Maldives Royal Family Official Website: Majid's Pages: Maldive Sovereigns from AD 1141

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Maldive Sovereigns from AD 1117
	Personal name	Regnal Name	Date of accession	Date of death/ abdication
1	Koimala	Maanaabarana	1117	1141	The legendary ruler of the Lion Race from Ceylon. \| details \|
2	Dhovemi	Bavanaadheettha	1141	1166	Reigned as a Buddhist until 1153 when he converted to Islam. Son of Henevi Maava Kilege, sister of Koimalaa Siri Maanaabarana Maha Radun, the previous Buddhist king. A member of the Homa (Lunar) Dynasty.
3	Muthey	Bavana Abaarana	1166	1185	mother’s sister’s son of 2. Lunar Dynasty.
4	Ali	Dhammaru Naaja	1184	1193	Son of Rekehiriya Mava Kilege. Lunar Dynasty.
5	Dhinei	Fennaadheettha	1193	1199	Son of Fathahiriya Mava Kilege. Lunar Dynasty.
6	Dhihei	Dhagathaa Abaarana	1199	1214	Younger brother of 5. Lunar Dynasty.
7	Wadi	Dhagathaa Suvara	1214	1233	Younger brother of 6. Lunar Dynasty.
8	Valla Dio	Raa-Araa Desvara	1233	1258	Younger brother of 7. Lunar Dynasty.
9	Hudhei	Raadha Suvara	1258	1264	Son of Hiriya Mava Kilege. Lunar Dynasty.
10	Aima	Loka Suvara	1264	1266	son of Volumidi Bodu Kilege of Fehendu and Bulhau (Cat) Kambaadhi Kilege. Lunar Dynasty.
11	Hali	Singaa Abaarana	1266	1268	Son of Vengihi Kalo of Kendu and Aidage Maava Kilege. Lunar Dynasty.
12	Keimi	Madheenee Suvara	1268	1269	Son of Aidage Maava Kilege. Lunar Dynasty.
13	Audha	Areedha Suvara	1269	1278	Son of 7. Lunar Dynasty.
14	Hali	Areedha Suvara	1278	1288	Son of 13. Lunar Dynasty.
15	Yoosuf	Bavanaadheettha	1288	1294	Younger brother of 14. Lunar Dynasty.
16	Salis	Meesuvara	1293	1302	Son of 15. Lunar Dynasty.
17	Davud	Sundhura Bavana	1302	1307	Son of 15. Lunar Dynasty.
18	Omar Veeru	Loka Abaarana	1306	1341	Half brother through mother of 16 and son of 16. Lunar Dynasty.
19	Ahmed Shihabuddine	Loka Aadheettha	1341	1347	deposed and banished by his elder sister Khadijah. Son of 18. Lunar Dynasty.
20	Khadijah	Raadha Abaarana	1347	1363	deposed by her first husband and minister. Daughter of 18. Lunar Dynasty.
21	Mohamed el-Jameel	Bavana Sooja	1363	1364	Assassinated by his estranged wife Khadijah. He was nicknamed Handsome Mohamed.
22	Khadijah	Raadha Abaarana	1364	1374	Second accession. deposed by her second husband and minister
23	Abdullah	Dhammaru Aadheettha	1374	1376	Assassinated by his estranged wife Khadijah
24	Khadijah	Raadha Abaarana	1376	1380	Third accession.
25	Raadhafathi	Suvama Abaarana	1379	1380	Deposed by her husband and minister. Half sister of Khadijah and daughter of 18. Lunar Dynasty.
26	Mohamed of Maakurathu	Sundhura Abaarana	1380	1385	Husband of 25. Son of Kaeumani Kaulhanna Kilege.
27	Dhaain	Keerithi Maha Rehendi (no coronation)	1385	1388	Deposed by her husband. Daughter of 26 but not of 25.
28	Abdullah	Suvama Abaarana	1388	1388	Husband of 27. Some records call him a Regent (Henevi-rasge).
29	Osman of Fehendhu	Sundhura	1388	1388	Prime Minister to 25 and 27
30	Hassan	Bavana	1388	1398	Son of Golhaavahi Kambulo (probably a Lunar dynasty lady) and Kulhiveri Hilaalu Kaeulhanna Kaloge son of Muslim Abbas of Hulhule. Hilaaly Dynasty.
