Sultanate of Gowa: Map & History
The Sultanate of Gowa was one of the great kingdoms in the history of Indonesia and the most successful kingdom in the South Sulawesi region.
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The Sultanate of Gowa was one of the great kingdoms in the history of Indonesia and the most successful kingdom in the South Sulawesi region. People of this kingdom come from the Makassarese people who lived in the south end and the west coast of southern Sulawesi.
Sultanate of Gowa in Depth
History
Before the establishment of the kingdom, the region had been known as Makassar and its people as Makassarese. The history of the kingdom can be divided into two eras: pre-Islamic kingdom and post-Islamic sultanate.
The epic poem the Nagarakretagama, in praise of King Rajasanagara of Majapahit, lists Makassar as one of the kingdom's tributaries in 1365.
The first queen of Gowa was Tomanurung Baine.
Government
The variety of titles used by leaders of small polities is bewildering: anrongguru, dampang, gallarrang, jannang, kare, kasuiang, lao, loqmoq, todo, and more besides. All were local titles Makassarese used before the rise of Gowa. Gowa's expansion brought some systematic order to this variety.
Granting titles was an important method of establishing and recognizing a given person/s and a given community's place within society. Ideally, but not always in fact, this hierarchy of titles corresponded to the natural hierarchy of the white blood that the nobles possessed. Distinguishing nobles from commoners, for example, was the right to have a royal or daeng name as well as a personal name.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Sultanate of Gowa (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Sultanate of Gowa: Key Facts
| Capital | Sungguminasa |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1320 |
| Dissolved | 1911 |
Facts from Wikidata Q1408641 (CC0).
Sultanate of Gowa Map Over Time
Dated world maps on which Sultanate of Gowa appears, with the other states of the time.
Sultanate of Gowa Timeline
Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion
Expansion to peak recorded area of 2,613 km² in 1666 CE.
Sultanate of Gowa: Frequently Asked Questions
When did the Sultanate of Gowa exist?
The Sultanate of Gowa is dated to 1512 CE – 1669 CE, in the Early Modern & Age of Discovery era.
What was the capital of the Sultanate of Gowa?
The capital of the Sultanate of Gowa was Tamalate, (1320–1548), Somba Opu, (1548–1670), Kalegowa, (1670–1680; 1692–1702; 1753–1895), Ujung Tanah, (1680–1684), Mangallekana, (1684–1692), Balla Kiria, (1702–1720), Katangka, (1720–1722), Pabienang, (1722–1727), Mallengkeri, (1727–1753), Jongaya, (1895–1906), Sungguminasa, (1936–present).
How large was the Sultanate of Gowa at its peak?
At its peak in 1666 the Sultanate of Gowa covered about 2,613 km².
Other Sovereign Realms
High & Late Middle Ages • Capital: Avarga
Early Modern & Age of Discovery • Capital: Söğüt, Bursa, Edirne, Constantinople
Industrial Era • Capital: London
Early Modern & Age of Discovery • Capital: Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Lahore, Delhi