The Confederate States of Lanao (''Pat a Pangampong sa Ranao''), also known as the Lanao Sultanate, collective term for four states named Bayabao, Masiu, Unayan, and Balo in

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. Before the Maranaos were invaded by the

Maguindanao Sultanate The Sultanate of Maguindanao ( Maguindanaon: ''Kasultanan nu Magindanaw''; Old Maguindanaon: كاسولتانن نو ماڬينداناو; Jawi: کسلطانن ماڬيندناو; Iranun: ''Kesultanan a Magindanao''; ms, Kesultanan Magindana ...

it already existed as a separate nation. The Chinese chronicle Zhufan zhi 諸蕃志 published on 1225, described it as a country southeast of Shahuagong (

Sanmalan The polity of Sanmalan is a precolonial Philippine state centered on what is now Zamboanga. Labeled in Chinese annals as "Sanmalan" 三麻蘭. The Chinese recorded a year 1011 tribute from its Rajah or King, Chulan, who was represented at the i ...

) in present day Zamboanga, a country called "Maluonu" of which, this is what the chronicles have to say. Eventually the Lanao nation fell under the power of the

. Afterwards though, the chieftains of the Bayabao, Masiu, Unayan, and Baloi states seceded from the

in 1616. The Lanao Sultanate consists of traditional leaders and forty-three sultans. Fifteen of these sultans heads the fifteen

royal houses A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A d ...

of Lanao As of 2004, the sultanates of Lanao govern themselves within the

Republic of the Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

as the Sultanate League of Lanao. In February 9, 2007, President

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal Arroyo (, born April 5, 1947), often referred to by her initials GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician serving as one of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines, House Deputy Spe ...

issued Executive Order No. 602 which founded the Lanao Advisory Council to facilitate the Philippine national government's relations with 16 royal houses in the Lanao area.

References

{{reflist Former sultanates Former countries in Philippine history History of Mindanao History of Lanao del Sur History of the Philippines (1565–1898) States and territories established in 1616