Well.. there some experts on Acheh history and especially the 20 and 21 th century conflicts. Anthony Reid is one of them. Some articles, books are available in libraries and relevant institutes.
I recently read a few papers from historians but they cannot be published here. But a short summary is easy:
Aceh was not a Turkish colony or - as a few have put it - ' the most eastern expansion of Ottomans' . Its was not conquered territory, nor were there ever hostilities. That Acheh was "Ottoman alllied' and - to some extent- a loose semi-protectorate was on initiative of the Achenese themselves ( exactly what the Turkish and other sources indicate )
There are various factors to be studied to understand the relation and the mutual interests. Islamic brotherhood ideals (duty of the Caliph as protector of all Muslims , Acheh s fanatic fights against 'infidels' , it promotion of Islam in the region etc ) might have played a role but commercial factors did as well
Period before diplomatic relations
Towards the 1500's Acheh had become a very important port and one of the most important suppliers of pepper and other valuble products in those days. It traded with the middle east, ( Red sea, Egypt , Aden etc ) and the Portugese, dominating much of the" Indian ocean trade " were very enthousiastic in attacking Acenese cargo ships ( and pelgrim voyages ) to the middle east .
In 1511 the Portugese captured capital of Malacca sultanate ( not part of Acheh and rather a great rival of Aceh ) . In 1521 the Portugese also established foothold at Pasai ( wich was Achenese territory ). 2 years later the Achenese defeated and ousted the Portugese. For the next 100 years Portugese and Achenese struggled to dominate the Malacca straits .
The Portugese were ofcourse a great naval power in the 1500's. They were a signficant threat for Aceh and its commercial interests . Therefore, the Acehnese were looking for good allies( Portugese themselve did the same thing by seeking alliances with Siam and other rivals of the Achenese ) .
The Achenese turned towards the Ottomans. Not strange because the Ottomans was the most powerful islamic state and it was there where the Caliph ( the protector of all Muslims on earth ) resided. That the Ottomans and Portugese were enemies, was of great importance as well.
When Acheh turned towards the Ottomans in the 1500's s, the Ottomans had already expanded , controlled much of middle east and were trying to expand in the Indian ocean, bringing them there in conflict with the Portugese. In most of these battles the Portugese had the upperhand and also their control on the maritime trading network kept strong.
first official envoys
In 1547 , the first Achinese envoy reached the Ottomans with all kind of gifts ( pepper, rare animals, gold etc )and request for weapons.
In 1566 in a letter from Acheh sultan Alladin to Ottoman sultan Selim II was presented by Achinese ambassador Husiyen Effendi (Achenese used islamic/ Arab titles/names but often used Turkified forms as well ). The envoy was warmly recieved . In the letter , the Achinese sultan told that the cannoneers, cannons had safely arrived and how dear the cannoneers had become to him. The Achenese sultan said that Acheh viewed itself as part of Ottoman empire. Furthermore , the letter contained great complaints about the Portugese infidels robbing and killing muslims etc.
In 1567 Sultan Selim II sends a letter to Aceh , stressing that its the Caliph's duty to accept the requests of Muslim rulers when they need aid in fighting against 'infidels'. He mentions how he will send a fleet and that his troops (added to Achenese troops ofcourse ) have the duty to destroy the fortresses of the Portugese infidels there. He stresses that the Turkish troops, admiral etc will be under command of the Achenese sultan and are punishable if they dont obey the orders of the Aceh sultan. He confirms that the Ottomans will always send troops to aid the Achinese in their fights against the " infidels".
Selim's II warm attitude towards the Achinese is further stressed by his lettres to the governours of Egypt, Yemen Yedda. Mecca etc that the ambassaor and all Achinese envoys should be assisted in all sort of ways , without need to inform the central government.
Records show that sultan Selim II was making real preparations for the operation and had appointed several admirals for this cause. Nevertheless, a rebellion in Ottoman province Yemen required that the navy prepared to assist Acheh, was needed for this rebellion. Selim II explians this in a later lettre to Acheh and promised to send the expedition next year. The large operation was never carried out as planned, but nevertheless there was still significant assistance given by some supply of cannons, troops and advisors.
( Important note: Aceh did not accept things from Ottomans for free. The Achenese regularely supplied the Ottomans with pepper and other valuable goods. ( B. N. Teensma, 1989 )
For most of the 1500's and 1600 's the Achinese were having countless battles against the Portugese, besieging the Malacca fortress and bombing Portugese ships wherever they could. ( this undermining of Portugals commercial activities was in the interest of Ottomans as well, of course ) Aceh grew to a signficant power in the region and was in the 1600' s able to cast and supply cannons to aid other islamic sultanates.
the 1800's and the attempt to renew the relations :
In the 1800's Aceh was still an independent sultanate. Dutch and Bristhis were very active though and they made a deal that Acheh could come in Dutch influence sphere. To prevent this the Achenese wanted to renew /strenghten the relations with the ( now declined ) Ottoman empire and according to some sources the Achinese envoys requested official Ottoman protectorate status ( something they did not have ) .
The pointed out to the long relations and the strong islamic character of Aceh. They mentioned how the sermons were read in name of the Caliph and the fact that they had carried the Ottoman flag ( or at least something strongly based on it ) all along in the last centuries . They stressed how they were economically self sufficent and how the Achinese soldiers would fight for the Caliph as much as they would do for their own sultan.
The proposal was (eventually) seriously considered but after many discussions , the Ottomans prefered to keep good relations with the Dutch and British. So, although the ideal was that the Caliph was the protector of all muslims, the Ottomans did not gave them the requested formal protectorate status. In the end only a mild protest was made when the wars started a few years later.
As mentioned, this does not mean that Acheh was an easy prey for the Dutch . In the first wars they did beat the Dutch and it would take some 30 years before the reigning sultan surrended and even after that there was still resistance by fanatic guerillas.
concluding remarks
Apart from denying requested offical protectorate status when the Achinese really needed it, we can see that during most of the periode, the relations between Ottomans and Acheh were sincere , respectful and friendly. Ottomans seems to have given considerable aid in the 1500's . When the Achense sultan(s) , in the 1500's said they considered themselve as part of the Ottoman empire and asked for more involvement in matters, the Ottomans, did not take advantage of it in any negative way. The initiative came from the Achenese and the wishes of the local sultan were respected, as can be seen that all Turks send to Aceh from whatever status were ordered to obey the commands of the local sultan there.
We have to keep in mind that much of the above is based on old Turkish documents (Otttoman archives) Now, most annals/chronciles ( and this counts for many nations) have some element of glorification of their own kingdom/empire, so its possible that some extra flavour is added in the sources. Achenese sources are important on the relations too ofcourse, and its only by careful comparison of all sources that a good picture can be gained. Nevertheless, on the whole, the different sources agree on most of the main events.
references and useful reading
Anthony Reid, The Turkish Connection" in "An Indonesian Frontier: Acehnese and other Histories of Sumatra" (Singapore 2005)
B. N. Teensma, "An Unknown Portuguese Text on Sumatra from 1582", (Leiden 1989)
Edited by Sander - 23-May-2007 at 02:23