Port · Self-governing peoples of Island Southeast Asia · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Ambon bay

A deep drowned valley cutting the island almost in two, and the best harbour between Banda and the clove islands (board).

The campaign board says plainly what Ambon is not: the Ambonese clove groves that later make the island famous are sixteenth-century plantings, and in 1200 no clove tree grows here. Ambon is a stopping place, a watering place and a source of sago, and nothing more. 'Ambwan' is among the eastern places of the Nagarakretagama (1365), which is later.

Who holds it

Title
Headmen of the place (no one named)
Since
not pinned
Born
not known
Family
not known
Confidence
low

No source names anyone who holds this place for 1200.

Lord in 1200

No chief is named for 1200.

What the town holds

  • The harbour and its watering places

Allies and rivals

Nothing is recorded; neighbours are the villages and ports along the same coast.

How things stand that morning

Not described for 1200.

Wealth

Water, sago and shelter.

Threats

  • A poor monsoon or a failed season
  • Raiders from the next coast

Council

No council or court is recorded; headmen and elders decide (inference).

Fairs and markets

Not known; the trade follows the monsoons.

Militia

Not known. No numbers.

Walls and castle

No wall or fort is recorded.

Trade and crafts

Water, sago and shelter.

Places of note

  • Ambon: Head of the bay (a later name).
  • Hila (Hitu): North shore of the island (a later name); position approximate.

Where the sources disagree

  • No clove tree grows on Ambon in 1200, on the campaign board's own statement; the sixteenth-century plantings are not read back.

Evidence: Geography and the campaign board only. The campaign board marks it 'likely'.

"The campaign board" is OMNIA's working map. These notes record where its earlier claims were checked against the sources.

On the map: A place marker; the ground round it, if any, is drawn in the lord and province records.

Sources and studies

  1. The OMNIA board (September 2026) note for this place: a lead only, not a source
  2. Wikipedia, 'Nagarakretagama' (read in this pass): the cantos 13 and 14 lists of Borneo and the eastern islands, written 1365
  3. Background knowledge of Southeast Asian history (Wolters; Hall; Bellwood; Scott; Junker; Reid), recalled and not re-read in this pass

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.