sultanate · Maritime Southeast Asia
Palembang Sultanate
Origins
Palembang had long been ruled by princes of Javanese descent loyal to Mataram. In 1659 the Dutch East India Company burned the town after its envoys were killed, and the ruler Kimas Hindi broke with Mataram and proclaimed himself sultan with the title Abdurrahman, founding an independent sultanate on the Musi river.
Rule and society
The court combined Javanese ceremony with Malay Islam. Palembang sold pepper to the Company under monopoly contracts, and after tin was found on Bangka around 1710 it became one of the richest states of the archipelago. Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin I built the Great Mosque, and a later sultan built the brick kraton of Kuto Besak.
Decline and legacy
Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II resisted both the British during British Java and the returning Dutch, defeating a Dutch fleet in 1819. A larger expedition took Palembang in 1821, the sultan was exiled to Ternate, and the sultanate was abolished in 1823. He is now an Indonesian national hero.
Lineage
On the connections map
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- Palembang Sultanate was conquered by Dutch East Indies1821 CE – 1823 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Palembang Sultanate. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/palembang-sultanate
- MLA
- “Palembang Sultanate.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/palembang-sultanate. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Palembang Sultanate.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/palembang-sultanate.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Palembang Sultanate’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/palembang-sultanate (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