Kutai

thumb|The former Special Region of Kutai as part of Indonesian Borneo.

Kutai is a historical region in what is now the Indonesian province of East Kalimantan on the island of Borneo. The region shares its name with the native ethnic group of the region (known as 'the Kutai people'), with a total population around 300,000, who have their own language known as the Kutainese language which accompanies their own rich history. Today, the name is preserved in the names of three regencies in East Kalimantan province which are the Kutai Kartanegara Regency, the West Kutai Regency and East Kutai Regency with the major river flowing in the heart of the region known as the Mahakam River. The Kutai Martadipura Kingdom (399–1635) was the earliest Hindu kingdom in the East Indies. It was later succeeded by the Muslim sultanate of Kutai Kartanegara (1300–1844).