South Sumatra
South Sumatra is a province of Indonesia, located in the southeast of the island of Sumatra. The capital and largest city of the province is the city of Palembang, and the province covers territory historically administered by the Palembang Sultanate. The province borders the provinces of Jambi to the north, Bengkulu to the west and Lampung to the south, as well a maritime border with the Bangka Belitung Islands to the east. It is the largest province in the island of Sumatra, and it is slightly smaller than Portugal, the department of Boquerón in Paraguay, the Altai Republic in Russia or the U.S. state of Maine. The Bangka Strait in the east separates South Sumatra and the island of Bangka, which is part of the Bangka Belitung Islands province.
The province has an area of and had a population of 8,467,432 at the 2020 census; the official estimate as at mid-2024 was 8,837,301. The province is rich in natural resources, such as petroleum, natural gas and coal. The province is inhabited by many different Malay sub ethnic groups, with Palembangese being largest ethnic group. Most speak the Palembang language, which is mutually intelligible to both Indonesian and local Palembang Malay. Other ethnic groups include the Javanese, Sundanese, Minangkabau and Chinese. Most are concentrated in urban areas and are largely immigrants from other parts of Indonesia.
History
Pre-history
South Sumatra has been settled by humans since the Palaeolithic era. The evidence of those settlements is proven by discoveries of Palaeolithic tools in the riverbed of Saling and Kikim rivers in Bungamas Village, Lahat Regency and Seventy-eight skeletons dating back to 3,000–14,000 years ago, presumably of Austronesian and Austromelanesoid origins was excavated from the site of Harimau Cave in Padang Bindu Village, Ogan Komering Ulu Regency. Relics of seven stone chambers believed to be about 2,500 years old were found near a coffee plantation in Kotaraya Lembak, Lahat Regency.Srivijaya
Around 7th century AD, an ancient Buddhist kingdom of Srivijaya was established in an area that's now Palembang. This kingdom became the center of trade and was a maritime power, but this kingdom did not expand its power outside the islands of Southeast Asia, with the exception of contributing to the population of Madagascar as far as 3,300 miles west. Some experts are still debating the area that was the center of the Srivijaya Kingdom. It was likely that the kingdom used to move its administrative center, but the capital remained directly governed by the authorities, while the supporting areas were governed by the local datuk.In the 7th century, the Chinese noted that there were two kingdoms namely Malayu and Kedah that were part of the Srivijaya empire.
The Srivijaya empire had existed since 671 according to the notes of the Chinese Buddhist monk Yijing. From the Kedukan Bukit inscription in 682, this empire became known under the leadership of Dapunta Hyang. That he departed on the siddhayatra holy journey to "take blessings", and led 20,000 soldiers and 312 people on board with 1,312 soldiers on foot from Minanga Tamwan to Jambi and Palembang. The Kedukan Bukit Inscription is reputed to be the oldest inscription written in Malay. Experts argue that the writer of this inscription adapted Indian orthography.
Based on the Kota Kapur Inscription dated from 686 CE that is found on the island of Bangka, this empire has dominated the southern part of Sumatra, the islands of Bangka and Belitung, to Lampung. This inscription also mentions that Emperor Sri Jayanasa launched a military expedition to punish the Bhumi Jawa kingdom who were not loyal to Srivijaya, this event coincided with the collapse of Tarumanagara in West Java and Holing in Central Java, which was most likely due to Sriwijaya's attack. It is also possible that the Bhumi Jawa kingdom mentioned in the inscription is referring to the Kingdom of Tarumanegara. Srivijaya continued to grow and succeeded in controlling the maritime trade routes in the Straits of Malacca, the Sunda Strait, the South China Sea, the Java Sea and the Karimata Strait.
The expansion of this kingdom into Java and the Malay Peninsula, allowed Srivijaya to control the main trade routes in Southeast Asia. Archeologist found the ruins of Srivijaya temples as far as Thailand and Cambodia. In the 7th century, the port of Champa in eastern Indochina began to divert traders from Srivijaya. To prevent this, Maharaja Dharmasetu launched several attacks on coastal cities in Indochina. The city of Indrapura on the banks of the Mekong river was captured by Srivijaya in the early 8th century. Srivijaya continued its domination of Cambodia, until the Khmer king Jayawarman II, founder of the Khmer Empire, severed ties with Srivijaya in the same century. At the end of the 8th century some kingdoms in Java, including Tarumanegara and Holing, were under the rule of Srivijaya. According to records, during this period the Sailendra people migrated to Central Java and ruled there. In the same century, the Langkasuka kingdom in the Malay peninsula became part of the kingdom. In the following period, Pan Pan and Trambralinga, located north of Langkasuka, were also under the influence of Srivijaya.
