Samudera Darussalam

Samudera, officially the Crowned Federation of Samudera, the Abode of Peace, (Samuderan: ꦦꦺꦂꦱꦺꦏꦸꦠꦸꦮꦤ꧀​ꦣꦶꦫꦗ​ꦯꦩꦸꦢꦺꦫ​ꦣꦫꦸꦱ꧀ꦱꦭꦩ꧀, Persekutuan Diraja Samudera Darussalam), is a federal, sovereign country located in the Melayu Archipelago. It is situated mainly on the Samuderan peninsula, although it also possess significant overseas territories, such as Labuan and Cempaka. The country has an estimated population of 15.6 millions, mainly concentrated in urban areas (as of 2019).

The concept of a Samuderan nation-state doesn't appear until around the 9th century after the collapse of the Melawati empire that controlled much of the peninsula. At the conclusion of the Great Northern Wars, a loose confederation was formed by the Malay states of the north through the Pact of Indrapura at 1211, which formed a basis of the unified state of Samudera. Throughout the 15th and 16th century the kingdom grew to encompass much of its current territories. Samudera entered a period of self-isolation during the Three Brothers' Era, which was ended in 1720 due to pressure from Dutch merchants to open to the West. After more than a decade of internal conflict in the court, Samudera was left severely weakened and accepted British protection in the late 18th century which lasted until March 1 1960. Eversince its independence, the country has long maintained its neutrality, although as of recently it started to play a more active role in international politics.

Following the Revolution of 1920 and the revision of its constitution, Samudera Darussalam is a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy, with a king or queen as its head of state, and a mangkubumi as its head of government. The national government and parliament is based in the city of Bandar Raja, while the monarch and the royal family mostly resided in the traditional royal capital of Palembang. Samudera exercises a hegemonic influence in its realm, devolving powers to handle internal affairs to its component states.

Samudera is a highly developed country with an advanced, high-income economy. Social and labour-market reforms in the 20th century provide the basis of the present state welfare system which is comparable to the Nordic model, with universal health care and education available for all of its citizens. The country relies exclusively on renewable energies and has been utilizing and researching green technology since the late 20th century to reduce its emissions. It maintains large swathes of forested areas within its territories, which are protected with various strict environmental laws.

Etymology
The first known use of the name Samudera dates back to 1650 in a diplomatic letter sent to to the ruler of the neighbouring country of Campuhan. Raja Suleiman, who ruled the realm at the time, introduced himself to the king of Campuhan as "the king of the land of Samudera". Although any copy of the letter seems to have been gone, the contents of the letter were largely documented in the literature Tales of Palembang.

Most linguistic experts believe that the name Samudera is derived from word समुद्र (samudra) which means ocean in Sanskrit and Tamil. Although it has yet to be proved scientifically, the theory aligns with a local folklore that claims the ancestors of Samuderans as coming from the sea. In the country's full name, Persekutuan Diraja Samudera Darussalam, "darussalam" (Arabic: دار السلام‎) means "abode of peace", while "persekutuan diraja" means "the crowned federation" in Malay.

The adjective "Samuderan" is commonly used to refer to matters related to Samudera Darussalam. The term has no definite legal connotation, but is used in law to refer to the citizenship of Samudera Darussalam and matters to do with nationality. However, the term is also used as an ethnic and regional identity by people who hailed from the component state of Samudranagara, and thus may cause confusion. The official designation for a citizen of Samudera Darussalam is "Samuderan citizen".

Background


Settlement by anatomically modern humans in what was to become Samudera occured in waves beginning by about 40,000 years ago. The last and largest of these were the Austronesians, who form the majority of modern population. Favourable geographical conditions led to the development of several prehistoric civilizations in the peninsula, such as the Ambang city-states.

Meilawatian conquest in 3 CE started the written history of the region. The 600-year Meilawatian rule left a lasting legacy to the area, with the locals adopted Indianized Meilawatian culture and religions. A combination of outside threats and devastating civil wars led to the demise of the empire, which was quickly followed by the disintegration of its territories. Invasion by Samuderan settlers to the area not long after confined the remnants of the former Meilawatian nobles to the southwestern part of the peninsula, which led to the creation of the Kingdom of Gadang in the 11th century. Claiming the legacy of the fallen empire, Gadang's attempts to reconquer the rest of the region were barely successful and it remained as the sole stable nation in the peninsula for the next 2 centuries.



The formation of a unified Samuderan nation began with the outbreak of the Great Northern Wars at the start of the 13th century. Taking advantage of the chaos in the north, the datus of Gadang staged an invasion of the border states, making another attempt to bring the Central Valley communities under their rule. As a consequence, conflict broke out between Gadang and its neighbouring states to the north who tried to defend their independence. Following the Sack of Yhu in 1202, a massive coalition of opposing forces were then formed by the nations of Central Valley to fight off the invasion, finally resulting in the successful Battle of Bayang in 1211 where the Gadangese suffered a decisive defeat.

A combination of the devastation caused by the Great Northern Wars, disputes, and fear of another invasion led to a series of conventions between the Samuderan states for some time after the armistice with Gadang was signed off. In an unanimous decision, memorized in folklores and the document "Tales of Palembang", the states agreed to form a more lasting alliance to replace the older military coalition in order to promote peace and order throughout the region. With the ratification of the Pact of Indrapura by several Samuderan states in 1211, ' 'the Eternal League of States" finally came into being; among its initial members are the states of Ganen, Yhu, and Bayang. However, despite being members of the same coalition, Palembang and Ayer didn't immediately join the League until only later at the end of 1211 due to internal feuds among its ruling clans.

