Early history of Singapore

Ptolemy, Geographia, VIII. 11th Map of Asia. Sabana given at the tip of the Malay Peninsula which was named as the Golden Khersonese.

The first possible mention of early Singapore dates to 2nd century CE cartographic references in the Greco-Roman astronomer Ptolemy's Geographia. A place called Sabana or Sabara was marked on the 11th Map of Asia at the southern tip of the Golden Khersonese (meaning the Malay Peninsula) where Singapore may lie.[1] It was identified as a nominon emporion or designated foreign trading port, as part of a chain of similar trading centres that linked Southeast Asia with India and the Mediterranean.[2] Identification of Sabana or Sabara however varies, with various authors proposing it to be in Selangor or near Klang, or just south of Malacca, or south Johor, as well as Singapore island itself. No archaeological evidence from this period has yet been found in Singapore.[1]

A fragment of the Singapore Stone, inscribed with an unknown script, c 10th to 13th century.

A 3rd century Chinese written record described the island of Pu Luo Chung (蒲羅中), probably a transcription of the Malay Pulau Ujong, "island at the end" (of the Malay peninsula).[3] It mentions briefly a hearsay account of cannibals with 5 or 6 inch tails living there.[4]

Mao Kun map from Wubei Zhi based on the early 15th century navigation maps of Zheng He, showing Temasek (淡馬錫) at the top left, and Longyamen (龍牙門) in the right panel. Temasek was described as having two different settlements by Wang Dayuan, Longyamen and Banzu.

Early Singapore was called "Temasek", possibly a word deriving from "tasik" (Malay for lake or sea) and taken to mean Sea-town in Malay.[7] The Nagarakretagama, a Javanese epic poem written in 1365, listed a settlement on the island called Tumasik as a vassal of the Majapahit.[8] The name is also mentioned in the Malay Annals thought to have been written in 1535.[7] Temasek may have diplomatic relationship with Vietnam, which recorded it as Sach Ma Tich, as early as the 13th century.[9] It is also recorded by the Chinese traveller Wang Dayuan who visited the island around 1330 and described a place called Dan Ma Xi (單馬錫, a transcription of the Malay Temasek). The name Dan Ma Xi or Temasek is written in Chinese as 淡馬錫 in the Mao Kun map.

Long Ya Men and Ban Zu

Main articles: Long Ya Men and Ban Zu

It was recorded in 1320 that the Mongol sent a mission to obtain elephants from Long Ya Men (龍牙門, Dragon's Teeth Gate).[10] The people of Longyamen then responded in 1325 with a tribute and trade mission to China.[11] Long Ya Men is believed to be the entrance to Keppel Harbour. In his work Daoyi Zhilüe, Wang Dayuan described Long Ya Men as the two hills of Temasek that looked like "Dragon's teeth" between which a strait runs, and wrote about the place:

The fields are barren and there is little padi  ...  In ancient times, when digging in the ground, a chief came upon a jewelled head-dress. The beginning of the year is calculated from the [first] rising of the moon, when the chief put on this head-gear and wore his [ceremonial] dress to receive the congratulations [of the people]. Nowadays this custom is still continued. The natives and Chinese dwell side by side. Most [of the natives] gather their hair into a chignon, and wear short cotton bajus girded about with black cotton sarongs.

— Wang Dayuan, translation by Paul Wheatley.[12][13]

Jewelry found at Fort Canning Hill, which was named Banzu by Wang Dayuan

Wang further mentioned that lakawood and tin was produced there and the natives traded with Chinese from Quanzhou, but Chinese junks on their way back from the Western Oceans (西洋) may be met by pirates there who attacked with two to three hundred perahus (boats).[13] Wang described another settlement on a hill behind Long Ya Men called Ban Zu (班卒, a transcription of the Malay name pancur meaning a "spring"). It is thought to be located on Fort Canning Hill, and a spring used to exist on the west side of the hill.[14] In contrast to those of Long Ya Men who were prone to piracy, the inhabitants of Ban Zu were described as honest, and they wore "their hair short, with turban of gold-brocaded satin," and were dressed in red cloth.[15] Wang also reported that the Siamese attacked Temasek a few years before he visited, but the fortified city survived the attack which lasted a month.[16] Ruins of the settlement on the hill were still visible in the early 19th century and were described by the Resident John Crawfurd. In 1928, pieces of gold ornaments dating to the mid-14th century was discovered at Fort Canning Hill.[17]

Recent excavations in Fort Canning provide evidence that Singapore was a port of some importance in the 14th century[18] and used for transactions between Malays and Chinese. Various documents suggest that following the decline of Srivijaya power, Temasek was alternately claimed by the Majapahit and the Siamese Ayutthaya Kingdom.

Sometime in its history, the name of Temasek was changed to Singapura. The Sejarah Melayu (Malay Annals) contains a tale of a prince of Srivijaya, Sri Tri Buana (also known as Sang Nila Utama), who landed on Temasek after surviving a storm in the 13th century. According to the tale, the prince saw a strange creature, which he was told was a lion; believing this to be an auspicious sign, he decided to found a settlement called Singapura, which means "Lion City" in Sanskrit. It is unlikely there ever were lions in Singapore, though tigers continued to roam the island until the early 20th century. However, the lion motif is common in Hindu mythology, which was dominant in the region during that period (one of the words for "throne" in the Malay language is "singgasana", meaning "lion's seat" in Sanskrit), and it has been speculated that the "Singapura" name, and the tale of the lion, were invented by court historians of the Malacca Sultanate to glorify Sang Nila Utama and his line of descent.[19]

Different versions of its history are told in Portuguese sources, suggesting that Temasek was a Siamese vassal whose ruler was killed by Parameswara from Palembang.[20] Historians believe that during the late 14th century, Parameswara, the last Srivijayan prince, fled to Temasek from Palembang after being deposed by the Majapahit Empire. According to Portuguese accounts, Parameswara killed the local chief with the title Sang Aji eight days after being welcomed into Temasek.[21]

Map of Singapura by Malay-Portuguese cartographer Manuel Godinho de Erédia dated 1604.

Not withstanding the Sejarah Melayu legend, the "Singapura" name possibly dates to this period. Some argued that Singapura was named after the "lion throne" Parameswara established in Palembang as a challenge to the Majapahit empire, and for which he was expelled from Palembang.[22] Parameswara held the island of Singapore for a number of years, until further attacks from either the Majapahit or the Ayutthaya kingdom in Siam forced him to move on to Melaka where he founded the Sultanate of Malacca.[23] While there are parallels between the mythical Sang Nila Utama and the historical Parameswara, these should be seen as distinct.[23]

Archaeological evidence suggests that the main settlement on Fort Canning was abandoned around this time, although a small trading settlement continued in Singapore for some time afterwards.[22] Singapore became part of the Malacca empire, and it was said to be the fiefdom of the legendary laksamana (or admiral) Hang Tuah.[24] However, by the time the Portuguese arrived in the early 16th century, the Singapura that existed before Malacca was founded had already become "great ruins" according to the conqueror of Malacca Afonso de Albuquerque.[25][26]

During the 16th and early 17th century, it briefly regained some significance as a trading centre of the Sultanate of Johor. In 1613, Portuguese raiders burnt down the settlement at the mouth of the Singapore River and the island sank into obscurity.[27][28] It was not until 1819, when Englishman Sir Stamford Raffles established a British trading post on the island, that modern Singapore was founded.