38 AN OLD TOMBSTONE IN PAHANG. 
The carving on the stone is surprisingly fresh, and as patches 
of ““jadam” or black varnish still remain visible on the stone it- 
self—they are clearly shown in the photographs—it is probable that 
the story that it was found in the river is correct. It isin much 
better preservation than many stones of much more recent date. It 
appears likely that the whole stone was once covered with black 
varnish and very possibly the name on it was picked out in gold. 
The photographs show :— 
A. The whole stone; B. One flat side; C. The opposite flat side; 
D. One narrow side. 
The transeription of the inscriptions as given by our local 
authority at Pekan is as follows :— 
(i) B. The heart-shaped inscription above :— 
Al ghafur, meaning The Lord most forgiving. 
The inscription below :—  Al-hejrat al-nabi salla Allahu 
alaihi wa’s-salam sembilan ratus sa tahun lima belas hari.” 
(ii) C. The heart-shaped inscription above :— 
Al-jalil meaning The Lord most great. 
The inscription below:—bulan shawal malam isnin Raja 
Fatimah kembali ka-rahmat Allah. 
The translation of the two inscriptions is :— 
On the eve of Monday the fifteenth day of the Moon Shawal 
in the year 901 cf the Hejira of the Prophet, to whom may God 
give peace, Raja Fatimah returned to God’s mercy. 
(iii) D. The heart-shaped inscription above :— 
Al-’ala, meaning The L-rd most high. 
The inscription below :—Arabic words meaning Death is a 
gate and all men go in thereat. 
(iv) On the other narrow side :— 
The heart-shaped inscription above :— 
Al-aziz, meaning The Lord most powerful. 
The inscription below :—Arabic words meaning Death is a 
cup and all men drink thereof. 
(v) On the flat top of the stone :— 
Arabic words the meaning of which has not been clearly 
made out. 
The identity of this Raja Fatimah is fairly certain, although 
the early history of Pahang is not clear. The authorities are the 
Sejarah Malayu and the Bustanu-al-Salatin, of an extract from 
which His Highness possesses a copy. According to the Séjarah 
Malayu (Shellabear’s Romanised Edition, 1910, pages 82-86) Pa- 
hang with its capital Pura, z.e. the city, 2.e. Pekan, was at one 
time under the rule of “Siam” and was governed by Maharaja 
Dewa Sura who belonged io the family of the ruler of that country. 
This “ Siam’’ was probably not the present Thai Kingdom. It 
had previously sent an abortive expedition against Malacca which 
would appear to have followed the well-known route down the Tem- 
beling and the Pahang and up the Bera and Serting over the 
‘Penarekan’ to the Muar. 
Jour. Straits Branch 
