The city was the capital of the old, Buddhist kingdom of Srivijaya that included a large part of Malaysia and Indonesia. After a 1025 raid by the Chola Empire of southern India it became less imortant. Srivijaya's capital moved north to Jambi. Palembang is also the home of Parameswara, the ruler of Malacca (a state in Malaysia) who started the most important empire in Malaysian history. 