Outskirts Press, INC.

RAJAHS RULED TONDO AND MANILA FOR 150 YEARS

In existence probably earlier than 900 AD, the ancient Kingdom of Tondo was the eastern capital of the Kingdom of Sapa which used to be located in an area somewhere near the estuaries of Macabebe-Hagonoy-Baliwag. It was “ruled by a Maharaja by the name of Mihraj who sits on a golden throne and who ruled over an empire without limit with his innumerable troops…so vast that even the most rapid vessels could not complete in two years a tour round the isles under his possession.” Around 1418 AD, the Kingdoms of Sapa and Tondo were conquered by Rajah Baguinda of the Sultanate of Brunei Darussalam and married its princess, Dayang Maylag. The union produced Gat Lontok and Gat Pandan. For more than 150 years, the Kingdoms of Tondo, Sapa and Manila were ruled by the Muslim descendants of Rajah Baguinda who eventually ruled Brunei as its 5th Sultan Bolkieah and led the Sultanate to its golden era (1485-1524). Sultan Bolkieah, with the help of his grandsons established Kota Selurong by the mouth of the Pasig River across Tondo in 1515 and declared it “Fi Amanillah” – Under the protection of God.