31	Ibrahim	Dhammaru Veeru	1398	1398	Deposed by his uncle. Son of 30. Hilaaly Dynasty.
32	Hussain	Loka Veeru	1398	1409	Twin brother of 30. Hilaaly Dynasty.
33	Nasiruddine	Veeru Abaarana	1409	1411	Probably a member of the Lunar Dynasty, but oral tradition maintains he was a stowaway youth from a ship from Chittagong (now in Bangladesh) who found his way into the Prime Minister’s household. He introduced the Islamic penal code for the first time. Until the 1960’s there was a mosque called Amputation Mosque (Aiykandaa Miskit) next to his mausoleum. The penal code lapsed with his reign.
34	Hassan	Keerithi Maha Radun (no coronation)	1411	1411	Drowned in a tank. Son of Maayin Rannabandeyri Kilege. Hilaaly Dynasty.
35	Isa	Bavana Sundhura	1411	1411	Younger brother of 34. Hilaaly Dynasty.
36	Ibrahim	Dhammaru Veeru	1411	1421	Second accession
37	Osman	Dhammaru Loaka	1421	1421	Son of 29. Hilaaly Dynasty.
38	Danna Mohamed	Raadha Bavana	1421	1421	Son of Yusuf Handeygirin, Prime Minsiter to 29 and paternal uncle of 30 and 32. Hilaaly Dynasty.
39	Yoosuf	Loka Aananadha	1421	1443	Son of 30. Hilaaly Dynasty.
40	Aboobakuru	Bavana Sooja	1443	1443	Son of 30 and half brother of 39. Hilaaly Dynasty.
41	Hadi Hassan	Raadha Veeru	1443	1467	deposed by an Arab while abroad. Son of 40 and Bulhau (Cat) Mava Kilege. Hilaaly Dynasty.
42	Sayyid Mohamed	Keerithi Maha Radun (no coronation)	1467	1467	An Arab, allegedly a descendant of the Prophet Mohamed. Deposed by Raadha Veeru Hadi Hassan upon his return home.
43	Hadi Hassan	Raadha Veeru	1467	1468	Second accession
44	Mohamed	Bavana Abaarana	1468	1480	Son of 41/ 43 and Golararu Golhavahi Sanfa Rani KIlege. Hilaaly Dynasty.
45	Hassan	Raadha Loka	1480	1480	Deposed. Son of 44. Hilaaly Dynasty.
46	Omar	Loka Sundhura	1480	1484	Son of 39. Hilaaly Dynasty.
47	Hassan	Raadha Aanandha	1484	1485	Son of 46. Hilaaly Dynasty.
48	Hassan	Raadha Loka	1485	1491	Second accession
49	Sheikh Hassan	Raadha Fanaveeru	1491	1492	Son of Kamba Dio daughter of 40 and Talamedi Kilege. Hilaaly Dynasty.
50	Ibrahim	Bavana Furasuddha	1492	1492	Son of 46 and Fatuma Rani Kilege. Hilaaly Dynasty.
51	Kalu Mohamed	Dhammaru Bavana	1492	1492	Deposed by his brother. Son of 46 and Sitti Rani Kilege. Hilaaly Dynasty.
52	Yoosuf	Veeru Aanandha	1492	1493	Son of 46 and Viru Mava Kilege. Hilaaly Dynasty.
53	Ali	Audha Veeru	1493-	1495	Deposed by Kalu Mohamed. Son of Kamba Rani Kilege and Kaeulhanna Kilege son of Mafahaiy Kilege son of 32. Hilaaly Dynasty.
54	Kalu Mohamed	Dhammaru Bavana	1495	1510	Second accession. deposed by his nephew
55	Hassan	Singa Veeeru	1510	1511	Son of 52 and Sanfa Rani Kilege. Hilaaly Dynasty.
56	Sharif Ahmed of Mecca	Suddha Bavana	1511	1513	An Arab, allegedly a descendant of the prophet Mohamed
57	Ali	Aanandha	1513	1513	Killed in a duel with his sister Burecca. Son of Mohamed Farhana Kalo and Recca daughter of 40. Hilaaly Dynasty.
58	Kalu Mohamed	Dhammaru Bavana	1513	1529	3^rd accession assisted by his wife Burecca
58	Hassan of Shiraz	Ran Mani Loka	1529	1549	Son of 51/ 54/ 58 and Fatuma Dio, a concubine from Shiraz in Persia. Hilaaly Dynasty.
