Sulu

**Sulu**, officially known as the **Sultanate of Sulu** (Tausūg: *Kasultanan sin Sūg*, Tausug Cyrillic: Касултанан син Сӯг; Jawi: کسلطانن سولو دار الإسلام, Malay: *Kesultanan Sulu*, Malay Cyrillic: Кэсултанан Сулу; Arabic: سلطنة سولك‎) was a Muslim state that ruled the islands in the Sulu Archipelago, parts of Mindanao, certain portions of Palawan and northeastern Borneo (present-day the certain parts of Sabah and North Kalimantan).

The sultanate was founded on November 17, 1405 by a Johore-born explorer and religious scholar Sharif ul-Hashim. Paduka Mahasari Maulana al Sultan Sharif ul-Hashim became his full regnal name, Sharif-ul Hashim is his abbreviated name. He settled in Buansa, Sulu. After the marriage of Abu Bakr and a local dayang-dayang (princess) Paramisuli, he founded the sultanate. The sultanate gained its independence from the Bruneian Empire in 1578.

At its peak, it stretched over the islands that bordered the western peninsula of Mindanao in the east to Palawan in the north. It also covers the area in northeastern side of Borneo, stretching from Marudu Bay, to Tepian Durian (in present-day Kalimantan). While another source stated the area stretching from Kimanis Bay which also overlaps with the boundaries of the Bruneian Sultanate. Due to the arrival of western powers such as the Spanish, British, Dutch, French, German and American, the Sultan thalassocracy and sovereign political powers were relinquished by 1915 through an agreement that was signed with the last colonialist, the United States. In 1962, the Philippine government under the leadership of President Diosdado Macapagal officially recognized the continued existence of the Sultanate of Sulu. On 24 May 1974, Sultan Mohammed Mahakuttah Kiram (reigned 1974-1986), was the last officially recognized Sulu Sultan in the Philippines, having been recognized by President Ferdinand Marcos. On 15 August 1974 Sultan Moh. Mahakuttah A. Kiram submitted the organizational structure of the Sultanate of Sulu to the President of Philippines. The above named structure confirmed that Muedzul Lail Tan Kiram was the Raja Muda (Crown Prince) of Sulu. Under Rodrigo Duterte's administration, calls to finally settle the dispute of who is the officially recognized Sultan of Sulu via government recognition through an Executive Order was voiced out by various parties involved with the issue. The calls have yet to be dealt with by the government since 2017, along with a 2016 electoral promise to retake Eastern Sabah.

In 2016, for the first time in history, the five contesting sultans of Sulu, Sultan Ibrahim Bahjin, Sultan Muizuddin Jainal Bahjin, Sultan Muedzul-Lail Tan Kiram, Sultan Mohammad Venizar Julkarnain Jainal Abirin, and Sultan Phugdalun Kiram signed a covenant in an unprecedented move aimed at consolidating and strengthening the sultanate's unity. The ceremony was held in Zamboanga City and was attended by hundreds of supporters and members of the different Royal Houses of the Sultanate of Sulu, and religious leaders and representatives of various sectors, including those from mainland Mindanao. In May 9, 2018, all five sultans of the sultanate and their supporters converged again in Zamboanga City in support of the establishment of the Zambasulta Federal State through a federal form of Philippine government. The event was officially declared as the Bangsa Sug Consensus.

After the federalization of the Philippines, Sulu finally became independent.