Sultanate of Sulu
Sultanate of Sulu كَسُلْتَنَنْ سِنْ سُوْݢْ (Tausug) Kasultanan sin Sūg | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Flag (late 19th century) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Map showing the extent of the Sultanate of Sulu in 1845, with Northeast Borneo lowlands being under its nominal control. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Status | Bruneian vassal (1457–1578) Sovereign state (1578–1851) Spanish protectorate (1851–1899) U.S. protectorate (1899–1915) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Capital | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Common languages | Tausug, Sama–Bajau, Malay | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Religion | Sunni Islam | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Government | Unitary Islamic absolute monarchy[13] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Sultan | |||||||||||||||||||||
• 1457–1480 (first) | Sharif ul-Hāshim | ||||||||||||||||||||
• 1894–1915 (last)[a] | Jamalul Kiram II | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Legislature | Ruma Bechara | ||||||||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||||||||
• Established | c. 1457 | ||||||||||||||||||||
• Spanish–Moro conflict | 1565–1898 | ||||||||||||||||||||
• Moro Rebellion | 1902–1913 | ||||||||||||||||||||
• Department of Mindanao and Sulu | 23 July 1914 | ||||||||||||||||||||
• Annexation to the United States | 22 March 1915 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Currency | Philippine Peso or barter for local use[14] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Today part of | |||||||||||||||||||||
The Sultanate of Sulu (Tausug: Kasultanan sin Sūg; Malay: Kesultanan Suluk; Filipino: Kasultanan ng Sulu) was a Sunni Muslim Tausūg[b] state that ruled the Sulu Archipelago, coastal areas of Zamboanga City, and certain portions of Palawan in today's Philippines, alongside parts of present-day Sabah and North Kalimantan in north-eastern Borneo.
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The sultanate was founded either on 17 November 1405 or 1457[c] by Johore-born explorer and Sunni religious scholar Sharif ul-Hashim. Paduka Mahasari Maulana al Sultan Sharif ul-Hashim became his full regnal name; Sharif-ul Hashim is his abbreviated name. He settled in Buansa, Sulu.[20][21] The sultanate gained its independence from the Bruneian Empire in 1578.[22]
At its peak, it stretched over the islands that bordered the western peninsula of Zamboanga in Mindanao in the east to Palawan in the north. It also covered areas in the northeast of Borneo, stretching from Marudu Bay, Sabah[23][24] to Tepian, Sembakung subdistrict, North Kalimantan.[25][26] Another source stated the area included stretched from Kimanis Bay, which also overlaps with the boundaries of the Bruneian Sultanate.[27] Following the arrival of western powers such as the Spanish, the British, the Dutch, French, Germans, and the Americans, the Sultan thalassocracy and its sovereign political powers were relinquished by 1915 through an agreement, known as the Carpenter Agreement, that was signed with the United States.[28][29][30][31]
In Kakawin Nagarakretagama, the Sultanate of Sulu is referred to as Solot, one of the countries in the Tanjungnagara archipelago (Kalimantan-Philippines), which is one of the areas that is under the influence of the mandala area of the Majapahit kingdom in the archipelago.
- ^ ABUBAKAR, Asiri J. (2009). "Persistent Themes in the History of Sulu Moros (Session 2: Islam and Peace Building in the Philippines)". Islam in Southeast Asia: Transnational Networks and Local Contexts; Proceedings of the Symposium (in Japanese). 東京外国語大学アジア・アフリカ言語文化研究所: 119–136. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
The Sultanate of Sulu existed for almost five centuries, i.e., from around 1450 to 1915 when Sultan Jamalul Kiram II gave up his temporal powers in favor of American colonial rule under the Carpenter agreement of 1915
- ^ Kadir, Norizan; Mansor, Suffian (31 October 2017). "Reviving the Sultanate of Sulu Through its Claim over Sabah, 1962-1986 (Menghidupkan Semula Institusi Kesultanan Sulu Melalui Tuntutan ke atas Sabah, 1962-1986)". Akademika. 87 (3). ISSN 0126-8694. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
- ^ Tregonning, H.G. (1970). "The Philippine Claim To Sabah" (PDF). Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. 43 (217).
[...] although the Government of the Philippines abolished the political powers of the Sultanate of Sulu on March 22, 1915, it did not, of course eliminate the Sultan. He secured a pension and remained the spiritual head of the Suluks. It should be recognized then that the abolition of the Sultanate did not abolish the Sultan nor his line of succession; and the successor of the Sultan is not the Government of the Philippines.
