Butuan
Butuan (pronounced as boot-wan), officially the City of Butuan (Butuanon: Dakbayan hong Butuan; Cebuano: Dakbayan sa Butuan; Tagalog: Lungsod ng Butuan) and often referred to as Butuan City, is a highly urbanized city in the Philippines. The city is the regional center of the Caraga Region. It is located at the northeastern part of the Agusan Valley, Mindanao, sprawling across the Agusan River. It is bounded to the north, west and south by Agusan del Norte, to the east by Agusan del Sur and to the northwest by Butuan Bay. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 309,709 people.
Butuan City was the capital of the province of Agusan del Norte until 2000, when Republic Act 8811 transferred the capital to Cabadbaran City.
Etymology
The name "Butuan" is believed to have originated from the sour fruit locally called batuan. Other etymological sources say that it comes from a certain Datu Buntuan, a chieftain who once ruled over areas of the present-day city.
History
Old Butuan
Butuan, before its colonization, was known as the Rajahnate of Butuan, an Indianized kingdom known for its metallurgic industry and sophisticated naval technology. The rajahnate flourished at the 10th and 11th centuries CE, and had an extensive trade network with the Champa Civilization and the Srivijayan Empire.