Relations Between The Ottoman Empire And The Sultanate Of Aceh In The 16th Century

Ottoman-Aceh relations began when the Portuguese who wanted to dominate the trading activities in the Strait of Malacca threatened the Sultanate of Aceh. These relations gained great momentum after the Ottomans’ efforts to show their sea power to the Portuguese. Changing power balance and trade expansion together with the religious impacts strengthened the imminence between Ottoman Empire and the Sultanate of Aceh. Military logistic was provided to the Sultanate after the beginning of political relations when the Aceh Sultanate asked help from the Ottomans against the Portuguese. While the Ottomans expanded its religious influence by using these military help, the Sultanate of Aceh strengthened its resistance against Portuguese. Since the Ottoman policy in the 16th century was to show its power also in the seas, the relations with the Sultanate of Aceh provided a good opportunity for this. It has to be seen that the Ottomans’ successful policy in the Indian Ocean was an important cause for the Portuguese failure in the Southeast Asia. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the religious, military and economic relations between the Ottoman Empire and the Sultanate of Aceh in the 16th century.

Keywords

Portuguese, Indian Ocean, Malacca Strait, Ottoman Empire, the Sultanate of Aceh, Trade.