List of sultans of the Maldives

This is a list of monarchs of the Maldives. All the rulers before King Koimala only ruled over parts of the Maldives or Deeva Maari (and Dheeva Mahal) as it was known then. Koimala was the first king to rule over all the islands of the Maldives as we know today and the island of Maliku. The Maldives was turned into a Sultanate in 1153 when the Buddhist King Dhovemi converted to Islam. Prior to that the Maldives was a Buddhist Kingdom, a Hindu Kingdom and before that a matriachal society with each atoll ruled by a chief queen according to some accounts or by others, several theocratic societies ruled by priests known as Sawamias of heliolatric, selenolatric and astrolatric religions. The formal title of the Sultan up to 1965 was, Sultan of Land and Sea, Lord of the twelve-thousand islands and Sultan of the Maldives which came with the style Highness. After independence in 1965 the Sultan assumed the title King with the style Majesty.

Contents

Solar Dynasty or the Kingdom of Adeetta Vansa

Name Monarch From Monarch Until Notes
King Soorudasaruna-Adeettiya unknown unknown Exiled prince and son of King Sri Brahamaadittiya of the Kalinga Kingdom of India.
Queen Damahaar unknown unknown Last ruler of the Solar Dynasty. It is unclear from the records how many other rulers ruled between the reigns of King Adeettiya and Queen Damahaar. The Maapanansa, the copper plates on which the history of the Kings of Solar Dynasty was written were lost quite early on. Married Prince Sri Balaadeettiya from the Kalinga Kingdom who later became the first king of the Lunar Dynasty.

Early Lunar Dynasty or the Kingdom of Soma Vansa

Name Monarch From Monarch Until Notes
King Balaadeettiya around 990 unknown Prince from Kalinga Kingdom of India. Married Queen Damahaar of the Solar Dynasty to become the ruler of Deeva Mahal. Early during his reign King Raja Dada invaded the northern atolls of the Maldives
King Loakaabarana unknown unknown King of the Lunar Dynasty.
King Maha Sandura unknown unknown Son of King Loakaabarana. He had a daughter Princess Kamanhaar (also known as Kamanaar or Rehendihaar) who was banished to the island then called Is-Midu (Addu Meedhoo today). With her she took the Maapanansa, the copper plates in which the history of the Kings of Solar Dynasty was written. The Maapanasa were later buried by Al-Muhaddith Hasan and this is why such little information survived about the Solar Dynasty.
King Bovana Aananda unknown unknown Son of King Loakaabarana and brother of King Maha Sandura. He was the father of King Koimala.

Lunar Dynasty (later the Theemuge Dynasty)

