Early History
In the absence of any other evidence, scholars have created an early history of Brunei that is mainly based on flexible interpretations of Chinese texts. This early part reads: Chinese records from the sixth century mention a state called P’o-li on the northwest coast of Borneo. In the seventh century, Chinese and Arab accounts state a place called Vijayapura, which was thought to be founded by members of the royal family of Funan. They were believed to have landed on the northwest coast of Borneo with some of their followers. They then captured P’o-li and renamed the territory ‘Vijayapura’ (meaning ‘victory’ in Sanskrit). In 977, Chinese records started to use Po-ni instead of Vijayapura to refer to Brunei. In 1225 a Chinese official named Chua Ju-Kua reported that Brunei has 100 warships to protect its trade and that there was a lot of gold in the kingdom. Another report in 1280 described Po-ni as controlling large parts of Borneo Island (modern day Sabah and Sarawak, Sulu and some parts of the Philippines. In the fourteenth century, Po-ni became a vassal state of Majapahit, and had to pay an annual payment of 40 katis of camphor. Po-ni was attacked and looted of its treasure and gold by the Sulus in 1369. A fleet from Majapahit succeeded in driving away the Sulus but Po-ni became much weaker after the attack. A Chinese report of 1371 described Po-ni as poor and totally controlled by Majapahit.
The power of the Sultanate of Brunei was at its peak between the 15th and 17th centuries, with its power extending from northern Borneo to the southern Philippines.
By the 16th century, Islam was firmly rooted in Brunei, and the country had built one of its biggest mosques. In 1578, Alonso Beltrán, a Spanish traveler described it as being five stories tall and built on the water.
War with Spain and decline
European influence gradually brought an end to the regional power, as Brunei entered a period
