AYUTTHAYA HISTORICAL RESEARCH



THE TOMB OF SHEIKH AHMAD QOMI





Sheikh Ahmad Qomi was born in 1543 CE in the Pa’in-e Shahr district of Qom (lower city) (1), Persia. [1] Holding the title sheikh, Ahmad was highly educated and well-versed in Islamic scripture. He belonged to the Twelver Sect, or Imami Shi'ism (2).
The exact year Ahmad arrived in Siam with his younger brother Muhammad Said is disputed. Some sources state 1602 CE, others 1603 or 1605 CE. Both brothers and their retinue established their residence and trading quarters in Ayutthaya. The sheikh married a Siamese woman named "Chuey" and had two sons and a daughter. The eldest son was named Chun (4) the second died young the daughter was named Chi. (Marcinkowski, 2005)


Ahmad's trade prospered, and he became wealthy, thereby increasing his influence at court during King Ekathotsarot's reign, underscoring his significant role in Siam's political and economic development.

Around 1610 CE, the two Persian Muslim brothers helped reform the Phra Khlang Ministry (Ministry of Finance and Foreign Affairs). The division of this ministry into 'left' and 'right' departments was apparently their doing. As a result of his contribution to the development of the port administration, Sheikh Ahmad received the title of Phraya Rattana Ratchasetthi from the King. Muhammad Said returned to India [2], while Ahmad was appointed head of the 'Krom Tha Khwa' or the "Harbour Department of the Right", one of the departments he himself created. Ahmad and his retinue were granted a site to build houses, a mosque and a cemetery. This area is now known as Ban Khaek Kuti Chao Sen (3). (Marcinkowski, 2005)





(The burial place of Sheikh Ahmad Qomi – Picture taken January 2009 CE)



Was it the reform of the Phra Khlang Ministry that led Japanese traders in 1611 CE to stage a rebellion and attempt to capture King Songtham (reign 1610/1611-1628) within the Grand Palace grounds? The Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya state that the Japanese traders gathered in the royal courtyard, numbering around five hundred. At that moment, King Songtham was at the Jom Thong Royal Pavilion of Wat Phra Si Sanphet, listening to the monks expounding books. It seems there was little organisation or coordination among the rebels, as monks from the Monastery of the Pradu Tree and the Hall of the Law were able to enter and escort the king out, right in front of the Japanese. Phraya Ahmad managed to assemble his troops and attack the Japanese. The Japanese were routed from the Grand Palace, boarded their junks, and fled to Phetchaburi. The Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya state that due to his armed intervention and its fortunate outcome, the Sheikh was appointed Chao Phraya Kalahom Suriyawong [3].

Shortly after, he must have been appointed to the position of Phra Khlang and, by the end of King Songtham's reign, had become the Mahatthai (Minister of Civil Affairs). (5) [4]

Sheikh Ahmad passed away in 1631 CE at the age of 88. During the 1990s, a memorial was erected marking the supposed burial site of the Sheikh. The monument was built on the grounds of the Rajabhat Institute in Ayutthaya, at Ayutthaya's Teachers' Training College, near the Ayutthaya Historical Study Centre. Prof Charnvit Kasetsiri is said to have doubts about the accuracy of the Sheikh's burial site and to have advocated a location outside the city. (Marcinkowski, 2005). Although not confirmed, I presume this place could be the Takia Yokhin Racha Mitjinja Sayam Mosque.

There is considerable dispute over the Sheikh's background, including his origins. Most sources state that he was from Qom, Persia Professor Leonard Andaya, however, refers to him as being from southern India [5] Wyatt states that he came from the Persian Gulf (Wyatt, 2003) we also encounter the expression "from Arab lands", which seems to refer to the Middle East (Marcinkowski, 2005). Following Marcinkowski, the southern Indian Muslim kingdoms may have played a role in the immigration of Persians to Siam. In particular, the Deccan kingdom of Golconda under the Qutb-Shahis (1512-1687 CE) was Twelver Shi'íte and a potential political ally of Safavid Persia. Golconda became a haven for Twelvers, in most cases, Persians from Persia, but also Shi'ite refugees from Sunnite northern India. (Marcinkowski, 2005)





(The burial place of Sheikh Ahmad Qomi – Picture taken January 2009 CE)



It is likely that, being Persian, Sheikh Ahmad came from Southern Muslim India, as trade links between Golconda's main port, Masulipatnam, and Tenasserim in Siam already existed by the second half of the 16th century. All this, however, remains guesswork due to the lack of sources from Iran.


