his aides fled to Pahang and Datuk Bendahara Johor in Jambi. In this war in 1673, Johor Lama could be destroyed. Dan Tungkal can be recaptured by Jambi. The Jambi forces in the war of 1673 brought along booty, including the following.

-Four (4) tons of pure gold.

-95 shoots of iron cannon.

-1268 prisoners of war.

-And various types of firearms.

A year after losing the war, Johor rose again and made preparations to avenge his defeat. Johor troops were assisted by Palembang and Bugis adventurers led by Daeng Mangika, while Jambi was assisted by VOC with military equipment. The Jambi-Johor War to III took place from 1677-1679. In this war, Jambi was defeated by Johor and Jambi had to pay Johor the following.

-Cash 10,000 rijksdaalders.

-Iron cannon 2 pieces.

-Amount of gold,

-Returning Prisoners in 1673.

After the defeat of Jambi in the third war, the 1680-1681 war broke out to Jambi-Johor to IV. The Johor army was assisted by Palembang and Daeng Mangika attacked Jambi. These three combined forces surrounded Jambi from all directions. In this war Jambi was fully assisted by the Dutch with various kinds of military equipment and funds. The end of this war turned out to be a Johor, Palembang attack and Bugis adventurers who could be repelled and Johor suffered many losses. The Tungkal and Indragiri areas are fully controlled by Jambi.

Analysis

Almost during the 17th century Jambi's relations with Johor were full of disputes, upheavals and wars. The Jambi Johor War for almost 14 years turned out that in the future both parties did not get any benefits, except the destruction, setbacks and suffering of the people. The lucky ones in the Jambi-Johor war were the Dutch, British and Portuguese colonists and Bugis adventurers led by Daeng Mangika. The analysis of the negative impacts of the Jambi-Johor war is as follows:

1. Jambi State.

Economically, the Jambi state experienced economic bankruptcy because of the enormous cost of the war. The success of the Jambi state began to decline and its role weakened in the eastern coast of Sumatra. The Dutch openly began to take sides or involved the issue of power struggles between the families of the Jambi palace. Sultan Abdul Mahyi Sri Ingologo in 1690 abdicated and was captured and thrown into Banda Island.The impact of the Jambi-Johor war which most hurt the people of Jambi was that the year the Dutch position became stronger, and the more agreements signed by the sultan, the more parts of the country were pledged to the Dutch.

2. Johor State.

For Johor the negative impact of the tiring Jambi-Johor war was hardly different from Jambi, namely experiencing the destruction, setbacks and suffering of the people. To rebuild Johor Lama which was destroyed and restore domestic development due to the war, the Johor Sultan desperately needed a safe and peaceful atmosphere. In the condition of Johor like this it is not surprising that the subsequent sultan / ruler of Johor entered into an agreement with the Western nation, the neighboring country and gave the role of the Bugis adventurers who were very meritorious in the Jambi-Johor war. According to the author's view based on the historical record in Jambi, because the conditions and situation of the country of Johor ended the Jambi-Johor war had paved the way for Bugis adventurers to play a further role in the political field of Johor. This process was the beginning of a long process towards a dynastic shift within the Johor palace.

Writter : Pachruddin Saudagar

Translate : Aswadi Rahmad