M Y S T E R I O U S S R I V I J A Y A 1 Dr UDAY DOKRAS Empire of the Winds THE MYSTERIOUS SRIVIJAYA EMPIRE Dr UDAY DOKRAS Architect SRISHTI DOKRAS Ms. KINJAL SHAH 2 3 Contents Page 4 Chapter I Empire of the winds Page 6 PART I-Geopolitical Positionings 20 CHAPTER II Strait of Malacca andThe Rise of Srivijaya Empire 23 EMPIRES OF THE OLDEN DAYS ON THE STRAIT of MALACCA 26 CHAPTER III-Thinking Through Srivijaya: Polycentric Networks in Traditional Southeast Asia 39 CHAPTER IV-Thalassocracy of the ancient maritime world page 60 CHAPTER VI-Ancient Maritime Trade of Bharat page 64 CHAPTER VII-The spread of Hindu Culture and Religion page 92 CHAPTER VIII-THE SHAILENDRA DYNASTY page 124 C H A P T E R IX-The MYSTERIOUS Srivijaya Empire page 171 Downfall of Srivijaya page 240 PART II- MODES OF CULTURAL EXCHANGE - THROUGH TRADERS, TEACHERS, EMISSARIES, MISSIONARIES AND GYPSIES page 244 CHAPTER X-SPREAD OF INDIAN CULTURE ABROAD page 245 CHAPTER XI- INDIAN CULTURE IN SOUTH EAST ASIA 262 CHAPTER.XII-India’s cultural and civilisational influence on Southeast Asia-JAYSHREE SENGUPTA PAGE 282 Chapter-XIII-INDIA, CENTRAL ASIA AND WESTERN WORLD THROUGH AGES 286 PART III-SRIVIJAYA ITSELF page 311 CHAPTER XiV-Buddhism in the Srivijaya Empire 312 CHAPTER XV-The Mysterious Malayu, Dharmasraya & the Candi Gumpung- a Buddhist temple, aligned with the temple Burobudur page 327 CHAPTER XVI Muara Jambi: Where Atisha Studied in Indonesia4 Elisabeth Inandiak page 348 CHAPTER XVII A great Buddhist university in a Jambi Muslim village-Chusnul Chotimah –2018 CHAPTER XVIII CHAPTER XVIII Whay you did not know about the SRIVJAYA KINGDOM 363 CHAPTER XIX- The Fragility of Thalassocracy,Pericles to Heinlein page 372 CHAPTER XIX-The Untold Legacy of Rajendra Chola I- Page 382 5 Empire of the Winds Srivijaya: Vanished Great Mandala Philip Bowring.I.B. Tauris.2019(978-1788314466) CHAPTER I SRIVIJAYA IN A NUTSHELL Fast Facts 1. Name: Srivijaya Empire 2. Origin: Unified Indianized kingdoms that established economic control over the Straits of Malacca 3. Language: Ancient Malay 4. Religion: Buddhism (minor Hinduism) Era: 7th-13th Centuries CE Location: Centered on Sumatra, Java, and Peninsular Malaysia. Capital: Palembang Decline: Attacks from the Chola dynasty weakened Srivijaya and they were soon replaced by more powerful Javanese kingdoms. 6 Glossary Buddhism Dharmic religion centered on the belief of karma and release from the cycle of reincarnation. Based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama. Cham Austronesian ethnic group native to Southeast Asia that once controlled the Hindu Champa civilization in the region of modern Vietnam. Today, the Cham people are a minority in Vietnam and largely practice Islam. Champa An Indianized Hindu kingdom in ancient Vietnam known for constructing Tháp Chàm, their iconic Cham Towers dedicated to Shiva and other Hindu deities. Chenla Kingdom Early period (6th-9th Centuries CE) of independent Khmer states before being united into the Khmer Empire by Jayavarman II. Dvaravati Mon-Burmese ethnic group based in modern Nakhon Pathom, Thailand. Responsible for the introduction of Buddhism (Theravada sect) to Thailand. Hinduism Dharmic religion centered on the belief of karma and release from the cycle of reincarnation. It stems from Vedic teachings and one of the oldest extant religions in the world. Khmer Empire Hindu-Buddhist kingdom which ruled much of Southeast Asia from their capital at Angkor. Strait of Malacca Narrow waterway between Sumatra and the Malaysian Peninsula that has been one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world throughout history. Srivijaya Empire Empire based in Sumatra which controlled or influenced Buch of the Malay archipelago circa 600-1200 CE. thalassocracy A maritime society that uses its navy to project power. Vajrayana Buddhism Sect of Buddhism that embraces tantric practices and mysticism. Cultural Profile: Srivijaya, Maritime Empire of Ancient B rief history of the Srivijaya Empire, a maritime power based in Sumatra that controlled ancient Indonesia and the China-India trade routes. 7 The Straits of Malacca are often cities as the busiest commercial shipping route on Earth. Fly into any major airport along the Straits of Malacca today — be it Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, or Penang — and you will see the narrow strip of water (2.8 km at its narrowest) filled with dozens to hundreds of cargo ships. This trend has remained unchanged for over 2000 years, when these waterways were also used in transit between the cultural goliaths of China and India, and were ruled over by the Srivijaya Empire. Contents o Who Are the Srivijaya? o Origins of the Srivijaya o Srivijaya Name Origins o Culture and Beliefs of the Srivijaya o Religious Beliefs o Srivijaya Architecture o Srivijaya Artwork o History of the Srivijaya Empire o Trade and Economic Power o Conquests and Expansion of Srivijaya o The Srivijayans’ Exploration o Geography of Srivijaya o Srivijaya in Sumatra and Java o Srivijaya in Mainland Southeast Asia o Srivijaya in China o What Happened to the Srivijaya? o Cities of the Srivijaya o Monuments of the Srivijaya o Fast Facts o Glossary o Sources Who Are the Srivijaya? The Srivijaya empire was a thalassocracy (a seaborne empire) and a commercial sea-power that thrived between the 8th and 13th centuries. A large portion of this empire is what is now known as Indonesia. It was formed on the island of Sumatra, which had a strong influence on Southeast Asia. 8 Srivijaya, also known as Sri Vijaya or Sriwijaya, was a Buddhist empire in Indonesia. It was a seaborne empire and played an important role in the expansion of Buddhism between the 8th and 12th centuries. It was a powerful state at one point in time due to its excellent maritime resources and trade. This article focuses on the complete history of the culture and civilization of the Srivijaya empire. To know more about its historical background, religious practices, and rapid cultural and economic growth, keep reading! Origins of the Srivijaya For well over 2000 years, the sea lanes between India and China have been maintained as a vital commercial shipping route. Just as massive amounts of freighters pass trough the straits surrouning Malaysian peninsula today, ancient traders would likewise make similar voyages based on he predictable seasonal weather patterns. Along the trade routes, small pockets of of locals began to adopt Indianized cultures, societal structures, and belief systems. Along the Mainland Pacific coast, these included the Funan, Champa, and Tambralinga, while on the Indian Ocean coast, kingdoms flourished along the Straits of Malacca, including at Lembah Bujang in Northern Malaysia, and the Melayu Kingdom of Sumatra, which would later evolve into Srivijaya. It is believed that the empire began around the year 500 in Sumatra. According to the Kedukan Bukit inscription, the empire of Srivijaya was founded by Dapunta Hyang Sri Jayanasa. Under his leadership, a classical Malay Buddhist kingdom known as the Melayu kingdom became the first to be integrated with Srivijaya. The empire was the first major Indonesian kingdom and also its first commercial sea power. It controlled the Strait of Malacca, and thereby the India-China trade route, gaining power over much of the trade at sea. Though there are not many historical records to support this theory, historians believe that by the 7th century, the kingdom of Srivijaya had established suzerainty over many areas belonging to Sumatra, Western Java, and the Malay peninsula. Srivijaya Name Origins “Srivijaya” is derived from the Sanskrit word, which translates to “fortunate,” “prosperous,” “glorious,” and other synonymous words of triumph and happiness. Historians believe that the empire may have been named after a king who shared the same name, H. Kern, an epigraphist and linguist, believed that the term “Vijaya” might have referred to a king’s name, with “Sri” being a title of respect. The other variations in the spelling, such as Sri Vijaya and Sriwijaya, are based on the Sundanese and Javanese pronunciations. Culture and Beliefs of the Srivijaya The Srivijaya empire is known for its Buddhist religious beliefs and practices. Let’s look at their complex cultural beliefs and how this formed their way of life and living. Religious Beliefs The kingdom was one of the most prominent religious centers in the region. The kings of Srivijaya played a major part in the expansion and establishment of Buddhism in many places that they conquered or interacted with, such as Java and the Malayasian Peninsula. Pilgrims of any religion were encouraged to spend time interacting with the monks in the capital city of Palembang, before heading for India. The Srivijayan realm had numerous Buddhist temples. It is believed that these sites served as monastic Buddhist learning centers, which students and scholars from all over Asia visited. 