The first voyagers
Seafarers from South Asia settle the atolls, and the islands enter the trade routes of the Indian Ocean.
Bridging the past and future for a timeless Maldives
Royal Heritage is a Maldivian professional consultancy firm in the field of history, heritage and culture. We help governments, businesses, organisations and communities build on who the Maldives is, and through the Praxium Institute we work for the ideas that let a nation prosper.
Advisory · Consultancy · Research · Publications · DesignREG. C-1026-2022
About us
Custodians of history, partners in the nation's future
Royal Heritage was founded to play a part in the development of the Maldives by championing national identity, culture, heritage and history.
We are more than a consultancy. We help businesses, public organisations and communities bring the historical narratives, cultural identity and artistic legacy of the Maldives into their projects, so that modern development keeps its connection to the civilisation it grew from.
From cultural consultation that restores the authenticity of Maldivian architecture and design, to historical research that gives depth to community projects, our work aims to build national pride, cultural resilience and sustainable development.
Our historians and researchers work alongside technical and business specialists. That combination lets us turn scholarship into deliverables organisations can act on: storylines, guidelines, policies, publications and programmes.
Mission
To strengthen the Maldives by grounding its development in its own history and culture, and by advancing the ideas that make nations prosperous: liberty, free enterprise, education and productive industry.
Vision
A confident, free and productive Maldives that knows where it came from and builds its own future. We aim to be the leading Maldivian institution joining the country's heritage to its development.
I
Identity
A nation that knows its history builds with confidence.
II
Liberty
Free people, free expression, and limited, accountable government.
III
Free enterprise
Markets, property and entrepreneurship are the engine of prosperity.
IV
Education
Sound knowledge of governance, history, economics, the sciences and engineering, for every island.
V
Production
A Maldives that makes, builds and engineers, not one that only imports.
M. Zaid Asad
Managing Director
Zaid leads Royal Heritage's business, corporate affairs and the Praxium Institute. An engineer with long experience in the technical and corporate sectors, he connects historical consultancy to the practical needs of modern organisations, and brings scientific rigour and strategic planning to every engagement.
Ahmed Alaa
Chief Historian
One of the leading experts on Maldivian history and culture, Alaa has served as a lecturer and head of department teaching Maldivian history, culture and tradition, and Maldivian legal history. Appointed Research Analyst at the Ministry of Arts, Culture and Heritage in 2019, his research focuses on the historical origins of the Maldives and its people. He advises government, public and private institutions on historical matters and speaks widely across the country.
The story we work from
Two thousand years at the crossroads of the Indian Ocean
The Buddhist centuries
Monasteries and stupas rise on islands across the atolls. Their coral-stone ruins are still being uncovered.
Conversion to Islam
By tradition the king embraces Islam in 1153, opening a sultanate that lasts eight centuries.
Ibn Battuta arrives
The Moroccan traveller serves as a judge in Malé and records the islands, their queen and their trade.
Shells that were money
Maldivian cowrie shells circulate as currency from West Africa to Bengal, and island coir rope rigs the ships of the ocean.
Free of Portugal
After fifteen years of Portuguese rule, Muhammad Thakurufaanu and his brothers retake Malé, sailing in the Kalhuohfummi.
Hukuru Miskiy
Malé's Friday Mosque is rebuilt in finely carved coral stone, a high point of Maldivian craft.
A British protectorate
The sultanate accepts British protection while keeping control of its own affairs.
Independence
On 26 July the Maldives becomes a fully independent state.
The Republic
The sultanate is abolished and the Maldives becomes a republic.
Bridging past and future
Royal Heritage, established in 2022, helps the nation build on its own history.
The endless line
One line, crossing over and under, never ending
Patterns built from crossing lines run through human craft: the geometry carved into old coral-stone mosques, the woven mats of Gadhdhoo, the knotwork of Celtic manuscripts. Our mark carries one at the heart of the gate. Tap between the dots to cut or join the weave, then trace the line.
Services
Six ways we work with clients
Every engagement is tailored to the client. Each service carries its own knot, drawn from the same rule as the mark.
Our work
Trusted by public bodies and private enterprise
A selection of the kinds of work we do for government, business and institutions. Client details are kept confidential.
Praxium Institute · An initiative of Royal Heritage
Ideas for a free and productive Maldives
Praxium is Royal Heritage's research and ideas arm. We study the questions that decide whether the Maldives prospers, publish clear and practical analysis, and promote the foundational ideas of liberty, free enterprise and good governance.
Journal
Writing from Royal Heritage and Praxium
Our historians and researchers will publish essays, papers and notes here across the five research areas. The first pieces are in preparation.
Contact
Start a conversation
Tell us about your project, island or institution. An initial meeting carries no obligation.
- Office
- M. Reehusabaa, Malé, Republic of Maldives
- Registration
- C-1026-2022 · Est. 2022