Cebu (historical polity)

Cebu
Sugbu
c.1400–1565
Map of old Cebu in 1521, with Sugbu under Rajah Humabon colored as dark blue, and its subordinate barangays as lighter blue. Mactan under Si Lapulapu is colored yellow green.
CapitalSinghapala (Modern Mabolo district in Cebu City)
Common languagesOld Cebuano, Old Malay
Religion
Syncretic form of Hinduism, Buddhism and Animism (see also Polytheism)
Roman Catholicism (since 1521)
GovernmentMonarchy
Rajah 
 1521
Rajah Humabon
 1521–1565
Rajah Tupas (last)
History 
 Established
c.1400
 Disestablished
4 June 1565
CurrencyBarter
Succeeded by
Captaincy General of the Philippines
Cebu (province)
Today part ofPhilippines

Cebu, also called Sugbu, informally referred to as the Rajahnate of Cebu, was an Indianized mandala (polity) monarchy on the island of Cebu in the Philippines prior to the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors. It is known in ancient Chinese records as the nation of Sokbu (束務) (Hokkien) or Suwu (Mandarin). According to Visayan oral legend, it was founded by Sri Lumay or Rajamuda Lumaya, a half-Malay and half-Tamil from Sumatra. The capital of Cebu was Singhapala which is Tamil-Sanskrit for "Lion City", the same root words with the modern city-state of Singapore.