Kedah Sultanate

Sultanate of Kedah كسلطانن قدح‎ (Malay) Kesultanan Kedah
330–1136 (Old Kedah) 1136–1821 1842–1945 1948–present
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: Allah Selamatkan Sultan Mahkota God Save the Crowned Sultan (since 1937)
Kedah in present-day Malaysia
Status	Old Kedah (330–1136) Independent Sultanate (1136–1821) State of Siam (1821–1909) Protectorate of the United Kingdom (1909–1941; 1945–1946)
Capital	Alor Setar Anak Bukit
Common languages	Malay Kedah Malay English Chinese Tamil Aslian
Religion	Sunni Islam
Government	Absolute monarchy (1136-1941; 1945-1946; 1948-1957) Parliamentary constitutional monarchy within Malaysia (since 1957)
Sultan
• 1136–1179	Mudzaffar Shah I (first)
• 2017–present	Sallehuddin
Advisor
• 1909–1915; 1918–1919	George Maxwell
Legislature	None (rule by decree) (1136–1905) Kedah State Council (1905–1941; 1945–1946; 1948–1959) Kedah State Legislative Assembly
Historical era	Early modern period
• Conversion to Islam	1136; 888 years ago (1136)
• Golden Age	1735
• Annexed by Siam	November 1821
• Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909	9 July 1909
• Japanese occupation	16 February 1942
• Annexed by Thailand	18 October 1943
• Japanese surrender; returned to United Kingdom	14 August 1945
• Added into Malayan Union	31 March 1946
Population
• 1931	429,691[1]
Currency	Native gold and silver coins Straits dollar (until 1939) Malayan dollar (until 1953)
Preceded by Succeeded by Kedah Kingdom Srivijaya Syburi Malayan Union Kedah Rattanakosin Kingdom
Today part of	Malaysia
1 Remains as capital until today 2 Malay using Jawi (Arabic) script

The Kedah Sultanate (Malay: كسلطانن قدح) is a Muslim dynasty located in the Malay Peninsula. It was originally an independent state, but became a British protectorate in 1909. Its monarchy was abolished after it was added to the Malayan Union but was restored and added to the Malayan Union's successor, the Federation of Malaya.

The information regarding the formation of this sultanate and the history before and after its creation comes from the "Kedah Annals". The annals were written in the 18th century, over a millennium after the formation of the supposed Kedah Kingdom. It describes the first king of Kedah as arriving on the shores of Kedah as a result of an attack by a mythical gigantic beast. It states that the nation was founded by the offspring of Alexander the Great. However, Thai chronicles mention that Kedah was a Thai city like Nakhon Si Thammarat and was a part of the Siamese kingdom but later was changed into a Malay state after invasion by Muslim kingdoms until today.^[2]

The Kedah Annals provides unreliable information on the sultans of Kedah, listing the first sultan of Kedah as Sultan Mudzafar Shah I in 1136, while an Acehnese account gives the conversion of Kedah to Islam in 1474. Although not impossible, the year 1136 is also unlikely since it pre-dates the Terengganu Inscription Stone by almost three centuries. Claims made by the Kedah Annals also directly contradict the fact that the Buddhist Srivijaya kingdom was in direct control of Kedah at the time Sultan Mudzafar Shah I allegedly converted the region to a sultanate. Kedah may have remained Hindu-Buddhist until the 15th century.^[3]