View source for Sultanate of Sulu

{{Short description|1457–1915 state in Southeast Asia}}
{{other uses|Sulu (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}{{Use Philippine English|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Sultanate of Sulu
| common_name            = Sulu
| native_name            = {{native name|tsg|كَسُلْتَنَنْ سِنْ سُوْݢْ}}<br />{{nowrap|{{transliteration|tsg|Kasultanan sin Sūg}}}}
| image_flag             = Late 19th Century Flag of Sulu.svg
| image_map              = Map_of_the_Sultanate_of_Sulu.png
| capital                = {{plainlist|
*[[Indanan#Barangays|Buansa]] {{small|(1457–1878)}}
*[[Maimbung, Sulu|Maimbung]] {{small|(1878–1893)}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/41771/41771-h/41771-h.htm|title=The History of Sulu|first=Najeeb Mitry|last=Saleeby (1870–1935)|website=www.gutenberg.org}}</ref>
*[[Palawan]] {{small|(1893–1915)}}<ref>{{Citation |publisher=NIU |url=http://www.seasite.niu.edu/Tagalog/Modules/Modules/MuslimMindanao/historical_timeline_of_the_royal.htm |title=Historical Timeline of The Royal Sultanate of Sulu Including Related Events of Neighboring Peoples |first=Josiah |last=C |access-date=21 December 2010 |archive-date=29 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120429112342/http://www.seasite.niu.edu/Tagalog/Modules/Modules/MuslimMindanao/historical_timeline_of_the_royal.htm |url-status=dead}}.</ref>}}
| religion               = [[Sunni Islam]]
| demonym                = 
| government_type        = Unitary Islamic [[absolute monarchy]]<ref>{{Harvnb|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."</ref>
| area_km2               = 
| area_rank              = 
| GDP_PPP                = 
| GDP_PPP_year           = 
| HDI                    = 
| HDI_year               = 
| currency               = Philippine Peso<br /> or barter for local use<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://kahimyang.com/kauswagan/general-blogs/728/11-pieces-of-history-coins-used-by-filipinos-before-and-during-the-spanish-era|title=11 scams used by Filipinos before and during the Spanish Era|website=The Kahimyang Project|date=5 November 2011}}</ref>
| footnotes              = 
| status                 = Protectorate
| status_text            = [[Bruneian Empire|Bruneian]] [[Vassal state|vassal]] {{nobr|{{small|(1457–1578)}}}} <br />Sovereign state {{nobr|{{small|(1578–1851)}}}} <br />{{nobr|[[Spanish Empire|Spanish]] [[protectorate]] {{small|(1851–1899)}}}}<br />[[United States|U.S.]] protectorate {{nobr|{{small|(1899–1915)}}}}
| life_span              = {{plainlist|
* 1457–1915{{efn|name=1915end|[[Jamalul Kiram II]] surrendered his sovereignty over territory in the Philippines in 1915, ''[[de facto]]'' marking the end of the sultanate's existence.<ref name="Abubakar2009">{{cite journal|last=ABUBAKAR|first=Asiri J.|title=Persistent Themes in the History of Sulu Moros (Session 2: Islam and Peace Building in the Philippines)|journal=Islam in Southeast Asia : Transnational Networks and Local Contexts; Proceedings of the Symposium|publisher=東京外国語大学アジア・アフリカ言語文化研究所|date=2009|pages=119–136|url=https://tufs.repo.nii.ac.jp/records/155|language=ja|access-date=22 Jun 2025|quote=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}}</ref><ref name="Kadir2017">{{cite journal|last1=Kadir|first1=Norizan|last2=Mansor|first2=Suffian|title=Reviving the Sultanate of Sulu Through its Claim over Sabah, 1962-1986 (Menghidupkan Semula Institusi Kesultanan Sulu Melalui Tuntutan ke atas Sabah, 1962-1986)|journal=Akademika|volume=87|issue=3|date=31 Oct 2017|issn=0126-8694|url=https://ejournal.ukm.my/akademika/article/view/16225|access-date=13 Jun 2025|page=}}</ref> He was allowed to keep his title and role as head of Islam in Sulu until his death.<ref name="Tregonning1970">{{cite journal|last=Tregonning|first=H.G.|date=1970|title=The Philippine Claim To Sabah|url=http://www.mbras.org.my/file/KGTreg.pdf|journal=Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society|issue=217|volume=43|quote=[...] although the Government of the Phillipines 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.}}</ref><ref name="Beyer1946">{{cite web |author-link=H. Otley Beyer|last=Beyer|first=H. Otley|title=Brief memorandum on the government of the Sultanate of Sulu and powers of the Sultan during the 19th century |url=https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1946/12/08/brief-memorandum-on-the-government-of-the-sultanate-of-sulu-and-powers-of-the-sultan-during-the-19th-century/ |date=8 December 1946 |work=Official Gazette| publisher=The Government of the Philippines|quote=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.}}</ref> No legal documents have been signed explicitly abolishing the sultanate. The Philippines, as part of its claim to [[Sabah]] in the [[North Borneo dispute]], has occasionally revived the sultanate's institutions since 1962, when it accepted a "cession" of North Borneo by the heirs to Jamalul Kiram II, which had been under either ''lease'' or ''cession'' (depending on interpretation) to the [[North Borneo Chartered Company]] since 1878.<ref name="Ortiz1963">{{cite journal|last=Ortiz|first=Pacifico A.|title=Legal Aspects of the North Borneo Question|journal=Philippine Studies: Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints|volume=11|issue=1|date=1963-03-31|doi=10.13185/2244-1638.4478 |issn=2244-1638|url=https://ojs.philippinestudies.net/index.php/ps/article/view/5108/6937|access-date=2025-06-17}}</ref><ref name="Hernando1966">{{cite journal|last=Hernando|first=Orlando M.|title=The Philippine claim to North Borneo|website=CORE|date=1966|url=https://core.ac.uk/outputs/10653126/|access-date=22 Jun 2025}}</ref> The royal family's descendants are still treated as royalty by the people in Sulu, constituting a form of [[non-sovereign monarchy]].<ref name="McGeown2013">{{cite web|last=McGeown|first=Kate|title=How do you solve a problem like Sabah?|website=BBC News|date=2013-02-24|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-21545162|access-date=2025-06-17}}</ref><ref name="Whaley2015">{{cite web|last=Whaley|first=Floyd|title=Esmail Kiram II, Self-Proclaimed Sultan of Sulu, Dies at 75|website=The New York Times|date=21 Sep 2015|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/22/world/asia/esmail-kiram-ii-self-proclaimed-sultan-of-sulu-dies-at-75.html|access-date=22 Jun 2025|quote=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.}}</ref> The Philippine government has not recognized any individual as [[Titular ruler|titular]] "sultan" since 1986, leading to the rise of various [[pretender]]s.<ref name="Golingai2024">{{cite web|last=Golingai|first=Philip|title=Deep dive into Sulu|website=INQUIRER.net|date=24 Mar 2024|url=https://globalnation.inquirer.net/229198/deep-dive-into-sulu|access-date=22 Jun 2025}}</ref><ref name="VOA9Mar2013">{{cite web|title=Malaysia Arrests 79, as Incursion Death Toll Hits 61|website=Voice of America|date=9 Mar 2013|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/malaysia-arrests-79-as-incursion-death-toll-hits-61/1618318.html|access-date=22 Jun 2025}}</ref>}}
}}
| flag_type              = Flag (late 19th century)
| image_map_caption      = Map showing the extent of the Sultanate of Sulu in 1845, with Northeast Borneo lowlands being under its nominal control.
| common_languages       = [[Tausug language|Tausug]], [[Sama–Bajaw languages|Sama–Bajau]], [[Malay language|Malay]]
| title_leader           = [[List of sultans of Sulu|Sultan]]
| year_leader1           = 1457–1480 (first)
| leader1                = [[Sharif ul-Hashim of Sulu|Sharif ul-Hāshim]]
| year_leader2           = 1894–1915 (last){{efn|name=1915end}}
| leader2                = [[Jamalul Kiram II]]
| legislature            = [[Ruma Bechara]]
| event_start            = 
| date_start             = 
| year_start             = {{circa|1457}}
| event1                 = [[Spanish–Moro conflict]]
| date_event1            = 1565–1898
| event2                 = [[Moro Rebellion]]
| date_event2            = 1902–1913
| event3                 = [[Department of Mindanao and Sulu]]
| date_event3            = 23 July 1914
| event_end              = Annexation to the United States
| date_end               = 22 March
| year_end               = 1915
| p1                     = Ancient barangay
| p2                     = Lupah Sug
| p3                     = Sultanate of Brunei (1368–1888){{!}}{{nobr|Sultanate of Brunei}}
| flag_p3                = Old Flag of Brunei.svg
| s1                     = Captaincy General of the Philippines{{!}}'''1702'''<br />Captaincy General of the Philippines
| flag_s1                = Flag of New Spain.svg
| s2                     = Palawan{{!}}Calamianes
| flag_s2                = Flag of New Spain.svg
| s3                     = Dutch East Indies{{!}}'''1878'''<br/>Dutch East Indies
| flag_s3                = Flag of the Netherlands.svg
| s4                     = North Borneo{{!}}'''1881'''<br />North Borneo
| flag_s4                = Flag_of_North_Borneo_(1902–1946).svg
| s5                     = Insular Government of the Philippines{{!}}'''1915'''<br />Insular Government of the Philippines
| flag_s5                = Flag_of_the_United_States_(1912–1959).svg
| today                  = {{plainlist|
*[[Philippines]]
*[[Malaysia]]
*[[Indonesia]]}}
}}
 	
