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Sultanate of Djambi (Indonesia)

by Ivan Sache

About the flag

In his book "Les drapeaux de l'Islam" [lux01], P. Lux-Wurm shows the "Sultan's flag and ensign, XIXth century" of the Sultanate of Djambi. The flag is rectangular, in proportions 2:3, plain white.

The Sultanate of Djambi was located on the eastern coast of the island of Sumatra, now part of Indonesia. Djambi and the region of Palembang were from the IVth to the XIVth century the center of Sri Vidjaya's Mahayana Buddhist Empire. Around 1455, Arya Damar, ruler of Palembang, was converted to Islam and took the name of Arya Dilah Abd-Allah.

The plain white flag was used as the Sultan's personal standard. The white colour symbolized the political and religious powers of the Sultan. The vessels of the Sultanate also used a plain white ensign. Lux-Wurm does not clearly state if they were merchant or war vessels, therefore we might want to call the flag "State ensign". The city of Djambi was located 50 km from the seashore but could be reached by ships via the river Batang Hari. The Sultanate was suppressed in 1945 when the independence of Indonesia was proclaimed. The city of Djambi is now called Telanajpura.
Ivan Sache, 15 June 2003