Turkey as Aceh's alternative imperium

Aceh is celebrated for its opposition to foreign domination. Its very identity as a sultanate was based on resistance to the Portuguese in the 16 ^th century, and to Dutch, English and French in the 17^th and 18^th. In the 19^th century the sultanate again provided the last and fiercest resistance to the Dutch advance, and in the 20 ^th to Jakarta. Aceh's long-standing relationship with Ottoman Turkey, however, provides a startling contrast. The readiness of Acehnese sultans in the 16^th and 19^th centuries to declare themselves subjects, even 'slaves', of the Ottoman sultan was a tactical device to attract the Turks and deter the Europeans, but also reflected a world-view that the house of Islam should be united under a Caliph, and should resist rule by non-believers. Aceh's declared "vassalage" to the Ottomans had deep roots in the 16^th century, but only in the 19^th were attempts made to translate these into the language of modern empire and sovereignty. Ottoman documents now allow us to add the Aceh-Turkey relationship to our understanding of Indonesia's history.