The '''Sultanate of Sulu''' ({{langx|tsg|Kasultanan sin Sūg}}; {{langx|ms|Kesultanan Suluk}}; {{langx|fil|Kasultanan ng Sulu}}) was a [[Sunni Islam|Sunni Muslim]] [[Tausūg people|Tausūg]]{{efn|According to [[William Henry Scott (historian)|WH Scott]], even though the sultanate was ruled by [[Tausūg people]], the subjects of the kingdom were mixed of [[Bajau]], [[Butuanon people|Butuanon]], Malay Muslim, [[Samal people|Samal]], [[Yakan people|Yakan]] ethnicity.{{Sfn |Scott|1994|p=177}}}} [[Sovereign state|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]].
{{History of the Philippines}}
{{Pre-hispanic History of the Philippines}}
The sultanate was founded either on 17 November 1405 or 1457{{efn|The generally accepted date of the establishment of the sultanate by modern historians is 1457. However, the [[National Historical Commission of the Philippines]] list the date as "around 1450", or simply "1450s",<ref>{{cite book|title=Philippine Almanac & Handbook of Facts|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uWzjAAAAMAAJ|year=1977}}</ref> due to uncertainty. On the other hand, independent Muslim studies marked the day to a more exact date 17 November 1405 (24th of [[Jumada al-awwal]], 808 [[Hijri year|AH]]).<ref>{{Harvnb|Abinales|Amoroso|2005|p=44}}</ref><ref name="Heirs of Sulu Sultanate urged to attend general convention">{{cite web|last=Usman|first=Edd|title=Heirs of Sulu Sultanate urged to attend general convention|website=[[Manila Bulletin]] |url=http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/242781/heirs-sulu-sultanate-urged-attend-general-convention|access-date=21 December 2010|date=10 February 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120614134808/http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/242781/heirs-sulu-sultanate-urged-attend-general-convention|archive-date=14 June 2012}}</ref>{{Sfn |Cavendish|2007|p=1178}}{{Failed verification|date=June 2025}}}} by [[Johore]]-born explorer and Sunni [[religious scholar]] [[Sharif ul-Hāshim of Sulu|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]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Abdurahman|first1=Habib Jamasali Sharief Rajah Bassal|title=The Sultanate of Sulu: Their Dominion|date=2002|publisher=Astoria Print & Publishing Company|location=University of Michigan|isbn=9789719262701|pages=88|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_QpxAAAAMAAJ&q=balfaqi%20alawi%20sulu%20sultan}}</ref><ref name="Genealogy of Sultan Sharif Ul-Hashim of Sulu Sultanate" /> The sultanate gained its independence from the [[Bruneian Empire]] in 1578.<ref name="RingSalkin1996">{{cite book|title=International Dictionary of Historic Places: Asia and Oceania|first1=Trudy|last1=Ring|first2=Robert M.|last2=Salkin| first3=Sharon|last3=La Boda|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vWLRxJEU49EC&pg=PA160|date= 1996|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-884964-04-6|page=160}}</ref>

At its peak, it stretched over the islands that bordered the western peninsula of [[Zamboanga Peninsula|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]]<ref>{{cite book|first=Muzium|last=Brunei|title=Brunei Museum Journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TumHAAAAIAAJ|year=1969|quote=The area from Kimanis Bay to the Paitan River not from Sulu but from Brunei}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Malay_states.htm#Sabah|title=Sabah|first=Ben|last=Cahoon|publisher=worldstatesmen.org|access-date=9 October 2014|quote=Sultan of Brunei cedes the lands east of Marudu Bay to the Sultanate of Sulu.}}</ref> to Tepian, Sembakung subdistrict, [[North Kalimantan]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Keppel|p=385}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Campbell|2007|p=53}}</ref> Another source stated the area included stretched from [[Kimanis Bay]], which also overlaps with the boundaries of the [[Bruneian Sultanate]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Graham|last=Saunders|title=A History of Brunei|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DUv8AQAAQBAJ&pg=PA84|date=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-87394-2|pages=84–}}</ref> Following the arrival of [[Western world|western powers]] such as the [[Spanish East Indies|Spanish]], the [[British North Borneo|British]], the [[Dutch East Indies|Dutch]], [[French Indochina|French]], [[German colonial empire|Germans]], and the [[United States|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 [[Insular Government of the Philippine Islands|United States]].<ref name="KempFry2004">{{cite book|first1=Graham|last1=Kemp|first2=Douglas P.|last2=Fry|title=Keeping the Peace: Conflict Resolution and Peaceful Societies Around the World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mimdCjpaGN0C&pg=PA124|year=2004|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-0-415-94761-9|pages=124–}}</ref><ref name="NathanKamali2005">{{cite book|author1=K.S. Nathan|author2=Mohammad Hashim Kamali|title=Islam in Southeast Asia: Political, Social and Strategic Challenges for the 21st Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O8d6BwAAQBAJ&pg=PA52|date=2005|publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies|isbn=978-981-230-282-3|pages=52–}}</ref><ref name="dreaming Sultan">{{cite news|url=http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=84741|title=Why 'Sultan' is dreaming|newspaper=Daily Express|date=27 March 2013|access-date=27 March 2013}}</ref><ref name="carpenter">{{cite web|url=https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1915/03/22/memorandum-carpenter-agreement-march-22-1915/ |title=Memorandum: Carpenter Agreement |publisher=[[Government of the Philippines]] |date=22 March 1915 |access-date=17 October 2015}}</ref>

In [[Nagarakretagama|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.

==History==

===Pre-establishment===
[[File:Sulu archipelago.png|thumb|left|Map of the [[Sulu Archipelago]]]]
{{see also|Hinduism in the Philippines|Religion in pre-colonial Philippines|Indosphere|Indianisation}}

The present area of the Sultanate of Sulu was once under the influence of the [[Bruneian Empire]] before it gained its own independence in 1578.<ref name="RingSalkin1996"/> During the 13th century the people of Sulu began migrating to present-day [[Zamboanga City|Zamboanga]] and [[Sulu archipelago]] from their homelands in northeastern Mindanao. Scott (1994) writes that the Sulu are the descendants of ancient [[Butuanon people|Butuanons]] and [[Surigaonon people|Surigaonons]] from the [[Butuan (historical polity)|Rajahnate of Butuan]], which was then Hindu, like pre-islamic Sulu. They moved south and established a spice trading port in Sulu. Sultan [[Batarah Shah Tengah]], who ruled as sultan in 1600, was said to be an actual native of Butuan.{{sfn|Scott|1994|p=164}} The Butuanon-Surigaonon origins of the Tausugs are suggested by the relationship of their languages, as the Butuanon, Surigaonon and Tausug languages are all members of the [[Bisayan languages|Southern sub-family of Visayan]]. Later, the earliest known settlement in this area soon to be occupied by the sultanate was in [[Maimbung, Sulu|Maimbung]], [[Jolo]]. During this time, Sulu was called [[Lupah Sug]].<ref name="Genealogy of Sultan Sharif Ul-Hashim of Sulu Sultanate">{{cite web|last=Julkarnain |first=Datu Albi Ahmad |title=Genealogy of Sultan Sharif Ul-Hashim of Sulu Sultanate |url=http://www.zambotoday.com/archives/7439-Genealogy-of-Sultan-Sharif-Ul-Hashim-of-Sulu-Sultanate.html |access-date=21 December 2010 |newspaper=Zambo Times |date=30 April 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718151329/http://www.zambotoday.com/archives/7439-Genealogy-of-Sultan-Sharif-Ul-Hashim-of-Sulu-Sultanate.html |archive-date=18 July 2011}}</ref> The principality of [[Maimbung]], populated by Buranun people (or ''Budanon'', literally means "mountain-dwellers"), was first ruled by a certain rajah who assumed the title Rajah Sipad the Older. According to Majul, the origins of the title ''rajah sipad'' originated from the Hindu [[sri]] pada, which symbolises authority.<ref name="ibrahim 51">{{Harvnb|Ibrahim|1985|p=51}}</ref> The principality was instituted and governed using the system of rajahs. Sipad the Older was succeeded by Sipad the Younger.

