Jambi is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the east coast of central Sumatra and stretches to the Barisan Mountains in the west. Its capital and largest city is also called Jambi. It is bordered by the provinces of Riau to the north, West Sumatra to the west, Bengkulu to the southwest, South Sumatra to the south, and shares a maritime border with the Riau Islands to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the east. The province has a land area of 49,026.58 km2, and a sea area of 3,274.95 km2. Its area is comparable to the European country of Slovakia. It had a population of 3,092,265 according to the 2010 census[7] and 3,548,228 according to the 2020 census;[2] the official estimate of population as of mid-2023 was 3,679,169 (comprising 1,872,177 males and 1,806,992 females).[1] Jambi was the site of the Melayu kingdom that engaged in trade throughout the Strait of Malacca and beyond. It was recorded as having sent a mission to China in 644 CE. It was annexed by Srivijaya by 685 CE, but tried to declare its independence in the 9th century. Jambi succeeded Palembang, its southern economic and military rival, as the major player in trade in the Malacca straits. After the 1025 Chola raids in Southeast Asia, Jambi still sent missions to China.[8]: 72, 114 In the early decades of the Dutch presence in the region, when the Dutch were one of several traders competing with the British, Chinese, Arabs, and Malays, the Jambi Sultanate profited from trade in pepper with the Dutch. This relationship declined by about 1770, and the sultanate had little contact with the Dutch for about sixty years.[citation needed]