From the 15th century onwards, Malayisation spread many Malay traditions including language, literature, martial arts, and other cultural values throughout Maritime Southeast Asia. Historical accounts note close relationship between Melaka and Brunei Sultanates, leading to the spread of Silat through the region from as early as the 15th century. Brunei's national epic poem, the "Syair Awang Semaun", recounts the legend of a strong and brave warrior Awang Semaun who contributed extensively to the development of Brunei, and who is also said to be the younger brother of Awang Alak Betatar or Muhammad Shah (1405–1415), the first Sultan of Brunei. The fifth Sultan, Bolkiah, who ruled between 1485 and 1524, excelled both in martial art and diplomacy. Under the seventh Sultan, Saiful Rijal (1575–1600), the sultanate was involved in the Castilian War against the Spanish Empire in 1578, and they would have used Silat and invulnerability practices. Thereafter, several patriots excelled as warriors, including Pengiran Bendahara Sakam under the reign of Sultan Abdul Mubin (1600–1673). As Brunei rose to the status of a maritime power at the crossroads of Southeast Asia, it built the unity of the kingdom through war and conquest, and managed to extend its control over the coastal regions of modern-day Sarawak and Sabah and the Philippines Islands, which were under the Sultanate's control for more than two centuries.