for other Islamic states in Indonesia. Iskandar Muda's reign was also marked by considerable brutality, directed at disobedient subjects. He also did not hesitate to execute wealthy subjects and confiscate their wealth. Punishments for offences were gruesome; a French visitor in the 1620s reported "every day the King would have people’s noses cut off, eyes dug out, castrations, feet cut off, or hands, ears, and other parts mutilated, very often for some very small matter." He had his own son Crown Prince Meurah Pupok executed and named his son-in-law, the son of the captured Sultan of Pahang as his successor Iskandar Thani. Culture During Iskandar Muda's reign, eminent Islamic scholars were attracted to Aceh and made it a centre of Islamic scholarship. Iskandar Muda favoured the tradition of the Sufi mystics Hamzah Pansuri and Syamsuddin of Pasai, both of whom resided at the court of Aceh. These writers' works were translated into other Indonesian languages, and had considerable influence across the peninsula. Both were later denounced for their heretical ideas by Nuruddin ar-Raniri, who arrived in the Aceh court during the reign of Iskandar Thani, and their books were ordered to be burnt. The chronicle Hikayat Aceh ("The Story of Aceh") was probably written during the reign of Iskandar Muda, although some date it later. It describes the history of the sultanate and praises Iskandar Muda in his youth. It was apparently inspired by the Persian Akbarnama for the Mogul Emperor Akbar. The Hikayat Aceh described Iskandar Muda as a scion of the lineage (nasab) and race (bangsa) of Iskandar Zulkarnain, Alexander the Great. Through this statement, the hikayat presented Aceh as a part of the Malay world, since Iskandar Zulkarnain was the purported ancestor of the Melaka, Johor, Perak and Pahang rulers. Legacy Among the Acehnese, Iskandar Muda is revered as a hero and symbol of Aceh's past greatness. Posthumously he was given the title Po Teuh Meureuhom, which means "Our Beloved Late Lord", or "Marhum Mahkota Alam". He has several buildings and structures in and near Banda Aceh named after him, including the Sultan Iskandarmuda Airport and Sultan Iskandar Muda Air Force Base. Kodam Iskandar Muda is the name of the military area commands overseeing Aceh Province. Notes References Leonard Y. Andaya. Leaves of the Same Tree: Trade and Ethnicity in the Straits of Melaka. Singapore: NUS Press, 2010. J.M. Barwise and N.J. White. A Traveller’s History of