Parameswara

Ruler of Malacca from 1402 (or 1403) to 1424. According to historical tradition, he was a prince of Sumatra or Java who married a princess of Majapahit. He appeared in Tumasek (Singapore) around 1400. There he slew the local ruler and seized power. Driven from Tumasek by Thai troops, Parameswara founded a petty principality at the mouth of the Malacca River in the western part of the Malay Peninsula. This became the nucleus of the Malacca Sultanate. Islam spread to Malacca during the reign of Parameswara, who attracted the Muslim traders of northern Sumatra to Malacca. In 1414, Parameswara converted to Islam and took the name Meghat Iskandarshah.