At the mouth of the bay lies the only sheltered anchorage of its size on this whole north-west coast of Borneo (the campaign board's claim).
A junk from Canton lies here and waits out the turn of the monsoon while its cargo goes up the river to the king's town. The place is a roadstead: nothing is attested ashore at this date, and the bay is the reason Po-ni exists.
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
The king of Po-ni, who is presumed to take dues on the anchorage (King of Po-ni); nothing says so.
What the town holds
- The anchorage and its pilots (inference)
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
Anchorage, water and the transfer of cargo to river craft; pilotage (inference).
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
Anchorage, water and the transfer of cargo to river craft; pilotage (inference).
Places of note
- Muara: Roads at the bay mouth (position as the campaign board gives it).
Where the sources disagree
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.
Primary sources for Po-ni
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- History of Song, chapters 488 and 489: Jiaozhi, Dali, Champa, Zhenla, Pagan, Srivijaya, Java, Brunei, Chola and Tambralinga, Toqto'a (Tuotuo) and the Yuan history office, from the Song court records (1343 to 1345, from Song veritable records and court diaries). The Chinese court's record of its southern neighbours, compiled from Song archives. Read online
- A Description of the Foreign Peoples (Records of Foreign Nations), Zhao Rukuo (Zhao Rugua) (1225 at Quanzhou). The best single text for the island world around 1200, written by the superintendent of maritime trade at Quanzhou from merchants' reports a generation after the date. Read online
- Description of the Foreign Peoples (Chau Ju-kua), Zhao Rukuo (趙汝适) (about 1225, while superintendent of maritime trade at Quanzhou). The Song customs officer's survey of the overseas world, compiled from merchants and from Zhou Qufei, a generation after 1200 but describing trade routes that were the same in 1200. Read online
- The Description of the Country, called the Nagarakretagama, Mpu Prapanca (1365 at the Majapahit court). A Majapahit court poem of 1365 listed here only for its retrospect. Read online
Sources and studies
- The OMNIA board (September 2026) note for this place: a lead only, not a source
- Wikipedia, 'Brunei Empire' (read in this pass): the 977 embassy, the Song-era description of Boni, the western Borneo reading (Kurz 2013, 2014)
- 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.