sultanate · Maritime Southeast Asia
Bima Sultanate
Origins
Bima, the land of the Mbojo people, had been a Hindu-Buddhist kingdom tied to Java before its rulers accepted Islam under the influence of the Gowa Sultanate of Makassar. Its first sultan, Abdul Kahir, took power around 1620 to 1640, and intermarriage with the Makassarese royal house bound the two courts closely together.
Rule and society
The sultan ruled with a council of nobles and a hereditary chief minister, the Tureli Nggampo, while Islamic scholars advised on law. Bima exported horses, rice, sappanwood and textiles, and its court kept a chronicle, the Bo Sangaji Kai. After the fall of Makassar it signed a treaty with the Dutch East India Company in 1669.
Decline and legacy
The 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora devastated the land and destroyed the neighbouring Kingdom of Tambora. Bima remained a self-governing domain of the Dutch East Indies, and its last sultan, Muhammad Salahuddin, brought it into Indonesia. Its special status ended in 1958; the palace is now a museum.
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (4)
- Bima Sultanate was a vassal of Gowa Sultanate1620 CE – 1667 CE
- Dompu Sultanate was a vassal of Bima Sultanate1620 CE – 1958 CE
- Bima Sultanate was a vassal of Dutch East India Company territories1669 CE – 1799 CE
- Bima Sultanate was a vassal of Dutch East Indies1800 CE – 1942 CE
More states of Maritime Southeast Asia →
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Bima Sultanate. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/bima-sultanate
- MLA
- “Bima Sultanate.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/bima-sultanate. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Bima Sultanate.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/bima-sultanate.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Bima Sultanate’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/bima-sultanate (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