9 Historians are convinced that Palembang alone housed over 1000 monks who had dedicated their lives to teaching and training traveling scholars in Buddhism. One of the most popular forms of Buddhism in the empire was Vajrayana Buddhism. This was a mystical form of the religion and involved supernatural powers through yantras. This form of Buddhism originated in India but was possibly passed on to the empire because of strong trade connections between the two regions. The influence and the importance of Buddhism were so dominant at the time that an inscription gives an account of how a particular king did his best to claim a role as a religious figure because he believed associating himself with Buddhism would elevate his image and popularity with the public. Srivijaya Architecture Unlike many of the other Indianized kingdoms in Southeast Asia, Srivijaya was not a culture of monumental builders. There are some examples of refined brick Buddhist architecture, such as the temple complex at the Muaro Jambi. However, most public and residential buildings, and settlements in general, were not heavily fortified cities, but rather wooden homes built either or with easy access to water. Modern Palembang in Southern Sumatra was home to the ancient capital of Srivijaya. Surrounding the city are hundreds of artificial canals and islands which have yodeled many Srivijaya artifacts. Poopulating these canals today are wooden home that are built on stilts or floating on the water, mirroring in many ways the way their Srivijaya ancestors once lived. Srivijaya Artwork Commercial trade flourished in the empire, and with that came the proliferation of art. Most of the art was influenced by Buddhism in an attempt to spread the religion through the trade of art. Furthermore, the art of Srivijaya was greatly influenced by the Indian art of the Gupta and Pala empires. There were also numerous Buddhist sculptures that were discovered by archaeologists in Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula. Additionally, Chinese artworks were very popular in the kingdom, leading to an escalation in various art styles in pottery, fabrics, and silks. History of the Srivijaya Empire Although the empire was a symbol of greatness and prosperity for many centuries, it remained almost entirely forgotten after its disappearance in the 1200s. Although Srivijaya left few archaeological remains, the discovery of this ancient and powerful empire by the historian George Cœdès in the 1920s brought Indonesia’s former glory to light. It was also a frame of reference for how ancient globalization, maritime trade, and foreign relations had formed the Indonesian civilization. In the 20th century, it was referred to by Indonesian nationalist intellectuals to prove the Indonesian identity within the state before the establishment of the Dutch colonial state. Trade and Economic Power Sumatra was known as the ‘Land of Gold’ due to its richness in natural resources. It was a source of cloves, camphor, tortoiseshell, pepper, aloeswood, and sandalwood, all of which contributed to the empire’s growing business of trade. Srivijaya was the first Indonesian commercial sea power. It drew most of its riches and power from its considerable naval fleet and the maritime trade that fleet enabled. By the second half of the 7th century, Srivijaya had become an important and wealthy Asian power. Srivijaya also controlled the Sunda and Malacca straits and remained an indisputable sea power until the 13th century. 10 Conquests and Expansion of Srivijaya Historians believe that the empire conquered most of southern Sumatra and the neighboring islands as well. According to the inscriptions, the empire also launched a war against Java in the late 7th century. By the end of the 8th century, many western Javanese kingdoms were under the rule of the empire. In the same century, Srivijaya managed to conquer Langkasuka on the Malay Peninsula. Within no time, Pan Pan and Tambralinga also came under Srivijayan influence. All these kingdoms on the peninsula transported goods across the peninsula’s isthmus. The Srivijayans’ Exploration Between the 9th and 12th centuries, explorers from the Srivijayan empire have gone in search of new lands for trade and commercial development. Navigators, sailors, and traders engaged in trade with Borneo, Philippines archipelago, Eastern Indonesia, coastal Indochina, and Madagascar. The migration to Madagascar is believed to have taken place around 830 CE. It is also speculated that the settlers from Srivijaya may have colonized Madagascar. The Srivijayan explorers reached Manila by the 10th century. A 10th-century Arab account called Ajayeb al-Hind records an invasion in Africa. The invaders are believed to have been the Malay people of Srivijaya. The main reason for this invasion was to acquire coveted African commodities like ivory and tortoiseshell for the Asian market. It is also presumed that they captured black slaves from Bantu tribes. Geography of Srivijaya The territories and cities controlled by Srivijaya were primed for easy access to the sea. Even in their homeland of Sumatra, the rulers of Srivijaya paid little attention to the affairs of the inland cultures. This seafaring nature instead brought them into contact with exotic. Cultures more often than their inland neighbors, as well as spreading Sriviujayan influence was far out as Philippines, and even Madagascar. Srivijaya in Sumatra and Java The maritime influence of Srivijaya was focused along the coastlines and riverways extending inland. Beyond this, the rulers of Srivijaya did not concern themselves too deeply with the affairs of their inland neighbors. Because of this, many inland cultures continued to thrive apart from the Indianized states, such as the Batak culture around Lake Toba or the megalithic culture of the Pasemah Highlands. Meanwhile, Srivijaya had a strong relationship with Mataram, an inland culture based on Java. Mataram had more in common with mainland contemporaries, such as Dvaravati, in that they based their cultures on stable settlements and rice cultivations. They were also monumental builders in a way that the Srivijaya were not. The dynamic of the relationship between Mataram and Srivijaya is still debated, however, they appears to be some periods where Mataram was also the dominant of the two. Srivijaya in Mainland Southeast Asia Although their center of power was in the islands of Sumatra and Java, Srivijaya had contact with, influence over, and even conflicts with the contemporary cultures of Mainland Southeast Asia. As their power expanded, many of the small and formerly independent kingdoms were brought under the control of Srivijaya, including Indianized states such as Tambralinga, Chaiya, and Kedah in modern-day Thailand and Malaysia. Evidence also exists of conflicts between Srivijaya and both the Champa Kingdom of Vietnam and the pre-Angkorian Khmers (Chenla Kingdom) of Cambodia. 11 Srivijaya in China Srivijaya was highly regarded as a both a powerful trade empire and bastion of Buddhism by the Chinese. Buddhist pilgrims from China seeing to travel to their religion’s roots in India would often pass through Srivijaya on their way. It was common practice for these pilgrims to remain in Srivijaya for unto two years studying scriptures and learning the language. What Happened to the Srivijaya? By the 11th century, Srivijaya had been weakened due to continuous warfare with Java and the Chola dynasty from India. The Cholas systematically plundered the Srivijayan ports along the Malacca strait, until they captured the Srivijayan king in Palembang. These attacks marked the beginning of the end of the empire. The empire slowly started to lose its unity and began to fragment. Finally, it lost its remaining power in 1288, when the Singhasari empire from East Java invaded their empire. Despite its far-reaching influence, the empire quickly and suddenly disappeared into obscurity. Cities of the Srivijaya 1. Palembang South Sumatra, Indonesia GPS: -3.01485, 104.73436 2. Muaro Jambi (Jambi) Jambi, Indonesia GPS: -1.47763, 103.66707 3. Batujaya Jakarta, Indonesia GPS: -6.05634, 107.15491 4. Singapura (Singapore) Singapore, Singapore GPS: 1.34789, 103.87427 5. Tambralinga (Nakhon Si Thammarat) Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand GPS: 8.41206, 99.96645 6. Chaiya Surat Thani, Thailand GPS: 9.38461, 99.18544 Monuments of the Srivijaya 1. Borobudur Central Java, Indonesia GPS: -7.60721, 110.20334 2. Candi Muara Takus Riau, Indonesia GPS: 0.33456, 100.64098 3. Candi Muaro Jambi Jambi, Indonesia GPS: -1.47763, 103.66707 4. Candi Bahal Portibi Temples North Sumatra, Indonesia GPS: 1.40516, 99.73049 12 5. Wat Long Surat Thani, Thailand GPS: 9.38213, 99.19039 Thalassocracy Srivijaya’s success was to create and then manage a system by which lesser monarchs maintained their own status and local loyalty arrangements while conforming to the overall interests of the Srivijayan monarchy. The concept of a Mandala was of a set of dependent relationships in which rulers maintained their autonomy within a common interest framework. It was at the heart of an Indian notion of kingship and government, a series of concentric circles of fealty and obligation headed by one supreme leader. The pre-eminent lord led by virtue of his accomplishments, while bonds with lesser nobles were cemented through marriages. The Srivijayan Mandala was based on the city’s geographical position dominating the Melaka strait. From there it could control trade and ensure fair distribution of its revenues. Dispersed entities had their own commercial interests and their own supplies of ships and sailors. They paid tribute to Srivijaya; in return they enjoyed the benefits of being part of a larger entity which could provide protection and trade access. Over time this loose hegemony came to include all the trading ports of the peninsula, and those on the Gulf of Thailand and Mekong delta, but Srivijaya was content to be first among nominal equals. It also ensured that its own sailors, with their intimate knowledge of the rocks and shoals, were kept happy with a fair share of trade income – otherwise they would resort to piracy. Local rulers retained many of the characteristics of traditional Malay datus (chieftains), who relied heavily on personal leadership qualities. But grafted on to this were Indian ideas about the divine nature of kingship within an all-encompassing system of beliefs and codes. These required the monarch to provide honest government and to attend to the welfare of his subjects in return for their loyalty, which in turn would be rewarded…. A Persian writing in Arabic in the tenth century noted that parrots in Palembang could speak many languages including Arabic, Persian and Greek. The Guangzhou Massacre Palembang also benefited commercially from the expansion of Arab and Persian trade with China, while the Abbasid empire dominated its region and the Tang era was one of prosperity in China. Srivijaya’s political clout probably waned as the Arabs used their own ships as well as Nusantarian ones. Their merchants came to dominate trade – but they still needed Srivijayan ports and sailors. So Srivijaya still collected its dues. After an initial interruption, it also benefited from a massacre of foreign traders in Guangzhou in 878 that forced the traders to move their bases to other ports. The scale of the Guangzhou massacre, carried out by rebels opposing the Tang dynasty, gives an idea of the size of the trade: it supported a foreign community that was several thousand strong, comprising Muslim Arabs and Persians, Parsees, Jews, Hindus, and Greek, Armenian and Nestorian Christians. A century earlier, in 758, Arab, Persian and other merchants had plundered the city after being infuriated by the greed of Chinese officials. This followed an incident in 684 when Kunlun merchants had killed the governor of Guangzhou. The series of troubles