The
Malay Annals (
Malay:
Sejarah Melayu,
Jawi: سجاره ملايو), originally titled
Sulalatus Salatin (
Genealogy of Kings), is a literary work that gives a romanticised history of the origin, evolution and demise of the great Malay maritime empire, the
Malacca Sultanate. The work which was composed sometime between 15th and 16th centuries, is considered one of the finest literary and historical works in the
Malay language. The original text underwent changes in May 1612, through the rewriting effort commissioned by the then
regent of
Johor,
Yang di-Pertuan Di Hilir Raja Abdullah. It was originally written in the
Classical Malay on traditional paper in old
Jawi script, but today exists in 32 different manuscripts, including those in
Rumi script. Notwithstanding some of its mystical contents, historians have looked at the text as a primary source of information on past events verifiable by other historical sources, in the
Malay world. In 2001, the Malay Annals was listed on UNESCO's
Memory of the World Programme International Register.