Sheikh Ahmad is often credited with introducing the Ithna Ashariyyah, or Imami Shi‘ism, to Siam at the beginning of the 17th century, reflecting the growing Islamic influence amidst existing religious dynamics. [6]


Ibn Muhammad Ibrahim did not once, throughout his account (The Ship of Sulayman), refer to Sheikh Ahmad. [7]


Although likely not the founder of the Persian community in Siam, Ahmad is believed to have been the first Chula Ratchamontri (6), or Shaykh'ul Islam, a position offered to him by King Songtham. The Chula Rachamontri was at the same time the leader of the Muslim community, the adviser to the King on Islamic matters, and responsible for settling disputes among non-Chinese foreigners. The office still exists today. (Marcinkowski, 2005)


The Ahmad family line controlled the "Department of Western Maritime Affairs", known in Siam as the "Krom Tha Khwa", from the 17th century onwards. The head of the Krom Tha Khwa sat to the right of the King at court, higher than his colleague in the 'western department', who sat to the left of the Siamese monarch and was regarded as lower in rank. The "Department of Western Maritime Affairs" was one of the four departments of the Phra Khlang, reorganised with the assistance of Sheikh Ahmad and Muhammad Said during the 1610s and employed by the Ayutthaya Kings to maintain Ayutthaya's status as a profitable centre for trade. The three other reformed departments were the "Department of General Administration, Appeals and Records", the "Department of Royal Warehouses" and the "Department of Eastern Maritime Affairs and Crown Junks". [8]


The Krom Tha Khwa was essentially the Kingdom’s means of engaging profitably with the Muslim trade networks throughout Asia. The new structural division grouped all areas of primary concern to Muslim traders into a single department, encompassing all the ports on the northern and eastern rims of the Indian Ocean, as well as the Muslim trading centres in the Indonesian world. The department had various territorial responsibilities, particularly regarding the Siamese Indian Ocean ports on the west coast of the peninsula (Tenasserim, Mergui). The power of the "Department of Western Maritime Affairs", which was larger and more complex than its 'eastern' counterpart, declined towards the late 18th century. (Marcinkowski, 2005)





(Detail of Phraya Boran Ratchathanin’s 1926 CE map featuring Khok Khaek – Khaek standing for a person from the Arabian subcontinent, the Indian subcontinent, Malaysia, or Indonesia. The detail also shows Wat Am Yae/Am Mae, possibly derived from the name "Ahmad" and possibly connected to Sheikh Ahmad. The site might have been a mosque)



Footnotes:

(1) Qom is the capital city of Qom Province in Iran, 156 km southwest of Tehran. Qom is the second most sacred city in Iran and a major pilgrimage destination.
(2) The Ithna Ashariyyah or the Twelver Sect follows the teachings of Imam Jaafar Al Sadeq, the great-grandson of Hussein. Jaafar was born in Medina between 699-700 and 702-703 and died there in 765 CE. The Twelver Sect hold the line down to the 12th Imam, Mohammed Al Muntazar, who is said to have gone into hiding in 878 CE and is expected to return as Mahdi before the Last Judgment.
(3) The website http://www.bunnag.in.th (retrieved on 31 March 2010), put the site of Sheikh Ahmad Qomi's residence, trading post and Kuti Chao Sen (Mosque) in the location of the present-day Ayutthaya Teachers College, in front of a river landing known as Tha Ghayee or Tha Kayee. On Phraya Boran Rachathanin's map drafted in 1926 CE, we find that this area is called "Thung Khaek" or "Muslim Field". In this area, there is a structure known as Khok Khaek, situated on the north bank of the now-defunct Khlong Pa Mo. To its east was Wat Am Yae, a denomination indicating some Muslim influence. Khok Khaek could have been Sheikh Ahmad's former location. More information needs to be gathered on this issue.
(4) Chun will succeed his father around 1630 CE in the same position of Mahatthai with the title Chao Phraya Aphairacha. In 1670 CE, Chun's eldest son, Sombun, succeeded him as Chao Phraya Chamnan Phakdi. (Wyatt 2003)
(5) On a commemoration tablet at the Rajabhat Institute, it is mentioned that Sheikh Ahmad received the title of Chao Phraya Bovorn Rachanayok (Emeritus Councillor for Civil Affairs) at the age of 87 years, during the reign of King Prasat Thong (1629-1656 CE).
(6) Chula = Shura (Islamic Council), Ratcha = Royal, M Adviser, hence Royal Adviser on the Islamic Council.

References:

[1] Marcinkowski, Muhammad Ismail (2005). From Isfahan to Ayutthaya: contacts between Iran and Siam in the 17th century.
[2] Andaya, Leonard Y. (1999). Ayutthaya and the Persian and Indian Muslim Connection. p. 125.
[3] Cushman, Richard D. & Wyatt, David K. (2006). The Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya. Bangkok: The Siam Society. p 208.
[4] Wyatt, David K. (2003). Thailand, A short history (2nd Ed.). Silkworm Books. p 95.
[5] Andaya, Leonard Y. (1999). Ayutthaya and the Persian and Indian Muslim Connection. pp. 127-8.
[6] Marcinkowski, Muhammad Ismail (2001). Bridging the ocean: Some aspects of the Iranian cultural presence in Southeast Asia with emphasis on the Siamese Kingdom of Ayutthaya.
[7] O'Kane, John (1972). The Ship of Sulaiman - Persian Heritage Series No. 11.
[8] Hourdequin, Peter (2007). Muslim Influences in Seventeenth-Century Ayutthaya: A Review Essay.



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