illustrates both the wealth that trade generated and the weakness of Chinese imperial control over a distant province where Sinicization was still far from complete…. The industrial scale of trade is shown in the wreck of a ninth century ship in the treacherous waters near Belitung Island between Sumatra and Borneo. It carried 60,000 pieces of Chinese 13 ceramics probably destined for Basra. Mostly made to standard designs, some had Buddhist motifs, others Islamic calligraphy. There were even ceramic pots inscribed under the glaze with Manichean writing. This was a religion which had once thrived in Persia, central Asia and western China and, though much reduced by competition and persecution, lingered on until about the fourteenth century. China in turn bought cotton textiles from India, muslin and damask from Syria, frankincense from Arabia and indigo, ivory, precious woods, tortoiseshell and aromatic oils from a variety of locations to the south and west. Although maritime archaeological evidence of this is lacking, there are plenty of Chinese written records. Malagasy Genes and African Echoes Language is the starting point for uncovering another forgotten manifestation of Nusantaria and its intercontinental maritime role. It is the key to the solution of one of the mysteries of the first millennium Ce: the first permanent human settlement of Madagascar. The island marks the most westward expansion of Austronesian language and culture, its settlement roughly coinciding with the Pacific push from Polynesia to New Zealand, Hawaii and Rapa Nui (Easter Island). The world’s fourth largest island at 592,000 square kilometres, Madagascar lies only 200 kilometres from the trading ports on the east coast of Africa and yet lay uninhabited by humans until the arrival of Nusantarian seafarers from 7,000 kilometres away. This remarkable feat has gone largely unrecorded in written history, so it can only be pieced together from scientific evidence and inferences from Arab and other sources. Much else can be inferred or guessed at, but with, as yet, limited proof. Even the modern name ‘Madagascar’ (‘Madagasikara’ in the Malagasy language) has its origin in ignorance and confusion. It was first used by the traveller Marco Polo, who never went there. He confused it with Mogadishu, the trading port on the Somali coast, and compounded the error with a corrupted transliteration. The main settlement may have occurred during the period of Srivijayan ascendancy in Nusantaria but does not appear to have been politically driven. All that is Malagasy Genes and African Echoes known for sure is that the language of Madagascar is basically Austronesian but with a significant number of words from the Bantu language from Africa, and some from Indian and Arab sources. Language origin does not itself prove that people from Nusantaria were the first settlers. But the genetic evidence does. The gene pool of the island’s population today shows that it is of roughly 50 percent Nusantarian island origin…. Indian Ocean Trade Triangle Nusantarian commerce in the western Indian Ocean did not suddenly vanish, leaving the settlements cut off from their roots. Ships from Java and Sumatra continued to play a role in Indian Ocean trade at least until the thirteenth century, not least in the slave trade. In the midtenth century an Arab ship encountered off Mozambique a group of raiders described as ‘Waqwaq’. ‘Waqwaq’ was a vague term used by Arabs to denote peoples from the extreme south or east, hence probably Nusantarian. (Waqwaq was the subject of myths about islands where girls grew on trees.) East Africa was a source of slaves for hundreds of years, with the Baghdad-based Abbasid empire the main market. The Zanj slaves became so numerous that they became a major factor in the long-lasting anti-Abbasid rebellion which led to the sack of Basra in 871. This horrific event was widely written about in near contemporary Arab literature, including Muhammad el-Tabari’s History of Prophets and Kings and Muhammad al-Biruni’s Chronology of Ancient Nations. Some slaves were even sold in China. A Chinese, Zhu Yu, 14 writing around 1100, recorded that wealthy people in Guangzhou employed what they called ‘devil slaves’ from Africa… ’Tremble and Obey: The Zheng He Voyages China’s engagement with Nusantaria during the Yuan era has been overshadowed by the attention given to the voyages of Zheng He in the early Ming dynasty. The seven voyages between 1405 and 1433 of the fleets headed by Zheng’s so-called ‘Treasure Ships’ were remarkable demonstrations of Chinese naval power. The voyages abruptly ceased as Ming China became more concerned with internal and land border issues than with seas where they faced no threats. But they did have a lasting impact on the Chinese trading and migration presence across Nusantaria…. The fleets never failed to leave a mark and a message of Chinese power. It was power wielded more benignly than by the Yuan dynasty even if the underlying assumption was that nonChinese must bow before the emperor – and so must Chinese settled in the region. The sheer size and number of its ships was awe-inspiring. A mere envoy would never need a heavily armed fleet. That he returned with ‘treasures’ such as a giraffe from Africa, not to mention a vast collection of precious objects from other exotic places, also helped establish the Zheng He voyages as memorable, particularly for Chinese, for centuries afterwards. Chau Ju-kua had referred to the African coast, to Zanzibar and people with fuzzy hair, and gave vague descriptions of zebras and giraffes. (10) A few individual Chinese had probably been there previously on Arab or Nusantarian ships. But to go there and bring back these creatures was more memorable, at least to later generations, than the rote messages of fealty to the emperor. Today, the voyages are often presented as peaceful exercises in exploration, diplomacy and trade promotion. In reality the emperor’s goal was to make himself respected and feared around the southern and western seas and emphasize the superiority of things Chinese. At the same time, however, the emperor presented himself as an impartial peacemaker in dealing with 15 foreign states: ‘I do not differentiate between those here and those there.’ He was the father figure who issued orders to others not to fight each other, as in a directive to Cambodia and Champa, ordering Siam not to harass Melaka. More broadly, as the Xuande emperor claimed in 1429: ‘I serve Heaven by treating the people as my children. In the 10,000 states within the four seas, I try to provide prosperity and abundance.’ The emperor’s sway was mostly rhetoric, the succinct if empty expression of China’s sense of being above all others and occasionally, as in the case of the voyages, given substance by the presence of Zheng He’s large force. The purpose of that demonstration of power was insufficiently clear in Beijing, however, leaving the Chinese at the time less impressed than the foreigners. This was to be China’s last, until very recent, attempt to extend towards the tropical regions of Nusantaria and the Indian Ocean. Dislike of the heat and humidity may have played a role, reflecting an earlier imperial comment about deployment there: “The government of our present dynasty, out of affection for the army and for the good of humanity, deemed it advisable that our troops should no longer be kept in this pestilential climate for the purpose of guarding such an unprofitable territory.” The voyages contributed nothing to global knowledge of navigation, winds and currents. Zheng He visited places that had already been in communication with each other for a millennium. The Zheng He trade legacy is also debatable, because the voyages were just a three-decade episode in a boom in Asian trade which began around 1400 and involved Europe and the Muslim world as well as China, and to which Japan also contributed. But they did make China itself more aware of the world and of the southern seas in particular. The voyages helped development of Nusantarian trade with China in which the already established Chinese Muslims, sometimes intermarried with other foreign Muslims as well as local women, played a major role. These connections speeded the advance of Islam in the archipelago as trade boomed during the following two centuries. The ending of the Ming voyages has been seen as short-sighted and opening the way for European entry into Nusantaria in the next century. But it was for legitimate economic reasons: the cost of inducing tributes was far ahead of any possible gains from trade. Nor did China face any obvious security threats from the southern seas, in contrast to the northern and western frontiers. The end of the voyages did not mean the end of trade, which continued thanks both to demand from a prospering China (and Europe) and the Chinese presence in the ports of the mercantile zone. But it did mean the end, for the next 500 years, of China’s attempts to control Nusantaria. The Indian Ocean trade routes connected Southeast Asia, India, Arabia, and East Africa, beginning at least as early as the third century BCE. This vast international web of routes linked all of those areas as well as East Asia (particularly China). Long before Europeans "discovered" the Indian Ocean, traders from Arabia, Gujarat, and other coastal areas used triangle-sailed dhows to harness the seasonal monsoon winds. Domestication of the camel helped bring coastal trade goods such as silk, porcelain, spices, incense, and ivory to inland empires, as well. Enslaved people were also traded. Classic Period Indian Ocean Trading During the classical era (4th century BCE–3rd century CE), major empires involved in the Indian Ocean trade included the Achaemenid Empire in Persia (550–330 BCE), the Mauryan Empire in India (324–185 BCE), the Han Dynasty in China (202 BCE–220 CE), and the Roman 16 Empire (33 BCE–476 CE) in the Mediterranean. Silk from China graced Roman aristocrats, Roman coins mingled in Indian treasuries, and Persian jewels sparkled in Mauryan settings. Another major export item along the classical Indian Ocean trade routes was religious thought. Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism spread from India to Southeast Asia, brought by merchants rather than by missionaries. Islam would later spread the same way from the 700s CE on. Indian Ocean Trade in the Medieval Era During the medieval era (400–1450 CE), trade flourished in the Indian Ocean basin. The rise of the Umayyad (661–750 CE) and Abbasid (750–1258) caliphates on the Arabian Peninsula provided a powerful western node for the trade routes. In addition, Islam valued merchants— the Prophet Muhammad himself was a trader and caravan leader—and wealthy Muslim cities created an enormous demand for luxury goods. Meanwhile, the Tang (618–907) and Song (960–1279) dynasties in China also emphasized trade and industry, developing strong trade ties along the land-based Silk Roads, and encouraging maritime trade. The Song rulers even created a powerful imperial navy to control piracy on the eastern end of the route. Between the Arabs and the Chinese, several major empires blossomed based largely on maritime trade. The Chola Empire (3rd century BCE–1279 CE) in southern India dazzled travelers with its wealth and luxury; Chinese visitors record parades of elephants covered with gold cloth and jewels marching through the city streets. In what is now Indonesia, the Srivijaya Empire (7th–13th centuries CE) boomed based almost entirely on taxing trading vessels that moved through the narrow Malacca Straits. Even the Angkor civilization (800–1327), based far inland in the Khmer heartland of Cambodia, used the Mekong River as a highway that tied it into the Indian Ocean trade network. For centuries, China had mostly allowed foreign traders to come to it. After all, everyone wanted Chinese goods, and foreigners were more than willing to take the time and trouble of visiting coastal China to procure fine silks, porcelain, and other items. In 1405, however, the Yongle Emperor of China's new Ming Dynasty sent out the first of seven expeditions to visit all of the empire's major trading partners around the Indian Ocean. The Ming treasure ships under Admiral Zheng He traveled all the way to East Africa, bring back emissaries and trade goods from across the region. Europe Intrudes on the Indian Ocean Trade In 1498, strange new mariners made their first appearance in the Indian Ocean. Portuguese sailors under Vasco da Gama (~1460–1524) rounded the southern point of Africa and ventured into new seas. The Portuguese were eager to join in the Indian Ocean trade since European demand for Asian luxury goods was extremely high. However, Europe had nothing to trade. The peoples around the Indian Ocean basin had no need for wool or fur clothing, iron cooking pots, or the other meager products of Europe. As a result, the Portuguese entered the Indian Ocean trade as pirates rather than traders. Using a combination of bravado and cannons, they seized port cities like Calicut on India's west coast and Macau, in southern China. The Portuguese began to rob and extort local producers and 17 foreign merchant ships alike. Still scarred by the Moorish Umayyad conquest of Portugal and Spain (711–788), they viewed Muslims in particular as the enemy and took every opportunity to plunder their ships. In 1602, an even more ruthless European power appeared in the Indian Ocean: the Dutch East India Company (VOC). Rather than insinuating themselves into the existing trade pattern, as the Portuguese had done, the Dutch sought a total monopoly on lucrative spices like nutmeg and mace. In 1680, the British joined in with their British East India Company, which challenged the VOC for control of the trade routes. As the European powers established political control over important parts of Asia, turning Indonesia, India, Malaya, and much of Southeast Asia into colonies, reciprocal trade dissolved. Goods moved increasingly to Europe, while the former Asian trading empires grew poorer and collapsed. With that, the two-thousand-year-old Indian Ocean trade network was crippled, if not completely destroyed. Szczepanski, Kallie. "Indian Ocean Trade Routes." ThoughtCo, Aug. 27, 2020, thoughtco.com/indian-ocean-trade-routes195514https://www.thoughtco. com/indian-ocean-trade-routes-195514 18 PART I Geopolitical Positionings Review to History Sriwijaya Kingdom (7th to 13th centuries) The Sovereign of Southeast Asia irsyadhidayat (48)in #history • 3 years ago (edited) The rise of Sriwijaya into a great culture can not be separated from the high frequency of information and commodity exchange in the region. high interaction with the outside world opens up the knowledge and development of new ideas in technology and culture. As the meaning of "Glorious Victory", Sriwijaya is indeed one of the ancient kingdom that once symbolized the glory and glory of the archipelago. This maritime kingdom has a very strong and greatmaritime power. Its power stretches not only in Sumatra and Java, but extends beyond the archipelago.By mastering the Sunda Strait and the Malacca Strait, Sriwijaya became one of the largest maritimearchipelago that was able to control the main trading routes in Southeast Asia for centuries. History of the establishment of Sriwijaya The history of the founding of the kingdom of Sriwijaya is not much written in the special books of the kingdom or traditional literary works. The existence of Srivijaya is more known than some ancient travel records and inscriptions of the royal heritage. One of the evidence of the founding of the Sriwijaya kingdom was obtained from a journey of a Chinese priest named I-Tsing, He recounted that he visited Sriwijaya in 671 and remained there for six months. Other evidence is written from the Kedukan Bukit inscription dates to 683 AD and is written in ancient Malay. In the inscription is told that the envoy of Sriwijaya kingdom called Dapunta Hyang, held a holy journey with 20,000 troops to conquer a number of areas. In addition to these two evidences, there are still many other inscriptions which also tell and prove the existence and glory of Srivijaya. As for the physical, it is known that the center of the kingdom of Sriwijaya is on the Musi River, between the hills Seguntang & Saboliking, precisely around the site Anyar rock. This is ascertained from the aerial photography of a 20-hectare man-made site, with two square islands and four rectangles, as well as a number of other relics. Sriwijaya Maritime Power 19 Unlike the other kingdoms in the agrarian archipelago, Sriwijaya became the first and largest kingdom to develop maritime forces in southeast Asia. Sriwijaya was well aware that in order to expand his power he had to seize the sea and the important areas around him. That is why this kingdom expands the military to the Kingdom of Malay and Tulang Bawang. By controlling the two kingdoms, Sriwijaya succeeded in mastering two important points of trade, namely the Strait of Malacca and the Sunda Strait which is the first stopover of ships coming from the Indian Ocean Sriwijaya make itself the main airport in Southeast Asia and establish a mandatory stopover policy for every ship that crossed. A number of war fleets were prepared to escort the ships that are around the waters of Sriwijaya. If there is a ship that does not stop when crossing the border, then the ship will be drowned. In the 8th century the entire trade route in south-east Asia has been successfully mastered, which includes Selan Sunda, Malacca Strait, Karimata Strait, and Kra. Not only that, Sriwijaya also establish special diplomatic relations with India and China. Periodically this kingdom sends a special envoy to the country and hands over a tribute. This was done as a strategy for obtaining trade agreements and protection from enemy attacks, including when there was an attack from Java in 992M. Tata Sriwijaya Kingdom The prevailing system of government in Sriwijaya is a monarchy, in which structurally, the royal government is headed directly by the King, as well as its conquered territories. However, there are also some areas that place representatives-who usually still have kinship ties with kings-as their local rulers. To maintain existence as the supreme ruler and to suppress the coup attempt by the local ruler, King sriwijaya establishes the curse law as it is in the inscription of Lake Lime City Lime. In addition, control of power is also done by exerting military power. Administratively, the territory of Sriwijaya includes the western part of Indonesia, southern Siam, Malay Peninsula, parts of the Philippines, Cambodia, Southern Thailand and Brunei Darussalam. The Sriwijaya expedition even reaches Madagascar and some islands in Tahiti, but does not get the hang of it. In carrying out its government, Sriwijaya imposed a centralized pattern of political unity, with the administrative region system as follows: 1. Kadātuan, the main area where the tax revenue is kept. This area is an area that must be on guard, because it is also a residence area of the king. 2. Vanua, which is the area surrounding Kadātuan. This area is the city and core area of Sriwijaya. 3. Samaryyāda, which is the hinterland which is directly adjacent to the city. However, to achieve it must pass through the special path provided. In addition to these areas, there are also called Bhūmi or Mandala, the autonomous region under the control of Srivijaya. Economy and Culture of Sriwijaya The strategic position in the waters of Malacca, which is the largest trading center and liaison for Chinese and Indian cultures, as well as international communication lines between the Indian Ocean, the South China Sea and Eastern Indonesia, makes the Sriwijaya civilization grow rapidly. Sriwijaya is not only focusing on strengthening the military and shipping sectors, but also the economic sector. Since the seventh century Sriwijaya has regulated the economic policy system in the Malacca Strait, where every source of commodity is used as a means of supporting the continuity of government. In order to become an entreport or major trade trader in Southeast Asia, Sriwijaya established partnerships with merchants, and mobilized conquered nations throughout Southeast Asia. Even to be able to trade in China, Sriwijaya asked for approval and protection from the Chinese Emperor. Source of non maritime economy Based on historical records, Sriwijaya has a fertile land and has a fairly advanced agrarian life. Some spices become the main export commodities, such as nutmeg, cloves, cardamom, and gaharu wood. In addition, non-agricultural products that become other important commodities are camphor, ivory, gold and tin. 20 The rotation of the economic wheel has also been running is quite complex. Based on historical records, some fields