Bukit Melawati

Bukit Malawati (Malawati Hill in English) is a fort located in Kuala Selangor, Selangor, Malaysia. Managed by the Kuala Selangor Municipal Council, Bukit Malawati is a popular local tourist attraction. It has strategic importance because of its position at the mouth of the Selangor River which drains into the Strait of Malacca, with vantages on both the Strait and Sumatra, Indonesia. Some of Bukit Malawati's historical highlights include an old lighthouse, as well as the remains of Kota Malawati (Malay for Fort Malawati). Bukit Malawati also serves as the final resting place for three of Selangor's earliest Sultans. The fort was first constructed by local Malays in the early 16th century at the behest of Tun Mahmud Shah of Malacca. Towards the end of the 17th century, Bugis settlers began to establish themselves on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula and installed Raja Lumu as the first Sultan of Selangor in 1742, who styled himself as Sultan Salehuddin Shah. Sultan Ibrahim Shah, who succeeded Raja Lumu in 1778, had the fort further fortified as a precautionary measure in order to defend against possible Dutch invasions. Despite this, Kuala Selangor fell to Dutch troops when they stormed the fort in 1784. Led by Dirk van Hogendorp, the fierce campaign was mounted as a reprisal to the series of assaults waged by Sultan Ibrahim's ally, Raja Haji Fisabilillah, against A Famosa in Malacca, which was a Dutch stronghold at the time. Although Raja Haji was killed during the battle, the Dutch wanted retribution from Sultan Ibrahim Shah for providing him with naval support. The Dutch East India Company (VOC) then dispatched their fleet of vessels to Kuala Selangor to attack Sultan Ibrahim Shah. The advancing van Hogendorp's VOC armada battered the fort from the sea with their cannons for two weeks, driving the sultan's forces into the nearby jungles. Sultan Ibrahim Shah himself fled to Bernam, and subsequently to Pahang. Following his flight, the Dutch captured the fort and renamed it Fort Altingburg in honour of Willem Arnold Alting, the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1780 to 1797. Sultan Ibrahim later returned to recapture the fort in 1785 with the a

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