Some [[Chams]] who migrated to Sulu were called Orang Dampuan.<ref>https://www.wattpad.com/5944709-history-of-the-philippines-chapter-3-our-early https://tekalong.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/chps-1-3.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161005230228/https://tekalong.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/chps-1-3.pdf |date=5 October 2016 }}</ref>{{unreliable source?|reason=url suggests a blog|date=February 2024}} The [[Champa|Champa civilization]] and the port-kingdom of Sulu engaged in commerce with each other which resulted in merchant Chams settling in Sulu, where they were known as Orang Dampuan in the 10th–13th centuries. In contrast to their cousins in the Butuan Rajahnate, who considered themselves diplomatic competitors of Champa for China trade,<ref>{{cite book |author-link=William Henry Scott (historian) |last=Scott |first=William |title=Prehispanic Source Materials: For the Study of Philippine History |page=66 |location=Quezon City |publisher=New Day Publishers |year=1984 |edition=revised |isbn=9711002264}}</ref> (under Butuan's Rajah Kiling); instead, Sulu freely traded with the Champa civilization. The Orang Dampuans from Champa however were eventually slaughtered by envious native Sulu Buranuns due to the wealth of the Orang Dampuan.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Filipino Moving Onward 5' 2007 Ed.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SIq_FvJUr40C&pg=RA3-PA18-IA1|publisher=Rex Bookstore, Inc.|isbn=978-971-23-4154-0|pages=3–}}</ref> The Buranun were then subjected to retaliatory slaughter by the Orang Dampuan. Harmonious commerce between Sulu and the Orang Dampuan was later restored.<ref>{{cite book|title=Philippine History Module-based Learning I' 2002 Ed.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ITLRpPrrcykC&pg=PA39|publisher=Rex Bookstore, Inc.|isbn=978-971-23-3449-8|pages=39–}}</ref> The [[Yakan people|Yakans]] were descendants of the Taguima-based Orang Dampuan who came to Sulu from Champa.<ref>{{cite book|title=Philippine History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gUt5v8ET4QYC&pg=PA46|year=2004|publisher=Rex Bookstore, Inc.|isbn=978-971-23-3934-9|pages=46–}}</ref> Sulu received civilization in its Indic form from the Orang Dampuan.<ref>{{cite book|title=Study Skills in English for a Changing World' 2001 Ed.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2H0KWiOADLQC&pg=PA23|publisher=Rex Bookstore, Inc.|isbn=978-971-23-3225-8|pages=23–}}</ref>

During the reign of Sipad the Younger, a Sunni Sufi scholar and mystic<ref name="tan 85">{{Harvnb|Tan|2010|p=85}}</ref> named ''Tuan'' Mashā′ikha{{efn|Mashā′ikha is an Arabic term which originated from ''mashā′ikh'', which means "an intelligent or pious man".}} arrived in Jolo in 1280 CE.{{efn|The generally accepted date for the coming of Tuan Mashā′ikha is 1280 CE, however, other Muslim scholars dated his coming only as ''second half of the 13th century''".<ref>{{Harvnb|Larousse|2001|p=39}}, footnote 51</ref>}} Little is known to the origins and early biography of Tuan Mashā′ikha, except that he is a Muslim "who came from foreign lands" at the head of a fleet of Muslim traders,<ref name="decasa 321">{{Harvnb|Decasa|1999|p=321}}</ref> or he was issued from a [[Plant stem|stalk]] of [[bamboo]] and was considered a [[prophet]], thus well respected by the people.<ref name="saleeby 155"/> Other reports, however, insisted that Tuan Mashā′ikha together with his parents, Jamiyun Kulisa and Indra Suga, were sent to [[Sulu]] by [[Alexander the Great]] (who is known as ''Iskandar Zulkarnain'' in [[Malay Annals]]).<ref name="ibrahim 51"/> However, [[Najeeb Mitry Saleeby]], a Lebanese American doctor who wrote ''A History of Sulu'' in 1908 and other studies of the Moros, dismisses this claim by concluding that Jamiyun Kulisa and Indra Suga were mythical names.<ref name="saleeby 155">{{Harvnb|Saleeby|1908|p=155}}</ref> According to ''tarsila'', during the coming of Tuan Mashā′ikha, the people of Maimbung worshipped tombs and stones of any kind. After he preached Islam in the area, he married Sipad the Younger's daughter, Idda Indira Suga, who bore three children:<ref name="tan 86">{{Harvnb|Tan|2010|p=86}}</ref> Tuan Hakim, Tuan Pam and 'Aisha. Tuan Hakim, in turn, begot five children.<ref name="saleeby 149">{{Harvnb|Saleeby|1908|p=149}}</ref> From the genealogy of Tuan Mashā′ikha, another titular system of aristocracy called "tuanship" started in Sulu. Apart from the Idda Indira Suga, Tuan Mashā′ikha also married another "unidentified woman" and begot Moumin. Tuan Mashā′ikha died in 710 [[Hijri year|A.H.]] (equivalent to 1310 AD), and was buried in Bud Dato near Jolo, with an inscription of ''Tuan Maqbālū''.<ref name="ibrahim 54">{{Harvnb|Ibrahim|1985|p=54}}</ref>

A descendant of the Sunni Sufi Shaykh Tuan Mashā′ikha named Tuan May also begot a son named ''Datu'' Tka. The descendants of Tuan May did not assume the title of ''tuan'', but instead, used ''[[datu]]''. This was the first time ''datu'' was used as a political institution.<ref name="tan 86"/><ref name="tan 88">{{Harvnb|Tan|2010|p=88}}</ref> During the coming of Tuan Mashā′ikha, the Tagimaha people (literally means "the party of the people") from [[Basilan]] and several places in [[Mindanao]], also arrived and settled in Buansa. After the Tagimaha came the Baklaya people, (which means "seashore dwellers"), who are believed to have originated from [[Sulawesi]], and settled in [[Patikul, Sulu|Patikul]]. After these came the [[Sama-Bajau peoples|Bajau people]] (or ''Samal'') from [[Johor]]. The Bajau were driven towards Sulu by a heavy [[monsoon]], some of them to the shores of [[Brunei]] and others to [[Mindanao]].<ref name="saleeby 41-42">{{Harvnb|Saleeby|1908|pp=41–42}}</ref> The population of Buranun, Tagimaha, and Baklaya in Sulu created three parties with distinct systems of government and subjects. In the 1300s the Chinese annals, ''Nanhai zhi'', reported that Brunei invaded or administered the Philippine kingdoms of [[Rajahnate of Butuan|Butuan]], Sulu and [[Ma-i]] (Mindoro), which did not regain their independence 
until later date.<ref>{{Cite journal |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20072046 |page=280|jstor=20072046 |title=From Quanzhou to the Sulu Zone and beyond: Questions Related to the Early Fourteenth Century |last1=Ptak |first1=Roderich |journal=Journal of Southeast Asian Studies |date=1998 |volume=29 |issue=2 |doi=10.1017/S002246340000744X |s2cid=162707729 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> According to the [[Nagarakretagama]], the [[Majapahit Empire]] under Emperor [[Hayam Wuruk]] invaded Sulu in 1365. However in 1369, the Sulus rebelled and regained independence and in vengeance assaulted the Majapahit Empire and its province ''Po-ni'' (Brunei), as well as the northeast coast of Borneo<ref>Ming shi, 325, pp. 8411, 8422.</ref> and thereafter went to the capital, looting it of treasure and gold. In the sacking of Brunei, the Sulus stole two sacred pearls from the Bruneian king.<ref>Brunei Rediscovered: A Survey of Early Times By Robert Nicholl, p. 12, citing: "Groenveldt, Notes Page 112"</ref> A fleet from the Majapahit capital succeeded in driving away the Sulus, but ''Po-ni'' was left weaker after the attack.{{sfn|History for Brunei Darussalam|2009|p=44}} Since Chinese historiographies later recorded there to be a Maharaja of Sulu, it is assumed that the Majapahit did not take it back, and it was a rival to it. By 1390 CE, [[Rajah Baguinda]] Ali, a prince of the [[Pagaruyung Kingdom]], arrived at Sulu and married into the local nobility. At least in 1417, when Sulu rivaled Majapahit according to Chinese annals, three kings (or monarchs) ruled three civilized kingdoms in the island.<ref>{{cite web|title=Paduka Batara (d. 1417)|url=http://www.nhi.gov.ph/downloads/fihgov0099.pdf|work=[[National Historical Commission of the Philippines]]|access-date=21 December 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111117120741/http://www.nhi.gov.ph/downloads/fihgov0099.pdf|archive-date=17 November 2011}}</ref> Patuka Pahala (Paduka Batara) ruled the eastern kingdom (Sulu Archipelago) -- he was the most powerful; the western kingdom was ruled by Mahalachi (Maharajah Kamal ud-Din), ruler of [[Kalimantan]] in Indonesia; and the kingdom near the cave (or Cave King) was Paduka Patulapok from Palawan Island.<ref name="tan 2010 128">{{Harvnb|Tan|2010|p=128}}</ref> The Bajau settlers were distributed among the three kingdoms. During this time, Sulu avenged itself for Majapahit Imperialism by encroaching upon the Majapahit Empire as the alliance of the three Sulu kings had territory that reached [[East Kalimantan|East]] and [[North Kalimantan]], which were former Majapahit provinces.<ref>[https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/228735802.pdf Reading Song-Ming Records on the Pre-colonial History of the Philippines] By Wang Zhenping, p. 258.</ref>

Moumin's descendants the son of Tuan Mashā′ikha populated Sulu.{{clarify|date=February 2024}} After some time, a certain Timway Orangkaya Su'il was mentioned by the second page of tarsila; he received four Bisaya slaves (people from the Kedatuan of Madja-as) from Manila (presumably Kingdom of Maynila) as a sign of friendship between the two countries. The descendants of Su'il also inherited the title Timway, which means "chief". On tarsila's third page, it accounts the fact that the slaves were the ancestors of the inhabitants in the island to Parang, Lati, Gi'tung, and Lu'uk respectively.

The fourth page then narrates the coming of the Buranun (addressed in the ''tarsila'' as "the Maimbung people"), Tagimaha, Baklaya, and finally the drifted Bajau immigrants from Johor.<ref name="saleeby 152-153">{{Harvnb|Saleeby|1908|pp=152–153}}</ref> The condition of Sulu before the arrival of [[Islam]] can be summarized as such: The island was inhabited by several cultures, and was reigned over by three independent kingdoms ruled by the Buranun, Tagimaha, and Baklaya peoples. Likewise, the socio-political systems of these kingdoms were characterized by several distinct institutions: rajahship, datuship, tuanship and timwayship. The arrival of Tuan Mashā′ikha afterwards established a core Islamic community in the island.<!--Another source claimed that during the 1450s,<ref>{{cite book|title=Philippine Almanac & Handbook of Facts|year=1977|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uWzjAAAAMAAJ|page=59|access-date=24 April 2014}}</ref> Shari'ful Hashem Syed Abu Bakr, an [[Arab]] born in [[Johor]], arrived in Sulu from [[Malacca]]. In 1457, he founded the Sultanate of Sulu; he then renamed himself "Paduka Maulana Mahasari Sharif Sultan Hashem Abu Bakr", embellishing his name with no less than five consecutive deferential titles: "Paduka" is a local term for "Master", "[[Maulana]]" is a word with Arabic roots that aldo means "master", "Mahasari" stands for "His Majesty", "[[sharif]]" is an Arabic word for "local ruler", and "Sultan" is the Arabic word for ruler or prince.

