TIMELINE OF MALDIVES HISTORY(Compiled by the Maldives Heritage Survey, under the direction of R. Michael Feener)

This TIMELINE OF MALDIVES HISTORY TO C. 1900 has been prepared by
the Maldives Heritage Survey (MHS) Team, led by R. Michael Feener. It is intended as a
research tool for scholars and students, and particularly as a reference for working with the data
made available on the MHS Project Database. The hyperlinked references are to works
available on the MHS websiteÕs virtual library.

c. 150Brief mention of the Maldives by Ptolemy1249-393

Radiocarbon dates from Nilandhoo Foamathi, Faafu Atoll represent the earliest
recorded occupation in the Maldives2345-604

Probable initial construction of the Buddhist monastery at Kuruhinna Tharaagadu on
Kaashidhoo Island, Kaafu Atoll3

833-1023

Second phase of building of Kuruhinna Tharaagadu Buddhist monastery4851

Earliest Arab reference to trade with Dībājāt by Sulāyman al-Tājir, the term here istaken to refer collectively to the Maldive and Laccadive islands5c. 950Al Masʿūdī mentions merchants of Siraf and Oman trading with the islands6

1141-66

Reign of Srī Bawanāditta, last Buddhist King of the Maldives. He converts to Islam in
1153, taking the new name and title of Sulṭān Muḥammad al-ʿAdil7

1153

The Maldivian king is converted to Islam by Shaykh Yūsuf Shams al Dīn al-Tabrīzi.
The construction in MalŽ of the countryÕs first Friday Mosque is then commissionedby the sultan81

H.C.P. Bell, The Maldive Islands: Monograph on the History, Archaeology and Epigraphy (Novelty
Printers Publishers Pvt. Ltd, 2002), 16.
2
Egil Mikkelsen, ÒAn Archaeological Pottery Sequence from Nilandu, The Maldive
Islands,Ó Archaeological Test-Excavations on the Maldive Islands. ed. Skj¿lsvold Arne (The KonTiki Museum Occasional Papers Vol. 2 (1991): 185-202.
3
Litster, Mirani. ÒCowry Shell Money and Monsoon Trade: The Maldives in Past Globalizations.Ó
Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The Australian National University, 2016,104); Mikklesen, Egil. ÒArchaeological Excavation of a Monastery at Kaashidhoo: Cowrie Shells andTheir Buddhist Context in the Maldives.Ó National Center for Linguistic and Historical ResearchMaleÕ, Republic of Maldives, 2000.
4
Mikklesen, Egil. ÒArchaeological Excavation of a Monastery at Kaashidhoo: Cowrie Shells andTheir Buddhist Context in the Maldives.Ó National Center for Linguistic and Historical ResearchMaleÕ, Republic of Maldives, 2000.
5
Forbes, Andrew D.W. ÒSouthern Arabia and the Islamicisation of the Central Indian Ocean
Archipelagoes.Ó Archipel 21 (1981): 55Ð92,p.69.
6
Forbes, Southern Arabia and the Islamicisation of the Central Indian Ocean Archipelagoes
7
Bell, The Maldive Islands, p. 18
8
Yajima, Hikoichi. The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din - 2 vols. Arabic
Text, Notes and Indices. Tokyo: Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa(Tokyo: University of Foreign Studies, 1982). Ibn Baṭṭūṭa provides a different reading of this

TIMELINE OF MALDIVES HISTORY(Compiled by the Maldives Heritage Survey, under the direction of R. Michael Feener)

1166-84

Reign of Sulṭān (Mute Kalaminja)9

1184-92

Reign of Sulṭān ʿAlī Kalaminja I101192-99

Reign of Sulṭān Dinei Kalaminja111195-96Isdhoo Loamaafaanu (copperplates) detail official grants by Sulṭān Dinei Kalaminja
Shri Gadanaadeetiya Mahaaradun for the upkeep of mosque he commissioned on
Isdhoo. It also records the destruction of Buddhist monuments and monasteries andthe confiscation of temple properties to be re-purposed to support the newly
constructed mosque on the island12

