Why Does NO ONE Know About KEDAH TUA?

Melaka, 1400. A prince, a mouse deer, a tree by the river... that's where most people think Malaysia's history begins. But a thousand years earlier, at the foot of Gunung Jerai, a kingdom was already smelting iron, trading with India, China and Arabia, and building temples. 🏔️ This is Kedah Tua (Old Kedah): known as Kadaram, Kataha, Jiecha and maybe Kalah. Its story takes in a sea captain's prayer carved in stone, a Chola raid, a legendary garuda attack, and a kingdom that once reached all the way to Setul (today's Satun in Thailand). You can still hear its dialect in Myanmar today. So why does almost no one know about it? ⏱️ CHAPTERS 0:00 Before Melaka 0:42 The Mountain Sailors Looked For 1:31 Iron by the River 2:23 One Port, Many Names 3:01 The Shortcut Across the Peninsula 3:59 The Captain's Prayer 4:41 Temples of the Bujang Valley 5:48 Beads, Bowls and Glass 6:29 Yijing Drops By (Again!) 7:07 Kadaram: Enemies and Allies 7:44 The Legend of Merong Mahawangsa 8:31 A New Faith 9:19 Kedah Was Bigger Than You Think 10:40 Caught Between Giants 12:35 Why No One Knows 13:54 Where It All Began 🏛️ Have you visited the Bujang Valley or Candi Bukit Batu Pahat? Or does your family speak Kedah Malay ("hang", "depa")? Tell us in the comments! 👍 If you learned something new, hit LIKE and SUBSCRIBE to HiM - History in Minutes for more history, explained simply. 📺 Missed it? Watch our video on Srivijaya, the sea empire Kedah was closely tied to. ⚠️ DISCLAIMER This video is made for educational and entertainment purposes. It is intended to be neutral and impartial, and does not favour any country, ethnic group, religion or political view. All content is based on accessible written records, academic works and official sources listed below. Several points are still debated by historians and are presented that way: the earliest dates proposed for Sungai Batu, whether Kedah was Srivijaya's partner or vassal, the identification of Kalah, the traditional 1136 date for Kedah's conversion to Islam, and how strong Kedah's historical link to Tanintharyi (Tanah Sari) really was. The Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa is presented as legend. Maps and borders are simplified illustrations, not exact historical boundaries. If you spot an error, let us know respectfully in the comments. 📚 REFERENCES 1. Wheatley, P. (1961). The Golden Khersonese: Studies in the Historical Geography of the Malay Peninsula before A.D. 1500. University of Malaya Press. 2. Jacq-Hergoualc'h, M. (2002). The Malay Peninsula: Crossroads of the Maritime Silk Road (100 BC–1300 AD). Brill. 3. Nik Hassan Shuhaimi Nik Abd. Rahman (Ed.) (1998). The Encyclopedia of Malaysia, Vol. 4: Early History. Archipelago Press. 4. Wales, H. G. Q. (1940). Archaeological researches on ancient Indian colonization in Malaya. Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 18(1). 5. Lamb, A. (1960). Report on the excavation and reconstruction of Chandi Bukit Batu Pahat, Central Kedah. Federation Museums Journal, 5. 6. Low, J. (1848–1849). Articles on ancient inscriptions and remains in Kedah and Province Wellesley. Journal of the Indian Archipelago and Eastern Asia. 7. Chhabra, B. Ch. (1965). Expansion of Indo-Aryan Culture during Pallava Rule, as Evidenced by Inscriptions. Munshiram Manoharlal. 8. Centre for Global Archaeological Research, Universiti Sains Malaysia. Research and excavation reports on Sungai Batu, Bujang Valley (2009 onwards). 9. Takakusu, J. (Trans.) (1896). A Record of the Buddhist Religion by I-Tsing (Yijing). Clarendon Press. 10. Nilakanta Sastri, K. A. (1955). The Cōlas (2nd ed.). University of Madras. 11. Kulke, H., Kesavapany, K. & Sakhuja, V. (Eds.) (2009). Nagapattinam to Suvarnadwipa: Reflections on the Chola Naval Expeditions to Southeast Asia. ISEAS. 12. Siti Hawa Haji Salleh (Ed.) (1991). Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa. Penerbit Universiti Malaya. 13. Bonney, R. (1971). Kedah 1771–1821: The Search for Security and Independence. Oxford University Press. 14. Sharom Ahmat (1984). Tradition and Change in a Malay State: A Study of the Economic and Political Development of Kedah, 1878–1923. MBRAS. 15. Andaya, B. W. & Andaya, L. Y. (2017). A History of Malaysia (3rd ed.). Palgrave. 16. Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909 (Bangkok Treaty). 17. Malaysian national press coverage (2013) of the demolition of Candi No. 11, Bujang Valley. #History #KedahTua #BujangValley #LembahBujang #Kedah #Malaysia #SoutheastAsia #GunungJerai #Srivijaya #HistoryInMinutes