Editing Banda Aceh (section)

== History ==
Banda Aceh, situated at the tip of Sumatra, has long been a strategic, transportation and trading hub in the eastern [[Indian Ocean]]. Its first mention in western accounts comes from 1292 when [[Marco Polo]] and his expedition visited the city, referred to as 'Lambri' from [[Lamuri Kingdom]] which previously existed there and noted as the logical first port of call for travellers from [[Ilkhanate|Arabia]] and [[Tughlaq dynasty|India]] to [[Indonesia]].<ref>{{Cite book|title = The Book of Ser Marco Polo, the Venetian|last = Polo|first = Marco|publisher = Cambridge University Press|year = 2010|isbn = 978-1-108-02207-1|location = Cambridge, UK|pages = 243}}</ref> [[Ibn Battuta]] also reported visiting the city in the mid-14th century when under the control of the trading kingdom of [[Samudera Pasai]], the then-dominant entity in northern Sumatra.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Mapping the Acehnese Past|last = Feener|first = R. Michael|publisher = KITLV Press|year = 2011|isbn = 978-90-6718-365-9|location = Leiden, NL|pages = 43}}</ref> However the Pasai began to collapse under pressure from declining economic conditions and the [[Portuguese Empire|Portuguese]], who occupied much of the area after occupying Malacca in the early 16th century. Sultan [[Ali Mughayat Syah]], ruler of the newly founded [[Sultanate of Aceh]], aggressively expanded in the area in the 1520s and established sultanate was built on the remains of the Pasai and other extinct kingdoms in the area, and made Banda Aceh the capital, naming it for himself as ''Kutaraja ''or 'City of the King'.[[File:AMH-6875-KB View of Achin.jpg|thumb|left|Koetaradja (Banda Aceh) old map]]
[[File:Spoorwegstation Kraton te Kota Radja, het huidige Banda Aceh, anoniem, 1870 - 1900 - Rijksmuseum.jpg|thumb|A train station in Koetaradja (Banda Aceh) {{circa|1870–1900}}]]
After a long period of rule by the sultanate, Aceh began to come into conflict with the Dutch and the British in the second half of the 18th century. At the end of the 18th century, the territory of Aceh in the Malay Peninsula, namely [[Kedah]] and [[Pulau Pinang]], were seized by the British. In 1871, the Dutch began to threaten Aceh, and on 26 March 1873, the Dutch formally declared war on Aceh. The Dutch bombarded the capital in that year and sought to capture the sultan's palace in the city to bring about a capitulation of the Acehnese. Significant support from the British in the region led the modernization and fortification of the city, and while coastal areas were lost the Dutch underestimated the city's defenses. The Dutch expedition commander General [[Johan Harmen Rudolf Köhler|Johan Köhler]] was killed in a skirmish around the city, leading to the failure of the [[First Aceh Expedition|first expedition]]. A second expedition was mounted by the Dutch within months and was successful in overwhelming the city. The Dutch moved into the capital in January 1874 believing the Acehnese to have surrendered; however, the conflict moved into the countryside, and the Acehnese continued to actively oppose Dutch rule. 
[[File:US Navy 050106-N-4166B-024 An aerial view of Tsunami-stricken Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia.jpg|thumb|left|Banda Aceh aerial view after the tsunami disaster, 2004]]
After it entered the Government of the Republic of Indonesia on 28 December 1962, the name of the city was changed back to Banda Aceh by the Ministry of Public Administration and Regional Autonomy on 9 May 1963. On 26 December 2004, the city [[2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami|was hit]] by a [[tsunami]] caused by a 9.2-magnitude earthquake in the [[Indian Ocean]]. The disaster killed 167,000 inhabitants and destroyed more than 60% of the city's buildings. Based on the statistical data issued by the City Government of Banda Aceh, Banda Aceh had 248,727 inhabitants in May 2012, while the Indonesian national census of 2020 showed a population of 252,899.<ref name="Badan Pusat Statistik 2021">Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021.</ref> The official estimate as of mid-2023 was 259,538.<ref name="Badan Pusat Statistik 2024">Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, ''Kota Banda Aceh Dalam Angka 2024'' (sum of returns from District Katalogs as referenced below)</ref>

On 27 December 2023, hundreds of students from various universities in [[Aceh]], such as: [[University of Abulyatama|Abulyatama University]], Bina Bangsa Getsempena University, and [[University of Muhammadiyah Aceh]], stormed a shelter for [[Rohingya people|Rohingya refugees]] and forced them out of a convention centre in the city of Banda Aceh, demanding they be deported.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Indonesian students evict Rohingya from shelter demanding deportation |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/27/indonesian-students-evict-rohingya-from-shelter-demanding-deportation |access-date=2023-12-27 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Liputan6.com |date=2023-12-27 |title=Ratusan Mahasiswa di Banda Aceh Gelar Demo Tolak Rohingya |url=https://www.liputan6.com/photo/read/5491486/ratusan-mahasiswa-di-banda-aceh-gelar-demo-tolak-rohingya |access-date=2023-12-27 |website=liputan6.com |language=id}}</ref> The students also seen kicking the belongings of the Rohingya men, women, and children who seated on the floor and crying in fear.<ref name=":3" /> They burned tyres and chanting “Kick them out” and “Reject Rohingya in Aceh”.<ref name=":3" />