of work have been specialized, such as royal administrative groups (regents, senopaths or commander of troops, scribes), judges, foremen / labor inspectors, boat captains, traders, sculptors, blacksmiths, washingmen, and slaves. Culture The rise of Sriwijaya into a great culture can not be separated from the high frequency of information and commodity exchange in the region. high interaction with the outside world opens up the knowledge and development of new ideas in technology and culture. However, the Sriwijaya kingdom based in Sumatra did not leave much of the legacy of large buildings or archaeological objects. The government was more focused on sea expeditions in the wake of the expansion of power. Some relics that can be found among them are Muaro Jambi temple, Muara Takus temple, and Biaro Bahal. In contrast to the Sriwijaya kingdom centered on the island of Java, under the rule of Syailendra, Sriwijaya many established large historical buildings, such as Borobudur Temple, Sewu Temple, Kalasan Temple, and several other relics. King Syailendra focus to strengthen the position of Sriwijaya on the island of Java. That's why he made a lot of big buildings as a form of his power. The greatest cultural heritage of the kingdom of Sriwijaya is its language. Old Malay became the liaison language or lingua franca in various regions of the archipelago. This language even then became the national language of Malaysia, and became the root of the Indonesian national language. The Fall of Sriwijaya Kingdom Sriwijaya began to collapse at the end of the 10th century. There are several factors that trigger the weakening of Sriwijaya power, among which is the geographical factor. The change of Sriwijaya location caused by the deposition of mud, resulted in the capital of Sriwijaya no longer near the coast and Sriwijaya became less desirable to international traders. In addition to the island of Java, Medang Kingdom experienced rapid growth. The kingdom in East Java became a new and challenging force and became a competitor of Sriwijaya in fighting for dominance in Southeast Asia. In 1017 & 1025, there was a major offensive from Chola Kingdom originating from South India. The kingdom succeeded in conquering the colonies and detained the Sriwijaya king, Sangrama Vijayatunggawarman, who was in power at the time. Another factor is the weakening of Sriwijaya's military forces which resulted in the conquest of the conquered territories. With more and more strategic areas loose, resulting in reduced tax revenues and an even weaker economy. 21 CHAPTER II Strait of Malacca andThe Rise of Srivijaya Empire The island of Sumatra, seat of the Srivijaya empire. An impression of Yi Jing, by the Malaysian illustrator L Joo. There are empires in this world which are totally forgotten, of that there is no doubt. People nowadays who are descendants of ancient rulers, walking around unaware of their noble heritage. Such was the case with the ancient empire of Srivijaya, which once ruled the seas of Southeast Asia. Yet it was not until the 1920s that the people of modern Sumatra, in Indonesia, had their imperial ancestry rediscovered. From the writings of a Chinese monk, a few scattered inscriptions, and ancient temples of previously unknown origin, rose the shape of one of the great empires of the age, which had faded into the shadows for centuries. Chinese accounts of Srivijaya in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries show that it upheld overlordship over vassals in Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula, even though a new pattern of trade that emerged earlier promoted diffuse transactions between international traders and indigenous peoples. The empire nevertheless continued to prosper by monopolizing Indian Ocean commodities.1A The world’s most important trade route? 22 Not just today but since ancient times the Strait of Malacca, which runs between Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, has long been a major gateway for trade to and from Asia, and is once again rapidly rising in importance. Already the world’s second-busiest waterway it has been in continuous use since antiquity, with Roman, Greek, Chinese and Indian traders all taking advantage of this natural channel. Its strategic importance has also made it a source of international friction from the 15th century to the modern day. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 only increased its significance as the Strait became a key link between the Pacific and Indian Oceans, reducing the distance between Europe and the Far East by a third. More recently it has served as the main transit route supplying vital commodities to fuel the fast-growing economies of Asia and beyond. Of the 87 million barrels of oil produced per day in 2011, approximately 15.2 million passed through the Strait of Malacca, the shortest sea route between African and Persian Gulf suppliers and Asian markets. This is some 19 times the amount that passed through the Panama Canal and four times more than the volume through the Suez Canal over the same period. According to estimates from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Review of Maritime Transport 2011, almost half of the world’s total annual seaborne trade tonnage passed through the Strait of Malacca and the nearby Straits of Sunda and Lombok in 2010. As the region’s economies continue to expand so too will Malacca’s economic importance both to Asia and the wider global economy. 23 With such growth has come greater attention, not all of which has been welcome. Since October 2013, there have been three successful tanker hijackings involving significant oil theft in the Straits; the most recent took place on 22 April this year near Malaysia’s Pulau Kukup. The hijackers forced the crew to transfer their cargo into another ship before fleeing. However, these incidences remain extremely rare and are unlikely to shift the Strait off its current trajectory. A combination of high economic growth rates produced in large part by energy-intensive industries should help maintain its geopolitical and economic significance. For example, while developed economies’ oil consumption has remained largely flat over the past decade, research by the World Bank shows that non-OECD countries are now driving global demand: Indeed the main problem facing the region may actually be one of capacity. Over the past few years China has invested heavily in constructing new pipelines to transport gas and oil overland in order to ease congestion in the Strait, with a Myanmar-China gas pipeline completed in October last year. As a natural choke point serving some of the world’s busiest ports, Malacca’s role in international trade looks secure. Prized and competed over for more than half a millennium, this crucial passage will undoubtedly remain a major focus of regional powers and the international community for the foreseeable future.Author: Tomas Hirst is a commissioning editor at the World Economic Forum 24 EMPIRES OF THE OLDEN DAYS ON THE STRAIT of MALACCA Majapahit Empire The Hindu-Buddhist Majapahit Empire ruled from the 13th to the 16th centuries. At its height, the empire contained much of modern-day Indonesia, as well as some territory on the Southeast Asian mainland. Information on the Majapahit Empire is scarce and comes primarily from inscriptions on Javanese buildings and Chinese records. The first Majapahit king, Vijaya, took the throne in 1292, ruling from the capital, also named Majapahit, on the Brantas River on the island of East Java. For the next 200 years, the same family maintained control of the empire. The Majapahit Empire had a period of rapid expansion in the 14th century, conquering Bali in 1343 and maintaining vassal states in Sumatra, Kalimantan, and the Malay Peninsula. However, during the 15th century, a series of rebellions, civil wars, and intrafamily rivalries weakened the ruling family's power. As a result, Majapahit influence declined sharply, and the region became dominated under the sultanate of Malacca, which divided Indonesia and Malaysia. The culture of the Majapahit Empire was strongly influenced by a Hindu-Buddhist religious tradition. The Majapahits worshipped the Hindu gods Shiva and Vishnu but were also influenced by Buddhism, so they fused the two belief systems in the name they called their king: Shiva-Buddha. Religious art was fostered under the Majapahits, including elaborate temples and religious statuary. Other art forms of the period included painting and wood carving. The Majapahit culture reached its height—considered the golden age of the Majapahit—during the reign of King Hayam Wuruk, also known as King Rajasanagana, who ruled from 1350 to 1389. The Desawarnana, a history of the Majapahit Empire up through the late 14th century, was written during Hayam Wuruk's rule. The Majapahit Empire finally fell to the Muslims in the early 16th century. Although it is clear that the Muslims had control of the empire by 1527, some Majapahit records indicate that Muslim conquerors from the state of Demak in coastal Java had taken control as early as 1478. Srivijaya Empire A Buddhist maritime kingdom that was situated in the Malay Archipelago, the Srivijaya Empire existed from the seventh through the 13th centuries CE. It controlled the Strait of Malacca, which made it an international trade power. The Srivijaya Empire, also called the Sumatran kingdom, was located on the island of Sumatra in present-day Indonesia, and its capital was probably in Palembang at the southern end of the island. At its height, the Srivijaya Empire extended its domain to the eastern island of Java and north across the Strait of Malacca to the Malay Peninsula. The Strait of Malacca connects the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea; at the time, it was the shortest route between China and India. Because water was the fastest way to travel, control of that strait gave the Srivijaya Empire complete power over the international sea trade in Southeast Asia. Although the Srivijaya Empire had strong trade 25 relations with China and India, the empire was also known to the Chinese as being the center of Mahayana Buddhism. Chinese pilgrims, on their way to India, had been taught Buddhism there during the seventh century. The Srivijaya kings founded many Buddhist monasteries, many of which were built in Negapatam. Additionally, the island had early contact with Hindu