Perkasa Alam was the son of an Arab of sayyid ancestry, Ibrahim Jamal ul-Lail.
When his older brother Badr ul-Alam Syarif Hasyim Jamaluddin abdicated in 1702 a short interregnum followed.
It was only after Badr ul-Alam's death in the same year that the parties agreed to enthrone Perkasa Alam.
In order to improve the financial position of the court he introduced new taxes and reimposed duties on British traders.
British ships then blockaded the port and fired on villages situated at the estuary of the Aceh River.