1196-97

Dhanibidhoo Loamaafaanu (copperplates) detail official grants by the king for the
upkeep of mosque he commissioned on Dhanbidhoo. It records the suppression of the
Buddhism on this island in Hadhummathee Atoll and the establishment of newprovisions for endowing Islamic religious institutions in their place131199-1213

Reign of Sulṭān Dihei Kalaminja141213-33

Reign of Sulṭān Waṭi Kalaminja151233-57

Reign of Sulṭān (unnamed) Kalaminja16

1257-64

Reign of Sulṭān Hudei Kalaminja171264-66

Reign of Sulṭān Ayma Kalaminja18

1266-68

Reign of Sulṭān Hali Kalaminja II19

1268-69

Reign of Sulṭān Kalaminja20

shaykhÕs nisba as ÔAbūÕl-Barakāt al-BarbarīÕ. Gibb, H. A. R. & C. F. Beckingham, The Travels of Ibn
Baṭṭūṭa, AD 1325Ð1354, vol. IV (London: Hakluyt Society, 1994), pp. 829.
9
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 10.
10
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 11.
11
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 11.
12
Hassan Ahmed Maniku & G.D. Wijayawardhana, Isdhoo Loamaafaanu (Colombo: Royal Asiatic
Society of Sri Lanka, 1986).
13
Hassan Ahmed Maniku, C.D. Wijeywardane & J.B. Dissanayake, Loamaafaanu: Transliteration,
Translation and notes on Palaeography (MalŽ: National Center of Linguistic and Historical Research,
1982).
14
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 11.
15
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 11.
16
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 11.
17
Bell, The Maldive Islands,20.
18
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 12.
19
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 12.
20
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 12.

2

TIMELINE OF MALDIVES HISTORY(Compiled by the Maldives Heritage Survey, under the direction of R. Michael Feener)
1269-77

Reign of Sulṭān Udu Kalaminja21

1277-87

Reign of Sulṭān ʿAlī Kalaminja III22

1287-94

Reign of Sulṭān Yūsuf Kalaminja I23

1294-1302

Reign of Sulṭān (unnamed) Kalaminja24

1302-07

Reign of Sulṭān Dāwūd25

1307-40

Reign of Sulṭān ÔUmar Wira26

1340-47

Reign of Sulṭān (Aḥmad) Shihab al-Dīn27

1343-6

Two visits to the Maldives by the Moroccan Muḥammad ibn ÔAbdullah ibn Baṭṭūṭa
who recounts the story of the conversion of the islanders to Islam, which he attributes
to ÔAbūÕl-Barakāt al-Barbarī. He also notes that the islands were exporting dried fish,coir and cowries to Arabia a century before28

1347-63

Reign of Sulṭāna Rehendi (Khadījah) Kabadi Kilege29

1356-7

MalŽ Bodu-galu Loamaafaanu inscription30

1363-64

Reign of Sulṭān Muḥammad al-Jamīl (Jamal al-Dīn), husband of Sulṭāna Khadijah.
Assumes reign forcibly and reigned for one year before being murdered by theSulṭāna31

1364-73

Second Reign of Sulṭāna Rehendi (Khadījah) Kabadi Kilege32

1373-76

Reign of Sulṭān ÔAbdullah I who takes the throne by force from his wife Sulṭāna
Rehendi33

1376-79

Third Reign of Sulṭāna Rehendi (Khadijah) Kabadi Kilege who seized the throne bykilling her husband Sulṭān ÔAbdullah I34

21

Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 12.
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 12.
23
Bell, The Maldive Islands,20.
24
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 12.
25
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 12.
26
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 12.
27
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 12.
28
Forbes, Southern Arabia and the Islamicisation of the Central Indian Ocean Archipelagoes
29
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 13.
30
Bell, The Maldive Islands,179.
31
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 13.
32
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 13.
33
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 13.
34
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 13.
223

TIMELINE OF MALDIVES HISTORY(Compiled by the Maldives Heritage Survey, under the direction of R. Michael Feener)
1379-81

