How is power defined in the Nusantara? This episode explores a compelling answer found not in treaties or battles, but in art. 

In this episode of Nor’s Nusantara, we are joined by Dr Annabel Gallop (Head of Southeast Asia, The British Library) to decode the power of the written word, as it appears in two striking visual forms, manuscripts of the Qur’an and the worldly inscriptions of seals. One embodies spiritual authority, the other political might. Together, they create a potent fusion that legitimised rulers and shaped the region’s identity.