Brunei Darussalam

From Hartini,Ragdoll.
This card is showing the Omar Ali Saifudien Mosque,Bandar Seri Begawan.
Thank you ,Hartini:)

Brunei Darussalam, (pronounced /bruːˈnaɪ/ in English) officially the State of Brunei, Abode of Peace (Malay: Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: بروني دارالسلام), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia. Apart from its coastline with the South China Sea it is completely surrounded by the state of Sarawak, Malaysia, and in fact it is separated into two parts by Limbang, which is part of Sarawak. This is odd in the fact that it is a separated country inside a separated country (the two parts of Malaysia).

Brunei, the remnant of a very powerful sultanate, regained its independence from the United Kingdom on 1 January 1984.

The power of the Sultanate of Brunei was at its peak from the fourteenth to the sixteenth century.^[3] The Sultanate's suzerainty is thought to have extended over the coastal regions of modern-day Sarawak and Sabah, the Sulu archipelago, and the islands off the northwest tip of Borneo. European influence gradually brought an end to this regional power. Later, there was a brief war with Spain, in which Brunei's capital was occupied. Eventually the sultanate was victorious but lost territories to Spain. The decline of the Bruneian Empire culminated in the nineteenth century when Brunei lost much of its territory to the White Rajahs of Sarawak, resulting in its current small landmass and separation into two parts. Brunei was a British protectorate from 1888 to 1984, and occupied by Japan from 1941 to 1945 during World War II.

There was a small rebellion against the monarchy during the 1960s, which was suppressed with the help from the United Kingdom. This event became known as the Brunei Revolt and was partly responsible for the failure to create the North Borneo Federation. The rebellion partially affected Brunei's decision to opt out of the Malaysian Federation.

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Bandar Seri Begawan, (Malay: Bandar Seri Begawan, Jawi: بندر سري بڬاوان ) estimated population 27,285 (as of 2002), is the capital and largest city of the Sultanate of Brunei.

Habitation on the banks of the Brunei River can be traced back to the 7th century where there had been settlements similar to those in Kampong Ayer, located on areas close to the present site of the Brunei Museum.

Seri Begawan was named after the Sultan's late father Sir Omar Ali Saifuddien on October 5, 1970, its original name being Bandar Brunei. Begawan is a name given to Bruneian monarchs who have abdicated, originally coming from the Sanskrit word for "god"). Bandar, comes from Persian بندر and means "port" or "haven" (bandar means "town" in Malay).

On August 1, 2007, The Sultan of Brunei gave consent for the extension of Bandar Seri Begawan from 12.87 square kilometres to 100.36 square kilometres.