Reign of Sulṭāna Radafati Kadabe Kilege, half-sister of Sulṭāna Khadījah, deposed byMuḥammad Rasge of Makuratu after four months35

1380-84

Reign of Sulṭān Muḥammad Rasge36

1384-88

Reign of Sulṭāna Rehendi Dainu Kambadi Kilege, deposed after 4 years by herhusband ÔAbdullah37

1388

Reign of Sulṭān ÔAbdullah II, lasting only one month 15 days38

1388

Reign of Sulṭān ÔUthman, known thereafter ÔUthman of Fehendu, who also reigned
little over a month before being deposed by Ḥasan I39

1388-98

Reign of Sulṭān Hilali Ḥasan I40

1398

Reign of Sulṭān Ibrahīm I, deposed by his uncle after four months41

1398-1408

Reign of Sulṭān Ḥusain I, brother of Hilali Ḥạ san I42

1408-10

Reign of Sulṭān Naṣr al-Dīn, who is credited with commissioning the construction of
the Alif and Ba mosques in MalŽ, as well as a mosque in Machchangoli Avaru43

1410-11

Reign of Sulṭān Ḥasan II who dies nine months into his reign from drowning in
Dammat Veyo within the Palace enclosure at MalŽ441411

The three-month reign of Sulṭān ÔĪsa, younger half-brother of Sulṭān Ḥasan II45

1411-19

Second Reign of Sulṭān Ibrahīm I46

1419-20

Reign of Sulṭān ÔUthmān II. Reigned for three months47

1420

Reign of Sulṭān Danna Muḥammad, who commissioned the construction of theHenveru Bandara mosque48

1420-42

Reign of Sulṭān Yūsuf II49

35

Bell, The Maldive Islands, 22.
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 13.
37
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 13.
38
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din,, 13.
39
Bell, The Maldive Islands,22.
40
Bell, The Maldive Islands,22.
41
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 14.
42
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 14.
43
Bell, The Maldive Islands,22.
44
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 14.
45
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 14.
46
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 14.
47
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 14.
48
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 14.
49
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 14.
36

4

TIMELINE OF MALDIVES HISTORY(Compiled by the Maldives Heritage Survey, under the direction of R. Michael Feener)

1442

Reign of his brother Sulṭān Abū Bakr who ruled for 7 months before handing over tohis son50

1442-66

Reign of Sulṭān Ḥaji Ḥasan III, who was earlier a qāḍi under Sulṭān Danna
Muhammed. After a 25-year reign he departs for the Ḥajj51

1466-67

Reign of Sulṭān Sayyid Muḥammad, who had migrated to the Maldives from Arabia,
and seized power in ḤasanÕs absence, reigning for one year52

1467-68

Second Reign of Sulṭān Ḥasan III on his return from the Ḥajj. He returns with over 70
slaves one of which kills a Maldivian. Ḥasan, on the pretext of a juridical andtheological dispute orders the public burning at the stake of a Persian Qāḍi namedḤasan Shirazī who he disagrees with over the punishment of the slave. Ḥasan III diesshortly afterwards53

1468-80

Reign of Sulṭān Muḥammad, son of Sulṭān Ḥaji Ḥasan III, who reigns for 13 years54

1480

Reign of Sulṭān Ḥasan IV. Deposed after one month by ÔUmar II55

1480-84

Reign of Sulṭān ÔUmar II of Goidhoo Atoll where the capital of the Sulṭānate was relocated for a period56

1484-86

Reign of Sulṭān Ḥasan V57

1486-90

Second Reign of Sulṭān Ḥasan IV58

1490-92

Reign of Shaikh Ḥasan VI59

1492

Reign of Sulṭān Ibrahīm II, lasting only 8 months60

1492-3

Reign of Sulṭān Kalu Muḥammad Hilali, son of Sulṭān ÔUmar, deposed by this brother
Yūsuf III after nine months.61

