Born: Unknown (late 1400s), Maldives (assumed)
Died: Unknown (1500s)
Country most active: Maldives
Also known as: Buraki Rani
In the 1500s, Burecca gave up her claim to the throne of the Maldives as a regnant queen who could rule in her own right, instead crowning her husband Kalu Mohamed king and taking the title of rani, signifying her role as a queen consort, rather than rehendi or sultana, denoting a woman ruling as monarch.
As a child, Burecca was recognized for her fighting skills, which exceeded those of her younger brother and sister. Although she was expected to succeed her grandfather, instead her younger brother was made sultan in 1513. She married her cousin Kalu Mohamed against the wishes of his mother (her aunt). The couple travelled to Goa in India, where they bargained with the Portuguese to help her overthrow her brother. A different version of her story states that she went to the Sultanate of Aceh on Sumatra to complete her education and refine her martial arts skills before returning to the Maldives with a fleet in the dead of night.
When she did return, one version of events is that Burecca had a co-conspirator lure her brother out of the palace, where he was attacked and left to die. Another is that she battled her brother for hours in a duel in the palace square, eventually killing him herself. Either way, she claimed the throne for her husband. Despite this, their marriage was unhappy and he eventually exiled her to Thiladhunmathi Atoll and married a different woman.