The sultan of Brunei is the monarchical

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...

and

head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a gro ...

in his capacity as prime minister of Brunei. Since independence from the British in 1984, only one

sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...

has reigned, though the royal institution dates back to the 14th century. The sultan of Brunei can be thought of as synonymous with the ruling

House of Bolkiah The House of Bolkiah is the ruling royal family of Brunei Darussalam. It is composed of the descendants of the 1st sultan Sultan Muhammad Shah and his family. The Sultan of Brunei is the head of state and absolute monarch of Brunei. He is al ...

, with generations being traced from the first sultan, temporarily interrupted by the 13th sultan,

Abdul Hakkul Mubin Sultan Abdul Hakkul Mubin (also known as Abdul Mubin) was the thirteenth Sultan of Brunei. He was involved in the Brunei Civil War. He ruled from 1660 to 1673 after killing Sultan Muhammad Ali. He was later killed and succeeded by Sultan Mu ...

, who in turn was deposed by a member of the House of Bolkiah. The sultan's full title is His Majesty The Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam.

Sultans

Uncertainties

The earliest historical record of the

Sultans of Brunei The sultan of Brunei is the monarchical head of state of Brunei and head of government in his capacity as prime minister of Brunei. Since independence from the British in 1984, only one sultan has reigned, though the royal institution dates bac ...

is not clearly known due to the poor early documentation of Brunei history. In addition there has been an effort to ''Islamise'' the history, with the "official history" not matching up with verifiable foreign sources The ''

Batu Tarsilah Batu may refer to: Geography *Batu, East Java, a city in Indonesia *Batu Islands, an archipelago of Indonesia * Batu, Iran, a village in Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran *Batu, Kuala Lumpur, an area in Malaysia *Batu (town), Ethiopia *Batu Lintang c ...

'' - the genealogical record of the kings of Brunei - was not started until 1807. Therefore, much of the interpretation of history relied on earlier Chinese sources and legends. It seems that the early Sultanate of Brunei was dependent on Chinese support, and perhaps early Sultans were of Chinese origin. Furthermore, the earliest Sultans may have been practicing the Hindu or Buddhist religions, with early names indicating this origin.

References

{{Southeast Asian leaders Sultans

Sultans

Uncertainties

See also

References