civilizations in India. In 1025, the Cola dynasty from southern India sacked the Srivijaya Empire. Due to its focus on the defense of its territory and the intense reconstruction activities that resulted from the Cola invasion, the Srivijaya Empire gradually lost its power over the Strait of Malacca to neighboring Malayu. In 1280, the Singhasari Empire from Java conquered the Srivijaya Empire. Later, from the 14th to 16th centuries, the Majapahit Empire ruled the island of Sumatra. After that time, such European countries as Portugal, England, and the Netherlands arrived to build forts in the region. Khmer Empire At its height in the 11th and 12th centuries, Cambodia's Khmer Empire encompassed large areas of the Indochinese Peninsula, including most of modern Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. Chenla's Consolidation of Power The kingdom of Funan was established in the Cambodian area of Southeast Asia in the first century CE and thrived until the sixth century, when it was conquered by the neighboring state of Chenla. Chenla is regarded as the original kingdom of the Khmer people, the inheritors of the land and power of Funan. Ishanavarman, the grandson of the sixth-century Chenla leader Bhavavarman, completed the occupation of Funan to roughly the borders of present-day Cambodia in the early seventh century. He established his capital at Ishanapura and pursued a policy of friendship toward their nearest neighbors, the Champa. Consolidation of Khmer power throughout the region continued 26 through the reign of Jayavarman I, who ruled during 657–681. His death without an heir caused a time of discord and a split in the country; Chinese records speak of a "Land Chenla" and a "Water Chenla," corresponding to inland and coastal principalities. The one continuing factor in that time period was the widespread practice of Hinduism, for the Khmers brought the formerly popular practice of Buddhism to an end. Outside Pressure and the Khmer Empire The period of discord brought on outside pressure, notably from the Malay Peninsula and Java. Aggressively pursuing commercial dominance of Indonesia and Southeast Asia, Java seems to have established dominance in the two Chenlas by the late eighth century. The reunification of Chenla came about when Jayavarman II ousted the Javanese and established the Khmer Empire in 802. His rise to power was confirmed by a religious ceremony naming him "universal monarch." During the ceremony, Jayavarman worshipped the Hindu god Shiva and became revered as a god-king. By coopting the Indian concept of divine kingship, Jayavarman paved the way for the development of the Angkor civilization. During his rule, he built a number of cities and established a capital at whose site Angkor was to be built. Jayavarman's grandson Indravarman I went conquering during his reign, which lasted from 877 to ca. 890, returning the Korat Plateau to the northwest to Khmer control. He sponsored irrigation projects and built a huge reservoir. Canal and reservoir construction for irrigation, as well as the building of temples and monasteries, remained royal projects for generations. The next several monarchs devoted themselves to public and religious works; not until the reign of Suryavarman I from about 1010 to 1050 did more expansion take place. During his reign, Khmer power extended into the Menam Valley and to the west of the Great Lake, hitherto a wasteland. Also during that time, a resurgence in Buddhism took place. His sons struggled against internal revolts and attacks from the Cham tribe and also joined the Chinese in an unsuccessful campaign against the Dai Viet dynasty in Vietnam. Expansion A new dynasty was established in 1080 by a Brahmin who took the throne name of Jayavarman VI. His grandnephew, Suryavarman II, took the Khmer Empire to its heights. He launched invasions of Dai Viet in 1128, 1138, and 1150, conquering as far as the Red River delta. He conquered the Indochinese kingdom of Champa, holding it for four years, and briefly occupied the land of the Mon kingdom. Contemporary Chinese sources state that the Khmer Empire stretched from Burma to the east coast of the Malay Peninsula. Suryavarman II also constructed Southeast Asia's most notable structures at Angkor Wat, which became his mausoleum, overseen by the Hindu god Vishnu. Rebellions broke out after Suryavarman II's death sometime after 1150, but stability returned to the Khmer Empire in 1181 when Jayavarman VIIwas crowned king. Jayavarman VII proved to be one of the most accomplished Khmer rulers, expanding the empire's territory and embarking on a massive construction program that included rebuilding the city of Angkor. His reign also witnessed the construction of numerous temples and hospitals as well as a greatly enlarged system of roads in the empire. Fall of the Khmer Empire After Jayavarman VII's death ca. 1219, the huge demand that his building projects placed on the resources and manpower in his kingdom contributed to the demise of the Khmer Empire. Later in the 13th century, a Mongol force entered the area, and records indicate that the Khmers paid tribute to the Mongol emperor Kublai Khan. By the end of the 13th century, Chinese accounts describe a fading civilization. After a series of conflicts with the rising power of Siam during the Thai Wars, the Cambodian capital of Angkor fell to Thai forces in 1431. Sukhotai (Sukhothai) was a kingdom of the Tai (Siamese) located in the upper sector of the Chao Phraya plain in present-day Thailand. It was founded in the first half of the 13th century CE as a small, local kingdom before it became the political center of the Tai in the last two decades of that century. Sukhotai eventually lost its power and was absorbed by the kingdom of Ayutthaya in the 15th century. It is known in Tai history as the kingdom that originated Tai art 27 and culture. Decline of Khmer and Founding of Sukhotai Before the kingdom of Sukhotai was founded, the Tai had already settled themselves in the northern region and the Chao Phraya plains. However, they were not able to form their own independent kingdoms, and most Tai principalities in the Chao Phraya delta were semivassal or vassal states of the powerful Angkorian empire. Sukhotai was one of the Khmer Angkorian outposts. However, after the death of King Jayavarman VII of Angkor in the 1220s, the political and military power of the Khmer kingdom was in drastic decline. This created an opportunity for local Tai leaders in the Chao Phraya delta to form their own independent states. Sukhotai was also founded during this period. In the 1240s, Pha Muang, who ruled the principality of Rat as an Angkorian fringe area, joined forces with his ally Bang Klanghao of Bang Yang, near Sukhotai, to attack the Khmer outpost at Sukhotai and defeat the Khmer. However, Pha Muang did not want to become the ruler of the newly independent kingdom of Sukhotai and thus passed on his royal title of Sri Indraditya and the power to rule Sukhotai to Bang Klanghao. The Reign of Rama Khamhaeng During the reigns of Sri Indraditya and his son Ban Muang from the 1240s to 1270s, Sukhotai did not have expansive territories. However, during the reign of Rama Khamhaeng (1279–1298), the younger son of Sri Indraditya, Sukhotai increased its political power and rose to be the political and cultural center of the Tai in the Chao Phraya delta. Its success was closely associated with the charisma and diplomacy of Rama Khamhaeng. He demonstrated his military prowess from the age of 19, when he successfully helped his father fight against the troops of Sot (in modern Tak province) who attacked Sukhotai. When he eventually ruled Sukhotai, Rama Khamhaeng tried to extend his rule over a vast territory. In 1287 he concluded a triple alliance with Mangrai of Lanna and Pha Muang of Phayao, two equally powerful neighboring kingdoms. This mutual alliance kept the northern flank of Sukhotai safe from invasions, while allowing Mangrai to concentrate on defending his kingdom from the Mongols. Via his Buddhist connections, Rama Khamhaeng established peaceful relationships with Nakhon Sithammarat, a thriving port city in the south. This gave Sukhotai access to maritime trade routes. The Mon kingdom was also a tributary state of Sukhotai via a marriage link of the Mon king with Rama Khamhaeng's daughter. Rama Khamhaeng brought the immediately surrounding areas of Sukhotai in the Chao Phraya delta under his rule by military power. It is likely that Sukhotai controlled the more far-flung regions only nominally. Sukhotai's relations with the fringe areas hinged on the personal relations between Rama Khamhaeng and his vassal rulers. As a result, when Rama Khamhaeng died in 1298, Sukhotai's power over the fringe areas disappeared. Buddhism Sukhotai was a Buddhist state. It accepted Singhalese Buddhism from Ceylon (Sri Lanka) via Nakhon Sithammarat. At the early stage, Hinduismprobably played a vital role in the kingdom. Temples built in the earlier period clearly demonstrate Hindu influences. However, from the reign of Rama Khamhaeng, Buddhism became the state religion under royal patronage. The tradition of having important temples built adjacent to palaces originated from the reign of Rama Khamhaeng. Moreover, the king shared his throne with revered monks who sat on the throne on Buddhist holy days to preach Dharma (Buddhist precepts) to Sukhotai's inhabitants. Under Rama Khamhaeng, Sukhotai experienced cultural change with the development of the Tai script. Trade and Paternalism under Rama Khamhaeng Sukhotai was not a fertile state in comparison with other kingdoms or principalities in the northern plain or the Chao Phraya delta. It had a limited amount of low land, while its larger part was hilly or mountainous. Thus rice, its main staple, was produced only in sufficient quantities for local consumption. This explains why Rama Khamhaeng adopted a free trade policy: to attract more people to settle in Sukhotai. He portrayed his kingdom as a land of freedom in which its inhabitants enjoyed the right to 28 undertake economic activities freely. Whoever wanted to trade did so without being required to pay taxes. Interstate commerce also became an important economy of Sukhotai. In his stone inscription of 1292, Rama Khamhaeng describes himself as a king who ruled his subjects as a father rules his children. A bell was hung at the palace gate; people who wished to seek an audience