Ottoman expeditions to Aceh

An informal Ottoman-Aceh alliance had existed since at least the 1530s. Sultan Alauddin wished to develop these relations, both to attempt the expulsion of the Portuguese in Malacca, and to extend his own power in Sumatra. ==Ottoman expeditions==

in the 16th century. The 1564 embassy to Constantinople was sent by Sultan Alauddin Riayat Syah al-Kahhar. Only two ships eventually arrived in 1566–67, but numerous other fleets and shipments would follow. The Ottomans taught the Acehnese how to forge their own cannon, some of which reached considerable size. The craft of making such weapons had spread throughout maritime Southeast Asia. Famous cannons were made in Makassar, Mataram, Java, Minangkabau, Melaka, and Brunei. Many of these rare artillery pieces were captured by the European colonialists; the bells of several Dutch churches in Aceh were made from melted Ottoman weapons. Some of these bells still carry the Ottoman crests which were originally on the barrels. By the beginning of the 17th century, Aceh boasted about 1200 medium-sized bronze cannons, and about 800 other weapons such as breech-loading swivel guns and arquebuses. ==Results==

The expeditions led to increased exchanges between Aceh and the Ottoman Empire in military, commercial, cultural, and religious fields. Subsequent Acehnese rulers continued these exchanges with the Ottoman Empire, and Acehnese ships seem to have been allowed to fly the Ottoman flag. When Aceh was attacked by the Dutch in 1873, triggering the Aceh War, the region invoked the protection of its earlier agreement with the Ottoman Empire as one of its dependencies. The claim was rejected by Western powers who feared a precedent being set. Once again Aceh requested military reinforcements from the Ottomans, but the tasked fleet originally designated to help was diverted to Yemen to suppress the Zaidi rebellion there. ==See also==