Terengganu Inscription Stone

Terengganu Inscription Stone
Batu Bersurat Terengganu
A replica of the Terengganu Inscription Stone at the National Historical Museum in Kuala Lumpur
Material	Granite
Height	< 89 cm (35 in)
Width	< 53 cm (21 in)
Writing	Jawi script
Created	c. 1303 AD
Discovered	1887 Kampung Buluh, Kuala Berang, Hulu Terengganu
Present location	Terengganu State Museum
Language	Malay

Terengganu Inscription Stone (Malay: Batu Bersurat Terengganu; Jawi: باتو برسورت ترڠݢانو‎) is a granite stele^[1] carrying Classical Malay inscription in Jawi script that was found in Terengganu, Malaysia.^[2] The inscription, dated possibly to 702 AH (corresponds to 1303 CE), constituted the earliest evidence of Jawi writing in the Malay world of Southeast Asia, and was one of the oldest testimonies to the advent of Islam as a state religion in the region.^[3] It contains the proclamation issued by a ruler of Terengganu known as Seri Paduka Tuan, urging his subjects to extend and uphold Islam and providing 10 basic Sharia laws for their guidance.^[4]

The stone was found half-submerged by a bank of Tersat river in Kuala Berang, Hulu Terengganu, in 1887 CE after the floods had receded. A Terengganuan nobleman, Pengiran Anum Engku Abdul Kadir bin Engku Besar and his tin-prospector friend, Saiyed Husin Ghulam Al Bukhari came across the stone and brought it on a raft to Kuala Terengganu where it was presented to Sultan Zainal Abidin III, and placed atop of Bukit Puteri ('Princess hill').^[5]

In 2009, a meeting of the UNESCO's International Advisory Committee (IAC) held in Barbados, included the Inscribed Stone of Terengganu in a heritage list of Memory of the World Programme, making it the fourth heritage recognition accorded to Malaysia after the Hikayat Hang Tuah, Sejarah Melayu, and the correspondence of Sultan Abdul Hamid in 2001.^[6]