Moloku Kie Raha

Moloku Kie Raha, the "four mountains of Maluku", was the traditional name for the four Muslim kingdoms of the North Moluccas: Ternate, Tidore, Bacan and Jailolo. Their rulers were linked by kinship and ritual precedence and grew rich on the clove trade. Rivalry between Ternate and Tidore, later backed by the Portuguese, Spanish and Dutch, shaped the region's history from the 16th century.