50

Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 14.
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 14-15.
52
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 15.
53
Alves, Jorge Dos Santos. ÒKalu Muhammad Hilali, Sultan of the Maldives (1491 -1528).Ó Archipel
70 (2005): 59.
54
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 15
55
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 15
56
Alves, ÒKalu Muhammad Hilali, Sultan of the Maldives (1491 -1528),Ó; Bell, The Maldive Islands,
24
57
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 15.
58
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 15.
59
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 16.
60
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 16.
61
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 16.
51

5

TIMELINE OF MALDIVES HISTORY(Compiled by the Maldives Heritage Survey, under the direction of R. Michael Feener)
1493

Reign of Sulṭān Yūsuf III under the new name of Sulṭān ÔUmar. He dies after rulingfor two and a half months62

1493-5

Reign of Sulṭān ʿAlī IV who reigns for two years and four months before being
deposed by Kalu Muḥammad Hilali63

1495-1508

Second Reign of Sulṭān Kalu Muḥammad Hilali. His capitulation before the ʿAlī Rajaof Cannanore of the Mappilla Arakkal clan opened the way for Cannanore to take ona dominant role in Maldivian politics64

1508-10

Reign of Sulṭān Ḥasan VII, nephew of Sulṭān Kalu Muḥammad Hilali, who usurps thethrone from Hilali65

1510-12

Reign of Sulṭān Sharīf Aḥmad from Makka66

1512-13

Reign of Sulṭān ʿAlī V, deposed after nine months by Kalu Muḥammad67

1513-29

Third Reign of Kalu Muḥammad68

1529-48

Reign of Sulṭān Ḥasan Shirazī VIII, son of Kalu Muḥammad by a Persian concubine69

1548-50

Reign of Sulṭān Muḥammad, killed two years into his reign by his brother who thenseizes the throne70

1550-52

Reign of Sulṭān Ḥasan IX who renounced Islam two and a half years into his reign
and left the Maldives for India, where he married a Christian woman in Goa. His
apostacy and alliance with the Portuguese is used by the Portuguese to launch a seriesof expeditions to assert control over the Maldives71

1552Ḥasan sends a Portuguese vessel to MalŽ with instruction that the Ministers andChiefs be brought to Cochin. The ship is seized, and all aboard killed. A second
armed exhibition from Cochin suffers the same fate72

1552-56

Reign of Sulṭān Abu Bakr II, murdered after four years73

1558

Reign of Sulṭān ʿAlī VI, killed two and a half years into his reign while defendingMalŽ against the Portuguese74
62

Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 16.
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din,16.
64
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 16.
65
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 16.
66
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 16.
67
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 25.
68
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din.
69
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 17.
70
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 17.
71
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 17-18.
72
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 18.
73
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 18.
74
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 18.
63

6

TIMELINE OF MALDIVES HISTORY(Compiled by the Maldives Heritage Survey, under the direction of R. Michael Feener)

1558-73

Reign of self-declared ÔSulṭānÕ Captain Adiri Adiri, under whom Christians sent toeach Atoll to act as headmen75

1573

Expulsion of the Portuguese. Ghazi Muḥammad Bodu Takurufānu, sheltering on
Kolufuri, forms expeditionary force that rids the Islands of the Portuguese and kills
Andiri Andiri.76

1573-85

Reign of Muḥammad Bodu Takurufānu as Sulṭān. Under his reign, the ÔAskarun wereconsolidated into one military body77

1585-1608

Reign of Sulṭān Ibrahīm III. Killed by Malabaris during battle while attempting toescape by Royal Barque and buried on Hanna Midu (Himandhoo) Island, Ari Atoll78

1602-07

Fran•ois Pyrard de Laval, a French navigator, is shipwrecked on South
Maalhosmadulu Atoll for five years. An account of his time spent in the Maldivespublished was in 161179

1602

Factors of a Dutch company at Middelburg spend five days in the Maldives to explore
possibilities for trade there80

