Srivijaya
On the island of Sumatra from 200s-1400, Srivijaya (-jaya meaning success or excellence) was a kingdom which was to influence much of Indonesia, the Malay peninsula, and the Philippines. Srivijaya was centered in the coastal trading center of what is now Palembang. The empire was thalassocratic and didn't extend its influence far beyond the coastal areas of the islands of Southeast Asia.
Travellers to these islands mentioned that gold coinage was in use on the coasts, but not inland.
Some Thai historians claim that Chaiya in the Surat Thani province in Southern Thailand was at least temporarily the capital of Srivijaya, but this claim is largely disputed. However Chaiya was probably a regional center of the kingdom. The temple Borom That in Chaiya contains a reconstructed pagoda in Srivijaya style.
History
The major cultural influence on these islands was Indic, first Hindu, then Buddhist. Buddhism came to Srivijaya by year 425. 689 till 695 the chinese monk I-Ching visited Palembang. His recordings are one of the rare sources about the early times of Srivijaya. Srivijayan kings dominated the region through trade and conquest throughout the 7th-9th centuries. The kingdom helped spread the Malay culture throughout Sumatra, Malay Peninsula, and western Borneo. Srivijaya influence waned in the 11th century. The island was then subject to conquests from Javanese kingdoms, first Singhasari and subsequently Majapahit. At the same time, Islam made its way to the Aceh region of Sumatra, spreading through contacts with Arabs and Indian traders. By the late 13th century, the monarch of Samudra kingdom (in Aceh) was converted to Islam. At the same time Srivijaya became a tributary of the Khmer empire and later the Sukhothai kingdom.
By 1414 the last prince of Srivijaya converted to Islam, and started the Sultanate of Malacca on the Malay peninsula, which would fall in 1511 to the Portuguese.
Referenced By
1025 | Brunei/History | Buddhism in China | Chinese Buddhism | History of Brunei | History of Indonesia | History of Malaysia | I Ching (635-713) | I Ching (monk) | Indonesia/History | Limasawa Island | Majapahit | Majapahit Empire | Malaysia/History | Nakhon Si Thammarat province | Pahang | Palembang | Religion in the Philippines | Sumatra | Surat Thani province | Temasek | Timeline of Buddhism
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