Shah Brunei ibni Saiful Rijal (died ) was the

Sultan of Brunei The Sultan of Brunei is the monarchical head of state of Brunei and head of government in his capacity as prime minister of Brunei. Since independence from the British in 1984, only one sultan has reigned, though the royal institution dates bac ...

from 1581 until 1582, the year he is alleged to have died. Pengiran Muda Besar Shah Berunai ascended the throne in 1581 on the death of his father Sultan

Saiful Rijal Saiful Rijal (died ) was the sultan of Brunei from 1530 until 1581, the year he is alleged to have died. He was succeeded by his eldest son Shah Brunei. Its as during his reign, when the Castilian War occurred between the empires of the Brun ...

. The

Flemish Flemish may refer to: * Flemish, adjective for Flanders, Belgium * Flemish region, one of the three regions of Belgium *Flemish Community, one of the three constitutionally defined language communities of Belgium * Flemish dialects, a Dutch dialec ...

trader of

precious stones A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, semiprecious stone, or simply gem) is a piece of mineral crystal which, when cut or polished, is used to make jewellery, jewelry or other adornments. Certain Rock (geology), rocks (such ...

named Jacques de Coutre described him as "more a pirate than a king" and most of his followers as "Borneo Bajaus." He died in 1582 without any male descendants and was succeeded by his younger brother Pengiran Muda Tengah Muhammad Hassan. He was noted to be buried in Kianggeh.

Uncertainties

The Boxer Codex indicates that in 1589, the

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

was Saiful Rijal's eldest son, Raja Borney. According to

Hugh Low Sir Hugh Low, (10 May 182418 April 1905) was a British colonial administrator and naturalist. After a long residence in various colonial roles in Labuan, he was appointed as British administrator in the Malay Peninsula where he made the first t ...

, Shah Brunei died without leaving any children, although he notes in a footnote that some accounts claim the sultan abdicated in favour of his brother. The ''Silsilah'' states that Shah Brunei was succeeded by his brother, Muhammad Hasan. However, the circumstances surrounding Shah Brunei's succession are more complicated. On 26 December 1600,

Olivier van Noort Olivier van Noort (1558 – 22 February 1627) was a Dutch merchant captain and the first Dutchman to circumnavigate the world.Quanchi, ''Historical Dictionary of the Discovery and Exploration of the Pacific Islands'', page 246 Olivier van Noort ...

arrived in

Brunei Bay Brunei Bay () is on the northwestern coast of Borneo island, in Brunei and Malaysia. It is located east of Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. It is the ocean gateway to the isolated Temburong District of Brunei, separated from the rest of Brunei by th ...

and was informed by local officials that the king was under the guardianship of his uncle, who served as

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

. This suggests the existence of an infant son of Shah Brunei, possibly Raja Ghafur, who was mentioned by

Manuel Godinho de Erédia Manuel Godinho de Erédia, or Emanuel Godinho de Erédia (16 July 1563 – 1623), was a Bugis-Portuguese writer and cartographer. He wrote a number of books, including an early account of the Malay Peninsula that is a source of information on th ...

as the ruler of Brunei in 1600, although he does not appear in any version of the ''Silsilah''. If Muhammad Hasan acted as

for his nephew, he could not have been the ninth sultan. Consequently, the absence of any mention of the infant in either version of the ''Silsilah'' suggests that he likely died shortly afterward, enabling Muhammad Hasan to ascend to the throne sometime in 1601.

References

Year of birth missing 1582 deaths 16th-century sultans of Brunei {{Brunei-royal-stub

Uncertainties

See also

References