kingdom · Maritime Southeast Asia

Tanjungpura Kingdom

1300 CE – 1950 CE (approx.) · capital Tanjungpura (later Matan)

An old kingdom of southwest Borneo, named in Majapahit's records and later continued as the Matan Sultanate until 1950.

Origins

Tanjungpura on the southwest coast of Borneo, near modern Ketapang, appears in the Javanese Nagarakretagama of 1365 as one of Majapahit's dependencies, and Javanese sources use the name for much of Borneo. Local tradition links its rulers with Javanese princes. Its capital moved several times along the coast and rivers.

Rule and society

The kingdom exported diamonds, gold and forest products. Its rulers accepted Islam in the 17th century and the state became known as Matan. Branch courts at Sukadana and Simpang grew up nearby, and the region came under the influence of Banten and later the Dutch.

Decline and legacy

The Dutch East India Company and then the colonial government gradually reduced the rulers to subordinates. Matan's royal family suffered heavily in the Japanese killings in West Borneo in 1944, and the state was absorbed into the Republic of Indonesia in 1950.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Lineage

Tanjungpura KingdomIndonesia 1945 CE – present

Connections (1)

More states of Maritime Southeast Asia →

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

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