Kedah Tua: Satu Cerakinan Sumber India

Abstract

Abstrak

Kedah Tua merupakan sebuah kerajaan awal dan kota pelabuhan yang wujud di Lembah Bujang antara kurun ke-2 hingga kurun ke-14 Masihi. Lembah Bujang merupakan sebuah terminologi moden yang diperkenalkan oleh Jabatan Muzium dan Antikuiti pada tahun 1970-an untuk merujuk kepada kawasan tempat berkembangnya pelabuhan Kedah Tua. Ia merangkumi kawasan dari Sungai Sala di Utara, Gunung Jerai, Lembah Sungai Merbok dan Sungai Muda hingga ke Cherok Tokkun. Penemuan-penemuan arkeologi di Lembah Bujang termasuklah tinggalan candi, seramik, arca dan prasasti. Di samping data arkeologi, gambaran tentang Kedah Tua turut didapati dari sumber-sumber bertulis asing, terutamanya catatan China, India dan Arab. Antara sumber bertulis yang memberi gambaran terpenting tentang Kedah Tua merupakan sumber India.  Hal ini kerana lokasi Kedah Tua yang terletak di pintu masuk Selat Melaka dan berdekatan dengan Teluk Bengal menjadikannya sebagai pusat persinggahan utama para pedagang dari India. Oleh yang demikian, wujud banyak rekod-rekod dari India yang menerangkan tentang aspek politik, ekonomi dan sosial Kedah Tua. Makalah ini akan cuba untuk membincangkan sumber-sumber India dan sumbangannya kepada sejarah Kedah Tua.

Kata Kunci:

Abstract

Ancient Kedah was a kingdom as well as a port polity which flourished in the Bujang Valley between the 2^nd to the 14^th Century C.E. The Bujang Valley is a modern terminology coined in the 1970s by the Department of Museums and Antiquity to refer to the area where the port of Ancient Kedah developed. It covers the area from Sungai Sala in the North, the Jerai Peak, Merbok-Muda river valleys and Cherok Tokkun in the South. The archaeological discoveries in the area include temple structures, ceramics, sculptures and inscriptions. Aside from archaeological data, descriptions about Ancient Kedah are also available from the foreign accounts, such as the Chinese, Indian and Arab records. However, the most important written records on Ancient Kedah are the Indian written accounts. This is due to the fact that Ancient Kedah was strategically located at the entrance of the Straits of Malacca and near to the Bay of Bengal, making it an important stopping place for Indian traders. Hence, the abundance of Indian records on this port-polity enable us to retrieve important insights into its political, cultural and economical history. This paper attempts to study the Indian sources and its contribution to the history of Ancient Kedah.

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