In 1658 (other sources say 1703), the Sultanate of Sulu received the north east coast of Borneo from the [[Muhyiddin of Brunei|Sultan Muhyiddin]] of [[Brunei]], after Sulu sent aid against Sultan Abdul Hakkul Momin during the [[Brunei Civil War]]. In the same year, Sulu gave Palawan to Qudarat, [[Sultanate of Maguindanao|Sultan of Maguindanao]], who married a Sulu princess, and formed an alliance with Sulu. Sultan Qudarat eventually ceded Palawan to the [[Spanish Empire]] in 1705.-->

===Islamization and establishment===
{{See also|Islam in the Philippines}}
{{main|List of Sultans of Sulu}}
The Sulu Archipelago was an [[entrepôt]] that attracted merchants from south China and various parts of Southeast Asia beginning in the 14th century.<ref name="Donoso">{{Harvnb|Donoso|2022|p=505}}</ref> The name "Sulu" is attested in Chinese historical records as early as 1349,<ref name="Abinales-43">{{Harvnb|Abinales|Amoroso|2005|p=43}}</ref> during the late [[Yuan dynasty]] (1271–1368), suggesting trade relations around this time.<ref name="gunn-93">{{Harvnb|Gunn|2011|p=93}}</ref> Trade continued into the early [[Ming dynasty]] (1368–1644); envoys were sent in several missions to China to trade and [[Tributary system of China|pay tribute]] to [[Emperor of China|the emperor]]. Sulu merchants often exchanged goods with [[Chinese Muslims]], and also traded with Muslims of [[Arab Muslims|Arab]], [[Islam in Iran|Persian]], [[Islam in Southeast Asia|Malay]], or [[Islam in India|Indian]] descent.<ref name="Donoso"/> Islamic historian [[Cesar Adib Majul]] argues that Islam was introduced to the Sulu Archipelago in the late 14th century by Chinese and Arab merchants and missionaries from [[Ming China]].<ref name="Abinales-43" /><ref name="gunn-93" /> The seven Arab missionaries were called "Lumpang Basih" by the Tausug, and  were Sunni Sufi scholars from the [[Ba 'Alawi sada]] of Yemen.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Quiling |first1=Mucha-Shim |title=Lumpang Basih |journal=Journal of Studies on Traditional Knowledge in Sulu Archipelago and Its People, and in the Neighboring Nusantara |date=2020 |volume=3 |url=https://www.academia.edu/42073637 |access-date=20 May 2023}}</ref> A yellow-colored flag was used in Sulu by the Chinese community.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.royalpanji.net/the_chinese_community_in__sulu_sultanate.html|title=The Chinese Community in Sulu Sultanate |last=paopadd}}{{unreliable source?|date=October 2016}}</ref>

Around this time, a notable Arab judge, [[Sunni]] [[Sufi]] and [[religious scholar]] [[Makhdum Karim|Karim ul-Makhdum]]{{efn|Also ''Karimul Makhdum'', ''Karimal Makdum'' or ''Makhdum Karim'' among others. Makhdum came from the Arabic word ''makhdūmīn'', which means "master".}} from [[Mecca]] arrived in Malacca. He preached Islam, particularly the Ash'ari Aqeeda and Shafi'i Madh'hab as well as the [[Qadiriyya]] Tariqa, and many citizens, including the ruler of [[Malacca Sultanate|Malacca]], converted to Islam.<ref name="Saleeby%20158-159">{{Harvnb|Saleeby|1908|pp=158–159}}</ref> Sulu leader [[Paduka Pahala]] and his sons moved to China, where he died. Chinese Muslims brought up his sons in [[Dezhou#Sulu Royal Family|Dezhou]], where their descendants live and have the surnames An and Wen. In 1380 CE,{{efn|Another uncertain date in Philippine Islamic history is the year of arrival of Karim ul-Makhdum. Though other Muslim scholars place the date as simply "the end of 14th century", Saleeby calculated the year as 1380 AD corresponding to the description of the ''tarsilas'', in which Karim ul-Makhdum's coming is ten years before Rajah Baguinda's. The 1380 reference originated from the event in Islamic history when a huge number of ''makhdūmīn'' started to travel to Southeast Asia from India. See Ibrahim's "Readings on Islam in Southeast Asia."}} Karim ul-Makhdum arrived in [[Simunul, Tawi-Tawi|Simunul island]] from Malacca, again with Arab traders. Apart from being a scholar, he operated as a trader; some see him as a Sufi missionary from Mecca.<ref name="Larousse%2040">{{Harvnb|Larousse|2001|p=40}}</ref> He preached Islam, and was accepted by the core Muslim community. He was the second person to preach Islam in the area, after Tuan Mashā′ikha. To facilitate conversion of nonbelievers, he established a mosque in Tubig-Indagan, Simunul, the first Islamic temple to be constructed in the area, or in the [[Philippines]]. This later became known as the [[Sheik Karimal Makdum Mosque]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Mawallil|first=Amilbahar|title=Simunul Island, Dubbed As 'Dubai of the Philippines', Pursues Ambitious Project |url=http://mindanaoexaminer.com/news.php?news_id=20090702181517|access-date=22 December 2010|newspaper=The Mindanao Examiner |date=3 July 2009|author2=Dayang Babylyn Kano Omar|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714095516/http://mindanaoexaminer.com/news.php?news_id=20090702181517|archive-date=14 July 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> He died in Sulu, although the exact location of his grave is unknown. In Buansa, he was known as Tuan Sharif Awliyā.<ref name="ibrahim 51"/> On his alleged grave in Bud Agad, Jolo, an inscription reads "Mohadum Aminullah Al-Nikad". In [[Lugus, Sulu|Lugus]], he is referred to as Abdurrahman. In [[Sibutu Island|Sibutu]], he is known by his name.<ref>{{Harvnb|Gonda|1975|p=91}}</ref> The differing beliefs about his grave's location came about because the [[Qadiri]] [[Shaykh]] Karim ul-Makhdum travelled to several islands in the [[Sulu Sea]] to preach Islam. In many places in the archipelago, he was beloved. It is said that the people of [[Tapul, Sulu|Tapul]] built a mosque honouring him and that they claim descent from Karim ul-Makhdum. The customs, beliefs and political laws of the people changed and adapted to adopt the Islamic tradition.<ref name="Saleeby%20159">{{Harvnb|Saleeby|1908|p=159}}</ref>

Sulu abruptly stopped sending tributes to the Ming in 1424.<ref name="gunn-93" /> [[Antonio Pigafetta]] recorded in his journals that the sultan of Brunei invaded Sulu to retrieve the two sacred pearls Sulu had previously pillaged from Brunei.<ref>[https://www.jstor.org/stable/20174317?seq=14 Brunei Rediscovered: A Survey of Early Times By Robert Nicholl] p. 45.</ref> A sultan of Brunei, [[Sultan Bolkiah]] married a princess (''dayang-dayang'') of Sulu, Puteri Laila Menchanai, and they became the grandparents of the Muslim prince of [[Rajahnate of Maynila|Maynila]], [[Rajah Matanda]]. Manila was a Muslim city-state and vassal to Brunei before the Spanish colonized it and converted it from Islam to Christianity.{{Citation needed|date=January 2022}} Islamic Manila ended after the failed attack of [[Tarik Sulayman]], a Muslim [[Kapampangan people|Kapampangan]] commander, in the failure of the [[Conspiracy of the Maharlikas]], when the formerly Muslim Manila nobility attempted a secret alliance with the Japanese shogunate and Bruneiean sultanate (together with her Manila and Sulu allies) to expel the Spaniards from the Philippines.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=de Marquina |first=Esteban |title=Conspiracy Against the Spaniards: Testimony in certain investigations made by Doctor Santiago de Vera, president of the Philipinas, May–July 1589 |work=The Philippine Islands, 1493–1898 |publisher=Arthur H. Clark Company |year=1903 |editor-last=Blair |editor-first=Emma Helen |editor-link=Emma Helen Blair |volume=7 |location=Ohio, Cleveland |pages=86–103 |editor-last2=Robertson |editor-first2=James Alexander |editor-link2=James Alexander Robertson}}</ref> Many Tausugs and other native Muslims of Sulu Sultanate already interacted with Kapampangan and Tagalog Muslims called [[Luzones]] based in Brunei, and there were intermarriages between them. The Spanish had native allies against the former Muslims they conquered like Hindu Tondo which resisted Islam when Brunei invaded and established Manila as a Muslim city-state to supplant Hindu [[Tondo (historical polity)|Tondo]].

