The Sultanate of Buton was an indigenous

sultanate This article includes a list of successive Islamic state, Islamic states and History of Islam, Muslim dynasties beginning with the time of the Islamic prophet Muhammad (570–632 CE) and the early Muslim conquests that Spread of Islam, spread Isla ...

in what is today

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. It used to rule over

Buton island Buton (also Butung, Boeton or Button) is an island in Indonesia located off the southeast peninsula of Sulawesi. It covers roughly 4,727 square kilometers in area, or about the size of Madura; it is the 129th largest island in the world and I ...

and adjacent areas within present-day

Southeast Sulawesi Southeast Sulawesi ( id, Sulawesi Tenggara) is a province on the island of Sulawesi, forming the southeastern peninsula of that island, together with a number of substantial offshore islands such as Buton, Muna, Kabaena and Wawonii (formerl ...

province. It was a constitutional monarchy with its own written constitution and law, complete with bodies acting as a

legislature A legislature is an deliberative assembly, assembly with the authority to make laws for a Polity, political entity such as a Sovereign state, country or city. They are often contrasted with the Executive (government), executive and Judiciary, ...

, a system of

judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

, and executive power.

Early History

The islands that comprised the sultanate's territory were called "''Liwuto Pataanguna''", meaning Four Islands. People from the Buton Islands were called "''tukang besi''", literally meaning

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

.http://www.geocities.ws/konferensinasionalsejarah/ali_hadara_dinamika_sejarah_pelayaran_tradisional_orang_buton_kepulauan_tukang_besi.pdf There are several versions of how people there were named this way, one from an oral story of a Dutch man who arrived on the islands and was surprised to find almost everyone using iron tools, hence he named it ''Toekang Besi Eilanden''. Another version suggests that it was from another kingdom within the region named the kingdom of Tukabessi. The Islands of Buton were mentioned in

Nagarakretagama The ''Nagarakretagama'' or ''Nagarakṛtāgama'', also known as ''Desawarnana'' or ''Deśavarṇana'', is an Old Javanese eulogy to Hayam Wuruk, a Javanese king of the Majapahit Empire. It was written on lontar as a '' kakawin'' by Mpu Pr ...

and

palapa oath The Palapa oath ( id, Sumpah Palapa) was an oath taken by Gajah Mada, a 14th-century Prime Minister of the Javanese Majapahit Empire described in the ''Pararaton'' (Book of Kings). In this oath Gajah Mada swore that he would not taste any spice, a ...

, suggesting that the islands were once under the influence of

Majapahit Majapahit ( jv, ꦩꦗꦥꦲꦶꦠ꧀; ), also known as Wilwatikta ( jv, ꦮꦶꦭ꧀ꦮꦠꦶꦏ꧀ꦠ; ), was a Javanese Hindu-Buddhist thalassocratic empire in Southeast Asia that was based on the island of Java (in modern-day Indonesi ...

. The kingdom was established around the 1300s by a queen named Wa Kaa Kaa. Before the kingdom converted to Islam, most of the rulers were female. The first king that converted to Islam was King Murhun, later renamed Sultan Murhum Kaimuddin Khalifatul Khamis after his conversion. The Kingdom of Buton officially converted to Islam under his reign with help of a scholar from

Johor Sultanate The Johor Sultanate ( ms, Kesultanan Johor or ; also called the Sultanate of Johor, Johor-Pahang, or the Johor Empire) was founded by Malaccan Sultan Mahmud Shah's son, Sultan Alauddin Riayat Shah II in 1528. Johor was part of the Malacca ...

. The islands that comprised the sultanate's territory were called "''Liwuto Pataanguna''", meaning Four Islands. People from the Buton Islands were called "''tukang besi''", literally meaning blacksmith.http://www.geocities.ws/konferensinasionalsejarah/ali_hadara_dinamika_sejarah_pelayaran_tradisional_orang_buton_kepulauan_tukang_besi.pdf There are several versions of how people there were named this way, one from an oral story of a Dutch man who arrived on the islands and was surprised to find almost everyone using iron tools, hence he named it ''Toekang Besi Eilanden''. Another version suggests that it was from another kingdom within the region named the kingdom of Tukabessi. The Islands of Buton were well integrated into the Indonesian Hindu world, and had frequent contact with the Majapahit. The first Queen Wakaakaa married price Sibatara of the

, and the fourth monarch Tuarade visited the Majapahit and brought back four

regalia Regalia is a Latin plurale tantum word that has different definitions. In one rare definition, it refers to the exclusive privileges of a sovereign. The word originally referred to the elaborate formal dress and dress accessories of a sovereig ...

that later became known as the ''syara Jawa''. The kingdom was established around the 1300s by a queen named Waakaakaa. The lineage of rulers is as follows: Queen Wakaakaa, Bulawambona, her son Bataraguru, Tuarade,and Mulae. The first conversion to islam was on the island of Wangi-Wangi. Tradition says that the monarch of this island converted to Islam, and on his death his body was buried, rather than cremated, a great upset to the Hindus of the land. The sixth raja, Sultan Marhun converted to Islam and took the name Sultan Murhum Kaimuddin Khalifatul Khamis. and obliged his citizenry to follow suit. A systematic attempt was made by him to convert the populace to Islam. One such case was a population of Majapahit refugees who had fled forced conversion under the

Demak Sultanate The Demak Sultanate (کسلطانن دمق) was a Javanese Muslim state located on Java's north coast in Indonesia, at the site of the present-day city of Demak. A port fief to the Hindu-Buddhist Majapahit kingdom thought to have been founded ...

and settled in Hindu Buton. However, when Murhun converted he attempted to force them to convert to Islam, but preferring death to Islam they dug a mass grace and descended into it. This grave is though to be on the south coast of Buton, near Betauga.

Constitutional Monarchy

Unlike other kingdoms and sultanates in the region, the Sultanate of Buton was a

constitutional monarchy A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies di ...

. The constitution was written and named Murtabat Tujuh. This constitution was formalized by Sultan La Elangi (1597-1631) and did not change much until sultanate was abolished.

Legacy

During the 16th century, the city of

Baubau Baubau is a city in Southeast Sulawesi province, Indonesia. The city is located on the southwest coast of Buton island. Baubau attained city status on 21 June 2001, based on Indonesian Law Number 13, for the year 2001. It covers an area of 294.9 ...

had heavy fortifications which today is the

Buton Palace Fortress Buton Palace Fortress, originally the Wolio Palace, is late 16th century palatial fortress located in Baubau, Southeast Sulawesi. The palace was built in the late 16th century for Sultan Buton III, La Sangaji titled Sultan Kaimuddin (1591-1596) a ...

, a popular tourist attraction in the region.

References

{{reflist Precolonial states of Indonesia Former countries in Indonesian history