Pag

e 1

Theme 2

Brunei : Ancient Brunei to 16th Century

Early names of Ancient Brunei

P’o-li Written in the Chinese records Recorded in the 6th century Located in the north-west coast of Borneo

Vijayapura

Written in the Chinese and Arab records Recorded in the 7th century Founded by members of the Funan royal family The royal family changed the name P’o-li to Vijayapura

(victory) The Chinese referred Vijayapura as Fo-shih-pu-lo The Arabs called it as Sribuza It was a trading empire The people traded in champor (main export) and other

forest produces With trade, the empire began to extend

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Funan was located in present-day CambodiaThe royal family of Funan fled from their kingdom when it was

attacked and captured by the people of ChenlaThey landed on the northwest coast of Borneo with their followers

Po-ni Written in the Chinese reports Recorded in 977 (10th century) The Chinese used the name Po-ni to refer to the Brunei

Kingdom

Written records on Ancient Brunei

1225 (by Chua Ju-Kua)

Had 100 warships

The king was carried in a litter

There was a lot of gold

1225 (by Chua Ju-Kua)

Had 100 warships

The king was carried in a litter

There was a lot of gold

977

Located on Brunei Bay

The religions were Hinduism and Buddhism

A trading empire which exported camphor

977

Located on Brunei Bay

The religions were Hinduism and Buddhism

A trading empire which exported camphor

By the Chinese traders

P’o-li, Bu-ni, Fo-ni,Po-ni, Po-lo, Bruni,Wen-lai, Bun-lai,

Pu-lo-chung, Ye-po-ti,

Fo-shih-pu-lo

By the Chinese traders

P’o-li, Bu-ni, Fo-ni,Po-ni, Po-lo, Bruni,Wen-lai, Bun-lai,

Pu-lo-chung, Ye-po-ti,

Fo-shih-pu-lo

By the Arab traders

Sribuza, Dzabaja, Randj

By the Arab traders

Sribuza, Dzabaja, Randj

By traders of other countries

Buruneng, Borrei, Burneau, Borney,

Borneo, Bruneo, Burne, Bornui, Bruni, Bhurni,

Karpuradvipa (camphor land),

Vijayapura (victory), Varunai (seaborn)

By traders of other countries

Buruneng, Borrei, Burneau, Borney,

Borneo, Bruneo, Burne, Bornui, Bruni, Bhurni,

Karpuradvipa (camphor land),

Vijayapura (victory), Varunai (seaborn)

Pag

e 1

Chinese reports on PO-

NI

Chinese reports on PO-

NI

1280

Controlled large parts of Borneo islands (Sabah and Sarawak)

Controlled Sulu

Controlled Northwest coast of Borneo (the Philippines)

1280

Controlled large parts of Borneo islands (Sabah and Sarawak)

Controlled Sulu

Controlled Northwest coast of Borneo (the Philippines)

1365

Became a vassal state of Majapahit

Paid a tribute of 40 katis of camphor

1365

Became a vassal state of Majapahit

Paid a tribute of 40 katis of camphor

1369

Attacked by the Sulus

Its gold and treasures were taken away

Majapahit came to drive the Sulus away

Po-ni became much weaker after the attack

1369

Attacked by the Sulus

Its gold and treasures were taken away

Majapahit came to drive the Sulus away

Po-ni became much weaker after the attack

1371

A poor country

Totally controlled by Majapahit

There was no mention of gold and wealth

1371

A poor country

Totally controlled by Majapahit

There was no mention of gold and wealth

Pag

e 1

Brunei as a centre of learning and teaching of Islam

Awang Alak Betatar with his 13 brothers lived in Garang, Temburong

Among the brothers, Awang Alak Betatar was the leader because of his intelligence

One day, the brothers had a meeting on finding a new place to live

The search for a new place was led by Pateh Berbai, one of Awang Alak Betatar’s brothers

They found Butir which was on the Brunei RiverThe brothers agreed that Butir was the perfect place as there

was an ample supply of food and water When they went back to Garang, they told Awang Alak

Betatar about Butir. The 14 brothers then began to clean the area and to make a

new home which later became known as Brunei Each one of the brothers set up his own house. Later, more

and more people came to live there Awang Alak Betatar became the first ruler of BruneiA Awang Alak Betatar then became known as the first ruler of

Brunei

The first ruler of Brunei was Awang Alak Betatar

Under his rule. Brunei became well-known among its neighbours. This included Johore

At that time, the kingdom of Johore was ruled by Sultan Bakhei

One day, Sultan Bakhei sent his messengers to invite Awang Alak Betatar to Johore

Awang Alak Betatar accepted the invitation and set to sail to Johore with Pateh Berbai