Name Monarch From Monarch Until Notes
King Koimala 1117 1141 He became the first king to rule over the whole of Maldives after reclaiming the northern atolls from the Indian invaders.
King (later Sultan) Dhovemi 1141 1166/1176 Reigned as a Buddhist until 1153. Son of Henevi Maava Kilege, sister of Koimala. A member of the Soma or Homa (Lunar) Dynasty. Converted to Islam in 1153, assumed the title Sultan and founded the Theemuge Dynasty. He was the famous Dharumavantha Rasgefaanu or the Benevolent King.
Sultan Muthey 1166/1176 1185 Mother’s sister’s son of Dhovemi
Sultan Ali I 1185 1193
Sultan Dhinei 1193 1199
Sultan Dhihei 1199 1214 Brother of Sultan Dhinei I.
Sultan Wadi 1214 1233 Brother of Sultan's Dhinei I and Dhinei II.
Sultan Valla Dio 1233 1258 Brother of Sultan's Dhinei I, Dhinei II and Wadi.
Sultan Hudhei 1258 1264
Sultan Aima 1264 1266
Sultan Hali I 1266 1268
Sultan Keimi 1268 1269
Sultan Audha 1269 1278 Son of Sultan Wadi
Sultan Hali II 1278 1288 Son of Sultan Audha
Sultan Yoosuf I 1288 1294 Brother of Sultan Hali II
Sultan Salis 1294 1302 Son of Sultan Yoosuf I
Sultan Davud 1302 1307 Son of Sultan Yoosuf I
Sultan Omar I 1307 1341 Son of Sultan Salis
Sultan Ahmed Shihabuddine 1341 1347 Son of Sultan Omar I, deposed and banished by sister Khadijah
Sultana Khadijah 1347 1363 Deposed her brother Sultan Ahmed Shihabuddine. Deposed herself by her first husband Mohamed el-Jameel
Sultan Mohamed el-Jameel 1363 1364 First Husband of Sultana Khadijah. Assassinated by estranged wife Khadijah. He was nicknamed Handsome Mohamed.
Sultana Khadijah 1364 1374 Second reign on assassination of first husband Sultan Mohamed el-Jameel. Deposed for a second time by her second husband Abdullah.
Sultan Abdullah I 1374 1376 Second husband of Sultana Khadijah. Assassinated by wife Khadijah
Sultana Khadijah 1376 1380 Third reign
Sultana Raadhafathi 1380 1380 Daughter of Sultan Omar I, half sister of Sultana Khadijah. Deposed by husband Mohamed.
Sultan Mohamed I 1380 1385 Husband of Sultana Raadhafathi.
Sultana Dhaain 1385 1388 Daughter of Sultan Mohamed I. Deposed by husband Abdullah.
Sultan Abdullah II 1388 1388 Husband of Sultana Dhaain. Some records call him a Regent (Henevi-rasge).
Sultan Osman I 1388 1388 Former prime minister to Raadhafathi and Dhaain. Last of the Lunar Dynasty.

