Kingdom of Maynila

This article is about the pre-colonial Kingdom. For present day Manila, the capital of the Philippines, see Manila.

Kingdom of Maynila Kota Seludong Seludong, Selurong, Maynila
Kingdom
←   ← 1500s–1571 →   →
Capital	Not specified
Language(s)	Malay, Tagalog
Religion	Islam
Government	Rajahnate
History
- established by the Kingdom of Brunei under Sultan Bolkiah	1500s
- Conquest by Spain	1571
Today part of	Philippines

The Kingdom of Seludong (also Saludung or Selurong), or Maynila, which after colonization became Manila, capital of the Philippines, was one of three major city-states that dominated the area around the upper portion of the Pasig River before the arrival of Spanish colonizers in the 16th century.

The early inhabitants of the present-day Manila engaged in trade relations with its Asian neighbors as well as with the Hindu empires of Java and Sumatra as confirmed by archaeological findings. The name of the settlement in Majapahit documents is recorded as Saludung. Trade ties between China became extensive by the 10th century, while contacts with Arabs reached its peak in the 12th century.

During the reign of Sultan Bolkiah (1485–1521) the Kingdom of Brunei decided to break the Tondo's monopoly in the China trade by attacking Tondo and establishing the city-state of Seludong as a Bruneian satellite. This is narrated through Tausug and Malay royal histories, where the names Seludong, Saludong or Selurong are used to denote Manila prior to colonization.

Because of the presence of plants called "nila" (Scyphiphora hydrophyllacea), this new city was eventually named "May-nila," which transliterates as "There is nila (here)" in the 16th century. Maynila is also sometimes called Maynilad because nila is popularly referred to as nilad by people unfamiliar with the plant, a correction asserted by historians Ambeth Ocampo and Carmen Guerrero Nakpil. It has also been suggested that the name of the capital city of Manila came from the Arabic word (في امان الله)"Fi Amanillah", which means "In God's safety."

In the mid-16th century, the areas of present-day Manila were sultanates and they were governed by Muslim rajahs. Sulaiman II (also known as Matandâ) and his nephew, Sulaiman III, ruled the Muslim communities south of the Pasig River, including the Kingdom of Maynila, while Lakandula ruled the Kingdom of Tondo north of the river. These settlements held ties with the sultanates of Brunei, Sulu, and Ternate, Indonesia (not to be confused with Ternate in present-day Cavite).

See also

• Kingdom of Namayan
• Kingdom of Tondo
• Confederation of Madya-as
• Rajah Sulaiman II (Rajah Matandâ)
• Rajah Sulaiman III
• Battle of Bankusay Channel
• History of Manila
• List of Sunni Muslim dynasties

Additional reading

• Nick Joaquin’s Almanac for Manileños
• The River Dwellers by Grace P. Odal