List of Sultans of Sulu of the Royal House of Kiram
Reining Sultan
HRM Sultan Muedzul-Lail Tan Kiram, 35th Sultan
1986 to Present: Head of the Royal House of Sulu Kiram
2012 to Present: Crowned Sultan of Sulu and North Borneo
He was the last Raja Muda of the Sultanate of Sulu officially recognised by
the Ruma Bichara and by the Philippine government.
**Former Sultans in Ascending Order**
Founder of House of Kiram
HRM Sultan Jamalul Kiram I
1823–1844, 27th Sultan
The assumption of Sultan Jamalul Kiram I in 1823 marked the establishment of the House of Kiram. This is a proof that as late as 1842 when Sultan Jamalul Kiram died, Sulu Sultanate remained sovereign. His son, Datu Pugal, ascended the throne as Sultan Muhammad Pulalon.” (Jaimal D. Rasul, Sr., “Still Chasing The Rainbow”, 1999).
Sultan Moh. Pulalon Kiram
1844–1862, 28th Sultan
With the death of Sultan Pulalon in 1852, his son became his successor with the title of Sultan Jamalul Ahlam.
HRM Sultan Mohammad Jamalul Ahlam
1852-1881, 29th Sultan [1]
When Sultan Ahlam died in 1881, his oldest son succeeded him with the title of Sultan Badaruddin.
HRM Sultan Badaruddin II
1881–1884, 30th Sultan
His death in 1884 “was followed by a state of unrest”. Per Justice Rasul, “the death of Sultan Badaruddin had brought dissension to the Muslims and vexation to Spaniards.
The dissension was between two Houses, one is the House of Sakirullah represented by Datu Alindalin, and the second is the House of Sultan Jamalul Kiran I represented by Amirul Kiram,, Finally Amirul Kiram won, the people having rejected the interference of Spain or Madrid.
Sultan Badaruddin II was a descendant of Paduka Batara, East King of Sulu (Raja Sulu Timur) who had died in Denzou-China, 19-year-old Sultan Badaruddin died in 1884 without leaving any male heir.
HRM Sultan Mohammad Jamalul Kiram II
1894–1936, 31st Sultan
The younger brother of Badaruddin II. He was proclaimed Sultan of Sulu by his followers in 1884 as the son of Jamalul A'Lam. According to some sources, his real name was Amirul Kiram Awal-II.
His proclamation as sultan was contested by Datu Aliud-Din, a grandson of Sultan Shakirul-Lah, but without any success. Aliud-Din was forced to flee to Basilan. It was Harun Ar-Rashid who tried to mediate between Jamalul-Kiram and Aliud-Din, until the Spaniards thought it expedient to have Harun Ar-Rashid himself proclaimed Sultan. The Spaniards were led eventually to deal with Jamalul-Kiram II as the Sultan of Sulu in spite of his repeated refusal to go to Manila on a state visit.
Jamalul-Kiram II died on 7 June 1936, without leaving any son nor heir. Although he had seven daughters, no woman could be appointed as heir or successor according to Islamic law.
HRM Sultan Mawallil Wasit II
1936, 32nd Sultan
He was the younger brother of Sultan Badarud-Din II and Sultan Jamalul-Kiram II and was Raja Muda (crown prince) of the sultanate. He was lawfully elected by the Ruma Bichara, the Datus and Sharifs, as the new sultan.
Six months later, before the formal coronation ceremony took place, he was murdered. His legitimacy as the heir to the throne and his position as crown prince to Jamalul-Kiram II, was confirmed again by the Sessions Court of North Borneo's so-called McKaskie court, ruling in 1939, identifying his heirs as the rulers of the territory of North Borneo. Mohammed Esmail Kiram was the eldest son of Muwallil Wasit II and recognised successor of the Sultan of Sulu.
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HRM Sultan Mohammad Esmail E. Kiram
1950–1974, 33rd Sultan
He was the eldest son of Raja Muda Muwallil Wasit II and the legally recognised successor to the Sultan of Sulu. Sultan Mohammed Esmail Kiram granted authority to the Philippine government under the administrations of President Diosdado Macapagal, on 12 September 1962, and of President Ferdinand Marcos, in 1972, under which documents the Philippine government again officially "recognised" the continued existence of the Sulu sultanate and the office of Sultan of Sulu. His eldest son, Datu Mohammed Mahakuttah A. Kiram, was his Raja Muda (Crown Prince).
HRM Sultan Mohammad Mahakuttah A. Kiram
1974–1986, 34th Sultan
He was the eldest son of Sultan Mohammed Esmail E. Kiram I and the heir apparent to the throne. He was the last Sultan of Sulu officially recognised by the Ruma Bichara and by the Philippine government. In Memorandum Order 427 (1974), then-Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos declared that Mahakuttah A. Kiram was the legitimate heir and that the government was obligated to support his coronation as Sultan of Sulu, which took place on 24 May 1974. At the same time, Muedzul Lail Tan Kiram, the eldest son, being then 8 years old, was crowned beside his father as Raja Muda (Crown Prince) of Sulu.
Notes
[1] Sultan Jamal ul-Azam 1862–1881, 29th Sultan
He was the proxy of Mohammad Pulalun Kiram. On 22 January 1878, he signed a treaty under which the territory of the eastern part of northern Borneo (Sabah) was leased (pajakan) by a contract to an Austro-Hungarian consul Baron von Overbeck and Alfred Dent as a commercial syndicate.
[2] In February 2022, an international arbitration court in Paris, France ruled that Malaysia had violated a treaty signed in 1878 of annual rental payment and would have to pay US$14.92 billion to the descendants of the Sultan of Sulu, which Malaysia ceased payment in 2013 as it deemed that the Sulu counterpart had first violated the treaty through the 2013 Sabah incursion. The award was reportedly issued in an arbitration court in Paris, France by Spanish arbitrator Gonzalo Stampa.
[3] In July 2022, court bailiffs in Luxembourg served Petronas Azerbaijan (Shah Denis) and Petronas South Caucus with a “saiseie-arret,” or a seize order on behalf of the descendants of the Sultan of Sulu. Petronas said it would defend its legal position.