===Maritime power===
{{main|Piracy in the Sulu Sea}}
[[File:Iranun pirate.png|thumb|right|An [[Iranun people|Iranun]] pirate.]]
The Sulu sultanate became notorious for its so-called "Moro Raids" or acts of piracy on Spanish settlements in the Visayan areas in Northern Philippines and from coastal and river villages in North Borneo (Sabah), with the aim of capturing natives to be sold at slave markets in the Sulu Island (Jolo Island) and Tawi Tawi Island.<ref>{{Citation |title=The Sulu Sea |date=2019 |work=Pirates of Empire: Colonisation and Maritime Violence in Southeast Asia |pages=42–95 |editor-last=Amirell |editor-first=Stefan Eklöf |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/pirates-of-empire/sulu-sea/F532960AFF94E3D63209FA2A970F0696 |access-date=2025-05-23 |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/9781108594516.004 |isbn=978-1-108-48421-3}}</ref> Tausug pirates used boats known collectively by Europeans as [[proa|''proas'']] (predominantly the ''[[lanong]]'' and [[garay (ship)|''garay'']] warships), which varied in design and were much lighter than the Spanish galleons and could easily out-sail these ships, and also often carried large swivel guns or ''[[lantaka]]'' and also carried a crew of pirates from different ethnic groups throughout Sulu, such as the [[Iranun people|Iranun]], [[Sama-Bajau peoples|Bajaus]] and Tausugs alike. By the 18th century, Sulu pirates had become virtual masters of the Sulu seas and the surrounding areas, wreaking havoc and conducting raids to kidnap natives living in Spanish and Brunei North Borneo settlements for the slave trade.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Camarines Towns: Defenses Against Moro Pirates|first=Francisco|last=Mallari|journal=Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society|volume=17|issue=1|pages=41–66|date=March 1989|jstor=29791965}}</ref> This prompted the Spaniards to build a number of fortifications<ref>{{cite web|url=http://repository.kulib.kyoto-u.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2433/56477/1/KJ00000131731.pdf|title=Moro Piracy during the Spanish Period and Its Impact|first=Domingo M.|last=Non|publisher=[[Kyoto University]] Repository|date=4 March 1993|access-date=16 October 2015}}</ref> across the Visayan islands of Cebu and Bohol; churches were built on higher ground, and watchtowers were built along coastlines to warn of impending raids.

The maritime supremacy of Sulu was not directly controlled by the sultan; independent ''datu''s and warlords waged their own wars against the Spaniards and even with the [[Spanish–Moro conflict|capture of Jolo]] on numerous occasions by the Spaniards, other settlements like [[Maimbung, Sulu|Maimbung]], [[Banguingui, Sulu|Banguingui]] and [[Tawi-Tawi]] were used as assembly areas and hideouts for pirates.

The sultanate's control over the Sulu seas was at its height around the late 17th to early 18th centuries when Moro raids became very common for the Borneo natives, Visayans and Spaniards.

In Sulu and in the Mindanao interior, the slave trade flourished and majority of the slaves that were being imported and exported were of Visayan ethnicity; the term ''Bisaya'' eventually became synonymous to "slave" in these areas. Its maritime supremacy over the Spaniards, at the time, the Spaniards acquired steam-powered ships that began to curb Muslim piracy in the region, the Moro piratical raids began to decrease in number until Governor [[Narciso Clavería y Zaldúa, 1st Count of Manila|Narciso Clavería]] launched the [[Spanish expedition to Balanguingui|Balanguingui expedition]] in 1848 to crush the pirate settlements there, effectively ending the Moro pirate raids. By the last quarter of the 19th century, Moro pirates had virtually disappeared and the maritime influence of the sultanate became dependent on the [[Chinese junk]] trade. The piracy and slave trade was brought to an end by the Spanish who destroyed the Sulu Sultanate in 1878 with a formal surrender and capitulation of the Sultanate once and for all. Once the Americans arrived, further attempts at resurrection to their old piracy ways were put down swiftly.

=== Conquest of Northeastern Borneo ===
{{See also|Sultanate of Bulungan}}
[[File:18th Century Flag of Sulu.svg|thumb|left|18th century flag of the Sultanate of Sulu according to [[List of explorers|explorer]] [[Pierre Sonnerat]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.royalpanji.net/|title=Royal Panji|last=paopadd}}{{unreliable source?|date=October 2016}}</ref>]]
In 1746, [[Azim ud-Din I of Sulu|Sultan Azim ud-Din I]], with Spanish assistance, carried out punitive expeditions around the [[Sebuku River|Sebuku]] region against the [[Tidung people|Tidungs]] to reconsolidate his power in Borneo. By April 1747, the expeditions were declared a success and the chief of [[Tarakan]] declared his allegiance to Sulu. After the Sultan returned to Sulu, he brought back 50 captives who were previously under the hands of the Tidung and among them was a friar, while others were Tidung chiefs. Two of the Tidung chiefs were left in Jolo while the rest were brought to Zamboanga.<ref name=":1">Bond, Natan (December 2020). [https://minerva-access.unimelb.edu.au/bitstream/handle/11343/256433/64c8a698-298c-ea11-94bd-0050568d7800_Nathan-Bond_PhD-thesis_Seeking-the-state-from-the-margins.pdf "Seeking the state from the margins: From Tidung Lands to borderlands in Borneo"]. School of Social and Political Sciences. The University of Melbourne. Retrieved 19 January 2025</ref> Tausug traders began settling in Tarakan. However, things began to complicate after the Tidungs made a political marriage with Bulungan, placing the Tidungs also under the [[Sultanate of Bulungan]].<ref name="auto3">{{Cite web |title=Bulungan Sultanate Museum |url=https://geotourism.guide/tourpoints/indonesia/kalimantan-timur/kabupaten-bulungan-2/culture/bulungan-sultanate-museum/ |access-date=13 February 2022 |website=Geotourism-guide}}</ref>

In 1789, amidst the civil war in [[Sultanate of Berau|Berau]], Sultan Azim ud-Din II raided Berau and Tarakan, which led to the de facto independence of Bulungan from Berau by the 18th-19th century. Sulu became the dominant power in the region and Bulungan was placed under the sphere of influence of the former. Tausug vessels began arriving in the region at a large scale to conduct trade. The status of Bulungan as a subject of Sulu however would later change after they stopped paying tribute to Sulu in 1855. This would later become official after the British annexation of North Borneo and the Dutch annexation of Bulungan in 1878.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last=Sellato |first=Bernard |date=2001 |title=Tribes and States in Northern East Borneo |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/resrep02177.7.pdf |journal=Center for International Forestry Research |pages=15–41 |jstor=resrep02177.7 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kuliangga |first=Mos |title=Bulungan |url=https://www.academia.edu/3642422 |access-date=13 February 2022 |website=Academia.edu}}</ref>

In the 18th century, Sulu's dominion covered most of northeastern part of Borneo. However areas like Tempasuk and Abai had never really shown much allegiance to its earlier ruler, Brunei, subsequently similar treatment was given to Sulu. [[Alexander Dalrymple]], who made a treaty of allegiance in 1761 with Sulu, had to make a similar agreement with the rulers of Tempasuk and Abai on the north Borneo coast in 1762.<ref>{{Harvnb|Saunders|2002|p=70}}</ref> The Sultanate of Sulu totally gave up its domain over Palawan to Spain in 1705 and Basilan to Spain in 1762. The territory ceded to Sulu by Brunei initially stretched south to Tapean Durian (now Tanjong Mangkalihat) (another source mentioned a southernmost boundary at Dumaring),<ref>{{Harvnb|Majul|1973|p=93}}</ref> near the Straits of Macassar (now [[Kalimantan]]). From 1726 to 1733, the Sulu sultanate restarted their tributary relationship with China, now the [[Qing dynasty|Qing Empire]], about 300 years after it had ended.<ref name=dV>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IfpIBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA40 |title=Brunei: From the Age of Commerce to the 21st Century |first=Marie-Sybille |last=de Vienne |publisher=[[National University of Singapore]] Press |year=2015 |page=73|isbn=9789971698188}}</ref>

By 1849, the areas gained from Brunei had been effectively controlled by the [[Sultanate of Bulungan]] in Kalimantan, reducing the boundary of Sulu to a cape named Batu Tinagat and the [[Tawau|Tawau River]].<ref name="icj638">{{Harvnb|United Nations Publications|2002|p=638}}</ref>

===Decline under Spanish and American control===
{{Expand section|date=June 2025}}
{{see also|Kiram–Bates Treaty|Moro Rebellion}}
{{multiple image
| align             = right
| image1            = Concession of Sabah (Brunei) 1877.jpg
| width1            = 160
| caption1          = The first concession treaty was signed by Sultan [[Abdul Momin]] of Brunei on 29 December 1877, appointing [[Baron von Overbeck|Baron de Overbeck]] as the Maharaja Sabah, Rajah Gaya and Sandakan<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bt.com.bn/life/2008/09/21/how_brunei_lost_its_northern_province|title=How Brunei lost its northern province|first=Rozan|last=Yunos|newspaper=[[The Brunei Times]]|date=21 September 2008|access-date=28 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140523144547/http://www.bt.com.bn/life/2008/09/21/how_brunei_lost_its_northern_province|archive-date=23 May 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| image2            = Concession of Sabah (Sulu) 1878.jpg
| width2            = 160
| caption2          = The second concession treaty was signed by Sultan [[Jamal ul-Azam]] of Sulu on 22 January 1878 also appointing Baron de Overbeck as Dato Bendahara and Raja Sandakan<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bt.com.bn/2013/03/07/sabah-and-sulu-claims|title=Sabah and the Sulu claims|first=Rozan|last=Yunos|newspaper=[[The Brunei Times]]|date=7 March 2013|access-date=20 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140617035533/http://www.bt.com.bn/2013/03/07/sabah-and-sulu-claims|archive-date=17 June 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| caption_align     = center
| header            = Concession of Sabah
}}
In 1848 and 1851, the Spanish launched [[Spanish expedition to Balanguingui|attacks on Balanguingui]] and Jolo respectively. A peace treaty was signed on 30 April 1851{{refn|see text of treaty (in Spanish),<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l0gMAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA120 |title=Colección de los tratados, convenios y documentos internacionales celebrados por nuestros gobiernos con los estados extranjeros desde el reinado de Doña Isabel II. hasta nuestros días. Acompañados de notas histórico-críticas sobre su negociación y cumplimiento y cotejados con los textos originales... |year=1893 |pages=120–123 |language=es|author1=Spain}}</ref>}} in which the sultan could only regain the capital if Sulu and its dependencies became a part of the Philippine Islands under the sovereignty of Spain. There were different understandings of this treaty; although the Spanish interpreted it as the sultan accepting Spanish sovereignty over Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, but the sultan took it as a friendly treaty amongst equals. These areas were only partially controlled by the Spanish, and their power was limited to military stations and garrisons and pockets of civilian settlements. This lasted until they had to abandon the region as a consequence of their defeat in the [[Spanish–American War]].

