Inderapura was the capital city of the medieval kingdom of

Pahang {{Infobox political division , name = Pahang , official_name = Pahang Darul Makmur , native_name = , settlement_type = States and federal territories of Malaysia, State , image_skyline = , imagesize ...

that existed from 5th to 15th century. The city was mentioned several times in the

Malay Annals The ''Malay Annals'' ( Malay: ''Sejarah Melayu'', Jawi: ), originally titled ''Sulalatus Salatin'' (''Genealogy of Kings''), is a literary work that gives a romanticised history of the origin, evolution and destruction of the Malacca Sultanat ...

in narrating the conquest of Pahang in 1454. The word Inderapura means "Town of

Indra Indra (; ) is the Hindu god of weather, considered the king of the Deva (Hinduism), Devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes Indra is the m ...

" in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

, Indra being the leader of the

Deva Deva may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Deva, List of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition monsters, an ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' 2nd edition monster * Deva, in the 2023 Indian film ''Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefir ...

s and the lord of Svargaloka in

Dharmic religions Indian religions, sometimes also termed Dharmic religions or Indic religions, are the religions that originated in the Indian subcontinent. These religions, which include Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism,Adams, C. J."Classification o ...

. Throughout Pahang history, the capital has always been known as 'the town'. The pre-Melakans calling it by the short form ''Pura'', while the Melakans refer it as ''Pekan'' ('the town' in Malay language), while the people of Rompin and Bebar traditionally described the capital as ''Pekan Pahang''. Pura may have covered a much larger than the town known as Pekan today. In addition to modern Pekan, it appears to have comprised the land on the banks of Pahang river as far as Tanjung Langgar. After the conquest of Pahang by

Melaka Sultanate The Malacca Sultanate (; Jawi script: ) was a Malay sultanate based in the modern-day state of Malacca, Malaysia. Conventional historical thesis marks as the founding year of the sultanate by King of Singapura, Parameswara, also known as I ...

in 1454, the city was established as the seat of the Melakan governor, Sri Bija Diraja Tun Hamzah. The governorate however, was short-lived. In 1470, it was transformed into a vassal

Sultanate Sultan (; ', ) is a Royal and noble ranks, position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". La ...

under Sultan Muhammad Shah, the grandson of Dewa Sura, the last Maharaja of Pahang. The

Portuguese Malacca Portuguese control of Malaccaa city on the Malay Peninsulaspanned a 130 year period from 1511 to 1641 as a possession of the Portuguese East Indies. It was captured from the Malacca Sultanate as part of Portuguese attempts to gain control of ...

that established relation with the Sultanate in the 16th century, called the capital ''a Cidade'' ('the town'). By this period, the town's name in Malay language has been commonly known as ' Pekan'.

Notes

History of Pahang {{Pahang-geo-stub