TRENGGANU

The Bendahara Dynasty

GENEALOGY

1725 - 1733 H.H. Paduka Sri Sultan Zainal-Abidin I bin Dato Bendahara Tun Habib 'Abdu'l Majid [al-Marhum Bukit Nangka], Sultan and Yang di-Pertuan of Trengganu*. b. 1678, younger son of Tun Habib 'Abdu'l-Majid bin Mat Ali, Dato' Bendahara Sri Maharaja Padang Saujana of Johor. Granted the title of Dato' Sri Paduka Maharaja, 1717. Promoted to Yang di-Pertuan Muda shortly afterwards, but lost that office to the Bugis in 1722. Invested at Kuala Trengganu as Sultan by his nephew, Sultan Sulaiman Badr ul-'Alam Shah of Johor, 1725. m. (first) Nang Roqaiya, Che' Puan Besar (d. at Bukit Nangka, before 1733), daughter of Sri Paduka Sultan Long Bahar, Raja of Kelantan-Utara (Jembal) and Kelantan-Patani, by his wife, Raja Mas Kelantan, Raja Perempuan of Patani, daughter of Raja Bakar, Raja of Patani. m. (second) a lady from Muar. m. (third) Che' Puan (bur. Kota Lama, Bukit Keledang, Kuala Trengganu), granddaughter of Dato' Wan Ismail, Dato' Trengganu. m. (fourth) a daughter of Dato' Sharif 'Abdu'l-Malik bin 'Abdu'llah, Tuk Ku Pulau Manis. He d. at Bukit Nangka, 7th March 1733 (bur. Kota Lama, Bukit Keledang, Kuala Trengganu), having had issue, seven sons and six daughters:
 
* The chronology of rulers given here accords with the modern accepted lists. However, there is good reason to question the status of the first two rulers. Some Trengganu sources state that Zainal succeeded his elder brother in the office of Yang di-Pertuan Muda ca 1717. If he did, he would have lost that office to the Bugis in 1722. The Peringatan Sejarah Negeri Johor, completed by 1759, entitles the second ruler as nothing more than Yang di-Pertuan Kechil (Raja Kechil). The terminology, like that of Yang di-Pertuan Muda (Raja Muda), suggests a subordinate ruler. Perhaps his status mirrored the other viceregal offices of Raja Muda and Raja Tua. The title of Sultan, often conferred on the holders of those offices, may have also been personal to Zainal and Mansur, not hereditary or territorial. Zainal may have received the title compensation for the Bugis compromise. Furthermore, neither contemporary evidence nor more recent genealoies assign royal titles for Zainal's children, an unexplainable oddity in the case of any independent Malay ruler.
Copyright© Christopher Buyers
Some accounts suggest that the Maharaja Indira Bongsu held Trengannu during the early period covered by the reign of the second sultan. Mansur I spent much of this period in the Riau islands. He seems to have established his independence from Johore, sometime during the period between 1757 and 1776. He signed the Dutch Treaty of 1757 as a Johore official, but played the part of kingmaker and overlord in Kelantan by 1777. Conseqently, one finds it difficult to accept the territorial designation of "Sultan of Trengganu" or an independent state, before this period.
Copyright© Christopher Buyers
continued on the next page.
Copyright© Christopher Buyers
TRENGGANU 1 TRENGGANU 3 TRENGGANU 4 TRENGGANU 5
TRENGGANU 6 TRENGGANU 7 TRENGGANU 8 TRENGGANU 9
TRENGGANU 10 TRENGGANU 11 TRENGGANU 12 TRENGGANU 13
DUNGUN ORDERS & DECORATIONS MAIN
Copyright© Christopher Buyers
I would be grateful to hear from anyone who may have changes, corrections or additions to contribute. If you do, please be kind enough to send me an e-mail using the contact details at:
Copyright© Christopher Buyers
CONTACT

Copyright©Christopher Buyers, November 2000 - August 2008