60	Mohamed	Singa Bavana	1549	1551	Assassinated by his brother who succeeded him. Son of Golhavahi Aysha Rani Kilege and Omar Maafaiy Kilege son of 51/ 54/ 58 and Aysha Rani Kilege daughter of Korari Kilege. Hilaaly Dynasty.
61	Hassan (later Manoel)	Dhirukusa Loka	1550	1552	Converted to Christianity and deposed. Full brother of 60. Hilaaly Dynasty.
	(Interregnum- ruled by a Council of Ministers)		1552	1554
62	Aboobakuru	Asaalees Loka	1554	1557	Son of Ibrahim Faarhana Kilege and Sanfa Dio. Prime Minister to 61.
63	Ali	Audha Siyaaka Katthiri	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 61/ 64/ 65 and daughter of 51/ 54/ 58.
64	Manoel ⁱ	Dhirikusa Loka (in absentia)	1558	1573	Restored but a Regent called Andiri Andirin (He was a native of Addu Hittadu and was also known as Khanuzeedhi Kamanaage Bodu Mohamed, before he became a Christian) ruled on his behalf. This period was misrepresented as Portuguese rule . Manoel remained in Goa
	(Interregnum)		1573	1573	Ruled by Kateeb Mohamed Thakurufan of Utheem who assasinated Andiri Andirin by promising the Maldives to the Ali Raja 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).
65	Manoel ⁱ	Dhirikusa Loka	1573	1583	Kateeb Mohamed Thakurufan concluded a Treaty with King Manoel in order to ward off the Ali Raja of Cannanore with whose help the Kateeb siezed power in Male Under the treaty, 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 Manoel's death. This was in breach of the Treaty and was not legally binding
	Mohamed Thakurufan, kateeb of Utheem				Legally he was Co-Regent (with his brother Hassan Thakurufan) and Prime Minister. Son of Hussain Thakurufan son of Kalhu Ali Thakurufan of Utheem who was a member of the Hilaaly extended family.
66	Joaoⁱ	Keerithi Maha Radun (no coronation)	1583	1603	Son of 64/ 65. Hilaaly Dynasty. Remained in Goa. Co-regents were Mohamed Thakurufan and Hassan Thakurufan
	Ibrahim		1585	1609	Son of Mohamed Thakurufan, kateeb of Utheem and Rehendiye Goyye daughter of Cat Fatima of Boarhi Woods in Barah. Ibrahim, also known as Kalaafaan (literally "Lord") was de facto sultan but legally the regent of Kings Joao and Philippe who resided in Goa
67	Philippeⁱ	Keerithi Maha Radun (no coronation)	1609	1632	Son of 66 and Donna Francisca Vasconcellos. Hilaaly Dynasty. Derecognised in the Maldives after an abortive expedition with Portuguese assistance in order to change the status quo of the regency.
	Hussain Faamuladeyri Kilege		1609	1620	de facto sultan but legally Regent to King Philippe. Son of Omar Olhiginaa Kilege.
	Kalu Thukkalaa (Mohamed Imaduddine)		1620	1632	de facto sultan but legally Regent to King Philipe. Son of Bodumagu Omar Maafaiy Kilege and Aminah Mava Kilege daughter of Mariyam Kambaadhi Kilege daughter of Ali Thakurufan Kateeb of Maarandu son of Hussain Thakurufan Kateeb of Utheem. A member of the extended Hilaaly family.
68	Mohamed Imaduddine (Kalu Thukkalaa)	Kula Sundhura Katthiri Bavana	1632	1648	Legally proclaimed sultan following an abortive expedition by the Portuguese in Goa on behalf of King Philippe to change the status quo of the regency. Utheem Dynasty
69	Iskander Ibrahim	Kula Ran Meeba Katthiri Bavana	1648	1687	Son of 68 and Kambaa Aysha Rani Kilege. Utheem Dynasty.
70	Kuda Mohamed	Maniranna Loka	1687	1691	A child, son of 69. His mother Princess Maryam was regent . Killed with his mother in an explosion at sea. Utheem Dynasty.
