Buôn Ma Thuột
capital of Đắk Lắk province, Vietnam
Buôn Ma Thuột or sometimes Buôn Mê Thuột or Ban Mê Thuột (Vietnamese pronunciation: [ʔɓuon1 maː1 tʰuot̚ʔ6], ), is the capital city of Đắk Lắk Province in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. Its population was 434,256 in 2023. The city is the largest in the Central Highlands and is known for its coffee culture.
In 1904, the French colonialists established Dak Lak province and chose Buon Ma Thuot as its capital. Since then, Buon Ma Thuot has become the administrative, economic, and cultural center of the region. Throughout the First and Second Indochina Wars, Buon Ma Thuot was the scene of major confrontations between the Communists and anti Communists.
Names
The name Buôn Ma Thuột derives from the language of the Ê Đê as the village of Ama Y Thuột, who held considerable power and prestige as the head of his village, where Buôn Ma Thuột now stands, in the late 19th century.
History
In 1904, according to a decree by the Supreme Council of the Governor-General of Indochina, Đắk Lắk Province was established with its provincial capital in Buôn Ma Thuột. In 1913, Đắk Lắk Province was dissolved and merged into Kon Tum Province, causing Buôn Ma Thuột to lose its status as the provincial capital. However, in 1923, the Governor-General of Indochina issued a decree to re-establish Đắk Lắk Province, with Buôn Ma Thuột once again serving as the administrative center.
The public source identifies “Buôn Ma Thuột” as capital of Đắk Lắk province, Vietnam. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Buôn, Thuột and capital.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Buôn Ma Thuột”, the useful work is to connect “capital of Đắk Lắk province, Vietnam” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q33469. VIAF identifies the subject as 127907257. The Library of Congress control number is n85137263. Authority coordinates are 12.667, 108.050. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2023, 1904, 1913 and 1923.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Buôn Ma Thuột”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Buôn Ma Thuột primary sources, Buôn Ma Thuột archive and Buôn research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Buôn Ma Thuột” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.