The list of Sultans according to Sulu Tarsila, names more than thirty Sultans of Sulu. Some histories begin with Sultan Sharif ul Hashim in 1450, in which case Sultan Esmail II is the 36th Sultan. Some place the first Sultan as early as 1390.
Far older than any European royalty, the oldest royal house on earth is the Sultanate of Brunei, which dates to 1405 or slightly earlier. The second oldest royal house on earth is the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo.
Half a century after the founding of the Sulu Sultanate, Islamic explorers reached Mindanao itself, and established sultanates there. These sultanates have also continued to this day, and this of course confuses some people who assume there is only one Sultan in all of the Philippines, when in fact there are several. These sultanates of Mainland Mindanao and the Sultan of Sulu are separate entities, which have long histories of friendly relations. This pamphlet is only concerned with the Sulu Sultanate, not with Maguindanao or Lanao.
The Sultan of Sulu ruled as sovereign and spiritual leader over Sulu, Southern Palawan, Basilan, Tawi Tawi, and the Zamboanga Peninsula, and after being given the land by the Sultan of Brunei, also ruled North Borneo.
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