When the Portuguese sacked Melaka in 1511, Sultan Mahmud Shah fled south to Muar and landed here at Parit Karang Laut. Today this inlet is a sleepy bit of the coastline, just north of Muar, known for its seafood restaurants and sunset views.
According to Google Translate, the sign below says "Economic Group of coral fishing fishermen ridge”, anyway there was clearly fishing activity still going on here.
Sultan Mahmud Shah continued to be harrassed by the Portuguese, so he moved further inland. His wife was unwell at this time so she told him to carry on and leave her behind. She died and is buried here (see photo below)……. or is she? If you see grave stones of dark red colour, these are likely to be a few hundred years old with the stone being quarried from places such as Batu Pahat. This was the favoured building material for forts in the 15th and 16th centuries. The lighter grey grave stones are likely to be younger. The version of history presented here is that this is the grave of Tun Teja and the resting place of generals killed in the battle at Parit Karang Laut. The alternative version of history is that the Makam Tun Teja is in Melaka, not in Muar. Hmmmm……..
All this was followed by more fighting back on the Muar River at Kubu Bentayan, near the site of Kota Biawak Busuk mentioned previously. So, we are back near the Betayan Bus Terminal again. This location could therefore be seen as the start and the end of the Melakan Dynasty!
The Sultan was chased further inland and travelled inland along the Muar River, building a fort at Kampung Berohol, at a site where the Pagoh River meets the larger Muar River. A second battle took place here in 1512.
There is evidence of an old fort here due to the presence of red stones, but any real structures were apparently destroyed when a new water pipe was installed a few years ago.
Kampung Berohol was a lovely location in the late afternoon sunshine, and you could see why people would have wanted to settle here.
But there was a far more important reason. Where these rivers met is also a very strategic position along the water ways. From this point, Sultan Mahmud Shah could travel west along the Muar River to the coast, or south and inland on the Pagoh River where he could disappear into the jungle. He could even travel north to Pahang and join the Pahang River. While the Muar River and the Pahang River do not actually meet, in older times there was a stretch of land about 200 metres long known as Jalan Penarikan. Here it would take a team of men a few hours to haul boats across land on a wooden wheeled system. So, Sultan Mahmud Shah escaped to Pahang using this system of cross-country travel.
Before today, I had assumed that the Melakan Sultans had used the coast as their transportation route, but I was wrong. The coastal route south from Melaka was the most dangerous route as there were pirates and enemies in these waters. So, moving goods and people around was much safer using the inland waterways, of which there were many.
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