REPRESENTATION AND IDENTITYOF PERSIAN ISLAMIC CULTURE IN ANCIENT GRAVES OF BARUS, NORTH SUMATRA

The traces of Islam in Barus to this day still hold a mystery that has not been revealed. The Islamic cemetery complex in Barus holds abundant information about religious leaders who are believed to be the first Muslims to have spread Islam in the archipelago. The name of this city (Barus) refers to its natural resource of camphor. The gravestones in the Barus cemetery are written with inscriptions in Arabic and Persian scripts. Among the cemetery complexes there is a complex named Papan Tinggi. The purpose of this research is to contribute to the cultural treasures of Indonesia, especially the relationships between Indonesia and Central Asia at the beginning of the spread of Islam. The problem that arises is the extent to which the inscriptions can be interpreted from a foreign and local culture. The expected benefit of this research is to reveal more information about the role of Barus in Islamic culture development in Indonesia. The research method used includes three stages, namely data collection, data processing and interpretation. This study is expected to answer the early development of Islam in Barus.