History of Brunei

The Sultanate of Brunei ruled during the fourteenth to the sixteenth century. Its territory allegedly covered the northern part of Borneo and the southern Philippines. European influence gradually brought an end to this regional power. Later, there was a brief war with Spain, in which Brunei was victorious. The decline of the Bruneian Empire culminated in the nineteenth century when Brunei lost much of its territory to the White Rajahs of Sarawak, resulting in its current small landmass and separation into two parts. Brunei was a British protectorate from 1888 to 1984.

Before the Sultanate

The history of Brunei before the arrival of Magellan's ships is based mostly on speculation and the interpretation of Chinese sources and local legends. Historians believe that there was a forerunner to the present day Brunei Sultanate. One possible predecessor state was called Vijayapura, which possibly existed in northwest Borneo in the 7th century (Not to be confused with the Indian state of the same name). It was probably a subject state of the powerful Srivijaya empire based in Sumatra. Another possible predecessor state was called Po-ni (pinyin: Boni) By the 10th century Po-ni had contacts with first the Song dynasty and at some point even entered into a tributary relationship with China. By the 14th century Po-ni also fell under the influence of the Javanese Majapahit Empire. The book of Nagarakretagama, canto 14, written by Prapanca in 1365 mentioned Berune as a vassal state of Majahpahit. However this may have been nothing more than a symbolic relationship, as one account of the annual tribute owed each year to Majahpahit was a jar of areca juice obtained from the young green nuts of the areca palm

Brunei

Coordinates: 4°30′N 114°40′E / 4.500°N 114.667°E / 4.500; 114.667

Brunei (ⁱ/bruːˈnaɪ/, broo-NYE), officially the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace (Malay: Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: نڬارا بروني دارالسلام‎), is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its coastline with the South China Sea, the country is completely surrounded by the state of Sarawak, Malaysia. It is separated into two parts by the Sarawak district of Limbang. Brunei is the only sovereign state completely on the island of Borneo; the remainder of the island's territory is divided between the nations of Malaysia and Indonesia. Brunei's population was 408,786 in July 2012.

At the peak of the Bruneian Empire, Sultan Bolkiah (reigned 1485–1528) is alleged to have had control over most regions of Borneo, including modern-day Sarawak and Sabah, as well as the Sulu archipelago off the northeast tip of Borneo, Seludong (modern-day Manila), and the islands off the northwest tip of Borneo. The maritime state was visited by Spain's Magellan Expedition in 1521 and fought against Spain in 1578's Castille War.

Brunei (Malaysia Premier League team)

The National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam used to enter a team in Malaysian football competitions. The team won the Malaysia Cup in 1999.

History

The Brunei team was formed in 1921 to participate in the Malaysia Cup. When the Semi-Pro League was introduced in Malaysia in 1989, Brunei also were invited along with Singapore, the other foreign team in Malaysian competition. Historically Brunei were the lower ranked team in Malaysian competition, often finishing at the lower rung of the league table and knocked out in the early stages of Malaysia Cup. However their highest achievement in Malaysian competition was winning the Malaysia Cup in 1999, the first time they had won the competition. Brunei's final season in the Malaysian competition was in 2005 Malaysia Premier League. Starting from 2006 until 2008, the only professional club in Brunei, DPMM FC replaced them as Brunei's representation in Malaysian competitions.

The team used to play in the 35,000-seat Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei.