Sultan Babullah (Jawi: ; 10 February 1528 (?) – July 1583), also known as Sultan Baabullah (or Babu [Baab] in European sources) was the 7th Sultan and 24th ruler of the Sultanate of Ternate in Maluku who ruled between 1570 and 1583. He is known as the greatest Sultan in Ternatan and Moluccan history, who defeated the Portuguese occupants in Ternate and led the Sultanate to a golden peak at the end of the 16th century. Sultan Babullah was commonly known as the Ruler of 72 (Inhabited) Islands in eastern Indonesia, including most of the Maluku Islands, Sangihe and parts of Sulawesi, with influences as far as Solor, East Sumbawa, Mindanao, and the Papuan Islands.Robert Cribb (2000) Historical atlas of Indonesia. Richmond: Curzon, p. 103. His reign inaugurated a period of free trade in the spices and forest products that gave Maluku a significant role in Asian commerce.C.F. van Fraassen (1987) Ternate, de Molukken en de Indonesische Archipel. Leiden: Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden, Vol. I, p. 47.
Youth He is traditionally said to have been born on 10 February 1528,Des Alwi (2005) Sejarah Maluku: Banda Naira, Ternate, Tidore dan Ambon. Jakarta: Dian Rakyat, p. 389-90. though it might have been much later since his father Hairun is stated by Portuguese sources to have been born in c. 1522.P.A. Tiele (1879) "De Europëers in den Maleischen Archipel", II:5, Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 27, p. 39. Kaicili (prince) Baab was the oldest, or one of the oldest, sons of Sultan Hairun (r. 1535–1570) by his consort Boki Tanjung from Bacan.Naïdah (1878) "Geschiedenis van Ternate", Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, 4:1, p. 441, 449.; C.F. van Fraassen (1987), Vol. II, p. 16. According to some versions his mother was the daughter of Sultan Alauddin I of Bacan, while others say she came from Mandioli west of Bacan Island.W.P. Coolhaas (1923) "Kroniek van het rijk Batjan", Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 63. Little is known about his childhood, except that his father fostered his religious training; he was taught to "preach to the people", meaning that he received a thorough knowledge of the Qur'an.Hubert Jacobs (1974) Documenta Malucensia, Vol. I. Rome: Jesuit Historical Institute, p. 239. Prince Baab and his brothers were apparently trained by a mubaligh (Islamic scholar) and a military expert in which they gained an understanding of the sciences of religion as well as warfare.Cf. Hubert Jacobs (1971) A treatise on the Moluccas (c. 1544). Rome: Jesuit Historical Institute, p. 123. According to the later chronicle of Naïdah, he was the foster son of the Sultan of Bacan.Naïdah (1878), p. 449 Since boyhood he also accompanied his father, following him in his temporary exile to Goa in 1545–1546.A.B. de Sá (1956) Documentação para a história das missões Padroado portugues do Oriente, Vol. IV. Lisboa: Agencia Geral do Ultramar, p. 185. Later he helped him to run the affairs of government and the sultanate, and co-signed an act of vassalage in 1560 - the oldest preserved Indonesian letter with seals.ANTT Mosteiro de Alcobaça, Livro 52 de Sentenças, f. 452, PT/TT/MSMALC/L052; letter in Portuguese to the King of Portugal, 1560 He is known in contemporary Portuguese sources as the heir to the throne (herdeiro do reino), though certain later sources say that he had one or two brothers with more legitimate claims.Hubert Jacobs (1974) Documenta Malucensia, Vol. I, Rome: Jesuit Historical Institute, p. 61; C.F. van Fraassen (1987), Vol. II, p. 16-7.
Ternate, an important center for the trade in cloves, had been heavily dependent on the Portuguese since 1522, when they built a stone fort on the island.Leonard Andaya (1993) The world of Maluku. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, p. 117. The Ternatan elite at first cooperated with the Catholic foreigners whose superior weaponry and possession of the trading entrepôt of Melaka made them useful allies. However, the behavior of the Portuguese commanders and soldiery soon evoked resentment. Sultan Hairun lived in an uneasy relationship with the Portuguese captains who nevertheless assisted him in defeating the other sultanates in North Maluku, Tidore and Jailolo.Leonard Andaya (1993), p. 122; P.A. Tiele IV:1, p. 399-400. A Ternatan-Portuguese conflict broke out in the 1560s, since Muslims in Ambon appealed for assistance from the Sultan against the Europeans, who at this time were bent on Christianizing the island. Sultan Hairun sent a war fleet under Prince Baab who appeared before the Christian village Nusaniwi in 1563 and demanded its surrender. However, the siege had to be lifted as three Portuguese ships appeared.P.A. Tiele IV:1, p. 405. For a time after 1564, the Portuguese were forced to leave Ambon altogether, although they came back and established a stronghold in 1569.Hubert Jacobs (1974), p. 12. Moreover, Baab undertook an expedition to the northern parts of Sulawesi in 1563 in order to bring these lands under his father's realm. The Portuguese authorities in Maluku understood that this would be paired with the dissemination of Islam and therefore detrimental to their position in the East Indies, and efforts were made to convert populations in Menado, Siau Island, Kaidipang, Toli-Toli, etc. to Christianity.P.A. Tiele IV:3, p. 418-20, IV:5, p. 440.
In spite of all these conflicts, the Ternate-Portuguese relationship was not entirely broken. The officer Gonçalo Pereira Marramaque led an expedition to the Philippines in 1569, where the rulers of Tidore, Bacan and Ternate were summoned to participate. Prince Baab showed up with fifteen korakoras (large outriggers). However, since Ternate had little interest in this venture, Baab diverted on the way and brought his fleet to the Melaka Straits where he performed acts of piracy. He nevertheless lost 300 men in the enterprise. The Portuguese enterprise in the Philippines likewise turned out to be a failure, to the ill-concealed satisfaction of Hairun.P.A. Tiele IV:5, p. 438. Still, Baab was discontent with his father being too indulgent towards the Europeans.Hubert Jacobs (1974), p. 624.
The death of Sultan Hairun After the contest for Ambon Island, Hairun strengthened his power year by year which worried the Portuguese leaders. Portuguese-influenced areas in Halmahera were attacked by his forces. Since he dominated the waterways he could stop the vital deliveries of foodstuff from Moro in Halmahera to the Portuguese settlement in Ternate.P.A. Tiele IV:4, p. 441-3. In 1570 Captain Diogo Lopes de Mesquita (1566–1570) undertook an official reconciliation with the sultan, but the atmosphere was still tense.Willard A. Hanna & Des Alwi (1990) Turbulent times past in Ternate and Tidore. Banda Naira: Yayasan Warisan dan Budaya Banda Naira, p. 86-7. Apparently the Portuguese peace appeal was only for gaining time to consolidate their strength, waiting for the right moment to repay Ternate.
On the pretext of discussing an urgent issue, Lopes de Mesquita invited Hairun to the fortress of São João Baptista on 25 February 1570 for a meal. The sultan complied with the invitation and entered unattended, since his bodyguards were not allowed in. A nephew of the captain, Martim Afonso Pimentel, was posted just inside the gate. As the sultan was about to depart, Pimentel pierced him with his dagger and the victim fell down dying.Willard A. Hanna & Des Alwi (1990), p. 87. Mesquita assumed that by removing Hairun, Maluku would lose its only prominent leader and resistance be scattered. Here, however, he underestimated the anti-Portuguese resentment which had built up during the last decades, in particular channeled through Prince Baab.
Ascendance of Sultan Babullah Coronation as Sultan The tragic death of Sultan Hairun triggered the anger of the Ternatans as well as the various kings of Maluku. The royal council, with the support of various Kaicilis (princes) and Sangajis (sub-rulers) convened at the small Hiri island and brought forth Kaicili Baab as the next Sultan of Ternate with the title Sultan Babullah Datu Syah. According to a later account they proclaimed: "What shall we value the Portuguese if we once become sensible of our own strength? What can we fear, or not dare to attempt? The Portuguese value him who robs most, and is guilty of the greatest crimes and enormities ... Ours are our country, and the defense of our parents, our wives, our children and our liberty."Bartholomew Leonardo de Argensola (1708) The Discovery and Conquest of the Molucco and Philippine Islands. London, p. 54. The new Sultan aimed to fight for reestablishing the banner of Islam in Maluku and make Ternate Sultanate into a powerful kingdom, and to force the Portuguese out of his realm.C.F. van Fraassen (1987), Vol. I, p. 40.
Announcement of Jihad Sultan Babullah did not waste any time after his inauguration. A solemn vow of irreconcilable enmity to the Portuguese was proclaimed throughout the Sultan's domains.Bartholomew Leonardo de Argensola (1708), p. 55 Though the word is not used by the European sources, this corresponded to the holy war or Jihad, as seen from the strongly anti-Christian agenda. No less than his father he emerged as a capable coordinator of different ethnic and cultural groups in the eastern archipelago. To strengthen his position, Sultan Babullah married a sister to Sultan Gapi Baguna of Tidore.Diogo do Couto (1777) Da Asia, Decada VIII. Lisboa : Na Regia officina typografica, p. 269-70.; Babullah marrying a sister of Sultan Tidore according to C.F. van Fraassen (1987), Vol. II, p. 16. Some of the other Malukan Kings temporarily forgot their rivalries and joined forces under Sultan Babullah and the banner of Ternate, as did several rulers and chiefs in the larger region. Sultan Babullah's cause was helped by a number of capable commanders, such as the King of Jailolo, the governor of Sula Kapita Kapalaya, the Ambon-Ternatan sea lord Kapita Rubohongi, and his son Kapita Kassingu (Kalasinka).François Valentijn (1724) Oud en Nieuw Oost-Indien, Vol. I. Amsterdam: Onder de Linden, p. 144. According to Spanish sources, Sultan Babullah was eventually able to mobilize 133,300 soldiers under his banner, drawn from a vast area from Sulawesi to New Guinea.P.A. Tiele (1877-1887) "De Europëers in den Maleischen Archipel", Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, 25-35, Part V:1, p. 161-2. This would make a navy of some 2,000 korakoras. Although the numbers are debatable, they indicate the wide reach of his power and prestige.
Portuguese expulsion
After the assassination of Hairun, Sultan Babullah demanded the handover of Lopes de Mesquita for trial. Portuguese fortresses in Ternate, namely Tolucco, Saint Lucia, and Santo Pedro fell within short, leaving only the São João Baptista Citadel as the residence of Mesquita.For the early history of these forts, see Irza Arnyta Djaafar (2006) Jejak Portugis di Maluku Utara. Yogyakarta: Ombak, p.106-22. At the behest of Babullah the Ternate forces besieged São João Baptista and severed its relationship with the outside world; the food supply was restricted to small rations of sago, so that the inhabitants of the fort could just barely survive. The Ternatans nevertheless tolerated occasional contacts between the besieged and the islanders - it should be recalled that a lot of Ternatans had married Portuguese people and lived in the fort with their families. In their depressed state the Portuguese received Alvaro de Ataide as their new captain, replacing Lopes de Mesquita. This move did not, however, alter Babullah's determination to oust the Europeans.Willard A. Hanna & Des Alwi (1990), p.88-91.