with the king and obtain his assistance would ring this bell, and the king would readily come to meet them, listen to their complaints, and try to solve their problems. The inscription also suggests how close the ruler and the ruled of Sukhotai were, in contrast to the very strict and hierarchical nature of Khmer rule. This paternalistic rule was an attempt to attract more people to Sukhotai to provide much-needed manpower for the newly established state. It also portrays how idyllic Sukhotai was in comparison with the Angkorian empire, whose subjects had to pay onerous taxes. The Decline of Sukhotai After the death of Rama Khamhaeng in 1298, his successors were not capable of maintaining the political power of the extensive kingdom. The king of Mon no longer accepted the sovereignty of Sukhotai. Suphanburi and Phetburi in the Chao Phraya delta also broke away from Sukhotai rule. Sukhotai became a small kingdom that had the power to rule only its immediate vicinity. However, Sukhotai was still a strong Buddhist state. During the reign of Lo Tai (1298–1346) and especially the reign of Lu Tai (1346–1374), the kings extended their patronage and strong support of Buddhism. New city and forest temples were built as centers of Buddhist learning. Tai art and culture flourished. The unique architectural form of Buddhist buildings known as the lotus bud spire (Phum Khao Bin) on top of a Chedi (a cone-shaped building in which Buddha's relics are believed to be kept) originated in Sukhotai. When the kingdom of Ayutthaya was founded in 1351 in the lower Chao Phraya delta, Ayutthaya kings considered Sukhotai their archrival. Starting from the reign of Boromracha I (1370–1388), the Ayutthaya launched repeated military campaigns against Sukhotai. In 1378, King Mahathammaracha II of Sukhotai was forced to accept Ayutthaya's sovereignty and to swear allegiance to it. In 1396, Ayutthaya imposed its legal system upon Sukhotai and in 1412 appointed one of its officials to be the resident of Sukhotai; this reduced its status to that of a vassal state. Eventually, it was completely absorbed into Ayutthaya and its status reduced to that of a provincial town. The Sukhotai region became a buffer zone that Ayutthaya used as a base from which to launch military campaigns against the kingdom of Lanna in the north. For almost 200 years, Sukhotai was the major political and cultural center of the Tai in the northern sector of Chao Phraya delta. Its strong belief in Buddhism and its artistic and cultural creativity laid solid foundations for the Tai kingdoms that followed. Sinhalese Dynasties The ancient and medieval history of Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka) was mired in power struggles between two major ethnic groups, the Sinhalese and the Tamils, as well as incursions by its neighbor to the north, India. Named Ceylon by European geographers, the island was known as Taprobane by the ancient Greeks, while Arabia referred to the region as Serendib. Evidence suggests the earliest civilization in Ceylon was the Balangoda culture, which flourished on the island from approximately 10,000 to 600 BCE, when settlers from India arrived and colonized the area. According to Ceylonese tradition recorded in the Mahavamsa, the area was colonized by an Indian prince named Vijaya, the son of a king from the Indian region of Sinhapura; however, nothing CLASS SET CLASS SET CLASS SET in Ceylon's historical record supports that legend. Evidence does exist that there were Indian colonists, known as the Sinhalese, and that most came from northern and northeastern India. It was also probable that colonists came from Bengal and Orissa to the east. Early Sinhalese settlements were concentrated in the dry northern areas of Ceylon, while the damp south was largely uninhabited or inhabited only by scattered bands of Vedda, the aboriginal descendants of the Balangoda people. The Sinhalese became the most powerful group in Ceylon during the late period of the first millennium BCE. However, invasions by the Tamils, settlers from the 29 southern tip of India, were common. The Tamils assumed power for brief periods in 177 and again in 145 BCE. The Sinhalese finally unified Ceylon in the late second century BCE under King Dutthagamani. Buddhism came to Ceylon in approximately 250 BCE, the result of a missionary effort that had its first convert in King Devarampiya Tissa. By the first century CE, it had become the established religion of the island, and several Buddhist shrines had been built. Chief among those was a tree in the capital of Anuradhapura, which was supposedly grown from a cutting of the Bodhi Tree. Many Ceylonese kings used Buddhism to maintain control over their subjects, and they often claimed to be related to Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha. In the middle of the first millennium CE, Sinhalese Ceylon was full of political conflict and changing dynasties. Ten kings were crowned between 508 and 518 and seven between 614 and 650. However, that era was also one of great agricultural advancement, as Sinhalese kings funded and constructed irrigation canals to improve crop production. During the seventh century, the Sinhalese began to form alliances with the kingdoms of southern India and incorporated such social conventions as the caste system. However, caste was a weaker influence on social standing than in India. Ceylonese civilization was also influenced by trade with the Roman Empire, China, and, beginning in the 10th century, with Arab traders. Some Arabs settled in the region, which formed the basis for the nation's Muslim population and the growth of Islam there. In 993, the northern portion of Ceylon was captured by the Cola dynasty, invaders from southern India. The Cola made Ceylon a province of their empire and neglected Buddhist shrines in favor of Hindu worship. The Cola were driven from Ceylon in 1070, and the Sinhalese regained power. The Sinhalese Empire had begun to decline by the 13th century, and frequent dynastic changes weakened it further. By the mid-1200s, the northern part of Ceylon was firmly under Tamil control; it would remain so, although with shifting borders, until the Portuguese began colonization during the 16th century. Malays and Chinese also invaded the island. The political instability led to cultural and economic decline as well, as the temples and irrigation systems built in the first millennium fell into disrepair. Under Tamil rule, northern Ceylon became a center for trade. The Tamils also encouraged Hinduism, which began to replace Buddhism in those areas. The Tamil Empire was firmly established by the 14th century, although Sinhalese forces had a brief resurgence in the north during the 15th century, shortly before Portuguese colonists began their conquest of Ceylon in 1505. Malayu :- Around this time, King Jayanasa launched a military expedition to turn his kingdom into an empire. With a reported 20,000 troops he conquered the neighbouring kingdom of Malayu. Quite where Malayu was is a matter of some debate, but what is certain is that it was rich, with gold mines that did much to boost the new Srivijaya empire. From here Jayanasa expanded south, conquering almost all of Sumatra as well as several neighbouring islands, and controlling the seas around them. Srivijaya’s most valuable asset was not the land it conquered, but what this enabled. It was a thalassocracy, an empire of the sea that controlled the valuable trade routes from China to India. Like the maritime kingdoms of the Mediterranean, it grew wealthy through this control. 30 A carving showing a Srivijayan ship, from the great temple of Borobudur. Keeping control of these trade routes inevitably led to more conflict. Rival ports that sought to service the route had to be conquered or destroyed, and so the Srivijayan sphere of influence expanded to include much of the Malay peninsula, along with the island of Java and the smaller island of Bangka, and even extended to the coast of Thailand. The city of Chaiya in Thailand was an important regional centre for Srivijaya, and may even have served as its capital during its waning period. Another theory is the capital may have moved temporarily to the island of Java, and some scholars posit a Srivijayan origin for the Sailendra dynasty who ruled the island. All of this is speculative, however. What is certain is that in 1025, Palembang was sacked by Chola pirates from India, and the capital was moved to Jambi, in the north of Sumatra. Chola attacks and beginning of the end of the Strivijaya empire :The destruction of Palembang was the beginning of the end of the Strivijaya empire.The Chola were an ancient dynasty in southern India. What precipitated their raid on Palembang is unknown, as it was not normal behaviour for them, but it was ccertainly a profitable venture for them The capital of Srivijaya would shift between Palembang and Jambi henceforth, and this both signalled the weakened state of the empire and helped to weaken it further. Chinese records report the rise of a rival kingdom in Java, which unlike the staunchly Buddhist Srivijaya instead supported both Buddhism and Hinduism. Srivijaya survived, but was “infested by robbers and thieves” – definitely no longer a healthy state. The Javanese rival may have conquered Srivijaya, and sedimentation in the rivers preventing their navigation may have crippled them economically. The true end of Srivijaya came in the late 13th century, however, with the arrival of Islam in the archipelago. In 1400, a Singapore noble named Parameswara (but known more colourfully as Iskander Shah) fled from Singapore to found a new city at the mouth of the Malacca river on the Malay peninsula, where he established the Malacca Sultanate. This kingdom swiftly gained ascendancy throughout the area, and though it was conquered by the Portuguese in 1511 it was this country that gave the region its cultural identity, such that modern Malaysia derives its unity and sense of identity from the sultanate. 