Fatahillah

Fatahillah was a 16th-century commander for the Sultanate of Demak who in 1527 conquered and subsequently burned the Hindu Sunda capital of Sunda Kelapa, after which the town was renamed Jayakarta, the first time the town was held under Muslim control.[1] He is a national hero in Indonesia.[2]

Fatahillah Square in Jakarta and the Indonesian Navy ship KRI Fatahillah (361) were named after him.[3]

Family background

There are several opinions about the origin of Fatahillah. According to H.J. de Graaf, Fatahillah came from Pasai, North Aceh, who then left Pasai when the area was controlled by the Portuguese. Fatahillah went to Mecca, then to the land of Java, Demak, during the reign of Sultan Trenggono. There is another opinion that says, that Fatahillah is the son of the king of Makkah (Arab) who married the royal princess of Pajajaran. Another opinion says Fatahillah was born in 1448 to Sultan Syarif Abdullah Maulana Huda, an Egyptian ruler of Bani Hasyim descent from Palestine, with Nyai Rara Santang, daughter of the king of Pajajaran, Raden Manah Rasa. But it is not clear from which tradition these three opinions originate.

There are historical sources that say he was born in Central Asia (maybe in Samarqand), studied in Baghdad, and devoted himself to the Turkish Sultanate, before joining the Sultanate of Demak. But this opinion is also unclear in origin from where.

Relationship between Sunan Gunung Jati and Fatahillah

Recent research shows Sunan Gunung Jati is not the same as Fatahillah.[4] Sunan Gunung Jati is a great cleric and preacher born from generation to generation of clerics of Muhammad's grandson, Imam Husayn. Sunan Gunung Jati's real name is Syarif Hidayatullah son of Syarif Abdullah son of Nurul Alam son of Jamaluddin Akbar. Jamaluddin Akbar is a great traveler from Gujarat, India who led his sons and grandchildren to preach to Southeast Asia, with Campa (the edge of the Mekong delta, now Kampuchea) as headquarters. One of the sons of Sheikh Jamaluddin Akbar (better known as Sheikh Maulana Akbar) is Sheikh Ibrahim Akbar (father of Sunan Ampel).

Whereas Fatahillah was a Commander of Pasai, named Fadhlulah Khan, the Portuguese pronounced it as Falthehan. When Pasai and Malacca were captured by the Portuguese, he moved to Java to strengthen the fleet of Islamic sultanates in Java (Demak and Cirebon) after the death of Raden Abdul Qadir bin Yunus (Pati Unus, the son-in-law of Raden Patah the first Sultan of Demak).

References
  1. Ian Burnett (1 August 2013). East Indies. Rosenberg Publishing. pp. 44–. ISBN 978-1-922013-87-3.
  2. Fatahillah Brill Online Encyclopedia
  3. Andrew Whitmarsh (3 September 2013). Jakarta: 25 Excursions in and Around the Indonesian Capital. Tuttle Publishing. pp. 99–. ISBN 978-1-4629-0893-6.
  4. "Ternyata Fatahillah tak Identik dengan Sunan Gunung Jati. Ini bukti Otentiknya!!". Lyceum.id (in Indonesian). 2016-09-30. Retrieved 2019-08-19.


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