Palembang

Palembang is a city of the southern part of the island of Sumatra in Indonesia, capital of the province of Sumatra of the South.

The city is the seat of a archbishop's palace.

History

The city-State of Sriwijaya, which was the dominant power of the west of the archipelago indonésien of VIIIe in XIIIe centuries, was on the site of Palembang.

See also: Sriwijaya

The Nagarakertagama , poem epic writes in 1365 under the reign of the king Hayam Wuruk (1350-89) of Majapahit in the is of Java, quotes Palembang in a list of some hundred " regions tributaires" kingdom. The city is not thus called more Sriwijaya at that time.

Actually, the territory controlled by Majapahit did not extend that on part of the east and center of Java. " regions tributaires" were in fact of the counters forming a sales network whose Majapahit was the center. Majapahit sent to it dignitaries of which the role was to make sure that these counters were not devoted to a private trade which would escape the kingdom. The contraveners were the object of punitive forwardings. Thus in 1377, Majapahit attacks Palembang.

With died of Hayam Wuruk in 1389, the sovereign of Palembang repudiates his statute of vassal of Majapahit. At that time, China of the Ming restored the system of commercial exchanges (which it continues to regard as an exchange between a tribute poured by its vassal " Barbarian s" and of the gifts which it makes with those) as well as prohibition with the Chinese to travel in Southeast Asia. The sovereign of Palembang, to which the tradition gives the name of Parameswara, hoped to benefit from the need that would have the foreign merchants (i.e. of India and the Middle East) trading with China of a port in the area, part which had played Sriwijaya of VIIIe in XIIIe centuries. The Javaneses would have driven out it of Palembang. The prince would then have gained Tumasik (current the Singapore then the Malayan Péninsule, where it would have founded Malacca.

At the beginning of XVe century, Palembang became a den of Chinese pirates. The admiral Zheng He, who of 1405 to 1433, will go several times in the archipelago indonésien, restores the order in the city.

Palembang becomes then a sultanate.

Benefitting from the unloading of the English in Java in 1811, lasting the Napoleonean Wars, the Badaruddin sultan attacks the Dutch garrison of its city. In reaction, the English attack Palembang of their base with Bengkulu, put the palate at bag and relieve the sultan. In 1812, the sultan must yield the island of Bangka to the English.

Culture and tourism

The museum Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II exposes statues, in particular of Ganesha, divinity Hindou E, and of Bouddha of style Amaravati, and other objects of the Sriwijaya period. The city preserves also monuments characteristic of the Dutch colonial period .

Each year in June is held in Palembang the Sriwijaya Festival. One presents to it in particular traditional and contemporary cultural spectacles, contests of decoration of boats, expostions of boats of the Sriwijaya time.

References

Levathes, Louise, When Clouded Ruled the Seas: The Treasure Fleet off the Dragon Throne 1405 - 1433 , Oxford University Near, 1997
Lombard, Denys, the Javanese crossroads
Ricklefs, Mr. C., has off History Modern Indonesia since C. 1300 , Stanford, 1994
Wolters, Oliver W., " Indonesia - The archipelago and its early historical records" in Encyclopedia Britannica

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