Based on historical records from Arabia, Srivijaya was called Sribuza. In 955 CE, Al Masudi, a traveler and classical Arab historian wrote about Srivijaya, describing it as a large kingdom that was rich, with many soldiers. Srivijaya's produced camphor, agarwood, cloves, sandalwood, nutmeg, cardamom and gambier. Another note from a Persian expert named Abu Zaid Hasan who received information from Sujaimana, an Arab trader, that the empire was well-advanced in the field of agriculture. Abu Zaid wrote that the kingdom of Zabaj had fertile land and extensive power to the other side of the sea.
Srivijaya controlled the maritime trade route in Southeast Asia throughout the 10th century, but at the end of the century the Kingdom of Medang in East Java grew into a new maritime force and began to challenge the dominance of Srivijaya. The Chinese news from the Song dynasty called the Srivijaya Kingdom in Sumatra the name San-fo-tsi, while the Kingdom of Medang in Java by the name She-po. It is said that San-fo-tsi and She-po were involved in competition for control of Southeast Asia. Both countries sent ambassadors to each other to China. The San-fo-tsi ambassador who departed in 988 was held in Canton when he returned, because his country was attacked by Javanese troops. This attack from Java allegedly took place around the 990s, between 988 and 992 during the reign of Sri Cudamani Warmadewa.
The kingdom of Medang succeeded in capturing Palembang in 992 for a while, but later the Medang forces were successfully repelled by Srivijaya forces. The Hujung Langit inscription of 997 mentions a Javanese attack on Sumatra. This series of attacks from Java ultimately failed because Java failed to establish a foothold in Sumatra. Capturing the capital city of Palembang was not enough because the Sriwijaya spread itself in several port cities in the Malacca Strait. The Srivijaya emperor, Sri Cudamani Warmadewa, escaped out of the capital and traveled around regaining its strength and reinforcements from his allies and subordinate kings and succeeded in repelling the Javanese navy.
In 1025, the empire was defeated by the Chola Empire of southern India. The Chola Empire had conquered the Srivijaya colonies, such as the Nicobar Islands region and at the same time succeeded in capturing the ruling Srivijaya king Sangrama Vijayatunggavarman. During the following decades, the entire Sriwijaya empire was under the influence of the Chola dynasty. Rajendra Chola I gave the opportunity to the kings he conquered to remain in power while remaining subservient to him. Srivijaya's capital eventually moved northward to Jambi. This can be attributed to the news of the San-fo-ts'i delegation to China in 1028. Another factor in Sriwijaya's decline was natural factors. Because of the sedimentation of mud on the Musi River and several other tributaries, the merchant ships arriving in Palembang diminished. As a result, the city of Palembang is getting away from the sea and not being strategic. As a result of the coming of the merchant ship, the tax decreased and weakened the economy and position of Sriwijaya.
According to the Chinese Song dynasty book Zhu Fan Zhi, written around 1225 by Zhao Rugua, the two most powerful and richest kingdoms in the Southeast Asian archipelago were Srivijaya and Java, with the western part under Srivijaya's rule and the eastern part under Kediri's domination. It said that the people in Java followed two religions, Buddhism and the religion of Brahmins, while the people of Srivijaya followed Buddhism. The book described the people of Java as being brave, short-tempered and willing to fight. It also noted their favourite pastimes as cockfighting and pig fighting. The coin used as the currency were made from a mixture of copper, silver, and tin.
Srivijaya remained a formidable sea power until the 13th century. According to George Cœdès, at the end of the 13th century, the empire "had ceased to exist... caused by the simultaneous pressure on its two flanks of Siam and Java." However, there was a power vacuum in the region since there was no prominent power to hold the region except for the waning Majapahit Empire, centered on Java island. The vacuum allowed pirates to flourish in the region.
After being conquered by the Majapahit in 1375 AD, the Palembang region was made a vassal of the Majapahit Empire, under the leadership of Hayam Wuruk. The government in Palembang was handed over to a regent who was appointed directly by the Majapahit. However, internal problems in the Majapahit Empire distracted them from the conquered territories, causing the Palembang region to be controlled by traders from China until the Majapahit regained control of Palembang after sending a commander named Arya Damar.