Hilaalee Dynasty

Name Monarch From Monarch Until Notes
Sultan Hassan I 1388 1398 First of the Hilaaly Dynasty.Son of Golhaavahi Kambulo (probably a Lunar dynasty lady) and Kulhiveri Hilaalu Kaeulhanna Kaloge son of Muslim Abbas of Hulhule
Sultan Ibrahim I 1398 1398 Son of Sultan Hassan I. Deposed by his uncle Hussain.
Sultan Hussain I 1398 1409 Brother of Sultan Hassan I. Assumed the throne after deposing his nephew Sultan Ibrahim I.
Sultan Nasiruddine 1409 1411 Introduced the Islamic penal code. Possibly a member of the Lunar Dynasty
Sultan Hassan II 1411 1411 Drowned in a tank.
Sultan Isa 1411 1411 Brother of Sultan Hassan II.
Sultan Ibrahim I 1411 1421 Second reign, first reigned in 1398.
Sultan Osman II 1421 1421 Son of Sultan Osman I.
Sultan Danna Mohamed 1421 1421 Uncle of Sultan's Hassan I and Hussain I. Prime Minister to Osman I
Sultan Yoosuf II 1421 1443 Son of Sultan Hassan I
Sultan Aboobakuru I 1443 1443 Son of Sultan Hassan I half brother of Sultan Yoosuf II. Killed in battle with the Portuguese who came to summon the Council of Ministers of the Maldives to Cochin.
Sultan Hasan III 1443 1467 Son of Sultan Aboobakuru I. Deposed by Sayyid Mohamed while abroad.
Sultan Sayyid Mohamed 1467 1467 Possible descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. Deposed by Sultan Hassan III upon returning to Maldives.
Sultan Hasan III 1467 1468 Second reign.
Sultan Mohamed II 1468 1480 Son of Sultan Hasan III.
Sultan Hassan IV 1480 1480 Son of Sultan Mohamed II. Deposed by Omar II.
Sultan Omar II 1480 1484 Son of Sultan Yoosuf II.
Sultan Hassan V 1484 1485 Son of Sultan Omar II.
Sultan Hassan IV 1485 1491 Second reign.
Sultan Hassan VI 1491 1492 Grandson of Sultan Aboobakuru I.
Sultan Ibrahim II 1492 1492 Son of Omar II.
Sultan Kalu Mohamed 1492 1492 Son of Sultan Omar II. Deposed by his brother Yoosuf.
Sultan Yoosuf III 1492 1493 Son of Sultan Omar II.
Sultan Ali II 1493 1495 Grandson of Sultan Hassan I.
Sultan Kalu Mohamed 1495 1510 Second reign. Son of Sultan Omar II Deposed for a second time, this time by his nephew Hassan.
Sultan Hassan VII 1510 1511 Son of Sultan Yoosuf III.
Sultan Sharif Ahmed 1511 1513 An Arab from Mecca. Possible descendant of Muhammad.
Sultan Ali III 1513 1513 Killed in a duel with his sister Burecca (Buraki Raani). Grandson of Sultan Aboobakuru I.Son of Mohamed Farhana Kalo and Recca daughter of Aboobakuru I
Sultan Kalu Mohamed 1513 1529 Third accession assisted by his wife princess (later queen) Burecca who killed her brother Ali III
Sultan Hassan VIII 1529 1549 Son of Sultan Kalu Mohamed and Fatuma Dio, a concubine from Shiraz in Persia.
Sultan Mohamed III 1549 1551 Assassinated by his brother Hassan succeeded him. Son of Golhavahi Aysha Rani Kilege and Omar Maafaiy Kilege son of Kalu Mohamed and Aysha Rani Kilege daughter of Korari Kilege. Therefore Grandson of Sultan Kalu Mohamed.
Sultan Hassan IX 1551 1552 Brother of Mohamed III. He was the first Maldivian and only member of its royalty to renounce Islam and convert to Christianity. He was deposed upon conversion, and known subsequently by the Lusitanian name of Dom Manoel.
Interregnum 1552 1554 Maldives ruled by a Council of Ministers.
Sultan Aboobakuru II 1554 1557 Son of Ibrahim Faarhana Kilege and Sanfa Dio. Former Prime Minister to Dom Manoel.
Sultan Ali IV 1557 1558 Killed in battle. Son of Prime Minister Abdur Rahman Dorhimeyna Kaloge and Sitti Rani Kilege. He was married to Princess Aysha Rani Kilege, aunt of Dom Manoel and daughter of Kalu Mohamed.
King Dom Manoel 1558 1573 Restored as the king. Formerly known as Sultan Hassan IX. A Maldivian Catholic named Andiri Andirin acted as his regent, while Manoel lived in Goa.
Interregnum 1573 1573 Maldives ruled by Kateeb Mohamed Thakurufan of Utheemu after he assassinated Andiri Andirin, the regent of King Dom Manoel. As per a treaty he got refuge from Ali Raja of Cannanore, Mohamed Thakurufan's base of operation was Minicoy under the sovereignty of Cannanore. Keteeb Mohamed Thakurufan did not honour this promise. The Ali Raja demanded dominion over the Maldives, as promised to him by the Kateeb of Uteem.
The nature of the relationship between Kateeb Mohamed Thakurufan and the Ali Raja of Cannanore was outlined in a letter sent by a later Ali Raja, Mariambe Ali-Adi Raja Bibi, to the Sultan Mohamed Mueenuddine I of the Maldives. The letter was dated Friday 17 Jamada-el-oula Anno Hegirae 1243 (7 December AD 1827). According to the letter Mohamed Thakurufan had entered into a treaty ceding sovereignty of the Maldives to the Ali Raja of Cannanore in the event Thakurufan was established in power in Male. (refer page 294 of Divehi Tarikh).
King Dom Manoel 1573 1583 Kateeb Mohamed Thakurufan concluded a Treaty with King Dom Manoel in order to ward off the Ali Raja of Cannanore with whose help the Kateeb seized power in Male.

