People of this kingdom come from the Makassar tribe who lived in the south end and the west coast of southern Sulawesi.

The epic poem the Nagarakretagama, in praise of King Rajasanagara of Majapahit, lists Makassar as one of the kingdom's tributaries in 1365.

[7] The one difference added to this ancient tradition was that the defeated ruler had to profess the shahadah which also served as an acceptance of submission to Gowa.

[13] After the conquests, Gowa pursued a policy of religious proselytization within the defeated kingdoms, which included sending Javanese preachers to teach the religion among the masses and establish Islamic institutions.

[13] From 1630 until the early twentieth century, Gowa's political leaders and Islamic functionaries were both recruited from the ranks of the nobility.

The Battle of Passempe saw Bone defeated and a regent heading an Islamic religious council installed.

In 1660 Arung Palakka, the long-haired prince of the Sultanate of Bonu,[14] led a Bugis revolt against Gowa, but failed.

[2] In 1666, under the command of Admiral Cornelis Speelman, The Dutch East India Company (VOC) attempted to bring the small kingdoms in the North under their control, but did not manage to subdue the Sultanate of Gowa.

[15] On the morning of 24 November 1666, the VOC expedition and the Eastern Quarters set sail under the command of Speelman.

[16] When the fleet reached the Sulawesi coast, Speelman received news of the abortive Bugis uprising in Bone in May and of the disappearance of Arung Palakka during the crossing from the island of Kambaena.

On 18 November 1667 the Treaty of Bungaya was signed by the major belligerents in a premature attempt to end the war.

The variety of titles used by leaders of small polities is bewildering: anrongguru, dampang, gallarrang, jannang, kare, kasuiang, lao, loqmoq, todo, and more besides.

From the title it appears that the Tumailalang were inchange of managing everyday affairs within Gowa, there was a join tumailalang-sabannaraq office during the reign of Tumapaqsiriq Kallonna.

Islamic period of Gowa started during the reign of I Mangarangi Daeng Manrabbiya Sultan Alauddin in 1605.