Inayat Zakiatuddin Syah facts for kids

Sultanah Inayat Zakiatuddin Syah (born around 1645, died October 3, 1688) was an important ruler of the Aceh Sultanate in Southeast Asia. She was the sixteenth monarch of Acèh Darussalam and the third queen to rule the kingdom in a row. Her time as queen lasted from 1678 to 1688, and it was mostly a time of peace for her people.

Becoming Queen: Her Story

Inayat Zakiatuddin Syah's original name was Puteri Raja Setia. There are different stories about her family. Some old writings say she was the daughter of a Sultan Muhammad Syah. Other stories suggest she was the daughter of the queen who ruled before her, Nurul Alam Naqiatuddin Syah.

When Queen Nurul Alam passed away in January 1678, Puteri Raja Setia became the new queen. She took the royal name Sultanah Inayat Zakiatuddin Syah. Her rise to power happened smoothly, without any known problems.

An English sea captain named William Dampier visited Aceh during her reign. He wrote that the queen of Aceh was usually an older unmarried woman chosen from the royal family. Another English visitor in 1684 described her as being around 40 years old, tall, and having a strong voice.

Meeting Visitors and Trade

Like the first queen, Taj ul-Alam, Sultanah Inayat was interested in culture and learning. She supported a famous Islamic scholar named Abdul Ra'uf of Singkel. She even asked him to write one of his important books.

In 1683, a group of visitors from Mecca came to Aceh to meet her. They had tried to visit the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb but couldn't, so they came to Aceh instead.

In 1684, English visitors from Madras arrived. They wanted to set up a trading post in Aceh. The English had been buying pepper from Aceh for a long time. They needed new trading spots because a port they used in Banten on Java had closed to them in 1682.

The queen's council, made up of twelve important officials called orang kayas (meaning "rich men"), welcomed the Europeans. The Englishmen suggested that a strong trading post would help protect Aceh from the Dutch East India Company. However, the queen's court did not approve their plan. The English visitors noticed that Aceh had become a popular port for traders from India and other adventurers during this time.

Sultanah Inayat Zakiatuddin Syah died on October 3, 1688. After her death, there was a short period of disagreement among the orang kayas. Soon after, the fourth and final queen, Sultanah Kamalat Syah, took the throne.