Under the treaty, Dom Manoel was restored but remained in Goa. The co-regents were Kateeb Mohamed Thakurufan of Utheem and his brother Hassan Thakurufan. The kateeb conferred on himself the title of sultan in 1583 upon Dom Manoel's death. This was in breach of the Treaty and was not legally binding.
King Dom João 1583 1603 Son of King Manoel, who remained in Goa. He had two brothers, Dom Francisco and Dom Pedro. Kateeb Mohamed Thakurufan and his brother Hassan Thakurufan ruled for King Dom João as co-regents. Kateeb Mohamed Thakurufan assumed the title of Sultan following the death of King Dom Manoel. He married a Portuguese Christian noblewoman, Donna Francisca Vasconelles and had two children, Dom Philippe and Dona Inez.

Ibrahim, also known as Kalaafaan (literally "Lord") was the de facto sultan, but legally the regent of Kings Dom João and Dom Philippe who resided in Goa. He reigned from 1585 to 1609. Son of Mohamed Thakurufan, kateeb of Utheemu and Rehendiye Goyye daughter of Cat Fatima of Boarhi Woods in Baarah.

Ibrahim Kalaafaan was the regent at the time of Pyrard's detainment in the Maldives after the shipwreck.
King Dom Philippe 1603 1632 Son of King Dom João and Donna Francisca Vasconelles. Hussain Faamuladeyri Kilege acted as regent from 1609 to 1620. Muhammad Imaduddin I acted as regent from 1620 to 1632. De-recognised in the Maldives after an abortive expedition with Portuguese assistance in order to abolish regency and assume power.

Utheemu Dynasty

Name Monarch From Monarch Until Notes
Sultan Muhammad Imaduddin I 1632 1648 Legally proclaimed sultan in 1632 former regent for King Dom Philippe.
Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar I 1648 1687 Son of Sultan Muhammad Imaduddin I.
Sultan Kuda Muhammad 1687 1691 Son of Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar I. His mother Princess Maryam acted as regent due to his age. Killed with his mother while at sea in an explosion.
Sultan Muhammad Mohyeddine 1691 1692 Re-established the Islamic penal code. Son of Daravandu Kadida Dio and Abu Naibu Hassan Dorhimeyna Kilege son of the Regent Hussain Famuladeyri Kilege.

Hamawi Dynasty

Name Monarch From Monarch Until Notes
Sultan Muhammad Shamsuddeen I 1692 1692 Arab mentor of Sultan Muhammad Mohyeddine. He first visited Male during the reign of Ibrahim Iskandar I and was soon deported for preaching a different sect of Islam. Under his rule. Probably poisoned to death. He was a native of Syria and a Muslim cleric of the sect of Abdul-Qadir Gilani or Qadiriyyah sect. The Islamic penal code lapsed with his reign.

Isdhoo Dynasty

Name Monarch From Monarch Until Notes
Sultan Mohamed IV 1692 1701 First Sultan of the Isdhoo Dynasty. Son of Ali Mafahaiy Kilege of Devvadu and Kakuni Dio. Probably poisoned to death by his successor.
Sultan Ali V 1701 1701 Son of Ibrahim Shah Bandar Kilege of Isdu and Aysha Dio.
Sultan Hasan X 1701 1701 Son of Sultan Ali V. Deposed by his cousin Ibrahim Mudzhiruddine. He is not listed in Radhavalhi, the official chronicle.
Sultan Ibrahim Mudzhiruddine 1701 1704 Cousin of Sultan Hasan X. Deposed by his Prime Minister Muhammad Imaduddin while on the Hajj pilgrimage.

