Sang Nila Utama
Sang Nila Utama takes you into Singapore’s early history through a thirteenth-century prince from the Srivijaya ruling house. Temasek, an island settlement, stands at the centre of the story.
He is credited with founding the settlement and renaming it Singapura after reportedly sighting a lion. The Sanskrit name means “City of the Sea Lion.” After establishing Singapura, he adopted the title Sri Tri Buana, meaning “Lord of Three Worlds.” His descendants ruled until Iskandar Shah, the fifth ruler, was driven out by Majapahit forces.
That upheaval connects the story with Malacca’s royal lineage and the wider history of the Indo-Malayan archipelago. Javanese, Chinese, Portuguese and Siamese sources offer different perspectives on these events. Portuguese accounts instead describe Parameswara, a ruler of Srivijaya ancestry, as Singapore’s last ruler and Malacca’s founder. Older sources place Temasek before Parameswara, as a small outpost overshadowed by pirates.
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Take this page with you
The myTuur app is free, and once you are standing at a spot its story starts by itself.
Spots like this one are the stops myTuur strings into tours through Singapore. In the app, each story begins where you stand: walk up to a spot and it starts, read it on screen or listen as you go, then follow the route to the next one.
What is myTuur?
myTuur is a free city-guide app. Its tours are built from spots, and each spot carries a story that starts when you get there, to read or to listen to as you like.