71	Mohamed Mohyeddine	Naakiree Sundhura	1691	1692	A fundamentalist Muslim. Re-established the Islamic penal code. Son of Daravandu Kadida Dio and Abu Naibu Hassan Dorhimeyna Kilege son of the Regent Hussain Famuladeyri Kilege. Under his harsh puritanical rule, women were forced into the veil and men ordered to grow beards and shave their moustaches. Those who were found on the streets during prayer times were flogged. He was probably poisoned to death soon after his Arab mentor arrived. Utheem Dynasty.
72	Mohamed Shamsuddine	Mikaalha Madhaadheettha	1692	1692	Arab mentor of his predecessor. He first visited Male during the reign of 69 and was soon deported for preaching puritanical ideas that the locals found intolerable. Under his rule this harsh regime was enforced to the letter. Probably poisoned to death. He was a native of Syria and a fundamentalist Muslim cleric of the sect of Mohyeddine Abdel Gadir Jeilani of Iraq. The Islamic penal code lapsed with his reign.
73	Mohamed	Kula Ran Mani	1692	1701	Son of Ali Mafahaiy Kilege of Devvadu and Kakuni Dio. Probably poisoned to death by his successor.
74	Ali	Kula Ran Muiy	1701	1701	Son of Ibrahim Shah Bandar Kilege of Isdu and Aysha Dio. Isdu Dynasty.
75	Hassan	Keerithi Maha Radun (no coronation)	1701	1701	Deposed by his cousin. Son of 74. Isdu Dynasty. He is not listed in Radhavalhi, the official chronicle.
76	Ibrahim Mudzhiruddine	Muthey Ran Mani Loka	1701	1704	Deposed while on the Haj pilgrimage. Son of Kadida Dio and Hassan Maafahaiy Kilege, brother of 74 Isdu Dynasty.
77	Mohamed Imaduddine	Kula Sundhura Siyaaka Saasthura	1704	1720	Son of Ibrahim Dorhimeyna Kaloge and Amina Dio. He was Prime Minister to 76 who siezed power during the king’s absence abroad. Diyamigily Dynasty.
78	Ibrahim Iskander	Rannava Loka	1720	1750	Son of 77 and Amina Dio of Fenfurhi. Diyamigily Dynasty.
79	Mohamed Imaduddine	Navaranna Keerithi	1750	1757	Son of 77 and Amina Dio of Fenfurhi. Diyamigily Dynasty. 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 continued in expectation of the return of the deceased sultan’s heir from captivity
80	Hassan Izzuddine	Kula Ran Meeba Audha Keerithi Katthiri Bavana	1759	1766	Son of Amina Dio daughter of Mohamed Kateeb of Muli and Huraa Mohamed Faamuladeyri Thakurufan son of Huraa Hussain Daharadha Thakurufan son of Huraa Dom Maraduru Fandiaiy Thakurufan son of Dom Luis de Sousa son of Donna Ines, daughter of 66 and Donna Francisca Vasconcellos. Huraagey Dynasty.
81	Mohamed Ghythuddine	Kula Ranmani Keerithi	1766	1774	Deposed while on Haj pilgrimage. Son of 78 and Aysha Dio. Diyamigily Dynasty.
82	Mohamed Shamsuddine	Keerithi Maha Radun (no coronation)	1774	1774	Abdicated in favour of his cousin. Son of Zuleikha Dio and Hussain Bodu Dorhimeyna Kilege uncle of 80. Huraagey Dynasty.
83	Mohamed Muizzuddine	Keerithi Maha Radun (no coronation)	1774	1779	Son of 80 and Kakaagey Aminah Bodu Didi daughter of Fenfurhy Kakaa Thakurufan. Huraagey Dynasty.
84	Hassan Nooreddine	Keerithi Maha Radun (no coronation)	1779	1799	Younger brother of 83. Huraagey Dynasty.
85	Mohamed Mueenuddine	Keerithi Maha Radun (no coronation)	1799	1835	Son of 84 and Amina Kamba daughter of Mohamed Faamuladeyri. Huraagey Dynasty.
86	Mohamed Imaduddine	Kula Sudha Ira Siyaaka Saasthura Audha Keerithi Katthiri Bovana	1835	1882	Son of 85 and Khadijah Didi daughter of Athireegey Hussain Dorimeyna Kilegefan. Huraagey Dynasty.
87	Ibrahim Nooreddine	Keerithi Maha Radun (no coronation)	1882	1886	Abdicated in favour of his nephew. Son of 86 and Kuda-Edurugey Zuleikha Rani Kilegefan. Huraagey Dynasty.