1609

Sacking of MalŽ by Malabaris who returned to Cannanore with Muḥammad Kalu
Tuddala (later Sulṭān Muhammed ÔImad al-Dīn I) who remains a prisoner for several
years811608-20

Reign of Sulṭān Husain II on Guraidœ (Guraidhoo), South MalŽ Atoll.82

1620-48

Reign of Sulṭān Muḥammad ÔImad al-Dīn83

1625

Locals successfully repulse an attack on MalŽ by a Portuguese armada of 15 ships
under the command of Domingos Ferreyra Belliyagu. After which Muhammed ÔImad
al-Dīn I purchases 12 cannons and commissions the building of a fort and otherdefensive works including a breakwater to shelter Maldivian craft84

1640

The Dutch despatch a vessel to ascertain the nature and prospects of trade in theMaldives85

75

Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 18.
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 4; Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj AlDin, 22.
77
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 22.
78
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din,
79
The Voyage of Fran•ois Pyrard of Laval to the East Indies, the Maldives, the Moluccas and Brazil,(Cambridge University Press, 2010).
80
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 29.
81
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 28.
82
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 28.
83
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 27.
84
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 28
85
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 29.
76

7

TIMELINE OF MALDIVES HISTORY(Compiled by the Maldives Heritage Survey, under the direction of R. Michael Feener)
1645

First annual embassy from the Sulṭān of the Maldives to the Governor of Ceylon
which continued into the first half of the twentieth century86

1648-87

Reign of Sulṭān Iskandar Ibrahīm I, under whose rule customs duties and royalmonopolies were revoked and overseas trade flourished. This economic prosperity
supported the building of mosques and new waqf endowments87
Work on compiling the Arabic-language Maldives court chronicle Tārīkh commencedby Ḥasan Taj al-Dīn at the request of the Sulṭān. On the death of Ḥasan Taj al-Dīn in
1727 the work is continued by his nephew Muḥammad Muhibb al-Dīn and grandson
Ibrahīm Siraj al-Dīn88

1649

Attacks by Portuguese and the Ali Raja of Cannanore on the Maldvies are repulsed,
bringing to an end the annual payments to Ali Raja and the Portuguese89

1652

Wooden waqf inscription (filā fatkoḷu) recording the endowment of a mosque on Gan
island90

1657

Sulṭān Iskandar Ibrahīm lays the foundation stone of the Hukuru Miskiiy (Friday
Mosque) in MalŽ. Work completed by 165791

1666

Sulṭān Iskandar Ibrahīm undertakes the Ḥajj92

1683Sulṭān Iskandar Ibrahīm returns to Makkah for a second time93

1686

The Islamic scholar Sayyid Muḥammad Shams al-Dīn arrives in MalŽ and receives
the patronage of Sulṭān Iskandar Ibrahīm. Several religiously-inspired reforms are
introduced: men are ordered to grow beards and forbidden to wear the customary
silver belt. Women are required to wear veils in public or remain at home94

1686 or 87

Sayyid Muḥammad Shams-al-Dīn leaves for India after failing in his attempt tochallenge Sulṭān Iskandar Ibrahīm95

86

Bell, The Maldive Islands, 29.
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 30.
88
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 30.
89
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 30; Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj AlDin.
90
Jost Gippert. ÒEarly New Persian as a medium of spreading
Islam,ÓPersianOrigins: Early JudaeoPersian and the Emergence of New Persian, ed. Ludwig Paul.
2003, 31-47 (Wiesbaden: Harrossowitz, 2000).
91
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 30; Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj AlDin.
92
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 30.
93
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 30; Andrew Peacock, ÒSufi Cosmopolitanism in the SeventeenthCentury Indian Ocean: ShariÕa, Lineage, and the Royal Power in Southeast Asia and the Maldives,Ó in
Challenging Cosmopolitanism: Coercion, Mobility and Displacement in Islamic Asia,ed. Joshua
Gedacht & R. Michael Feener (Edinburgh University Press, 2018), 66.
94
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 31.
95
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 31.
87

