Brunei Darussalam or Brunei in short, was one of the most powerful empire in the Borneo region from the 1300s to 1500s.  Both Sabah and Sarawak were under the control of the Brunei Sultanate regime. By the 1900s, its empire were slowly disintegrated by Europe's colonial expansion, and tribal wars.  However, despite the might of the then British empire, the Sultanate dynasty continues to rule Brunei and is presently one of the oldest continuous monarch in the world.  The present little kingdom of Brunei is sandwiched between the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak.  Unlike its Borneo neighbours, Brunei did not consent to join in the formation of the Malaysian Federation in 1963, instead, it opted to become an independent sovereign Sultanate.