A.D.Alastair Lamb: suggested the glass fragments dound at sites like Bujang Valley in Kedah and Kuala Selinsing in Perak originated from the Middle East and the Mediterranean.
Abu Dulaf Misa'r: stated that Kalah (Ancient Kedah) was a large Kingdom surrounded by walls, flower gardens, water resources facilities market and houses with a large population (Braddell, 1950). Arab-Persian records, Ancient Kedah was known as Kalah or Kalah-Bar.
Abu Zayd: in the book of Al Sirafi (915-916 C.E) it is said that Kalaha (Kedah) is located in the Kalaha Sea between the Anwaq Sea which is located in the land of Ajaib (Maldives) and the Kambuja Sea.
Akhbar as-Sin wa'l Hind : an Arabic record - stated that al-Zabaj or the Srivijaya has dominated the polity of Kalah Bar (Ancient Kedah). - Zuliskandar & Nik Hassan Shuhaimi,2008).
Al-Idrisi: an Arab traveller and geographer had recorded Ancient Kedah in his book Ar-Rujjar (1154 AD).
Al-Jahiz: Qala'i Sword > "If it is made of Qala'i (Kedah), be careful."
Al-Kindi: In Al-Kindi's notes in the 9th century, it was mentioned that the best quality swords in the world were made from Yemeni, Qalai (Kalah) and Hindi iron. Kalah is Old Kedah. He noted this in his treatise "Risalah fi anwa'al-suyuf wa-aslahiha" .
Al-Mas'udi: wrote in "Muruj az-Zahab" that in the state of Kedah there are mountains and mines of tin and silver, as well as gold mines.
Ancient Kedah existed long before the establishment of the Malacca Sultanate in the 13th century.
Buddhagupta Inscription: Bujang Valley, one of the oldest inscriptions of the Southeast Asia, marked the period of the existence of Ancient Kedah as an early polity.
Buzurg al-Ramhurmuzi: In "Aja'ibul Hind" > A Persian Muslim captain named Ismailuyah sailed from Kalah (Old Kedah) towards Oman in 929 AD.
Chieh-Cha:
- Another important Chinese record in 638 AD stated that Chieh-cha (Ancient Kedah) has sent their diplomatic mission to the Chinese court (Manguin 2022).
- This Chieh-cha is the same as the Chieh-cha that I Ching visited during his time in this region, and the Chinese classified the polity as a guo (state) (Wheatley 1961; Zuliskandar & Nik Hassan Shuhaimi 2012: 100).
Craig Lockard: In "Southeast Asia in World History" - Kedah as an important early trading port at a major maritime crossroads, facilitating trade and cultural exchange for millennia with regions including India, China and the Middle East.
G.R. Tibbetts : "A Study of the Arabic Texts Containing Material on Southeast Asia." (1979) > established that the old Arabic texts he studied, Kalah (Kedah) was the most frequently mentioned place in Southeast Asia after Zabaj.
GARC : Recent finding by Universiti Sains Malaysia's Global Archaeological Research Centre (GARC) that the Malays also had strong commercial ties with India.It should has started at least approximately 1,900 years ago, involving the Kingdom of Kedah Tua.
Goh Hin San, Dato' : Yi-Jing, the Buddhist Monk who spend quite sometime in Kedah wrote that iron was part of trade item in Kedah Port, or Chieh-Cha, as what was the Chinese called, where they do not have the syllable 'Ke' and 'dah'.
Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa: also known as "Kedah Annals" is a Malay literary work that gives a romantic account of the history and tales relating to the Malay Kingdom of Kedah.
Horace Geoffrey Quaritch Wales: an archaelogist - with his wife Dorothy, in 1936 discovered the Bujang Valley at the Bukit Choras temple site. 29 temple sites including Candi Batu Pahat were discovered at that time proved that there was a famous Kingdom that received traders from all over Asia.
Hugh Low: Archaeological studies conducted from the 1840s by Hugh Low to the present day show that the ancient Kedah Kingdom existed from the 6th century BC to the 17th century AD and played an important role in trading activities.