Dhiyamigili Dynasty

Name Monarch From Monarch Until Notes
Sultan Muhammad Imaduddin II 1704 1720 Prime Minister to Sultan Ibrahim Mudzhiruddine. First of the Dhiyamigili Dynasty.Son of Ibrahim Dorhimeyna Kaloge and Amina Dio.
Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar II 1720 1750 Son of Sultan Muhammad Imaduddin II and Amina Dio of Fenfushi.
Sultan Muhammad Imaduddin III 1750 1757 Son of Sultan Muhammad Imaduddin II and Amina Dio of Fenfushi. Held captive on Kavaratti island from 1752 until his death in 1757. While in captivity the Maldives was ruled by regents.
In 1752 he was seized by the Ali Raja of Cannanore and transported to Kavaratti island in the Laccadives. Male was occupied. The occupation was ended by Muleegey Dom Hassan Maniku, a direct descendant of the penultimate Christian King Joao. The sultan died in captivity. Ruled by nominal regents who were in turn, the captive sultan’s sisters and daughter. The de facto regent was Muleegey Dom Hassam Maniku.
Interregnum 1757 1759 Regency in anticipation of Sultan Muhammad Imaduddin III heir taking the throne.

Huraa Dynasty

Name Monarch From Monarch Until Notes
Sultan Hasan 'Izz ud-din 1759 1766 First Sultan of the Huraa Dynasty. Son of Amina Dio daughter of Mohamed Kateeb of Muli and Huraa Mohamed Faamuladeyri Thakurufan.

Dhiyamigili dynasty (restored)

Name Monarch From Monarch Until Notes
Sultan Muhammed Ghiya'as ud-din 1766 1774 Son of Ibrahim Iskandar II. Deposed while on the Hajj pilgrimage

Huraa Dynasty (first restoration)

Name Monarch From Monarch Until Notes
Sultan Muhammad Shamsuddeen II 1774 1774 Uncle of Sultan Hasan 'Izz ud-din.
Sultan Muhammad Mu'iz ud-din 1774 1779 Son of Sultan Hasan 'Izz ud-din.
Sultan Hassan Nooraddeen I 1779 1779 Brother of Sultan Muhammad Mu'iz ud-din.
Sultan Muhammad Mueenuddeen I 1779 1835 Son of Sultan Hassan Nooraddeen I.
Sultan Muhammad Imaaduddeen IV 1835 1882 Son of Sultan Muhammad Mueenuddeen I.
Sultan Ibrahim Nooraddeen 1882 1886 Abdicated in favour of his nephew Muhammad Mueenuddeen.
Sultan Muhammad Mueenuddeen II 1886 1888 Abdicated in favour of his uncle the former Sultan Ibrahim Nooraddeen.
Sultan Ibrahim Nooraddeen 1888 1892 Second reign.
Sultan Muhammad Imaaduddeen V 1892 1893 His cousin Hassan Nooreddine Maandhoogey Manippulu acted as his regent due to his age. The regent abdicated in his name in favour of his older half brother.
Sultan Muhammad Shamsuddeen III 1893 1893 Brother of Sultan Muhammad Imaaduddeen V. His cousin Hassan Nooreddine Maandhoogey Manippulu acted as his regent due to his age. His cousin abdicated in his name and assumed the throne himself.
Sultan Muhammad Imaaduddeen VI 1893 1902 Former regent for Sultan's Muhammad Imaaduddeen V and Muhammad Shamsuddeen III. Deposed while in the Ottoman Empire.
Sultan Muhammad Shamsuddeen III 1902 1934 Second reign which ended when he was deposed and exiled.
Sultan Hassan Nooraddeen II 1935 1943 Forced to abdicate.
Interregnum 1944 1952 Abdul Majeed Didi was elected Sultan but was never installed and continued to live in Sri Lanka. Maldives ruled by Council of Regency headed for a time by former Sultan Hassan Nooraddeen II. Following the death of Abdul Majeed the Maldives became a republic.

First Republic of Maldives

See President of the Maldives

Huraa Dynasty (second restoration)

Name Monarch From Monarch Until Notes
Sultan Muhammad Fareed Didi 1954 1968 Grandson of Muhammad Mueenuddeen II. Became King in 1965 when the Maldives became independent. Deposed to make way for a republic.

Second Republic of Maldives

See President of the Maldives

See also

References