THE ISLAMIC SULTANATE OF MALACCA: A STUDY OF ITS INCEPTION AND THE FACTORS OF ITS DEVELOPMENT INTO A GLOBAL TRADE CENTER IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE 15 TH CENTURY

Abstract

The Malacca sultanate arose under conditions of conflict between the islands and semi-island kingdoms of the Malay Archipelago in the late 14th century, in order to impose sovereignty over the region. The Sultanate of Malacca derives its importance from its location on the southern tip of the Strait of Malacca with historic strategic importance and its control of the most important routes of international trade between the East and the West. As a result, Malacca was been transformed from a small village into an international shopping center.The emergence of the Malacca sultanate coincided with the change of Chinese empire's foreign policy and its isolation from a maritime policy with commercial and diplomatic objectives. The port of Malacca became one of the four important stops of the Chinese fleet to the west of the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea. The importance of the Malacca Sultanate in theforeign policy of China's empire increasedThis resulted in the establishment of diplomatic relations between them in 1403.