Sultanate of Jambi

Jambi is located in eastern Sumatra facing the Straits of Malacca and is adjacent to Palembang Sultanate, down the southern border.

Muslim Persians , Turks and Arabs came on the east coast of Bandar Muara Sabak Jambi around the 1st century AD. In I-Tsing's note also mentioned that when he visited Melayu (Mo-lo-yeu), he boarded a Persian ship.

In the 4th century to the 12th century, Jambi was known as the center of the ancient Malay kingdom (Hindu). The Tang annals record that as early as the seventh century AD and again in the ninth century Jambi sent ambassadors to the court of Chinese emperor.

The kingdom became a part of the Srivijaya after 671 A.D. In the 13th century (1275) the Malay kingdom of Jambi was under the influence of the Singasari kingdom, then Majapahit.

The Dutch first arrived in Jambi during the reign of Sultan Abdul Kahar Prince of Kedah. Sultan Abdul Kahar (1615-1643) was crowned king of Jambi and was the king who held the First Sultan in the Kingdom of Jambi.

In 1616, Jambi was seen as the wealthiest city in Sumatra after Aceh. The Sultan makes a profit of 30-35 % of the pepper sold.

The last ruler, Sultan Taha was killed in 1904 during a Dutch attack due to the ambitious intention for whole subjugation of the region where the oil was found.
Sultanate of Jambi

Malayu Kingdom of Jambi

The seventh century saw the emergence of a second coastal and riverine power on Sumatra: Jambi sometimes called Malayu. Jambi province has an old history with the discovery of an ancient relic dated at 686 AD.

The kingdom of Malayu was once incorporated into larger and stronger Sri Vijaya Empire, sometimes a semi independent vassal state and an independent entity for at least a short period.

In Chinese records from the seventh century, there are references to minerals from the kingdom of Mo-lo-yeu.

During Chola invasion in 11th century, Cholas called it the kingdom of Malaiur, the ‘strong mountain for its rampart’.

Jambi’s wealth and power came from its geographic position on the Straits of Malacca. This Sumatran Buddhist kingdom continued to dominate the region until about the 14th century.

At the end of the fourteenth center Jambi became a vassal region of Majapahit though it managed to wrench itself free again after the fall of this empire at the beginning of the 16th century.

It was then succeeded by an Islamic kingdom during 1460-1907.
Malayu Kingdom of Jambi

Jambi (Dharmasraya) Kingdom

The Jambi region, around the basin of the Batanghari River in central Sumatra, was the site of the pre-Islamic kingdom of Malayu.

In the mid-fourteenth century, Adityawarman, a prince who was educated in the Majapahit kingdom of Java set up a kingdom for himself in Minangkabau and rules over it for about thirty-five years from 1340 to 1375. 

Adityawarman moved his capital to Dharmasraya, somewhere in the upper reaches of the Batanghari.

He extended his power to the highlands of West Sumatra and later moved the capital to Pagaruyung.

Jambi took an active part in the international politics of the region, and in the 1670s its might was on par with that of powerful neighbors such as Palembang and Johor.

In 1616, the capital of Jambi was already seen as Sumatra’s second richest port, after Aceh.

In the same year, the Dutch East India Company opened an office in Jambi and quickly formed a successful alliance with Sultan Muhammad Nakhruddin to protect its ships and cargoes from pirates.

When the Indonesia gained its freedom in 1945 Jambi was designated as a Residence and then in 1957, as a Province, which was directly under the Central Government of Indonesia.
Jambi (Dharmasraya) Kingdom