kingdom · Maritime Southeast Asia

Melayu Kingdom

645 CE – 686 CE (approx.) · capital Jambi

A Buddhist kingdom on the Batang Hari River in Jambi, Sumatra, which gave its name to the Malay people before being absorbed by Srivijaya.

Origins

Chinese records note an embassy from Mo-lo-yu in 644 or 645. The kingdom lay on the Batang Hari River, centred near modern Jambi, where the Muara Jambi temple complex later grew up. It controlled gold from the Minangkabau highlands and access to the Strait of Malacca.

Rule and society

The Chinese pilgrim Yijing stopped at Malayu on his voyage to India in 671, staying two months on his way from Srivijaya before sailing on to Kedah. Little else is known of its rulers or institutions.

Decline and legacy

When Yijing returned in the 680s he wrote that Malayu had become part of Srivijaya. The undated Karang Brahi inscription, found upriver in Jambi and usually placed close to the Kota Kapur inscription of 686, records Srivijaya's authority in the area. The name Malayu revived later in the Dharmasraya kingdom and spread to the Malay language and people.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Connections (1)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Melayu Kingdom. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/melayu-kingdom
MLA
“Melayu Kingdom.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/melayu-kingdom. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Melayu Kingdom.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/melayu-kingdom.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Melayu Kingdom’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/melayu-kingdom (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