A sun-washed jewel clenched between the South China Sea and North Borneo's rainforest, the Sultanate of Brunei Darussalam exudes the colour and mystique of a nation whose sovereignty once stretched across the entire island of Borneo and parts of the Philippines.
Indeed, the word 'Borneo' is an adaptation of the name "Brunei", by which the entire island was once known.
Sixth-century Chinese explorers and traders knew Brunei as "Puni" or "Poli", where Islam had taken deep root as early as 1371. References from 1521 described Brunei as a powerful maritime sultanate, the heart of a trading and tributary empire that dominated the South-East Asian region.
Just 443 km north of the equator, modern Brunei's 5765 sq km land area is bordered by the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak to the east and west respectively and Kalimantan (Indonesia) to the south. Rainfall and humidity are high, with temperatures averaging 28 degrees Celcius throughout the year. Yet Brunei rests outside the tropical typhoon and earthquake belts.
Indeed, the word 'Borneo' is an adaptation of the name "Brunei", by which the entire island was once known.
Sixth-century Chinese explorers and traders knew Brunei as "Puni" or "Poli", where Islam had taken deep root as early as 1371. References from 1521 described Brunei as a powerful maritime sultanate, the heart of a trading and tributary empire that dominated the South-East Asian region.
Just 443 km north of the equator, modern Brunei's 5765 sq km land area is bordered by the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak to the east and west respectively and Kalimantan (Indonesia) to the south. Rainfall and humidity are high, with temperatures averaging 28 degrees Celcius throughout the year. Yet Brunei rests outside the tropical typhoon and earthquake belts.
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