Timor
island bordering the south of maritime Southeast Asia and the north of the Australian continental plate
Timor (Indonesian: Pulau Timor; Portuguese: Ilha de Timor; Tetun: Illa Timór) is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. The name is a variant of timur, Malay for "east"; it is so called because it lies at the eastern end of the Lesser Sunda Islands. Mainland Australia is less than 500 km away, separated by the Timor Sea. The island covers an area of 30,777 square kilometres (11,883 square miles).
With a population of over 3 million people, the island is divided between the sovereign states of Timor-Leste in the eastern part and Indonesia in the western part. The Indonesian part, known as West Timor, is inhabited by around 2 million people and constitutes part of the province of East Nusa Tenggara. Timor-Leste, previously under Indonesian control from 1975 to 1999, has a population of around 1.3 million. Within West Timor lies an exclave of Timor-Leste called Oecusse District. The island had previously been divided between the Dutch and Portuguese colonial empires.
History
The earliest historical record about Timor island is the 13th-century Chinese Zhu Fan Zhi, where it is called Ti-wu and is noted for its sandalwood.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Timor” is island bordering the south of maritime Southeast Asia and the north of the Australian continental plate. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Timor, island and bordering, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “island bordering the south of maritime Southeast Asia and the north of the Australian continental plate” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q83067. VIAF identifies the subject as 260846794. Authority coordinates are -9.083, 125.083. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1975 and 1999.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. 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 “Timor”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Timor primary sources, Timor archive and Timor 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
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Timor”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Timor” 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.