While the Sultanate dates to four hundred years earlier, we will begin this discussion with Jamalul Alam Kiram, the top name on the family tree on page 4.  Sultan from 1862-1881, this Sultan leased the vast tract of land on Borneo now known as Sabah to Baron Gustavus Von Overbeck (a Dutchman) and Alfred Dent (an Englishman).  The Sultan did this to raise funds to fight the Spanish Navy, which had begun to acquire steam-powered warships.  These newly invented war machines finally gave the Spanish ships faster than Moro naval forces. Therefore Spain was able to control the seas, and the Sultanate was trying to fight back.

Sultan Jamalul Alam Kiram had three wives.  The first wife, Pangiyan Lana, gave birth to a son, Badaruddin II, who became Sultan when his father died.  Sultan Badaruddin II reigned for three years, until he died of alleged poisoning in 1884.

Upon the death of the allegedly poisoned Sultan, the son of the second wife became Sultan.  His name was Muhammad Jamalul Kiram II, who enjoyed a long reign from 1884-1936.

It was during his reign that America took control of the Philippines. American forces, battle-hardened by annihilating the American Indians, temporarily conquered Sulu, declaring that the Sultan no longer held sovereign power but did retain spiritual authority.

Muhammad Jamalul Kiram II married at least ten wives in an effort to sire an heir.  However, no wife became pregnant.  When his youngest wife had a love affair with Hadjirul, one of the Sultan’s bodyguards, the Sultan took mercy on them and merely sent them into exile instead of executing them. While in exile, this young wife became pregnant by Hadjirul. The exiled wife and the bodyguard claimed their love child should be Sultan; but no one believed their claims that Julaspi should be crowned.  Julaspi died in Maharlika Village, Taguig, in 1998, and had two sons who claim to be Sultan… Rodinhod and Kudar, who obviously have no claim to the throne.

Childless, Jamalul Kiram II died in 1936, during the American occupation.  His full brother, Mawallil Wasit, the second son of wife Pangiyan Jamila, ascended to the throne.  Four days after the death of the elder brother, he was crowned by the Ruma Bechara, (Royal Council).  Shocking everyone, this new Sultan was believed poisoned six months later, died, and was buried in Maimbung. By the time of his poisoning, Mawallil Wasit was already an old man, since his elder brother had ruled for 52 years.

Mawallil Wasit did have three wives.  His first wife, named Albiya, bore one child, a daughter named Sitti Mariam. His second wife, Innang, bore one child, Esmail Kiram I. His third wife, Napsa, gave birth to three children, but only one son, named Punjungan. The daughters were Sitti Rada, the eldest child, and Putli Jahara.  Entranced by her beauty, Mawallil Wasit had abducted Napsa from Simunul Island in Tawi Tawi.  Some claim that she was already pregnant by a man to whom she had been married for only one week at the time of her abduction, and use this to argue against the legitimacy of Punjungan.  But in fact, Punjungan was the youngest of the three children, and there is no doubt that Mawallil Wasit was the father.

Upon the death of Mawallil Wasit, the Sultanate entered a period of competition to see who would become Sultan.  Also, shortly after his death, World War II began, with a Japanese occupation of Sulu.  With the invasion, the Sultanate began to lose firm control over its destiny.

After the death of Mawallil Wasit, Princess Anrada, the daughter of Datu Tambuyong, negotiated to install her father as Sultan Jainal Abirin.  Simultaneously, Jamalul Kiram II’s niece, Dayang Dayang Piandao, worked to install her husband, Ombra Amilbangsa, as Sultan. Ombra Amilbangsa was at that time the Governor of Sulu Province, and the Americans accepted him.  When the Japanese came in 1942, Ombra Amilbangsa was accepted by them as Sultan.

Most subjects in Sulu believed Jainal Abirin was the Sultan.  He was also a guerilla who led resistance fighting against the Japanese, together with Esmail Kiram I, who was already Raja Muda, or Crown Prince. With Jainal Abirin unable to rule because he was constantly moving around to fight, Ombra Amilbangsa, who collaborated with the Japanese, became the favored person to be called Sultan by the Japanese.  When the war ended, Ombra Amilbangsa became a Congressman.  After his election, Ombra Amilbangsa gave way to Jainal Abirin, who ruled as Sultan until his death in 1950.

When Sultan Jainal Abirin died, the Raja Muda was Esmail Kiram I. Although Sultan Jainal Abirin and Sultan Ombra Amilbangsa had children, their offspring had no claim to the throne because they were not within the lineage of succession. Thus the Sultanate passed to the Raja Mudah, the first son of the second wife, Innang. This son was Esmail Kiram I, who was proclaimed Sultan in Jolo in 1950.

It was this Sultan who in 1962 ceded the territory of North Borneo to the Republic of the Philippines.  During his long reign, the Raja Mudah or Crown Prince, was Datu Punjungan, who was the son of the third wife, Napsa.

In 1974, Sultan Esmail Kiram I died in Jolo. By this time, war was raging between Moro and Filipino soldiers in Sulu. In addition, the secret plan of the Philippines to invade North Borneo had ended in the Jabidah Massacre of 1968. There was suspicion and uncertainty everywhere in the region. Because President Ferdinand Marcos had declared Martial Law in 1972, Crown Prince Datu Punjungan had already fled to North Borneo and dared not return to claim the Sultanate.

