Azim ud-Din I of Sulu

Azim ud-Din I (Ferdinand I)
Sultan of Sulu and Sabah
Reign	1735-1748 1764-1774
Coronation	1735 and 1764
Full name	Sultan Amirul M'umimin Maharajah Adinda Azim ud-Din
Predecessor	Sultan Nasar ud-Din Sultan Azim ud-Din II
Successor	Sultan Bantilan Muizz ud-Din Sultan Muhammad Israil
Royal House	Maharajah Adinda
Religious beliefs	Islam

Muhammad Azim ud-Din I (Arabic: مُحَمَّدعلیم الدین‎, sometimes spelled as Muhammad Alimuddin), later as Don Fernando de Alimuddin was the Sultan of Sulu and Sabah from 1735 to 1748 and from 1764 to 1774. The son of former sultan Badar ud-Din I, he assumed the throne in 1732 after his father abdicated for his retirement. He only assumed power and was formally recognized in 1735 when his cousin Nasar ud-Din left claims to the throne.

During his reign, few intrigues in the court paved way for his forced abdication in 1748. He was replaced by his younger brother, Bantilan as the sultan and he traveled to Manila. In 1750, he was convinced by Governor-General Juan de Arechederra, who also happened to be the bishop of Nueva Segovia, to convert to Christianity and renounce his religion. He was baptized and renamed as Fernando de Alimuddin, with a regal name of Ferdinand I (Spanish: Fernando 1° de Sulú). The new governor-general, the Marquis of Brindisi and Ovando promised him to be restored to the throne and punish Bantilan and his Islamic pirates.

Before he left Manila in 1751 for a comeback in Sulu, he wrote a letter in Arabic addressed to sultan Muhammad Khair ud-Din Amir ud-Din Itamza of Maguindanao written in behalf of the Marquis of Ovando. However, inconsistent translations between Arabic and Spanish led to the allegations that Ferdinand I wrote a treacherous letter. Later that year, he was imprisoned back to Manila.

Ferdinand I remained in prison until the British captured and occupied Manila during the Seven Years' War. In 1763, he was restored to the throne in the British. After Great Britain left Manila as part of the war treaty in 1764, Sulu pirates raiding in Manila intensified. On November 1773, he abdicated the throne in favor of his son, Israil.

Life

The young Alimuddin was brought up in the school of his father and sent to Batavia (now Djakarta) to complete his education. There he became proficient in Arabic and Malayan and gained mastery of the Qur'an. He was such a wise and enlightened ruler that he was said to have attained among his subjects "an authority almost supreme." To him also was accorded the title of "Chief of Pandita" because of his erudite and precise explanations of the Qur'an .

One of the earliest events in the reign of Alimuddin was his ratification of the Treaty of 1737. He was represented in Manila by Datu Mohammad Ismael and Datu Ja'far, who both signed the document. The treaty, drawn in January, 1737 by Governor-General Fernando Valdes y Tamon, contained five articles: first, the preservation of permanent peace between the two states; second, the provision for alliance and mutual aid against any foreign foe; third, free trade between the two states; fourth, responsibility of each state for all infractions of the peace and fifth, provision for the exchange of captives and return of all church images and ornaments.

Alimudin I was a man of peace and a reformer, besides he kept his part of the treaty faithfully and was actually obliterated during the whole period he held the reins of government. He revised the Sulu code of laws and its system of justice. He caused parts of the Qur'an and several texts on law and religion to be translated into the local language. He strongly urged his government to observe their religion faithfully. He wanted all panditas to learn Arabic and initiated the drafting of an Islamic vocabulary as a preliminary step into making Arabic the official language of the state. He coined money, organized an army and tried to establish a navy. His name is foremost in the memory of the Sulus, partly because of his able administration and partly because he was the ancestor of all the present principal Datus of the southern Philippines.

On July 12, 1744, King Philip V of Spain sent him a letter requesting permission for the Jesuits missionaries to propagate Christianity in the southern Philippines. When his panditas learned that he had given his consent, they raised fierce opposition. A party was formed under the leadership of Prince Bantilan. Alimuddin's brother, for the purpose of, expelling the missionaries and deposing Alimuddin. Hostilities increased and civil war became imminent.

In an effort at assassination, Bantilan thrust a spear at Alimuddin and inflicted a severe wound on his side or thigh. During the disturbances and the confusion that followed, it became too dangerous for the missionaries to remain at Jolo. Overpowered, disheartened, and grieved, Alimuddin left Jolo with his family and numerous escorts and went to Zamboanga to seek the aid of Spain against Bantilan who had taken over the government without opposition. Bantilan did not send away the Jesuits but he gave them no opportunity to accomplish their mission.

Alimuddin traveled to Cavite on January 2, 1749. In Manila, Governor Juan de Arechederra gave him royal reception, one befitting a Prince of high rank. The Sultan was publicly received in the Hall of the Audiencia. But instead of immediately getting down to the main purpose of his visit, he told Arechederra, to that man's great joy that he wanted to be instructed in the Christian faith preparatory to receiving baptism as a Christian.

It is unclear whether he embraced Christianity wholeheartedly or as a tactic, for later after Sultan Bantilan died, Bantilan's son Sultan Azim ud-Din II (the son of Bantilan) took power. After the death of Azim ud-Din II, Azim ud-Din I returned to Sulu and was welcomed by his people and he re-embraced Islam and remained a Muslim until his death.^[1]

References

1. ^ http://www.scribd.com/doc/37427660/Azim-Ud-Din-The-Apogee-of-the-Muslim-Wars

See also

• History of the Philippines