The Tale of the Fall of Gangga Negara in Perak

Perak is famous for the mystery of the ancient kingdom known as Gangga Negara, with its location said to be centered in the Beruas area.

There is a story regarding the fall of the Gangga Negara kingdom embedded within the chronicles refined in the Sulalatus Salatin (Malay Annals). This story begins with a King named Raja Suran who wished to conquer the world. It is told that in a land called Amdan Negara, which had just lost its king, Raja Nusyirwan Adil, Raja Suran was appointed to replace his late grandfather to rule Amdan Negara, which at that time was a great and feared superpower. Many land areas were under the dominion of the Amdan Negara kingdom, except for China. Therefore, Raja Suran harbored an ambition to attack and conquer China.

In preparation for conquering China, Raja Suran began gathering millions of troops, forging weapons, and making all other necessary preparations to attack and conquer the land of China. Once all preparations were complete and they were ready, Raja Suran set off with his troops, marching on foot toward the continent of China to conquer the regions there and expand his kingdom's power. To illustrate the sheer number of Raja Suran's troops, it is recorded in the Sulalatus Salatin as follows, "

all the wilderness became like a field, the earth trembled as if in an earthquake, the mountains moved, all high ground became flat, stones were sent flying, and all the rivers dried up into mud

". This description clearly shows that Raja Suran possessed a vast number of soldiers. Throughout Raja Suran's journey with his troops, any kingdom encountered along his path would be attacked and conquered without negotiation. Warfare became the only determinant of victory for Raja Suran. It was common at that time for strength to be an important symbol to prove a kingdom's power. One day, after months of marching, Raja Suran arrived at a kingdom called Gangga Negara. For your information, loyal readers of orangperak.com, the ruler of Gangga Negara was named Raja Gangga Syah Johan. The following is an excerpt from the Sulalatus Salatin, "

The kingdom was situated on a hill, appearing very high from the front and low from the back. Its fort is now in Dinding, slightly towards Perak

". This clearly indicates the location of the Kota Gangga Negara within the state of Perak. News of Raja Suran's arrival in Gangga Negara eventually reached the ears of the leader of Gangga Negara, Raja Gangga Syah Johan. Therefore, Raja Gangga Syah Johan immediately ordered his people and soldiers to prepare for war, and he also ordered the closing and strict guarding of all entrances to the Kota Gangga Negara, as well as filling the moats surrounding the city with water.

decorative image for illustrative purposes only When Raja Suran arrived right in front of the gates of Kota Gangga Negara, his entire army surrounded the area, and the tragic story of the fierce battle between the Gangga Negara defense forces and Raja Suran's army began. It is said that many of Raja Suran's soldiers died, pierced by arrows from the Gangga Negara defenders above, but this did not deter Raja Suran's army; instead, they became more spirited and continued to attack to break down the locked city gates. After repeated attempts to break down the entrance to Kota Gangga Negara, the gate defending the entry finally collapsed. Without wasting time, all the soldiers, along with Raja Suran, rushed into Kota Gangga Negara and attacked, mercilessly sacrificing everyone inside. Raja Suran is said to have entered Kota Gangga Negara riding a large elephant, which was seen by Raja Gangga Syah Johan, who had been prepared from within. Immediately, Raja Gangga Syah Johan pulled his bowstring and aimed directly at Raja Suran. When he released the string, the arrow rushed toward Raja Suran. Unfortunately, Raja Gangga Syah Johan's arrow missed slightly and hit the elephant Raja Suran was riding. Before Raja Suran's elephant collapsed to the ground from the arrow, Raja Suran managed to leap high from the elephant's back toward Raja Gangga Syah Johan while drawing his sharp sword. Raja Suran swung his sword as he reached Raja Gangga Syah Johan, striking his neck and severing the head of the Gangga Negara ruler from his body. Stunned by the tragic fall of their leader, Raja Gangga Syah Johan, at the hands of Raja Suran, all the people and soldiers of Gangga Negara fled in disarray to save themselves. It is said there was a beautiful princess who was a relative of Raja Gangga Syah Johan who was also inside Kota Gangga Negara. The princess was named Puteri Dara Segangga and was taken as a wife by Raja Suran.

Since that day, the Gangga Negara kingdom, which was said to be no less great than others across the archipelago, collapsed. The existence of the Gangga Negara kingdom that once stood on the soil of Perak is not merely a fairy tale or myth. This is supported by the discovery of several historical remnants that still exist in several areas of Perak in general and Beruas in particular. references and adapted from the book Sulalatus Salatin (Malay Annals)