8

TIMELINE OF MALDIVES HISTORY(Compiled by the Maldives Heritage Survey, under the direction of R. Michael Feener)
1687Sulṭān Iskandar Ibrahīm killed by poison administered by his senior concubine andmother of his son, Mariyam96

1687-91

Reign of Sulṭān Kuda Muḥammad, the six-year old son of Sulṭān Iskandar Ibrahīm
and his concubine Mariyam Kabafanu. His mother seizes rule on behalf of her son
and appoints her brothers to the role of wazīrs97

1691

Tiladummati Atoll attacked by Indian ÔpirateÕ vessels. These were successfully
repulsed by the Maldivian fleet but during celebrations sparks falling into a powder
magazine of the boat carrying the Sulṭān and his mother causing an explosion inwhich both were killed98

1691-2

Reign of Sulṭān Muḥammad Muḥyi al-Dīn al-Adil, half-brother of Sulṭān Iskandar
Ibrahīm. Known as the Ôthe Beloved SulṭānÕ, he granted the right to all Maldivians to
go on the Ḥajj directly from MalŽ. Until that time travel was in Malabar vessels from
India. This has been characterized this as a period in which Maldivian society became
more egalitarian and foreigners were also treated on terms of equality. Shortly before
his death the sultan invited the Arab scholar Muḥammad Shams al-Dīn to return to theMaldives99

1692Sulṭān Muḥammad Muḥyi al-Dīn al-ʿAdil reigns for almost two years until his deathand is buried in the cemetery at Huskuru Miskiiy100

1692

Reign of Sayyid Muḥammad Shams al-Dīn I, who reigns for less than 5 months
before dying of a fever. His is buried within the Medu Ziyarat alongside Shaykh
Yūsuf Shams al Dīn al-Tabrīzi101

1692-1701

Reign of Sulṭān Muḥammad, who married Mariyam, the widow of Sulṭān Muḥyi alDīn 102

1701

Reign of Sulṭān ʿAlī VII who dies after an unpopular reign of nine months103

1701

Reign of Sulṭān Ḥasan X, son of ʿAlī VII aged 13 or 14. Ibrahīm Shah Bandar a
cousin of the Sulṭān is appointed to administer the Government as his guardian.
Conspiring with others, he ousts Sulṭān Ḥasan from the throne104

1701-04

Reign of Sulṭān Ibrahīm Muẓhir al-Dīn who commissioned the construction of twobathing tanks: the Ma Veyo at Doru Miskiiy, Machchangoli Avaru and another within
the Hukuru Miskiiy precincts at MalŽ. It was erroneously reported that he died during

96

Bell, The Maldive Islands, 31.
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 31.
98
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 32.
99
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 44.
100
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din,.
101
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 45.
102
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 33.
103
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 33.
104
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 34.
97

9

TIMELINE OF MALDIVES HISTORY(Compiled by the Maldives Heritage Survey, under the direction of R. Michael Feener)a shipwreck off the coast of India in 1705 while returning from the Ḥajj, alongside thenephew he dethroned105
1704-21

Reign of Sulṭān Muzaffar Muḥammad ÔImad al- Dīn II who ascends the throne after
false reports of the death of Sulṭān Ibrahīm Muẓhir al-Dīn at sea106
During his eighteen-year reign, the former Sulṭān Ibrahīm returned to MalŽ but wasbanished to Fuvamulah, whence he escaped to Ceylon and later to Senna-Paddanam(Madras) where the Commandant of an English fort showed him Ômuch
considerationÕ. Three attempts to regain the throne were unsuccessful, and the dateand place of his death are unknown107

1721-50

Reign of Sulṭān Iskandar II. First circular coins issued in the Maldives108

1730

Fire destroys much of Henveru Ward in MalŽ. The islands also reportedly
experienced an earthquake109

1733

A cyclone reaches the islands, devastating and submerging a number of islands in thenorthern Atolls with loss of life and property110

1737

Famine occurs in MalŽ111

1742

A tornado strikes MalŽ. Two weeks later, a fire in Henvera Avaru destroys manybuildings including the Attarafanin Miskiiy112