Growth of a nation
With most of the northern nations much or less are united under one banner, the situation began to stabilize in the Central Valley region. As a result, commerce began to grow both inwardly and outwardly, bringing prosperity to the formerly war-torn lands. Fuelled by the new riches, the League grew to absorb its surrounding territories either by peaceful means or military force: the Treaty of Sebak saw the inclusion of Pekan and Batang in 1265, while Dharmawangsa was conquered in 1283. As a result, by the early 14th century, the League has already controlled a substantial amount of territories in the northern and central part of the peninsula, elevating it to a major regional power along with Gadang to the south.

Throughout the last 13th to the early 14th century, a distinct Samuderan indigenous culture began to emerge in territories ruled by the League. During this time, the Samuderan alphabet was first developed as the primary means of writing, replacing the earlier pali script used in the Melawati era. Its introduction in the 1300s contributed to the spread of literacy in the region and helped promoting the use of the Samuderan Malay dialect as a ' 'lingua franca", as it was the main language used by the script to write in.

The nation was eventually ravaged by internal feud amongst the leading clans of the member states. During this time, the lack of unity within the Eternal League costed them the border regions of Muara and Indralama, lost to Gadang during the 1325 Battle of Muara. As tensions mounted, the League succumbed to a series of civil wars in the 14th century, once again fragmenting the northern part of the peninsula into several warring factions. This period of confusion in the north was known as the "Warring States era".

It was during this time, according to Samuderan official history, that Islam was introduced to the region by Muslim merchants, though historical practices and accounts of the Samuderan magical communities suggest that the knowledge of the Abrahamic religion was known since at least 2 centuries earlier, possibly through interaction with the local Middle Eastern magical communities. Nevertheless, it was not until the conversion of the Gadangese monarch Aryawarman in 1330 that Islam began to be widely embraced by the populace, at least in the south. To the north of the borders, the spread of Islam was hindered by the resistance of the Bethinan priests who wield large influence over the feuding states of the former League.

The end of the Warring States era could be attributed to the successful Palembang wars of conquest in the latter part of the 1330s, which saw the annexation of the other states and the establishment of the Kingdom of Samudranagara under the leadership of the former lord of Palembang, Sri Jayanegara. His attempts at consolidation of power were opposed by the once powerful Bethinan priests, culminating in a series of insurrections in 1338 that nearly tore the new nation apart. With the support of Gadang, the Samudranagaran monarch and his troops managed to defeat the clerics and their supporters in the Battle of Indrapura, ultimately ending the power struggle in royal favour. While the lost of power and influence of the priests as a result of the defeat greatly helped the spread of Islam in the peninsula, the subsequent backlash suffered by the losing side in the aftermath would then prompted many to migrate to the southern island of Cempaka, setting up another state that is independent from the mainland.

The start of the 15th century was characterized by a period of intense development in the Samuderan states, though what would be considered as important achievements of the Samuderan nation-building by experts happened in the two mainland kingdoms of Gadang and Samudranagara. Governmental reforms done by Baginda Arifin of Gadang provided the circumstances that led to the codification of law in the southern part of the peninsula, producing what is now known as ' 'Kanun Gadang". Influenced by both Islamic principles and local customary laws, the kanun was the first written constitution in the region, serving as the basis for the development of similar laws in the other Samuderan states in the later era. Meanwhile in the north, Samudranagara expanded to include lands south of the Pasak River, while its people started colonializing the island of Pinang to the east. However it's in 1415 CE that a fundamental change occured for the nations of the peninsula, shifting it from the waning influence of the old gods, as reported by local sources. The Samuderan royal family's conversion to Islam, encouraged by the reigning monarch Wikara Warman who have previously accepted the religion, brought radical changes to the government and society in the north, as Islam becoming more widespread thanks to official patronage now provided to it. By 1430, it is estimated that most of Samuderan population are already Muslims, following the path of their rulers.

Treaty of Union
The seeds for political union between the kingdoms of Gadang and Samudranagara were first planted at the end of 15th century by the marriage of Prince Mansur of Samudranagara to Princess Badiah of Gadang, as an attempt to end the intermittent warfare between the two kingdoms that have been waged over the previous 170 years earlier. However, the peace was broken when a rogue faction of the Gadangese royal family seized power in 1520 and commanded an invasion to try to wrestle away the Muara region that have been taken over by Samudranagara in their previous war. The resulting Third Battle of Muara costed both nations great losses, including the demise of the reigning monarch of Gadang and many of his supporters. With the previously deposed faction managed to get back in power, Gadang formally ending the war with Samudranagara.

Administrative divisions
According to the Constitution, the country is composed of three constituent states (nagara) and several federal territories. These are divided between two regions, with two states and one federal territory on Samudera proper, and the rest, including Labuan and Cempaka, as part of overseas territories. Home rule governance has been introduced to the states as early as during the unification of Gadang and Samudranagara, though it is not adopted by the latter. Along with the rest of the federal subjects, the state is placed under direct administration of the federal government, which lead to the so called Autonomy Question.



States are typically divided into regions (wilayah), which are then subdivided into municipalities and autonomous cities. In Gadang as well as Labuan and Cempaka, state governments are led by an elected chief minister (bendara) and legislature, whose members are drawn out from local elections by convention. However, in matters of dire emergency the federal parliament may abolish the state government under the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignity, as seen in 1890 constitutional crisis of Gadang.