On 22 January 1878, an agreement was signed between the Sultanate of Sulu and the British commercial syndicate of [[Alfred Dent]] and [[Gustav Overbeck|Baron von Overbeck]] granting Overbeck total control over Sulu's lands in northeastern Borneo, a region known as [[Sabah]]. The ambiguity in the treaty of whether this was a cession or only a lease of the territory would later lead to the [[North Borneo dispute]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Ooi |first=Keat Gin |author-link=Keat Gin Ooi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QKgraWbb7yoC&pg=PA1163 |title=Southeast Asia: A Historical Encyclopedia, from Angkor Wat to East Timor |date=2004 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-57607-770-2 |pages=1163–}}</ref><ref name="Justice2003">{{cite book|author=International Court of Justice|title=Summaries of Judgments, Advisory Opinions, and Orders of the International Court of Justice, 1997–2002|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QhIhqVaIpawC&pg=PA205|year=2003|publisher=United Nations Publications|isbn=978-92-1-133541-5|pages=205–268}}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

[[File:Major Hugh Scott, Military Governor of the Sulu Archipelago, Philippines, Sultan Jamalul Kiram II, interpreter Charles Schuck, and local government officials and hadjis, dressed to call on LCCN2016650207.jpg|thumb|left|American military governor [[Hugh Lenox Scott]] meeting [[Jamalul Kiram II]] ({{circa|1905}})]]
Following the defeat of the [[Moro Rebellion]], the Sultanate of Sulu's existence effectively ceased on 22 March 1915, when American commanders demanded Sultan [[Jamalul Kiram II]] signed an agreement called the Carpenter Agreement. By this agreement, the sultan relinquished all sovereignty over territory then under control of the United States, retaining only his religious authority as head of Islam in Sulu.<ref name="carpenter"/>

====Aftermath====
{{Main article|North Borneo dispute}}
As a result of the language used in the treaty signed in 1878 to approve Sulu's cession of the eastern part of [[Sabah]], a territorial dispute emerged between the [[Philippines]] and [[Malaysia]], known as the [[North Borneo dispute]].

[[File:W.C.Cowie and A.Cook-SultanOfSulu.png|thumb|[[William Cowie (merchant)|W. C. Cowie]], managing director of [[North Borneo Chartered Company|BNBC]], with the sultan of Sulu.]]
The treaty was signed between Sulu sultan [[Jamal ul-Azam]] and [[Gustav Overbeck|Baron von Overbeck]], representing the [[North Borneo Chartered Company]]. In it, in exchange for annual payment of five thousand dollars (later raised to 5,300), Sulu's Sabah territories were either ''ceded'' (per the English version) or ''leased'' (according to some interpretations of ''[[:wikt:pajakan|pajakkan]]'' in the [[Malay language|Malay]] version). Using the former interpretation, the [[British protectorate]] of [[North Borneo]] was formed in 1881, later becoming part of [[Malaysia]] in 1963 under the name of Sabah. However, the Philippines, acting as the [[successor state]] to the Sultanate of Sulu, also claim Sabah, which it interprets to only have been under ''lease'' by Sulu, to the point of considering the inclusion of the claim in its constitution.<ref name="Quezon2013">{{cite web|title=North Borneo (Sabah): An annotated timeline 1640s-present|website=The Explainer|date=2013-03-01|author=[[Manolo Quezon|Manuel L. Quezon III]]|url=https://www.quezon.ph/2013/03/01/north-borneo-sabah-an-annotated-timeline-1640s-present/|access-date=2025-06-15}}</ref>

Malaysia views the dispute as a "non-issue",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thestar.com.my/story.aspx/?file=%2f2008%2f5%2f29%2fnation%2f21389432&sec=nation|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227044338/http://www.thestar.com.my/story.aspx/?file=%2f2008%2f5%2f29%2fnation%2f21389432&sec=nation|archive-date=2014-02-27|title=Call for ICJ arbitration dismissed|work=The Star|date=29 May 2008|access-date=24 February 2013}}</ref> as it not only considers the agreement in 1878 as one of cession later confirmed in a 1903 agreement,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.google.com/search?q=The+term+used+in+the+1903+confirmation+Beritish+Nurth+Burniuh,+meaning+literally+we+have+willingly+surrendered+to+the+Government+of+British+North+Borneo.+here+the+controversial+idiom+of+pajakan&tbm=bks&cshid=1596441598799440|title=The Contested Maritime and Territorial Boundaries of Malaysia: An International Law Perspective|last=Haller-Trost|first=R|publisher=Kluwer Law International|year=1998|isbn=9789041196521|location=University of Michigan|pages=155}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=R. Haller-Trost|title=The Contested Maritime and Territorial Boundaries of Malaysia: An International Law Perspective|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=65VuAAAAMAAJ|date=1 January 1998|publisher=Kluwer Law International|isbn=978-90-411-9652-1}}</ref> but it also deems that the residents had exercised their act of self-determination when they joined to form the Malaysian federation in 1963.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sulu sultan's 'heirs' drop Sabah claim|url=http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20080717-149023/Sulu-sultans-heirs-drop-Sabah-claim|access-date=26 October 2010|newspaper=[[Philippine Daily Inquirer]]|date=17 September 2008|first1=Ruben|last1=Sario|first2=Julie S.|last2=Alipala|first3=Ed|last3=General|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130703014347/http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20080717-149023/Sulu-sultans-heirs-drop-Sabah-claim|archive-date=3 July 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Aning|first=Jerome|title=Sabah legislature refuses to tackle RP claim|url=http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20090422-200829/Sabah-legislature-refuses-to-tackle-RP-claim|access-date=27 February 2013|newspaper=[[Philippine Daily Inquirer]]|date=23 April 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130703015336/http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20090422-200829/Sabah-legislature-refuses-to-tackle-RP-claim|archive-date=3 July 2013}}</ref> It stood by the contract until 2013, issuing annual cheques in the amount of [[Malaysian ringgit|RM]]5,300 (approx. [[Philippine pesos|₱]]77,000 or US$1,710) to the legal counsel of the heirs of [[Jamalul Kiram II]], the last sovereign sultan of Sulu.<ref name="inq-timeline">{{cite news|url=http://globalnation.inquirer.net/65303/what-went-before-sultan-of-sulus-9-principal-heirs|title=WHAT WENT BEFORE: Sultan of Sulu's 9 principal heirs|newspaper=[[Philippine Daily Inquirer]]|date=23 February 2013|access-date=23 February 2013}}</ref>

The heirs to the Sulu royals have themselves staked their claims to Sabah. In 2013, during the [[2013 Lahad Datu standoff|Lahad Datu standoff]], a group of armed individuals sent by one of the claimants to the Sulu throne, [[Jamalul Kiram III]], arrived in [[Lahad Datu]], Sabah, in an attempt to assert their territorial claim.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://globalnation.inquirer.net/64577/heirs-of-sultan-of-sulu-pursue-sabah-claim-on-their-own|title=Heirs of Sultan of Sulu pursue Sabah claim on their own|newspaper=Philippine Daily Inquirer|date=16 February 2013|access-date=20 February 2013}}</ref> A total of 72 people were killed in the incident, which led to the suspension of the payments by the Malaysian government and the sentencing of seven of the invaders to the death penalty.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Azalina justifies death sentence for seven Sulu 'terrorists'; says penalty for local Lahad Datu 'traitors' to be known after French court ruling in Nov |url=https://news.nestia.com/detail/Azalina-justifies-death-sentence-for-seven-Sulu-%E2%80%98terrorists%E2%80%99%3B-says-penalty-for-local-Lahad-Datu-%E2%80%98traitors%E2%80%99-to-be-known-after-French-court-ruling-in-Nov/12945789 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2020/07/610835/malaysia-stopped-paying-cession-money-sulu-sultanate-2013|title=Malaysia stopped paying cession money to Sulu Sultanate in 2013|newspaper=[[New Straits Times]]|date=23 July 2020|access-date=11 August 2020}}</ref>

