Rejang War

Rejang War
Date	1795-1800
Location	Rejang and Mukah
Result	Bruneian Victory; rebellion quelled
Belligerents
Bruneian Empire	Melanau
Commanders and leaders
	Muhammad Tajuddin; Pengiran Temenggong Abdul Raub
Units involved
	Bruneian Army
Strength
around 1,000+ men	Unknown
Casualties and losses
	Unknown

The Rejang War was a major rebellion roughly between the 1795-1800 in the provinces of Rejang and Mukah by the Melanau.^[1]^[2]

Background

It is unknown exactly why the Melanau rebelled but is likely the same reason as the 1609 revolt.^[3] Likely preferring the rule of Sambas.^[3]

The Melanau spirit of rebelling likely never went away, constantly against the rule of Brunei. Raja Tugau (also spelt Tugaw) was a Melanau hero who went against Bruneian authority ending in a major war with the Sultanate of Brunei. According to the Syair Awang Semaun (a Bruneian epic), he was defeated by Awang Alak Betatar (later Sultan Muhammad Shah), which led to the Malano Kingdom (also called the Melanau Empire) becoming a tributary of Brunei.^[4]

War

The war despite being a major rebellion was never fully documented by the Bruneians with the only exception being that the Sultan sent Pengiran Temenggong Abdul Raub to the region to quell the rebellion.^[1]^[2]

Aftermath

It likely ended in victory for the Bruneians.^[2]

References

^ ^a ^b Mail, Haji Awg Asbol bin Haji (2022-06-09), "Islamic Law in Brunei Darussalam (1425–2014)", Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Brunei, London: Routledge, pp. 155–169, ISBN 978-1-003-02043-1, retrieved 2026-02-20{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)
^ ^a ^b ^c Mail, Asbol (2020–2021). "The Role of The Military, The Bruneian Political Power and The Malay Realm (14th – 19th Century): From a Historical Perspective". Psychology and Education (2021).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date format (link) CS1 maint: url-status (link)
^ ^a ^b Walker, John Henry (2016). "From Po-li to Rajah Brooke: Culture, Power and the Contest for Sarawak". Journal of Borneo-Kalimantan. 2 (2). doi:10.33736/jbk.461.2016.
^ Yunos, Dr Rozan (2010-01-01). "Brunei Sultanate Expands Empire: The Early Brunei Conquests". The Brunei Times.

[:0-1] Mail, Haji Awg Asbol bin Haji (2022-06-09), "Islamic Law in Brunei Darussalam (1425–2014)", Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Brunei, London: Routledge, pp. 155–169, ISBN 978-1-003-02043-1, retrieved 2026-02-20{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)

[:1-2] Mail, Asbol (2020–2021). "The Role of The Military, The Bruneian Political Power and The Malay Realm (14th – 19th Century): From a Historical Perspective". Psychology and Education (2021).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date format (link) CS1 maint: url-status (link)

[:2-3] Walker, John Henry (2016). "From Po-li to Rajah Brooke: Culture, Power and the Contest for Sarawak". Journal of Borneo-Kalimantan. 2 (2). doi:10.33736/jbk.461.2016.

[4] Yunos, Dr Rozan (2010-01-01). "Brunei Sultanate Expands Empire: The Early Brunei Conquests". The Brunei Times.

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