I-Tsing:
- a Buddhist monk from China, who has travelled from China to India and back, and had also stayed in Srivijaya for a while during the 7th century AD. In 671 AD I Ching stops in Chieh-cha (Ancient Kedah) before continuing journey to Nalanda in India.
- he referred to Kedah as Chieh Chia.
- On his way back from Nalanda in 685 AD he again stopped in Kedah and reported that Kedah was then a vassal of Srivijaya together with Malayu (Jambi).
Ibn Khurdadhih: 9th century Persian geographer, mentions Kalah (Kedah) in his influential work, Kitab al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik. His accounts serves as one of the earliest geographical descriptions of Southeast Asia from an Arab perspective.
James Frederick Augustin, Dato' : Malaysian historian and educators, his book "Kedah Zaman Silam" (Bygone Kedah), focused on chronicling the history of the modern Kedah rather than ancient Kedah.
Kadaram : The Ancient Kedah was known as Kadaram to ancient Indians, Kalaha to ancient Arabs and Cheh-Cha to ancient China.
Kataha or Kalahbar: Ancient Arab traders referred Kedah as Kataha or Kalahbar.
Kathasaritsagara (Ocean of Stories) : a Sanskrit literary - The record was compiled by Brahman Somadeva around the year 1070 AD. Ancient Kedah was mentioned several times using the name Kataha Dvipa (Wheatley 1961).
Kaudimahotsava: A Sanskrit drama in the 8th century - also mentioned Ancient Kedah using the term Katahanagara. It is stated that Ancient Kedah is a famous city-port and has been continuosly visited by Indian Traders.
Malay Civilisation: the earliest civilisation of Malay Nation can be traced at Sungai Batu, Kedah aged 788 BC. It is found in the western part of the ancient port and 4 of the discovery are over the age of 500 BC (Arkeologi Sg Batu, 2014).
Ma Tuan Lin: In his record it is stated that Chia Cha (Kedah) sent his envoy to China in the year 638 AD.
Merong Mahawangsa: is a legendary figure believed to be the founder of the Kedah kingdom in local tradition. His story is recorded in the Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa, a traditional Malay historical literary work that combines elements of myth and legend. Raja Phra Ong Mahawangsa, one of his heirs, converted to Islam and took the name Sultan Muzaffar Syah, becoming the first sultan of Kedah.
Mokhtar Saidin, Prof : in recent study of Roman road construction, some of the iron that used for the reinforcement came from Kedah.
Muhammad al-Idrisi: wrote in "Nuzhat al-Musytaq" that in Old Kedah there are tin ore mines and there are also many genuine gems.
Mu'jam al Wasif: the dictionary, the Arabic word for Kedah (Qaddah) can mean "a lump of iron that is heated to separate foreign materials contained in the lump.
Patriarch Timothy I: During the late 8th and early 9th centuries, Nestorian Patriarch Timothy I wrote that many monks journeyed to India and China. It is highly probable they would have passed through the Malacca Strait, stopping at major ports like Kalah (Kedah).
Pattinapalai :
- dated around 190-200 AD, it is stated that goods from Kazhagam are being traded in Puhar or in Kaveripattinam. The term Kazhagam refers to Ancient Kedah (Nilakanta Sastri 1975).
- a Tamil poem by Katiyalur Urutti in the 1st/2nd century AD which states that Indian traders exported iron from "Kataram" to make swords. Kataram is Old Kedah. (Note: the only text that mentioned iron of Kedah Tua was Indian source of Sangam Period).
Paul Wheatley: Book "The Golden Khersonese: Studies in the Historical Geography of the Malay Peninsula before A.D. 1500" , University of Malaya Press 1966 :
- The name of the Old Kedah Kingdom is found in Chinese records in 638 AD. In the Notes of Ma Tuan Lin it is stated that Chia Cha (Kedah) sent his envoy to the Chinese Palace in 638 AD.
- Abu Dulaf al-Muhalhil's notes about Kedah when he stopped in Kedah.
