Includes bibliographical references and index.

Chapter 1. The Problem of reconstruction in Magindanao History -- Chapter 2. The Magindanao Dynasty and the Dumatus -- Chapter 3. The Rajah Buayan and the Rajahs of Sa-raya -- Chapter 4. The Asal of the Datus of Mindanao -- Chapter 5. Polarization under Treaty Relations -- Chapter 6. Mandawi Dar-ul Salam Indigenous Political System -- Chapter 7. The Establishment of the Politico-Military Government of Mindanao -- Chapter 8. Conditions in Moroland on the Eve of the 1896 Revolution -- Chapter 9. Reappraisal and Epilogue.

How likely was it that the ancient Filipinos developed a concept of statehood at precolonial contact?” Thus begins the opening chapter of this book on the history of Magindanao Sultanate. Drawing on various sources including the luwaran (code) and tarsila (genealogy) and combining ethnography with politics, Datu Michael Ong Mastura reconstructs a dynastic history of southern Philippines across 388 years and depicts a cosmopolitan society allied with the neighboring mandalas in Southeast Asia.