The location of Kota Batu near a river enabled Awang Alak Betatar to control the rural areas and enlarge his political influence.
A number of regions, including "Kadangdangan, Landa Samedang, Tirem, Sedu, Barune(ng), Kalaka, Saludung, Solot, Pasir Barito, Sawaku, Tabulang, Tajung Kuteri, and Malano," were vassals of the Majapahit, according to the old Nagarakretagama record.
Pembakal Bangis, a Bruneian nobleman, was chosen by Awang Alak Betatar to make the request that Mawangga, the Tutong chief, show up at the capital.
[11] Mawangga told Pembakal Bangis that Tutong would surrender to the authority of the Brunei Raja if the great Melanau commander, Awang Alak Betatar, ordered his soldiers to proceed to Igan.
In response, Basiung suggested that Awang Alak Betatar pay him a visit instead, threatening to launch an Igan attack on Brunei if there was any delay.
There are two accounts of the fight: the first, more legendary, tells of a nine-month struggle between three Brunei heroes and Bilanapura, a genie that Jerambak finally defeated using a miraculous fish skin he stole from an ogre.
[12] The Bruneian soldiers persisted in their conquests, subduing Igan's allies, such as Sarikei, Rajang, Sadung, Sarawak, Tanjung Datu, and Lingga, and stealing and capturing the traditionally Melanau regions of Oya, Matu, and Mukah.
[11] According to Chinese historical accounts, including "Nan Hai Zhi, Volume 7," Brunei ruled over nine regions in the 13th and 14th centuries, which is consistent with the Syair Awang Semaun.
It describes how Awang Alak Betatar expanded his domain to include Sungai Igan and then took five more provinces from Johor on Borneo's west coast: Sarawak, Samarahan, Sadong, Mukah, and Kalaka.
The myth, passed down orally, tells of a prince who, while searching for a missing spear, got married in each of the 14 states he went to, bearing sons who were subsequently made rulers of these communities.
Pengiran Mohammad (1992), who seems to have known that Singapore was not a Muslim country, proposes that Melaka, whose kings converted to Islam in the early 15th century, should be considered as the correct interpretation.
[4][3] During the Ming Dynasty's rise in the 14th century, Ancient China actively sought to restore diplomatic relations and commerce with Southeast Asian kingdoms.
Between 1370 and 1375, under the Hongwu Emperor, Chinese envoys were dispatched to several kingdoms in the South China Sea region, including Majapahit in Java, Suwarnabhumi, Pagaruyung, Malayapura in Sumatra, and notably Brunei.
"[18] Muhammad Shah's daughter, Princess Ratna Dewi,[2] allegedly married a Chinese immigrant by the name of Ong Sum Ping who started a trading station at Mumiang on the Kinabatangan River.
[19][20] Additionally, the Chinese Emperor's 1405 coronation of Raja Ma-na-je-chia-na could reflect Awang Alak Betatar's uncertainty toward China, influenced by Javanese pressures during the 1371 envoy visit.
These intricate historical dynamics underscore Brunei's nuanced early history and ongoing scholarly inquiries into its royal succession and geopolitical influences.
In contrast, the genealogy skips these figures, instead naming Sultan Ahmad (Pateh Berbai or Ong Sum Ping) after Muhammad Shah.
Spanish texts from the Boxer Codex (1590) mention Sultan Yusuf as Brunei's purported Islamic state founder, adding another layer to the historical discourse.
The presence of Ismail in both Chinese accounts—first as Muhammad Shah's envoy to China in 1371 and later as Hsia Wang's grandfather's uncle in 1421—suggests a significant historical link between Chinese-documented Ma-na-je-chia-na and Brunei's sultanate.
[24] The Syair Awang Semaun, originally an oral tradition in Brunei, was first transcribed into written form in 1947 by Allen R. Maxwell, who released additional portions in 2005.
It primarily recounts mythological tales from pre-Islamic Brunei, focusing on the reign of Awang Alak Betatar, possibly the kingdom's earliest documented monarch.