Karang Brahi

Karang Brahi stands in the inland river country of Sumatra, on the upper Merangin, a tributary of the Batang Hari system. A stone inscription found here preserves an early Malay text connected with Srivijaya. Similar inscriptions at Palembang and Kota Kapur show how the rulers of that maritime power expressed their authority in several places during the late seventh century. The Karang Brahi stone is evidence that Srivijaya's political and cultural reach extended far into the hinterland of Jambi, along the rivers that connected the interior with the coast.