Qualla: Barus https://qualla.com/barus en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:36 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_res/siteimages/rsslogo.png Qualla: Barus https://qualla.com/barus Barus: Introduction https://qualla.com/barus/ Marco Polo called the camphor from this place the finest in the world -- "so fine that it sells for its weight in fine gold." The second-century Greek geographer Ptolemy recorded its name as Barusai. Arab merchants around 900 AD knew it as Fansur, "a well-known country in the Indies." Chinese chronicles listed it as a camphor-producing kingdom. Tamil traders carved inscriptions into stone here in 1088. For a small port on the western coast of Sumatra, Barus accumulated an extraordinary number of admirers across an extraordinary span of centuries, each arriving by sea and each drawn by the same crystalline aromatic resin harvested from the forests of the interior.

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]]> Wed, 25 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/0/m/g/barus-wp/w0mg-barus-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Barus: Camphor Worth Its Weight in Gold https://qualla.com/barus/ Camphor is a waxy, white crystalline substance extracted from certain tropical trees. In the ancient and medieval world, it was prized for medicine, embalming, religious ceremonies, and perfumery. Barus produced a variety so pure and potent that it commanded prices other sources ...

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]]> Wed, 25 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/0/m/g/barus-wp/w0mg-barus-camphor-worth-its-weight-in-gold.mp3 0:06 2 full Barus: A Town That Moved Three Times https://qualla.com/barus/ Barus did not stay in one place. A Batak chronicle records that the settlement relocated three times over its long history, as older sites declined and were abandoned. Archaeological evidence confirms the pattern. Lobu Tua, one of the earliest sites, was abandoned around the turn...

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]]> Wed, 25 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/0/m/g/barus-wp/w0mg-barus-a-town-that-moved-three-times.mp3 0:06 3 full Barus: The Western Kingdom of Srivijaya https://qualla.com/barus/ Barus may have played a larger political role than its modest size suggests. The Chinese historical text Xin Tangshu describes Srivijaya, the great maritime empire that dominated Southeast Asian trade for centuries, as a "double kingdom" with "two parts" under "separate administr...

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]]> Wed, 25 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/0/m/g/barus-wp/w0mg-barus-the-western-kingdom-of-srivijaya.mp3 0:06 4 full Barus: Sultans, Governors, and the Dutch https://qualla.com/barus/ By the 16th century, Barus had attracted the attention of empire builders. The Portuguese writer Tome Pires described "the very rich kingdom of Baros" in his Suma Oriental, noting it was known to people of many nations. Around mid-century, the Aceh Sultanate absorbed Barus into i...

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]]> Wed, 25 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/0/m/g/barus-wp/w0mg-barus-sultans-governors-and-the-dutch.mp3 0:06 5 full Barus: Tombs and Traces https://qualla.com/barus/ Present-day Barus sits northwest of Sibolga along the Sumatran coast, a small district town where the downstream kampung near the river mouth has replaced the upstream settlement as the center of life. The Islamic funerary monuments of Mahligai Tomb Complex and Makam Papan Tinggi...

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]]> Wed, 25 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/0/m/g/barus-wp/w0mg-barus-tombs-and-traces.mp3 0:06 6 full