Thus, emissaries from President Marcos traveled to Jolo to identify and select a new Sultan.  They asked Abraham Rasul, the husband of Santanina Rasul, who should be the next Sultan, inasmuch as they could not find Datu Punjungan. On the order of President Marcos, a selection committee was formed. This group chose Muhammad Mahakuttah Kiram as Sultan in 1974. They chose him because he was the first son of Sultan Esmail Kiram I and wife Nanang. And since they were unable to find Datu Punjungan, Datu Mahakuttah became Sultan, though not in accordance to standard rules. It was well known that the Crown Prince was alive, thus no new Sultan should have been crowned. This intervention by Manila has had exactly the effect which the Government of the Republic of the Philippines sought, which was to divide and control the people of Sulu. To this day, the competing claims to being Sultan stem from the interference by Manila.

Sultan Mahakuttah was brought to Manila, where he was well financed by President Marcos, lived in the Aurelio Hotel in Mabini, and received a large allowance. He played a large role in recommending to President Marcos who could bring in barter trade goods, with approval by the Southern Command officer in charge.  While living in Manila, Sultan Mahakuttah fell prey to all the vices. Finally, he married Mercy, a Christian woman from Pampanga.  In 1976, Sultan Mahakuttah began to lose favor with President Marcos because the “Magic Eight” commanders of the Moro National Liberation Front had surrendered to Marcos.  The Eight began to get funding, not Sultan Mahakuttah.

When martial law ended in 1980, Crown Prince Punjungan returned from North Borneo to Jolo.  The Ruma Bechara, along with all the datus and leaders of the different municipalities of Sulu, gathered in Jolo to proclaim Datu Punjungan as the rightful Sultan. At that time, they also proclaimed Datu Jamalul Kiram III as Raja Mudah. Sultan Mahakuttah was present at the gathering in Jolo and willingly renounced the Sultancy in favor of his uncle, Sultan Punjungan.

Sultan Punjungan reigned from 1980-1983.  Upon his death, Crown Prince Datu Jamalul Kiram III was proclaimed Sultan by the council of Datus.  Simultaneously, Datu Esmail Kiram was proclaimed Raja Mudah, or Crown Prince.

Even before becoming Crown Prince or Sultan, Jamalul Kiram III had taken up residence in Manila and married a Christian woman named Celia, as his second wife. Under the doctrine of “Astanah ha Lupah Sug,” which requires the Sultan to reside in Jolo, the people expected Sultan Jamalul Kiram III to move back to Jolo. However, he never did. After leaving Jolo in the late 1970s, Sultan Jamalul Kiram III never re-established a residence in Jolo. In fact, when his own son from his first wife, Caroline Tulawie, died in Jolo, he returned briefly but stayed with his brother, Raja Mudah Datu Esmail Kiram. Over a period of twenty years, Sultan Jamalul Kiram III returned to Jolo only once or twice per year for brief visits.

During his visit to Jolo when his son died, the Ruma Bechara advised Sultan Jamalul Kiram III to step down in favor of Raja Mudah Datu Esmail Kiram. It was subsequently agreed that Sultan Jamalul Kiram III could retain the title of Sultan, but that Raja Mudah Datu Esmail Kiram would be Sultan in fact in Sulu and North Borneo. It was agreed that if Sultan Jamalul Kiram III decided to return to Jolo, he would be reinstated as Sultan, a process familiar to the Sultanate because of events surrounding the sultanate of Azim ud-Din I or Sultan Alimuddin I, in the 1750s. This Sultan was kept in Manila by the Spanish for many years, and during his absence another man became Sultan. But when Alimuddin I was able to return to Jolo, he was reinstated as Sultan.
    
A written agreement concerning the stepping aside of Jamalul Kiram III was promised in the Jolo meeting. It has yet to be delivered.

Esmail Kiram II was crowned in Jolo in 2001 after he was found to be in compliance with all the rules of succession. His younger brother, Agbimuddin, became Crown Prince.

The nine heirs of the Kiram family receive the annual payments for the lease of Sabah. We wish to be respectful to all men who claim the Sultanate, and we believe they are acting in good faith.  But at the same time we wish to point out the deficiencies in their claims.

In 2005, Fuad Kiram was proclaimed Sultan of Sulu.  Though a fine man, he does not meet the traditional requirements.    First, he was never proclaimed as Raja Muda.  When Fuad’s elder brother, Mahakuttah, became Sultan, the person who was named Raja Mudah was Muedzul-Lail Kiram. Second, Fuad is not a resident of Sulu, but lives in Angono, Rizal. Third, his mother is not of royal blood lines. Fourth, the coronation of Mahakuttah was proclaimed not by the Ruma Bechara but by the government of Ferdinand Marcos.

Recently, Muedzul-Lail Kiram has made claims to be the rightful Sultan. There are deficiencies in his claims.  First, his father Mahakuttah is believed by the majority of the Sulu population to have been a puppet of Ferdinand Marcos, not a legitimate Sultan.  He was selected by Manila, not by the Ruma Bechara.  Thus, since his father’s selection as Sultan was invalid, Muedzul-lail can make no derivative claim.

Note:  Datu Ibrahim Bahjin, Datu M. Akijal Atti, and Sharif Ibrahim Pulalon, and others are not included in the list of heirs named in the Macaskie Agreement and are not eligible to be Sultan, despite recent claims.