Upon arrival in Johore, the two brothers were warmly welcomed

As Sultan Bakhei was a Muslim, he shared his knowledge about Islam with the two brothers

Awang Alak Betatar and Pateh Berbai were interested in the new religion and so they also decided to become Muslims

On becoming Muslims, Awang Alak Betatar chose the name Muhammad Shah while Pateh Berbai was named Ahmad

Muhammad Shah also married the daughter of Sultan Bakhei

This strengthened the ties between Brunei and Johore

Muhammad Shah was then known as Sultan Muhammad Shah

In the Chinese records, he was known as Ma-ha-mo-sha

With the Sultan a Muslim, Brunei also became a Muslim country

The founding of Brunei

Th e

sta

rt

of

th

e

Br

un

ei

Su

lta

nate

Pag

e 1

Sultan Sharif Ali

Sultan Bolkiah Sultan Muhammad Hassan

Period of rule 1425 – 1432(3rd Sultan)

1485 – 1524(5th Sultan)

1582 – 1598(9th Sultan)

Descendant Prophet Muhammad(he came from Taif, Arabia)

Married Sultan Ahmad’s daughter

(2nd Sultan of Brunei)

Sultan Sharif Ali (his grandfather)

Sultan Abdul Kahar (his son who was Acting Sultan during Antonio Pigafetta’s visit to Brunei in 1521)

Sultan Saiful Rijal (his father)

Known as Sultan Berkat (he did so much to spread

Islam)Nakhoda Ragam

His rule was comparable to Sultan Bolkiah and

Sultan Iskandar Muda of Acheh

Contributions

encouraged Islam in Brunei

: built the first mosque (in Kota Batu)

: became the Imam and read the khutbah

: the mosque was also used as a place to study Al-Quran and teach Islamic law

: included Islam in Brunei’s everyday life

: turned Brunei into a centre for the teaching of Islam

: added the name ‘Darussalam’

: created the ‘Panji-Panji’ or the Royal Emblem (a symbol of Islamic power)

expanded Brunei empire

: spread Islam along the coast of Borneo

: controlled lands along the coast of Borneo and in the nearby islands

spread Islam

: spread Islam to the places he controlled

: made Brunei as a centre of teaching and spreading Islam

especially after the fall of Malacca to the Portuguese in 1511

expanded Brunei empire (the ‘Golden Age’ of Brunei)

: captured all kingdoms and places he visited

: the places were : Pandasan, Tempasuk,

Mukah, Sambas, Bulungan, islands in the Philippines, Cebu, Sulu Archipelago, Mindanao, Palawan and Saludang (Luzon)

introduced the first written code of law (Hukum Kanun Brunei)

: the law was based on the teachings of Prophet Muhammad

: Islam continued to spread with the introduction of the law

reunited Brunei’s territories

: reunited the lands that Brunei lost during the Spanish attack on Brunei

(the Castille War)

Death 1432 1524(buried at Kota Batu)

1598

How Brunei was governed and organised

Pag

e 1

The System of Brunei’s government

The Sultan

He was the ruler of Brunei He was the Head of Islam in the country Special ceremonies were held to make a new Sultan the YANG DI-PERTUAN

The Officials

The Wazirs: the most important officials: they were members of the royal family

The Cheteria: they were the nobles: example = the Shahbandar was in charge of the port and looked after the foreign traders

The Manteri: example = Manteri Pendalaman

The Hulubalang: the low-ranking officials : examples = the Pegawai, the mosque officials (Imam, Khatib, Bilal)

Sultan

Wazirs

Pengiran BendaharaPengiran TemenggongPengiran Di-GadongPengiran Pemancha

Cheteria

HulubalangPegawai, Imam, Khatib, Bilal

Manteri

Pag

e 1

Brunei’s traditional land right systems

kerajaan kuripan tulin

The lands were controlled by the Sultan

The Sultan’s officials took care the of the lands

Money from these lands belonged to the Sultan

(as taxes)

The lands were given to the officials who were still in their positions

If the official was no longer in that position, the land was given to the new official

Money from these lands became the salary of the officials

The lands belonged to the noble families

Money from these lands belonged to the head of the family

The owner of this land may pass it to his son

The owner of this land could sell his land if he wished

Brunei’s trade

Brunei’s Trade

Trading Partners

China, India, Arabia, Cambodia, Siam, Pahang, Java,

Sumatra, Moluccas (Spice Islands), Mindanao (in the

Philippines)

Brunei’s export

Black wood, camphor, rattan, sandalwood, gums, birds’ nests, feathers, hornbills,

brassware and cloth

Importance of trade

1. To get money

2. To exchange goods

3. To have trade contacts with other countries

Brunei’s import

Luxury items such as ceramics from China and Siam, cloth

and brassware

Exported to Malacca, China and

Siam

Imported from China and Siam