1750-57

Reign of Sulṭān Mukarram Muḥammad ÕImad al- Dīn III113

1753

An expedition from Malabar under the behest of ʿAlī Raja of Cannanore capturesMalŽ and destroys the palace. Four months later, MalŽ was retaken by Maldivians ledby Ḥasan Manikufanu. A further contingent sent by ʿAlī Raja, plunders Tiladummati
and Fadifulu Atolls. A French fleet under the command of Le Termellier, arrives tosupport the Maldivian forces114

1754

The French contingent who were quartered in MalŽ depart after an altercation with thelocal authorities115
105

Bell, The Maldive Islands, 35.
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 35.
107
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 35.
108
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din,, 77.
109
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 79.
110Bell, The Maldive Islands, 37; Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj
Al-Din, 78.
111
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 37; Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj
Al-Din, 78.
112
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 37; Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj
Al-Din, 79.
113
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 38; Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj
Al-Din, 83.
114
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din,, 83-84.
115
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 38.
106

10

TIMELINE OF MALDIVES HISTORY(Compiled by the Maldives Heritage Survey, under the direction of R. Michael Feener)

1757Sulṭān Mukarram Muḥammad ÔImad al-Dīn III and his nephew sent to a fort in
Cannanore where they are guarded by Turkish and Malabari soldiers. The Sulṭān waslater transferred to Minicoy where he died in 1757116

1759-67

Reign of Sulṭān Ghazi Ḥasan ÔIzz al-Dīnal-Dīn117

1759

Earthquake followed by a fire destroys Danna Muḥammad Miskiiy118

760-1821

Work on the Tārīkh completed by Ibrahīm Siraj al-Dīn119

1761

Malabar Expedition briefly occupies Funadhoo and Hulhule islands120

1767Sulṭān Ghazi Ḥasan ÔIzz al-Dīn dies, nominating as his successor Muḥammad, son of
Iskandar II,121

1766-74

Reign of Muḥammad Giyath al-Dīn who was unanimously elected by the people122

1771

Expedition of nine ships sent by ʿAlī Raja of Cannanore bombards MalŽ but isrepulsed.123

1773Muḥammad Giyath al-Dīnal-Dīn departs on the Ḥajj pilgrimage and appoints his
brother-in-law, ʿAlī Shah Bandar as Regent. Rumours that Shah Bandar is about toseize the throne fuels a revolution. The rebellion is quashed and the Regent and hiswife banished to Huliyandu, Haddummati Atoll124

1773-4

Reign of Sulṭān Muḥammad Shams al-Dīn II. Kaluvakara Miskiiy commissioned byhim and completed during the reign of Sulṭān Ḥasan Nur al-Dīn. He later transfers thethrone to Muḥammad, eldest son of Sulṭān Ḥasan ÔIzz al-Dīn (Muḥammad Farina
Kilegafanu)125

1774-79

Reign of Sulṭān Muḥammad MuÕizzal-Dīn126

1774

Return of Sulṭān Giyath al-Dīnfrom Makkah. Although resigned to the loss of histhrone, he was seized and secretly drowned127

116

Bell, The Maldive Islands, 38.
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 39.
118
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 37.
119
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 39.
120
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 39.
121
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 39.
122
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 39-40.
123
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 40.
124
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 40.
125Bell, The Maldive Islands, 40.
126
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 41.
127
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 41.
117

11

TIMELINE OF MALDIVES HISTORY(Compiled by the Maldives Heritage Survey, under the direction of R. Michael Feener)
1779

Deaths of Sulṭān Muḥammad Shams al-Dīn II and Sulṭān MuÕizz al-Dīn128

1779-99

Reign of Sulṭān Ḥasan Nur al-Dīn, younger brother of Sulṭān Muḥammad MuÕizz-alDīn129

1785

Qāḍi Muḥammad Muḥibb al-Dīn, contributor to the Tarikh dies130

1789

First Ḥajj pilgrimage of Ḥasan Nur al-Dīn, returning in the same year. Aḥmad
Dorimena Takurufanu, Chief Wazīr nominated regent131

