Brunei

Brunei was a Malay trading state on Borneo’s north coast, known to China as Po-ni.

The Nagarakretagama listed it as a Majapahit tributary in 1365; Sulu raiders sacked its capital in 1369. Around 1400 Awang Alak Betatar became Sultan Muhammad Shah. Under Bolkiah, Brunei’s power reached Sulu and Magellan’s survivors visited in 1521. Spain briefly occupied the capital in 1578, while civil wars in 1660 and 1826 weakened the sultanate.