Qal'a al-Rumi: according to recent research referencing classical Islamic scholars such as Al-Biruni and Al-Kindi, it refers to an area links to ancient Kedah on the Northwest of Malay Peninsula. The convergence of the Islamic historical records with the archaelogical evidence from Sungai Batu in Kedah strongly suggests that Qal'a al-Rumi was not a mythical location. Rather it was real, historically significant iron-producing in Southeast Asia that was well-known to early Islamic scholars and traders.
S.Q. Fatimi (1960): in article "In Quest of Kalah" published in the Journal of Southeast Asian History, Fatimi posited that Kalah, a key trading in port in Ancient Arab and Persian descriptions, was situated in the Malay Peninsula, specifically in the Klang area. This was based on the archaeological findings of ancient iron smelting sites discovered in the 1940s near Bukit Badak, Klang, Selangor. However, the discovery of Sungai Batu Archaelogical Complex has changed Fatimi's statement, which is that Kalah is located in Kedah.
Sayf al-Hind or Qala'i :Historical Arabic terms that refer to high-quality steel swords produced in Southeast Asia, specifically in the ancient ironworking of Old Kedah (know to Arabs as Kalah).
Sheikh Daud Al-Fatani: Writing a book of Malay origin > The arrival of Sayyid Sheikh Abdullah Al Qumairi Yamani with 11 other companions at the peak of Mount Jerai, Kedah Darul Aman.
Sillapadikaram :
- one of the Tamil epics has been dated around 2nd to 3rd century AD, during the Sanggam age. It is stated that Malay Archipelago has already established trading network with the Southern India.
- A merchant ship from Tondi that came to Madurai with spices such as cloves and black pepper, along with aloe vera from Kidaravan, which is to say Kidaram (Ancient Kedah) - (Braddell, 1947).
Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin official log : Iron from Kedah as one of export commodity.
Sultan Muhammad Jiwa II is among the longest-reigning monarchs in the world, beating Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar of Johor who only reigned for 63 years.
Sungai Batu Archaelogical Sites : USM's finding at the Sungai Batu in Bujang Valley, Kedah from 2009 confirm vibrant iron smelting and other mettalurgical activities as well as Maritime trading activities in the vicinity back to 4th century B.C.E.
Tamil Literature:
- Parunkhatai another Tamil epics dated in 10th century AD had mentioned Ancient Kedah as Kataraththu Irumpu denotes "irons came from Kataram" which refers to Ancient Kedah (Zuliskandar et al 2017). One of the materials used to produce the carriage of Princess Vacavathaththai (Rodziadi Khaw, 2011).
- Sillapadikaram and Pattinapalai : Tamil literature are the first type of Indian written records concerning the Ancient Kedah.
- Iron from Kedah was recorded in Indian Poem 2nd century AD.
Tanjore Inscription (Thanjavur): from around 1030-1031 CE, records the successful naval attack on Kedah (referred to as Kadaram) by the Chola Kingdom under the command of King Rajendra 1 in 1025 CE.
Thomas Bowrey: Representative of the French East India Company who wrote about Kuala Perlis in 1670: "Send 5 or 6 more (men) to go to Pullo Lada or Purles, which are places belonging to this King (Of Kedah) where Tin and pepper may be bought at cheaper rates then here."
Tong Dian: A Chinese encyclopedia that mentions that the name Kalah (Kedah) or Great Kalah has been heard since the Han Dynasty era (206 - 220 BC).
Wenxian Tongkao: Chinese encyclopedia compiled by Ma Duanlin during the Yuan Dynasty > document that the polity of Chieh-Cha, a name widely associated with Kedah, sent tribute to the Tang Court in China in 638 AD.
Ya'qub ibn Ishaq al-Kindi: the quality of iron products of ancient Kedah was among the top three in the world, sharing pride with Yemen and India (Hoyland and Gilmour, 2006).
Hj Zulheimy Maamor
Lembah Keramat, K.L
18/11/2025: 9.23 p.m
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