1796

British expel the Dutch from Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and incorporate the Maldives as aprotectorate 132

1797

An Indian vessel, captured by the French, wrecked on an island in Huvadhu Atoll.
Gold, coin and jewellery appropriated by the Maldivians and some of this shipped in
the SulṭānÕs vessel bound for Makkah133

1798

Second Ḥajj pilgrimage of Sulṭān Nur al-Dīn. His son, Muḥammad MuÕinal-Dīn madePrince Regent. Warnings by Sherif Galib of Makka not to risk the seizure of so muchtreasure, goes unheeded and the Sulṭān is prevented from leaving for Jeddah. The
SulṭānÕs vessels are plundered of treasure and guns. On finally reaching Jeddah hedies of smallpox. A further 230 of the pilgrims die while making a slow return to theMaldives. Several islands abandoned during this reign. JumÕa Miskiiy built on
Giravaru Island, North MalŽ Atoll134

1799-1835

Reign of Sulṭān Muḥammad MuÕin-al-Dīn I. ÔIdu Miskiiy (Khutba Mosque), MalŽrebuilt. Mosque at Edafuri Island, Malosmadulu Atoll built135

1815

Earthquake felt from Tiladummati Atoll as far as Fivakuin Miladummadulu Atoll,with several aftershocks136

1819-1826

A great famine occurs on the islands137

1822

A tornado strikes the Maldives, resulting in the drowning of a number of people andthe devastation of several islands. Yajima gives the date of a storm as 1237 AH or1822 CE, the year when recording of the Tārīkh chronicle ends138

1835

Death of Sulṭān Muḥammad MuÕin al-Dīn I139
128

Bell, The Maldive Islands, 41.
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 41.
130Bell, The Maldive Islands, 41.
131
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din.
132
Bell, The Maldive Islands.
133
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 42.
134
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 42.
135
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 42.
136
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 117.
137
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 118.
138
Yajima, The Islamic History of the Maldive Islands by Ḥasan Taj Al-Din, 118.
139
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 9.
129

12TIMELINE OF MALDIVES HISTORY(Compiled by the Maldives Heritage Survey, under the direction of R. Michael Feener)

1835-82

Reign of Sulṭān Muḥammad ÔImad al-Dīn IV, son of Sulṭān Muḥammad MuÕin-al-Dīn
I140

1879

First visit to the Maldives of Henry Charles Purvis (H.C.P.) Bell, former
Archaeological Commissioner and Head of the Archaeological Survey of Ceylon. On
retirement Bell investigates the history, archaeology and epigraphy of the Maldivesand studies the linguistics of the Maldivian language141

1882

Reign of Sulṭān Ibrahīm Nur al-Dīn142

1886Sulṭān Ibrahīm Nur al-Dīn abdicates143

1886

Reign of Sulṭān Muḥammad MuÕin al-Dīn II144

1887

State agreement with the British Crown signed by Sulṭān Muḥammad MuÕinal-Dīn II
recognizing the suzerainty of the British Sovereign over the Maldive Islands anddisclaiming all rights to enter into negotiations or treaties with other countries except
through the ruler of Ceylon. In return, Britain agrees to protect the Maldives against
foreign enemies and establishes it as a self-governing British protectorate145

1883-92

Second Reign of Sulṭān Ibrahīm Nural-Dīn146

1892

Reign of Sulṭān ÔImad al-Dīn V. Displaced after five months by his elder halfbrother147

1893

First Reign of Sulṭān Muḥammad Shams-al-Dīn II aged 12, who held the position forthree months148

1893-1903

Reign of Sulṭān Muḥammad Imad-al-Dīn VI149

140

Bell, The Maldive Islands, 43.
Bell, The Maldive Islands, vii.
142
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 46.
143
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 46.
144
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 47.
145
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 48.
146
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 49.
147
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 49.
148
Bell, The Maldive Islands, 49.
149
Bell, The Maldive Islands. 49.
141

13