- ^ Beyer, H. Otley (8 December 1946). "Brief memorandum on the government of the Sultanate of Sulu and powers of the Sultan during the 19th century". Official Gazette. The Government of the Philippines.
The Sultanate of Sulu was in no wise abolished by the Carpenter Agreement; but the sultan and his council merely relinquished their temporal powers to be exercised by regularly appointed or elected officials of the Philippine Government. It is generally believed that only the Sulu people themselves (through a plebiscite or an elected popular assembly) could legitimately abolish the Sultanate.
- ^ Ortiz, Pacifico A. (31 March 1963). "Legal Aspects of the North Borneo Question". Philippine Studies: Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints. 11 (1). doi:10.13185/2244-1638.4478. ISSN 2244-1638. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
- ^ Hernando, Orlando M. (1966). "The Philippine claim to North Borneo". CORE. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
- ^ McGeown, Kate (24 February 2013). "How do you solve a problem like Sabah?". BBC News. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
- ^ Whaley, Floyd (21 September 2015). "Esmail Kiram II, Self-Proclaimed Sultan of Sulu, Dies at 75". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
Over the years, the once powerful sultanate of Sulu has lost influence to other groups, becoming essentially a symbolic organization, said Richard Javad Heydarian, a political science professor at De La Salle University in Manila.
- ^ Golingai, Philip (24 March 2024). "Deep dive into Sulu". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
- ^ "Malaysia Arrests 79, as Incursion Death Toll Hits 61". Voice of America. 9 March 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
- ^ Saleeby (1870–1935), Najeeb Mitry. "The History of Sulu". www.gutenberg.org.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ C, Josiah, Historical Timeline of The Royal Sultanate of Sulu Including Related Events of Neighboring Peoples, NIU, archived from the original on 29 April 2012, retrieved 21 December 2010.
- ^ Orosa 1931, p. 58: "The sultan of Sulu has formally renounced his rights of sovereignty; but prior to the advent of the Americans, he was an absolute monarch, except so far as his government had come under Spanish control."
- ^ "11 scams used by Filipinos before and during the Spanish Era". The Kahimyang Project. 5 November 2011.
- ^ Scott 1994, p. 177.
- ^ Philippine Almanac & Handbook of Facts. 1977.
- ^ Abinales & Amoroso 2005, p. 44
- ^ Usman, Edd (10 February 2010). "Heirs of Sulu Sultanate urged to attend general convention". Manila Bulletin. Archived from the original on 14 June 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2010.
- ^ Cavendish 2007, p. 1178.
- ^ Abdurahman, Habib Jamasali Sharief Rajah Bassal (2002). The Sultanate of Sulu: Their Dominion. University of Michigan: Astoria Print & Publishing Company. p. 88. ISBN 9789719262701.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Genealogy of Sultan Sharif Ul-Hashim of Sulu Sultanatewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Ring, Trudy; Salkin, Robert M.; La Boda, Sharon (1996). International Dictionary of Historic Places: Asia and Oceania. Taylor & Francis. p. 160. ISBN 978-1-884964-04-6.
- ^ Brunei, Muzium (1969). Brunei Museum Journal.
The area from Kimanis Bay to the Paitan River not from Sulu but from Brunei
- ^ Cahoon, Ben. "Sabah". worldstatesmen.org. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
Sultan of Brunei cedes the lands east of Marudu Bay to the Sultanate of Sulu.
- ^ Keppel, p. 385
- ^ Campbell 2007, p. 53
- ^ Saunders, Graham (2013). A History of Brunei. Routledge. pp. 84–. ISBN 978-1-136-87394-2.
- ^ Kemp, Graham; Fry, Douglas P. (2004). Keeping the Peace: Conflict Resolution and Peaceful Societies Around the World. Psychology Press. pp. 124–. ISBN 978-0-415-94761-9.
- ^ K.S. Nathan; Mohammad Hashim Kamali (2005). Islam in Southeast Asia: Political, Social and Strategic Challenges for the 21st Century. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. pp. 52–. ISBN 978-981-230-282-3.
- ^ "Why 'Sultan' is dreaming". Daily Express. 27 March 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
- ^ "Memorandum: Carpenter Agreement". Government of the Philippines. 22 March 1915. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
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