Palembang

Palembang (pälembäng') [key], city (1990 pop. 1,144,047), capital of South Sumatra province, on SE Sumatra, Indonesia. The island's largest city, it is a deepwater port on both banks of the Musi River and the trade and shipping center for the S Sumatra oil fields. Rubber, coffee, and coal are also exported. There are large oil refineries, rubber plants, textile mills, fertilizer factories, and food-processing plants. Palembang in the 8th cent. was the capital of the powerful Hindu-Sumatran kingdom of Sri Vijaya. The Dutch began trading there in 1617, and later it was intermittently under British rule. The sultanate of Palembang was abolished by the Dutch in 1825. Palembang is the seat of Sriwidjaja State Univ.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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