88	Mohamed Mueenuddine	Keerithi Maha Radun (no coronation)	1886	1888	Abdicated in favour of his uncle. Son of Maandhoogey Bodu Dorhy Manippulu elder blind brother of 87/ 89 and son of 86 and Handeygirigey Aysha Kamba. Huraagey Dynasty.
89	Ibrahim Nooreddine	Keerithi Maha Radun (no coronation)	1888	1892	Second accession
90	Mohamed Imaduddine V	Keerithi Maha Radun (no coronation)	1892	1892	An infant. His Regent was his cousin Hassan Nooreddine Maandhoogey Manippulu. Abdicated in favour of his elder half brother. Son of 87/ 89 and Bodugalugey Didi. Huraagey Dynasty.
91	Mohamed Shamsuddine III	Keerithi Maha Radun (no coronation)	1892	1892	A youth. His Regent was his cousin Hassan Nooreddine Maandhoogey Manippulu. Abdicated in favour of his cousin, the Prince Regent who assumed the name of Mohamed Imaduddine. Son of 87/ 89 and Kakaagey Goma. Huraagey Dynasty.
92	Mohamed Imaduddine VI	Keerithi Maha Radun (no coronation)	1892	1903	Deposed while travelling in the Ottoman Empire (Suez). Son of Maandoogey Don Didi and Maandhoogey Bodu Dory Manippulu son of 86. Huraagey Dynasty.
93	Mohamed Shamsuddine III	Kula Sundhura Katthiri Bavana	1903	1933	Second accession. Deposed and exiled.
94	Hassan Nooreddine II	Kula Sudha Ira Siyaaka Saasthura Audha Keerithi Katthiri Bavana	1933	1943	Born in Male on 21 April 1887. Abdicated on 7 April 1943 under duress but headed the ruling Council of Regency for some time. Son of 88 and Dhandikorheegey Zuleikha Kamba. Huraagey Dynasty. Died in Male on 15 April 1967.
	Interregnum		1943	1953	Throne was offered to the erstwhile Prime Minister Athireegey Abdul Majeed Rannabandeyri Kilegefan who declined the kingship and remained in Cairo and later Colombo where he died in 1952. Ruled by a Council of Regency. The throne was offered to Tuttu Goma daughter of Eggamugey Ibrahim Faamuladeyri Kilegefan and Princess Gulistan Imaduddine daughter of 92 and Eggamugey Umm-Kalthum Didi. The Islamic clerics headed by the chief justice Abdullah Jalaluddine vetoed the age old custom of a female ruler.
	First Republic		1953	1954	Violently overthrown and the monarchy restored. The president of that republic (titled Waliyyul-Amr or Primate-in-Command) Athireegey Mohamed Amin Dorhimeyna Kilegefan was a member of the Huraagey Dynasty.
95	Mohamed Farid	Keerithi Maha Radun (no coronation)	1954	1968	Deposed to make way for a second republic. Son of Athireegey Abdul Majeed Rannabandeyri Kilegefan and Don Goma daughter of 86/88 and Kakaagey Goma. Huraagey Dynasty.

Notes

Later chroniclers of the Maldives do not recognise these reigns. Instead the Muslim regents of the Christian kings are listed as sultans. However the names and styles of these vice-regal rulers betray the fact that in their own time they were not regarded as sovereigns.
Where a king’ sultan was "crowned" or accorded a gong ceremony, they were given a regnal name which were in the ancient Maldive language. This was their official names. This name was followed by the term " Maha Radhun (king) or Maha Rehendhi (reigning queen). The personal name usually preceded the regnal name in the royal style.
Some king/sultans and queen/sultanas did not have a "coronation" ceremony or gong ceremony. There were several complex reasons for this in some cases. In other cases it was just due to incidental circumstances. Where a sovereign was not "crowned" he or she were called Keerithi Maha Radhun (king) or Keerithi Maha Rehendhi (queen).
Kings and queens of the Maldives, upon accession were given a dynastic name, following the gong ceremony. These names were in the classical Divehi language, which is not intelligible any more. The name was prefixed with Siri, an honorific prefix and suffixed with either maha radun (great king) or maha rehendi (great queen). So the official name of a king may be Siri Suddasuvara Maha Radun. Hear Suddasuvara is the name of the king. Until the gong ceremony takes place, the monarch’s birth name is used with the suffix Keerithi Maha Radun (the Exalted Great King) or Keerithi Maha Rehendi. In some case it may take years between the accession and the gong ceremony, but on average this took place within the year. Some reigns finished without the gong ceremony.
