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.
Bolkiah ibni Sulaiman (Jawi: بلقية ابن سليمان; died 1524), also known for his title as Nakhoda Ragam (Jawi: ناخودا راڬم), was the sixth 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]
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]
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.
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 SabahinBorneo, 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]
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]
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]
^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.
^ abcdSidhu, Jatswan S. (2009). "Bolkiah, Sultan (r. 1485–1524)". Historical Dictionary of Brunei Darussalam (second ed.). Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p. 37. ISBN978-0-8108-7078-9.
^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. ISBN978-0-7007-1698-2.