← Explore on the interactive map

Palembang (surviving Srivijaya trading port)

Type Object Region Sumatra Time c. 650–1400

Palembang, on the Musi River in Sumatra, was the core port capital of the Srivijaya maritime empire from the 7th to 11th centuries;…

Timeline

  1. c. 700–1100Palembang · South SumatraFrom the 7th to 11th centuries, Palembang was the capital and trading center of the Srivijaya empire, controlling shipping through the Strait of Malacca and maintaining frequent contact with China, India, and the Arab world; it was an important hub for the spread of Buddhism and entrepôt trade.
  2. c. 1190–1200Palembang · South SumatraBy the 1190s, Srivijaya's political hegemony had waned, but Palembang maintained its regional trading function thanks to the harbor conditions at the mouth of the Musi River. Southern Song merchant ships traveled through the South China Sea to Sanfoqi (the former Srivijaya lands) to trade spices and Southeast Asian goods, and the city retained Buddhist temple remains and a Malay-Chinese commercial network.
  3. c. 1200–1400Palembang · South SumatraChinese sources in the 13th–14th centuries still referred to this region as "Sanfoqi"; Zhao Rukuo's Zhuofanzhi (1225) recorded its products and trade in detail, indicating that Palembang continued to exist as a node in the Southeast Asian trading network after the collapse of the Srivijaya empire.

Sources