[3] Modern Pagaruyung is a village in Tanjung Emas subdistrict, Tanah Datar regency, located near the town of Batusangkar, Indonesia.

The name Pagaruyung derives from a Minangkabauan name for the Nibung or Ruyung tree,[7] but it can also be referred to the inscription of the mohor stamp of Sultan Tangkal Alam Bagagar of Pagaruyung,[8] which is in Jawi script in the inner circle which reads (Jawi: سلطان توڠݢل عالم باݢݢر ابن سلطان خليفة الله يڠ ممڤوڽاءي تختا کراجأن دالم نݢري ڤݢرويڠ دار القرار جوهن برداولة ظل الله في العالم; Latin: Sulthān Tunggul Alam Bagagar ibnu Sulthān Khalīfatullāh yang mempunyai tahta kerajaan dalam negeri Pagaruyung Dārul Qarār Johan Berdaulat Zhillullāh fīl 'Ālam).

He had previously fought with Mahapatih Gajah Mada to conquer Bali and Palembang,[12] during his reign it is likely that Adityawarman moved the centre of his government to the interior of Minangkabau.

The Malay-accented Suruaso inscription mentions Adityawarman completing the construction of a ditch to irrigate the 'forever rice-rich garden of Nandana Sri Surawasa',[13] which was previously built by his uncle Akarendrawarman, the previous king, so it is certain that in accordance with Minangkabau customs, inheritance from mamak (uncle) to kamanakan (nephew) had already occurred at that time,[14] although it is likely that Minangkabau customs were only applied by the Pagaruyung Kingdom after adapting to the community environment, especially in the Luhak Nan Tigo region at the beginning of its reign.

On the other side of the irrigation canal, there is also an inscription in Nagari or Tamil script, which could indicate the presence of a significant number of people from southern India in the area.

[15] However, none of the inscriptions left by this king mentioned anything related to Bhumi Jawa and then from Berita Tiongkok it was known that Adityawarman had sent envoys to China 6 times during the period 1371 to 1377.

In terms of historical continuity, the Pagaruyung kingdom was a kind of administrative system change for the local people (ethnic Minang).

Hindu-Buddhist influence in central Sumatra had emerged around the 13th century,[16] beginning with the dispatch of the Pamalayu Expedition by Kertanagara, and later during the reign of Adityawarman and his son Ananggawarman.

[6] This can be proven by the title Maharajadiraja carried by Adityawarman as carved on the back of the Amoghapasa Statue, which was found in the upper reaches of the Batang Hari river (now included in the Dharmasraya Regency area).

[15] While recorded devout adherents of this teaching in addition to Adityawarman in the earlier period were Kubilai Khan of Mongol and king Kertanegara of Singhasari.

[18] The development of Islam after the end of the 14th century influenced the patriarchal system to some extent, and brought a relatively new phenomenon to the society in the interior of Minangkabau.

But during this time, there was a major gap in the historical picture in the Minangkabau highlands between the last date of Adityawarman's inscription in 1375 and Tomé Pires Suma Oriental.

"..., there is a striking consistency in the style of writing, not only of books in prose and verse, but also of epistolary correspondence, and my own experience has proved to me that no greater difficulty attends the translation of letters from the princes of the Molucca islands, than from those of Kedah or Trangganu in the peninsula, or of Menangkabau in Sumatra."

During this time, the first arrival of the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC) in 1663, which then established a trading office in the city of Padang,[25] had set interest among local rulers.

It is recorded that in 1684, the first European to enter the region, a Portuguese explorer named Thomas Dias, paid a visit to Pagaruyung on the orders of the Dutch governor-general in Malacca.

[36] Earlier in 1732, the VOC regent in Padang had recorded that a queen named Yang Dipertuan Puti Jamilan had sent spears and swords made of gold, as a sign of establishing herself as the ruler of the bumi emas (golden earth).

"From the ruins of this city (Pagaruyung) it is evident that here once stood a great Malay civilisation, rivalling that of Java, the site of many buildings now no longer exists, destroyed by the ongoing war."

The east coast was already under the influence of the Malay Sultanates, and in the future, other areas, such as Kampar Kiri, Singingi and Kuantan, became independent during the Padri's seizure of most of the Kingdom of Pagaruyung.

[28] Sultan Tunggul Alam Bagagarsyah, on the other hand, wanted to be recognised as the Raja of Pagaruyung, but the Dutch East Indies government had limited his authority from the start and only appointed him as the Regent of Tanah Datar.

On 2 May 1833 Sultan Tunggul Alam Bagagar was arrested by Lieutenant Colonel Cornelis Pieter Jacob Elout in Batusangkar on charges of treason.

Meanwhile, after the end of the Padri War, Tuan Gadang in Batipuh asked the Dutch East Indies government to give him a higher position than the Regent of Tanah Datar that he held after replacing Sultan Tunggul Alam Bagagar, but this request was rejected by the Dutch,[46] this resulted in one of the drivers of the 1841 rebellion in Batipuh, besides issues relating to cultuurstelsel.

[28] According to Tomé Pires in the Suma Oriental,[20] The land of Minangkabau, in addition to the inland highlands of Sumatra where the king lived, also included the eastern coastal region of Arcat (between Aru and Rokan) to Jambi and the west coast port cities of Panchur Barus, Tiku, and Pariaman.

This area can be traced from this statement in the Minang-language Tambo (traditional legend):[48] Sikilang Aia Bangih was the northern boundary, now in West Pasaman, bordering Natal, North Sumatra.