Editing Ternate (section)

=== Early history ===
Maluku is mentioned in ''[[Nagarakretagama]]''. The term originally denoted the spice-producing islands of North Maluku, of which Ternate became the dominant one. The Ternate Kingdom was previously known as the Kingdom of Gapi.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Media|first=Kompas Cyber|date=2021-05-01|title=Sejarah Berdirinya Kerajaan Ternate Halaman all|url=https://www.kompas.com/stori/read/2021/05/01/172900179/sejarah-berdirinya-kerajaan-ternate|access-date=2021-08-04|website=KOMPAS.com|language=id}}</ref> Moluccan tradition says that there was an exodus of people moving out of [[Halmahera]] around 1250 due to political conflicts.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=Citra Daerah Kota Ternate (ANRI)|url=https://www.anri.go.id/download/naskah-sumber-arsip-citra-daerah-kota-ternate-dalam-arsio-1586349829}}</ref><sup>:4</sup> The settlement founded by people from Halmahera was first situated close on the hillside of the [[Gamalama]] mountain and named Tobona. During this time, Tobona was ruled by a tribal chief with the title of ''Momole''.<ref name=":2" /><sup>:4</sup> This period was characterized by several smaller tribal settlements around Gamalama which were founded afterwards, such as [[Foramadiahi]] being established further downhill, while Sampalu, and [[Fort Kastela|Gamlamo]] were founded along the coast. These settlements also had their own ''Momole'' and were nominally independent from each other.<ref name=":2" /><sup>:4</sup>

In 1257, Tobona gathered all the ''Momole'' from other villages for a meeting, who all agreed to choose [[Cico of Ternate|Cico]], the chief of Sampalu village, as the collective ruler of Ternate. Cico may correspond to Kaicil Mashur Malamo, who was the first ruler according to other traditions and was a son of the Arab Jafar Sadik, who is claimed to be the father of the founding kings of Ternate, [[Sultanate of Tidore|Tidore]], [[Sultanate of Bacan|Bacan]] and [[Sultanate of Jailolo|Jailolo]]. This political four-division had a great symbolic role. Cico replaced his title with ''Kolano'', which means "king".<ref name=":2" /><sup>:4</sup> The capital of the kingdom was first in Sampalu village, but moved to Formadiahi during the reign of Kaicil Siale (1284–1298).<ref name=":2" /><sup>:4</sup> Under Kaicil Ngara Malamo (1304–1317), Ternate expanded its influence and conquered neighbouring islands.<ref name=":2" /><sup>:5</sup> Ngara Malamo was succeeded by Patsyarangan Malamo (1317–1322) and later Sidang Arif Malamo (1322–1331). During this time, Ternate started to interact with [[Chinese people|Chinese]] and [[Arab people|Arab]] traders, especially from [[Malacca]] and [[Java]]. Ternate became a major port city and center of the spice trade in the Moluccas region, competing with its rival, Tidore. Some of the foreign traders eventually created the foundations of the Chinese and Arab communities in the city today.<ref name=":2" /><sup>:5</sup>

Around 1322, Arif Malamo initiated the Moti Agreement, which was a result of discussions between the rulers in Moluccas about trade and standardization of government structures. As a result of this agreement, the Moluccas had relatively peaceful times of over the next twenty years and trade flourished.<ref name=":2" /><sup>:6</sup> However, Arif was succeeded by Kaicil Tulu Malamo, who revoked the agreement as he thought it limited his expansionist ambitions. Ternate conquered neighbouring islands like the [[Sula Islands Regency|Sula Islands]] and [[Seram Island]] over the course of the 1400s.<ref name=":2" /><sup>:6</sup>

In the midst of this expansionist era, Ternate officially became an Islamic sultanate during the reign of [[Zainal Abidin of Ternate|Zainal Abidin]] (1468–1500) and supplemented the ''Kolano'' title with that of sultan. It was during this time that a period of [[Islamization]] began. Abidin also changed the traditional Moluccan government structure into a more Islamic one, including the foundation of the ''Jolabe'', a council made up of Islamic clerics that would advise the sultan on religious matters. This structural and titular change was also adopted by Tidore and Bacan.<ref name=":2" /><sup>:7</sup>