Aceh Sultanate
Historic state based in northern Sumatra, Indonesia (1496–1904)

The Aceh Sultanate, officially the Kingdom of Aceh Darussalam, was a sultanate centered in the modern-day province of Aceh of Indonesia. It was a major regional power in the 16th and 17th centuries, before experiencing a long period of decline. Its capital was Kutaraja, the present-day Banda Aceh. Along with Mataram and Makassar, it has been referred to as one of Southeast Asia's major "gunpowder empires".
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Aceh Sultanate” as historic state based in northern Sumatra, Indonesia (1496–1904). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as historic state based in northern Sumatra, Indonesia (1496–1904). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 8, 2026.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
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This entry incorporates text from “Aceh Sultanate” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.