With the advent of Islam, the title of Sultan (in Arabic, this roughly translates as sovereign) was introduced, in conjunction with and arguably subordinate to, the Divehi language title of radun or rasge meaning king or rehendi meaning queen. The title of Sultan was abolished in favour of only the title King (al-melik in Arabic and radun in Divehi) in 1965 three years before the monarchy itself was abolished. So from 1153 until 1965 (with the exception of a period during the sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries), the Maldive monarchs were King-Sultans (or Queen-Sultanas). Prior to 1153 and from 1965 to 1968 they were Kings or Queens. Between 1965 and 1968, the Arabic title of melik (king) was used in conjunction with the title Keerithi Maha Radun. The official title of the last Maldive king between those years was "Jelalet-el-melik Mohamed Farid el-awwal Keerithi Maha Radun, which translates as "His Majesty King Mohamed Farid the First the Exalted Great King".
In common usage the king-sultan was referred to as radun. Since the 16th century, the word "bandaarain" was used occasionally and interchangeably with the word radun. In the Maldive royal tradition, there had always been a distinction between The Crown (raskan) and the State (bandaara). Until 1932 these two roles converged in the person of the king-sultan (or queen-sultana). Surviving royal deeds and other documents bear testament to this distinction. When the Utheem kateeb Mohamed Thakurufan seized control of Male from the Christian King Manoel's (former Hassan IX's) regent Andiri Andirin, a need arose to more clearly demarcate the roles of radun and bandaarain. Under the terms of the truce that was subsequently agreed between the Utheem rebels and the legitimate king, Mohamed Thakurufan and his successors were forced to recognise the sovereignty of King Manoel and his successors over the Maldives. Although later historians and officialdom bestowed the titles of king and sultan on Mohamed Thakurufan, all surviving documents and coinage from that time refer to him as al-vazir (the minister). His continued use of the rank of Thakurufan suggests that he never thought of himself as king or sultan, as indeed he was legally not entitled to do so. Thakurufan was a rather low-ranking appellation which was incongruent with the rank of royalty. Two of the Thakurufan's immediate successors bore titles (kalaafaanu and faamuladeyri kilege respectively) which suggest that they were never elevated to the rank of king-sultan in keeping with the terms of the truce with the Christian king and his successors, who were resident in Goa and continued to be referred to in succession as "kings of the Maldives". Mohamed Thakurufan (Ghazi Bandaarain or Utheem Bandaarain) was one of the first to be called bandaarain. This may have been a cunning ploy devised by the Thakurufan himself to circumvent the terms of the truce. By adopting that title based on at least one historical precedent, the Maldivians would have been led to regard him as a sort of king albeit not the legitimate one. He was, after all, the de facto head of State. Buraara Koi referred to King Dammaru Bavana Sultan Mohamed (Mohamed the Black) as Kalu Mohamed Bandaarain. Tradition has it that his wife Burecca was responsible for restoring the throne for him by assassinating her brother King Ananda Sultan Ali. Burrecca was beleived to have shared the throne with her husband for a time, and this may have been the reason why her husband bore the title of bandaarain for at least a time- again a case where the roles of The Crown (raskan) and the State (bandaara) had been devolved. For more details on the subject see the page on the Myth of Portuguese Rule
It must be noted that there was, another term for "head of State", which was mainly used during the gong ceremony that confirmed the accession of a king or queen. That term was "raadafathi". I have extracted the following passage from the section on the Gong Ceremonies in my, as yet, unpublished book Kingdom of Isles. "....While the Sultan stood before the throne, the Prime Minister would ask the kateebs of the islands of Kelaa in Thiladummathi Atoll, Isdu in Haddummati Atoll and Hithadu in Addu Atoll if they had any objection to the prince before them being proclaimed Head of State. These three kateebs from islands in the north, middle and the south of the realm represented the entire population of the kingdom. The actual question was worded in ancient Maldivian, barely intelligible to the uninitiated and was "Mi kimerun raadafathi-kamu reyda kuravvai mudifiloddevvumah thibaa meehun ruhettha?.............
The second female sovereign in Islamic times also bore the title of raadafathi, for reasons I do not yet know.