Bolkiah
A Bruneian Sultan illustrated in the 1879 Magellan Adventure Book. It is assumed that the person on the right riding an elephant is Sultan Bolkiah, as Magellan's men are looking at the person on the right and not the left.
Sultan of Brunei
Reign1485–1524
Coronation1485
PredecessorSulaiman
SuccessorAbdul Kahar
Died1524
Kota Batu, Brunei
Burial
Mausoleum of Sultan Bolkiah, Kota Batu, Brunei
SpousePuteri Laila Menchanai[1]
Issue
Detail		Abdul Kahar
Names
Bolkiah ibni Sulaiman
Regnal name
Sultan Bolkiah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Sulaiman
HouseBolkiah
FatherSultan Sulaiman
ReligionSunni Islam

Bolkiah ibni Sulaiman (Jawi: بلقیة;ㅤ1485–1524), also known for his title as Nakhoda Ragam (Jawi; ناخودا راڬم), was the fifth Sultan of Brunei; reigning from 1485 until his death in 1524, he ascended the throne upon the abdication of his father, Sultan Sulaiman. His reign is known by Bruneians as "the Golden Age of Brunei".[2]

The Spaniards refer to him as Sultan Salan in the Boxer Codex, a 16th-century Spanish manuscript.[3] Bolkiah was mentioned in the Batu Tarsilah, a 19th-century Bruneian stone tablet which describes the genealogy of the Sultans of Brunei.[4][5] He was also mentioned in the Silsilah Raja-Raja Berunai, a 19th-century manuscript which also describes the same genealogy.[6][7]

He is considered the first sultan to ever used cannons, as the Sultan paid 40 Javanese blacksmiths to teach metal casting in Brunei, possibly introducing cannon casting. Those 40 Javanese introduced cannon technology to Brunei[8] that were later used in his army.

Title

Bolkiah was known in Bornean and Malay traditions by the title Nakhoda Ragam (Malay, meaning "Singing Captain").[9][10] However, it is argued that the title is also given to another Sultan of Brunei and other figures in the Malay archipelago.[11]

Early life

Bolkiah was born in Kota Batu to Sultan Sulaiman, although his date of birth is not known with absolute certainty or evidence. As of now, much of his early life is unknown.

Reign

Succession

The reign of Sultan Bolkiah is said to be the golden age of Brunei.[10] His dominion is said to have included present-day Sarawak and Sabah in Borneo, as well as Manila and Sulu Archipelago in the Philippines.[10] There is also the possibility that his sovereignty also extended to Kalimantan, including Sambas, Kotaringin, Pontianak, Banjar, Barau and Bolongan.[10] Sultan Bolkiah was mentioned in Silsilah Raja-Raja Berunai as the Bruneian Sultan who "defeated the states of Suluk and Seludong"[a].[12] Hugh Low, a British colonial administrator in the 19th century, identified Seludong as Manila. However, it was argued that Seludong was not Manila but Serudong River in Sabah, which was said to be controlled by the Sulu Sultanate at that time.[11]

Seludong

The visit by Antonio Pigafetta to Brunei in 1521 is said to have occurred during his reign.[10] Sultan Bolkiah's victory over Seludong (modern-day Manila)[13] by defeating the Kingdom of Tondo in Luzon and as well as his marriage to Laila Menchanai, the daughter of Sulu Sultan Amir Ul-Ombra, widened Brunei's influence in the Philippines. This increased Brunei's wealth as well as extending Islamic teachings in the region, resulting in the influence and power of Brunei reaching its peak during this period. Bolkiah's rule reached essentially all of coastal Borneo,[2] as far south as Banjarmasin,[14] and as far north as the island of Luzon, including Seludong (present-day Manila) in the Philippines.[2]

Death

Tombstone of Bolkiah

After his death, he was succeeded by his son, Abdul Kahar.[2] He was buried in Kota Batu with his wife, Princess Leila Mechanai.

Personal life

Sultan Bolkiah continued on to Selangor, where in the midst of a flurry of celebrations, he wed the princess Laila Menchanai, a princess from Sulu.[15] One tradition states that Bolkiah married a Javanese princess.[10] It is also said that her followers intermarried with the Bruneian people, which became the ancestors for the Kedayan ethnic group.[10]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "... Paduka Seri Sultan Bulkia iaitu raja yang mengalahkan negeri Suluk dan negeri Séludong..."

Citations

  1. ^ Awang.), Mohd Jamil Al-Sufri (Pehin Orang Kaya Amar Diraja Dato Seri Utama Haji (1997). Tarsilah Brunei: Zaman kegemilangan dan kemasyhuran (in Malay). Jabatan Pusat Sejarah, Kementerian Kebudayaan Belia dan Sukan. p. 27.
  2. ^ a b c d Sidhu, Jatswan S. (2009). "Bolkiah, Sultan (r. 1485–1524)". Historical Dictionary of Brunei Darussalam (second ed.). Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p. 37. ISBN 978-0-8108-7078-9.
  3. ^ Carroll 1982, p. 17.
  4. ^ Low 1880, p. 34.
  5. ^ Shariffuddin & Ibrahim 1974, p. 90.
  6. ^ Sweeney 1968, pp. 2–3.
  7. ^ Shariffuddin & Ibrahim 1974, p. 87.
  8. ^ Jalil, Ahmad Safwan (2012). Southeast Asian Cannon Making in Negara Brunei Darussalam (MA thesis). Flinders University. pp. 10–11.
  9. ^ Low 1880, p. 7.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g Hughes-Hallett 1940, p. 27.
  11. ^ a b Nicholl 1989, p. 184.
  12. ^ Sweeney 1968, p. 12.
  13. ^ Although this is the interpretation based upon the work of Antonio Pigafetta, other authorities suggest that Seludong may have referred to the Serudong River, which is in northeastern Borneo, and not to the island of Luzon at all. Saunders, Graham (2002). History of Brunei (second ed.). New York: RoutledgeCurzon. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-7007-1698-2.
  14. ^ Saunders 2002, p. 45
  15. ^ Kimball, Linda Amy (1979). Borneo Medicine: The Healing Art of Indigenous Brunei Malay Medicine. Anthropology Department, Loyola University of Chicago. p. 43. ISBN 978-0-8357-0495-3.

References

Regnal titles Preceded bySulaiman Sultan of Brunei 1485–1524 Succeeded byAbdul Kahar
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