The suspension of the annual payments led the Sulu heirs to [[Malaysia Sulu case|sue Malaysia for breach of contract]]. Their use of [[forum shopping]] led to an initial award of at least US$14.92 billion by a Paris arbitration court.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Zulkaflee |first=Ikhwan |title=International Court Ruled That Malaysia Must Pay RM62 Billion To Sulu Sultan's Descendents |url=https://www.therakyatpost.com/news/2022/03/01/international-court-ruled-that-malaysia-must-pay-rm62-billion-to-sulu-sultans-descendents/ |access-date=2022-03-18 |website=TRP |date=March 2022 |language=en-US}}</ref> After litigation in Spanish, French, and Dutch court systems,<ref name="Fresh">{{cite news |last1=Beattie |first1=Elizabeth |title=Fresh from 'Sulu case' win, Malaysia's law minister turns to domestic reforms |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/07/07/asia-pacific/crime-legal-asia-pacific/malaysia-law-minister-sulu-case/ |access-date=15 December 2023 |work=The Japan Times |date=7 July 2023 |language=en}}</ref> Malaysia obtained consistent victories, culminating in a dismissal by the French [[Court of Cassation (France)|Court of Cassation]] on 6 November 2024.<ref name="reuters.com">{{cite news|last1=Hummel|first1=Tassilo|last2=Azhar|first2=Danial|last3=Williams|first3=Alison|last4=Petty|first4=Martin|date=7 November 2024|access-date=20 January 2025|title=Late sultan's heirs fail in bid to challenge French ruling on Malaysia dispute|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/sultans-heirs-fail-with-bid-challenge-french-ruling-dispute-with-malaysia-2024-11-06/|work=Reuters}}</ref>

==Economy==

===Weapons and slave trade===
[[File:Moro cannon or swivel gun (lantaka) from the Sulu Archipelago, brass, Honolulu Museum of Art.jpg|thumb|right|A Moro brass ''lantaka'' or swivel gun.]]
Chinese who lived in Sulu ran guns across a Spanish blockade to supply the Moro datus and sultanates with weapons to fight the Spanish, who were engaging in a campaign to subjugate the Moro sultanates on [[Mindanao]]. A trade involving the Moros selling slaves and other goods in exchange for guns developed. The Chinese had entered the economy of the sultanate, taking almost total control of the sultanate's economies in Mindanao and dominating the markets. Though the sultans did not like one group of people exercising exclusive control over the economy, they did business with them.
[[File:Iranun lanong warship by Rafael Monleón (1890).jpg|thumb|left|19th century illustration of a ''[[lanong]]'', the main warships used by the [[Iranun people|Iranun]] and [[Banguingui people]] of the navies of the sultanates of Sulu and [[Sultanate of Maguindanao|Maguindanao]] for piracy and slave raids]]
The Chinese set up a trading network between [[British Singapore|Singapore]], Zamboanga, Jolo and Sulu. The Chinese sold small arms like Enfield and Spencer Rifles to the Buayan Datu Uto. They were used to battle the Spanish invasion of [[Buayan]]. The datu paid for the weapons in slaves.<ref name="Warren2007">{{cite book|author=James Francis Warren|title=The Sulu Zone, 1768–1898: The Dynamics of External Trade, Slavery, and Ethnicity in the Transformation of a Southeast Asian Maritime State|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VUZq93ydrrwC&pg=PA129|year=2007|publisher=NUS Press|isbn=978-9971-69-386-2|pages=129–}}</ref> The population of Chinese in Mindanao in the 1880s was 1,000. The Chinese ran guns across a Spanish blockade to sell to Mindanao Moros. The purchases of these weapons were paid for by the Moros in slaves in addition to other goods. The main group of people selling guns were the Chinese in Sulu. The Chinese took control of the economy and used steamers to ship goods for exporting and importing. [[Opium]], [[ivory]], textiles, and crockery were among the other goods which the Chinese sold.

The Chinese on [[Maimbung]] sent the weapons to the Sulu sultanate, who used them to battle the Spanish and resist their attacks. A [[Chinese-Mestizo]] was one of the sultan's brothers-in-law, the sultan was married to his sister. He and the sultan both owned shares in the ship (named the Far East) which helped smuggle the weapons.<ref name="Warren2007"/> The Spanish launched a surprise offensive under Colonel [[Juan Arolas]] in April 1887 by attacking the sultanate's capital at Maimbung in an effort to crush resistance. Weapons were captured and the property of the Chinese were destroyed while the Chinese were deported to Jolo.<ref name="Warren2007"/>

===Pearling industry===
[[File:Sultan of Sulu and French visitors.jpg|thumb|right|A painting from 1880s depicting Sultan [[Jamal ul-Azam]] having a conversation with French visitors.]]
After the destruction of the pirate haunts of [[Balanguingui]] effectively ending the centuries of slave raids, which the Sulu sultanate's economy had so depended on, along with the economy of mainland Mindanao, the sultanate's economy experienced a sharp decline as slaves became more inaccessible and the islands' agricultural produce wasn't enough, thus it became dependent on the Mindanao interior even for [[rice]] and produce.<ref>{{cite book|author=Reynaldo Clemeña Ileto|title=Magindanao, 1860–1888: The Career of Datu Utto of Buayan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bd94RtanksIC&pg=PR18|year=2007|publisher=Anvil Publishing, Inc.|isbn=978-971-27-1585-3|pages=18–}}</ref> Although the Spaniards thought they had dealt the death blow for the sultanate when they captured Jolo in 1876, rather, the sultanate's capital and economic and trading hub was moved to Maimbung on the other side of the island. Up until the American occupation, this was the residence and economic center of Sulu. This is where the Sultan Jamalul Kiram II and his adviser Hadji Butu began the Sulu [[pearl]]ing industry to increase the sultan's wealth, they organized the Sulu pearling fleet, which remained active well into the early 20th century. In 1910, the sultan reportedly sold a giant pearl in London for $100,000.{{citation_needed|date=August 2017}}
{{clear left}}

==Culture==
===Social class system===
Among the people of the Sultanate of Sulu, nobility could be acquired only by lineage, a closed hereditary system.

[[File:Daru Jambangan.jpg|thumb|[[Darul Jambangan]] (Palace of Flowers) in [[Maimbung]], last residence to the sultans.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/510823/before-his-death-kiram-iii-tells-family-to-continue-fight-to-re-possess-sabah |title=Before his death, Kiram III tells family to continue fight to re-possess Sabah &#124; Inquirer News|date=20 October 2013 }}</ref>]]
There were two royal classes:<ref>{{cite book|last=Bruno|first=Juanito A|title=The Social World of the Tausug| year=1973| page=146}}</ref>
* '''[[Datu]]''' (''susultanun''), acquired purely by lineage. All male members of the [[Royal House of Sulu|royal house of Sulu]] held this title and style "His Royal Highness (HRH)". Their spouses automatically held the title of ''Dayangdayang'' (princess of the first degree). Adopted members of the royal house of Sulu were styled "His Highness (HH)" and their spouses  also held the title of Dayangdayang and the style: "Her Highness".
* '''[[Datu Sadja|Datu sadja]]''', which may be acquired through confirming the titles (''gullal'') on the middleman of the sultan. The gullal is made if a commoner has achieved outstanding feats or services in line of duty through display of bravery, heroism, etc. Datu sadja is a life title of nobility and the title holders hold the style "His Excellency" and their spouses should hold the title of ''dayang'' the style "Her Excellency".
'''Maharlika''', or commoners, do not trace their descent from royalty. The upper subclasses held administrative roles:

* '''Wakil Kesultanan''' – regional representative outside the sultanate
* '''Panglima''' – regional representative inside the sultanate
* '''Parkasa''' – [[aide-de-camp]] of region representative inside the sultanate
* '''Laksaman'''– subregional representative inside the sultanate

[[File:Sulu Craft off Sandakau, with Mecca Pilgrims.jpg|thumb|left|Sulu vessel carrying pilgrims to Mecca, 1899.]]
The men who hold the offices above were addressed by the title of nobility ''Tuan'' (the title is directly attached to the office), followed by the rank of the office they hold, their given name, surname and region. The women who held offices above shall be addressed by the title of nobility ''Sitti'' (the title is directly attached to the office), followed by the same name order.

A very large part of the Sulu society, as well as in the [[Sultanate of Maguindanao]] were slaves captured from slave raids or bought from slave markets. They were known as the ''bisaya'', reflecting their most common origin – Christianized [[Visayans]] from Spanish territories in the Philippines – although they also included captured slaves from other ethnic groups throughout Southeast Asia. They were also known as ''banyaga'', ''ipun'', or ''ammas''. It is estimated that as much as 50% of the population of Sulu in the 1850s were ''bisaya'' slaves and dominated the Sulu economy. For the most part, they were treated like commoners, with their own houses and were responsible for cultivating farms and fisheries of Tausug nobility. But there were harsh punishments for attempts to escape, and a large number of the slaves were sold to European, Chinese, [[Makassar people|Makassar]], and [[Bugis people|Bugis]] slavers in the [[Dutch East Indies]].<ref name="warren2">{{cite book|author=James Francis Warren|title=Iranun and Balangingi: Globalization, Maritime Raiding and the Birth of Ethnicity|publisher=NUS Press|year=2002|pages=53–56|isbn=9789971692421|url=https://nuspress.nus.edu.sg/products/iranun-and-balangingi}}</ref><ref name="non">{{cite journal|first=Domingo M.|last=Non|year=1993|title=Moro Piracy during the Spanish Period and its Impact |journal=Southeast Asian Studies|volume=30|issue=4|pages=401–40419|doi=10.20495/tak.30.4_401|url=https://repository.kulib.kyoto-u.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2433/56477/1/KJ00000131731.pdf}}</ref>

===Visual arts===
{{main|Okir}}
[[File:Lute (kutyapi), Mindanao, wood, Honolulu Museum of Art.jpg|thumb|A ''[[kutiyapi]]'' (lute) from Mindanao bearing ''Ukkil'' motifs.]]

