By the 15th century, the Malacca Sultanate, whose hegemony reached over much of the western Malay archipelago, had become the centre of Islamization in the east. The Malaccan tradition was transmitted onwards and fostered a vigorous ethos of Malay identity. Since this era, the Islamic faith became closely identified with Malay society and played a significant role in defining the Malay identity. The close identification of the Malays with Islam continued until the 20th century and was finally entrenched in the Article 160 of the Constitution of Malaysia as well as in the national philosophy of Brunei known as the Malay Islamic Monarchy.