2020-11-17 Tue

The Sultanate of Sulu was a Muslim state that ruled the islands in the Sulu Archipelago, parts of Mindanao in today's Philippines, certain portions of Palawan and north-eastern Borneo. It was founded on 17 November 1405 by a Johore-born explorer and religious scholar Sharif ul-Hashim.

He assumed the political and spiritual leader of the realm, and was given the title Sultan, and was also the first Sultan of Sulu. During his reigning era, he promulgated the first Sulu code of laws called Diwan that were based on Quran. He introduced Islamic political institutions and the consolidation of Islam as the state religion.

The Sultanate of Sulu in the southernmost islands engaged actively in barter trade with the Arabs, Han Chinese, Bornean, Moluccan, and British traders. The Sultans issued coins of their own as early as the 5th century. Coins of Sultan Azimud Din that exist today are of base metal Tin, Silver and alloy bearing Arabic inscriptions and dated 1148 AH corresponding to the year 1735 in the Christian era.

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