The Sultanate of Sulu, along with the rest of Mindanao, has a long tradition of decorative arts known as ''ukkil'' or ''okir''. Ukkil is the Tausug word for "wood carving" or "engraving". The Tausug and [[Maranao]] peoples traditionally carved and decorated their boats, houses and even grave markers with ukkil carvings. Aside from wood carvings, ukkil motifs were found on various clothing in the Sulu archipelago. Ukkil motifs tend to emphasise geometric patterns and a flowing design, with floral and leaf patterns as well as folk elements. The Tausug also decorated their weapons with these motifs, and various ''kris'' and [[Barong (knife)|''barong'']] blades have finely decorated handles as well as blades covered in floral patterns and the like.<ref>{{cite book|first=Ligaya|last=Fernando-Amilbangsa|title=Ukkil: Visual Arts of the Sulu Archipelago|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pCgW_lZy0LUC&pg=PP1|year=2005|publisher=Ateneo University Press|isbn=978-971-550-480-5|pages=1–}}</ref> Bronze ''[[lantaka]]'' also bear some ukkil patterns.

==See also==
{{Div col}}
* [[Sultanate of Malacca]]
* [[Sultanate of Maguindanao]]
* [[John C. Bates]]
* [[Manila Accord]]
* [[Abolition of monarchy]]
* [[Hinduism in the Philippines]]
* [[History of the Philippines (Before 1521)]]
* [[Kiram-Bates Treaty]]
{{col div end}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
;General
* {{cite book
|title=The Sulu Archipelago and Its People
|year=1931
|last=Orosa
|first=Sixto Y.
|publisher=New Mercury Printing Press
|isbn=9781014290557
|url=https://archive.org/details/ahz9503.0001.001.umich.edu/
}}
* {{cite book
|title=History for Brunei Darussalam: Sharing our Past
|year=2009
|publisher=Curriculum Development Department, Ministry of Education
|isbn=978-99917-2-372-3
|ref={{harvid|History for Brunei Darussalam|2009}}}}
* {{cite book
|first1=P. N.
|last1=Abinales
|first2=Donna J.
|last2=Amoroso
|title=State and Society in the Philippines
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xiOQdEzgP9kC&pg=PA44
|year=2005
|publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]]
|isbn=978-0-7425-1024-1
|pages=43–45
}}
* {{citation
|last=Ang
|first=Josiah C.
|title=Historical Timeline of the Royal Sultanate of Sulu Including Related Events of Neighboring Peoples
|publisher=Southeast Asian Studies, [[Northern Illinois University]]
|url=http://www.seasite.niu.edu/Tagalog/Modules/Modules/MuslimMindanao/historical_timeline_of_the_royal.htm
|access-date=21 December 2010
|archive-date=29 April 2012
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120429112342/http://www.seasite.niu.edu/Tagalog/Modules/Modules/MuslimMindanao/historical_timeline_of_the_royal.htm
|url-status=dead
}}
* {{citation
|last=Campbell
|first=Lawrence Dundas
|title=The Asiatic Annual Register: or, A View of the History of Hindustan, and of the Politics, Commerce and Literature of Asia
|volume=6
|publisher=[[University of Michigan]]
|year=2007
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eZhJAAAAMAAJ
}}
* {{citation
|last=Cavendish
|first=Marshall
|title=World and Its Peoples: Eastern and Southern Asia
|publisher=Marshall Cavendish Corporation
|volume=9
|year=2007
|isbn=978-0-7614-7642-9
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=72VwCFtYHCgC
}}
* {{citation
|last=Decasa
|first=George C.
|title=The Qur'ānic Concept of Umma and its Function in Philippine Muslim Society
|publisher=[[Pontificia Università Gregoriana|Editrice Pontificia Università Gregoriana]]
|year=1999
|isbn=978-88-7652-812-5
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hYNqz-1ayssC
}}
* {{Cite book
|last=Donoso
|first=Isaac
|url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110778847-019/html
|chapter=The Qur'an in the Spanish Philippines
|pages=499–532
|year=2022
|publisher=[[De Gruyter]]
|isbn=978-3-11-077884-7
|language=en
|doi=10.1515/9783110778847-019
|editor-last1=García-Arenal
|editor-first1=Mercedes
|editor-last2=Wiegers
|editor-first2=Gerard
|title=The Iberian Qur'an: From the Middle Ages to Modern Times
|hdl=10045/139165
}}
* {{citation
|last=Gonda
|first=Jan
|title=Religionen: Handbuch der Orientalistik: Indonesien, Malaysia und die Philippinen unter Einschluss der Kap-Malaien in Südafrika
|volume=2
|publisher=E.J. Brill
|year=1975
|isbn=978-90-04-04330-5
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7YfAAAAIAAJ
}}
* {{cite book
|last=Gunn 
|first=Geoffrey C. 
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E10tnvapZt0C 
|title=History Without Borders: The Making of an Asian World Region, 1000–1800 
|publisher=[[Hong Kong University]] Press 
|year=2011 
|isbn=9789888083343 
|pages=91–95}}
* {{citation
|last1=Ibrahim
|first1=Ahmad
|first2=Sharon
|last2=Siddique
|first3=Yasmin
|last3=Hussain
|title=Readings on Islam in Southeast Asia
|publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies
|year=1985
|isbn=978-9971-988-08-1
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BeDKqPTeHnUC
|ref={{harvid|Ibrahim|1985}}
}}
* {{citation
|last=Keppel
|first=Henry
|author-link=Henry Keppel
|title=The Expedition to Borneo of H.M.S. Didio for the Suppression of Piracy
|publisher=Reprinted by The Forgotten Books
|isbn=978-1-4400-7547-6
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D8KajTcXlnwC
}}
* {{citation
|last=Larousse
|first=William
|title=A Local Church Living for Dialogue: Muslim-Christian Relations in Mindanao-Sulu, Philippines : 1965–2000
|publisher=[[Pontifical Gregorian University|Editrice Pontificia Università Gregoriana]]
|year=2001
|isbn=978-88-7652-879-8
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qyo-Hti0-KAC
}}
* {{citation
|last=Majul
|first=César Adib
|title=Muslims in the Philippines
|publisher=[[University of the Philippines Press]]
|year=1973
|isbn=9789715421881
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1GVxAAAAMAAJ
}}
* {{citation
|last=Saleeby
|first=Najeeb Mitry
|title=The History of Sulu
|publisher=Bureau of Printing
|year=1908
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FKETAAAAYAAJ
}}
* {{citation
|last=Saunders
|first=Graham E.
|title=A History of Brunei
|publisher=[[Routledge]]
|year=2002
|isbn=978-0-7007-1698-2
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SQ4t_OJgSjAC
}}
* {{citation
|last=Scott
|first=William Henry
|author-link=William Henry Scott (historian)
|title=Barangay: Sixteenth-Century Philippine Culture and Society
|publisher=[[Ateneo de Manila University Press]]
|year=1994
|isbn=978-971-550-135-4
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=15KZU-yMuisC
}}
* {{citation
|last=Tan
|first=Samuel K.
|title=A History of the Philippines
|publisher=[[University of the Philippines Press]]
|year=2009
|isbn=978-971-542-568-1
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pw5FWmdNmj8C
}}
* {{citation
|last=Tan
|first=Samuel K.
|title=The Muslim South and Beyond
|publisher=[[University of the Philippines Press]]
|year=2010
|isbn=978-971-542-632-9
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=csrZOk6yLosC
}}
* {{citation
|author=United Nations Publications
|title=Case concerning sovereignty over Palau Ligitan and Palau Sipidan (Indonesia/Malaysia). Judgment of 17 December 2002. International Court of Justice Series. Issue 858 of Recueil des arrêts, avis consultatifs et ordonnances. Reports of judgments, advisory opinions and orders
|publisher=United Nations Publications
|year=2002
|isbn=978-92-1-070964-4
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GzlBxwniBBkC
}}{{Dead link|date=May 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

==External links==
{{Commons category-inline}}
* [https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2013/02/26/line-of-succession-of-the-sultans-of-sulu-of-the-modern-era Line of succession of the Sultans of Sulu of the Modern Era] as published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130227230933/http://www.sulu.gov.ph/Profile.asp?mode=sultanate Philippine Provincial Government of Sulu&nbsp;– The official list of Sultans]
* [http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Philippines.htm Sultanate of Sulu] on WorldStatesMen.org

{{Sultans of Sulu and claimants}}
{{Former and present states in the Philippines}}
{{India-related topics in Philippines}}
{{British overseas territories}}
{{History of East Malaysia}}
{{Asia in topic|Hinduism in}}

{{coord|6|03|07|N|121|00|07|E|source:kolossus-cawiki|display=title}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Former sultanates|Sulu]]
[[Category:History of Sulu]]
[[Category:Sulu Sea]]
[[Category:History of Sabah]]
[[Category:Former countries in Borneo]]
[[Category:Former countries in Bruneian history]]
[[Category:Precolonial states of Indonesia]]
[[Category:Former countries in Malaysian history]]
[[Category:Former countries in Philippine history]]
[[Category:History of the Philippines (900–1565)]]
[[Category:Former monarchies of Asia]]
[[Category:Moro history]]
[[Category:Moro Rebellion]]
[[Category:Filipino royalty]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1405]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1915]]
[[Category:1405 establishments in Asia]]
[[Category:1915 disestablishments in Asia]]
[[Category:15th-century establishments in Asia]]
[[Category:1915 disestablishments in the Philippines]]
[[Category:Maritime Southeast Asia]]
[[Category:Tributaries of Imperial China]]