Bolkiah
Bolkiah ibni Sulaiman (Jawi: بلقية ابن سليمان; died 1524), also known for his title as Nakhoda Ragam (Jawi: ناخودا راڬم), was the fifth Sultan of Brunei; reigning from 1485 until his death in 1524, he ascended the throne upon the abdication of his father, Sultan Sulaiman. His reign is known by Bruneians as "the Golden Age of Brunei".
| Bolkiah بلقية | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A Bruneian Sultan illustrated in the 1879 Magellan Adventure Book. It is assumed that the person on the right riding an elephant is Sultan Bolkiah, as Magellan's men are looking at the person on the right and not the left. | |||||||||
| Sultan of Brunei | |||||||||
| Reign | 1485–1524 | ||||||||
| Coronation | 1485 | ||||||||
| Predecessor | Sulaiman | ||||||||
| Successor | Abdul Kahar | ||||||||
| Died | 1524 Kota Batu, Brunei | ||||||||
| Burial | Mausoleum of Sultan Bolkiah, Kota Batu, Brunei | ||||||||
| Spouse | Puteri Laila Menchanai | ||||||||
| Issue Detail | Abdul Kahar | ||||||||
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| House | Bolkiah | ||||||||
| Father | Sultan Sulaiman | ||||||||
| Religion | Sunni Islam | ||||||||
The Spaniards refer to him as Sultan Salan in the Boxer Codex, a 16th-century Spanish manuscript. Bolkiah was mentioned in the Batu Tarsilah, a 19th-century Bruneian stone tablet which describes the genealogy of the Sultans of Brunei. He was also mentioned in the Silsilah Raja-Raja Berunai, a 19th-century manuscript which also describes the same genealogy.
He is considered the first sultan to ever used cannons, as the Sultan paid 40 Javanese blacksmiths to teach metal casting in Brunei, possibly introducing cannon casting. Those 40 Javanese introduced cannon technology to Brunei that were later used in his army.