31 Mural depicting the Chola attack on Srivijaya. This picture is notable for showing the first use of a flamethrower weapon by Indians//Srivijayan bronze torso statue of Boddhisattva Padmapani (Avalokiteshvara), eighth century CE (Chaiya, Surat Thani, Southern Thailand). The statue demonstrates the Central Java art influence. In 1905 Prince Damrong Rajanubhab removed the statue from Wat Wiang, Chaiya, Surat Thani to Bangkok National Museum, Thailand. It was this unity, then, that probably caused the sultanate to persist through the centuries in the minds of the conquered people, while knowledge of Srivijaya faded. Even its cities were abandoned, the most famous of these the great Buddhist temple of Borobudur. Even to this day, it is the world’s largest Buddhist temple, but in the 14th century it was abandoned to the jungle. It was the British colonial ruler of Java, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, who in 1814 ordered the expedition that cleared the temple and brought it to the attention of the world. Over the following decades archaeologists continued to examine the ruins, and restoration work was even carried out to stabilise the damage the jungle had done. Eventually, in 1973 UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site and funded a major restoration effort, and now the restored temple is the most visited tourist attraction in Indonesia, and the destination of many Buddhist pilgrimages. Perhaps it is fitting, that the kingdom that we first learned about from the account of a Buddhist pilgrim should have produced an object that is, itself, now the object of such pilgrimages. No matter how much is forgotten, such things as this remain. 32 Borobudur, the single greatest remnant of the Srivijaya Empire. Opportunity for Srivijaya: The break-up of Funan during the seventh century and the turmoil affecting China during the eighth century left the field clear for political entities located in southeastern Sumatra, where Srīwijaya took the upper hand over Melayu (Jambi) between 671 and 685. As late as 644–645, Melayu dispatched an embassy to China. During his second visit to the east coast of Sumatra, the Chinese pilgrim Yijing noted that “Moluoyou is now Shilifoshi [Srīwijaya].” The 683 inscription of Kedukan Bukit (Palembang, capital of the state) mentions the departure of the army of Srīwijaya, probably toward Melayu (Mahdi 2008: 118). In addition, the king of Srīwijaya may have launched a naval expedition toward Java (Kulke 2001: 302), a testimony to politico-economic and perhaps religious rivalry (western Java being Vishnuite and Srīwijaya Buddhist).1 The Srivijaya Empire: trade and culture in the Indian Ocean The Srivijaya Empire controlled modern-day Indonesia and much of the Malay Archipelago from the seventh to twelfth centuries. The empire traded extensively with India and China, incorporating Buddhist and Chinese political practices into their traditions.     Overview As diverse peoples exchange goods, they also exchange political and cultural practices and beliefs. A perfect example of this exchange is the Srivijaya Empire, which controlled modern-day Indonesia and much of the Malay Archipelago from the seventh to twelfth centuries. The Srivijaya Empire traded extensively with India and China, incorporating Buddhist and Chinese political practices into their traditions. When the Chola Empire from South India raided and took indirect control of the Strait of Malacca in the thirteenth century, the Srivijaya Empire lost influence. The Srivijaya Empire 33 Interactions among different peoples along trade routes led to syncretism, or blending, of religious and political ideas. The Srivijaya Empire, which controlled much of the Malay Archipelago in the Indian Ocean from the seventh to twelfth centuries, is a perfect example of this cultural blending. The Malay Archipelago is a group of islands between Indochina and Australia and includes modern-day Indonesia, East Malaysia, and the Philippines. What might this empire have looked like? Unfortunately, historians have only recovered Srivijaya writings from a small window of time—the seventh century—written in Old Malay. However, artifacts of the empire include Buddhist sculptures and the remains of stupas, or Buddhist shrines, giving us a window into the role religion played in the region. We also have access to texts written about the empire by Chinese and Indian traders, so we have a view of what this empire was like through the lens of people interacting with the empire. Trade The Srivijaya Empire controlled two major passageways between India and China: the Sunda Straits from the city of Palembang and the Strait of Malacca—see the Sunda Strait, in the south, and the Strait of Malacca, to the north, on the map above. This control strengthened trade routes to China, India, and even Arabia. Some of the goods the people in the empire traded included 34 ivory, tin, nutmeg, sandalwood, and strong-smelling camphor and aloes that were used for medicinal purposes. The empire had access to the trade network of spices from India and goods like silk and porcelain from China. Even though we don’t have much political evidence about the scope of the Srivijaya Empire, records of trade between the Srivijayans and the Chinese make it clear that Srivijaya was a key economic actor. Chinese records show evidence of Srivijayan trade expeditions to the Song dynasty as well as China’s acceptance of the Srivijaya Empire as a vassal. Vassal states are subordinate to another nation. As a vassal to China, Srivijaya acted as a mediator between China and other smaller states on the Malay Archipelago. China considered it a great honor to bestow vassal status on another empire, so we know that the economic relationship between the two regions was strong. Buddhism in the Srivijaya Empire and beyond: Palembang, a major city of the Srivijaya Empire, became a well-known stop for Chinese Buddhist pilgrims on their way to India, the birthplace of Buddhism. More than one thousand Buddhist monks lived in the city, and Buddhist travelers were welcomed there to study Buddhist texts. A particularly popular form of Buddhism in the Srivijaya Empire was Vajrayana Buddhism, a mystical form of the religion that involved the cultivation of magical or supernatural powers through yantras, or special symbols. The Srivijaya Empire became a center for this form of Buddhism. One reason the version of Vajrayana Buddhism that developed in the Srivijaya Empire was so successful was that Srivijayan leaders combined Buddhist thought with indigenous beliefs about magic—another example of cultural syncretism. Vajrayana Buddhism originated in India but became popular in the Srivijaya empire during the same time period, indicating that trade connections between the two regions in the seventh century may have influenced each other’s religions. The influence of Buddhism also affected political structures in the Srivijaya Empire. Srivijayan rulers incorporated Buddhist philosophy into their public image. For example, an inscription detailing a speech from a park dedication in 684 CE depicts a Srivijayan king, Sri Jayanasa, as a bodhisattva, or someone who has already achieved buddhahood. By praying aloud during his speech that the park would provide a benefit to all living things, Sri Jayanasa showed that he was attempting to position himself as a religious authority as well as a political one. This dedication is the first time on record that a Srivijayan ruler also claimed the role of a religious figure. The fact that the king felt associating himself with Buddhism would help his image indicated the importance of Buddhism in the Srivijaya Empire during the seventh century. Srivijayan bronze torso statue of Boddhisattva Padmapani (Avalokiteshvara), eighth century CE (Chaiya, Surat Thani, Southern Thailand). The statue demonstrates the Central Java art influence. In 1905 Prince Damrong Rajanubhab removed the statue from Wat Wiang, Chaiya, Surat Thani to Bangkok National Museum, Thailand. Malay language Old Malay was the language of business and trade in the Srivijaya Empire. To successfully navigate the ports and marketplaces throughout the Malay Archipelago, a person had to be able to speak Old Malay. Establishing a standard means of communication made business transactions more efficient. Old Malay is an Indonesian language from the Austronesian family. Written inscriptions show that Old Malay contains loanwords from Sanskrit, an Indo-Aryan language used throughout 35 South Asia. Persian and Arabic influences found in Old Malay suggest that the language adapted due to the influence of people the Srivijayans traded with. Decline of Srivijaya and new cultural interactions Srijivayan power began to decrease after the Chola, a southern Indian dynasty, attacked the Srivijaya Empire in 1025 CE, gaining dominance in the waters around Southeast Asia. Already weakened, Srivijaya lost most of its remaining power in 1288 when the Singosari Empire from East Java incorporated them into their empire. Despite the Srivijaya Empire’s decline, the trade routes Srivijayans helped establish continued to be widely used. For example, from 1405 to 1433, a Chinese Muslim diplomat under the Ming Dynasty named Zheng He undertook several voyages to the Malay Archipelago and on to East Africa and Arabia. Zheng He’s ability to travel these distances indicates that the Srivijaya trade routes through the Malay Archipelago remained crucial to travel and exchange after the Srivijayan Empire ceased to exist. Map of trade routes and extent of Chola influence. Chola influence extends to northwest India and the Srivijaya Empire. China did trade with the Srivijaya empire; in fact, these traders wrote accounts of their voyages to and from the Srivijaya empire. Our knowledge of the empire is largely based on these writings. It's unlikely that China clashed with the Srivijaya when it was dying, because it was a sort of mecca for Buddhism. Monks would come from China to worship there. China had a good relationship with the country while it was still in power. Also, I did a quick google search and I couldn't find anything relating to a Srivijaya-China conflict. where the ivory,tin,nutmeg etc. was going(inside the Srivijaya Empire) and which cities were receiving these supplies. In a previous article, processes of early state formation of the epigraphically well-documented late 36 seventh century Kadātuan Śrīvijaya have been analysed. The present one attempts to continue this study in the following five centuries on the basis of Chinese and Arab reports in view of the strange lack of any indigenous sources in Sumatra. A main concern is to define Śrīvijaya’s amorphous statehood as a thalassocracy. It dominated a confederation of semi autonomous harbour cities in maritime Southeast Asia and controlled temporarily the transoceanic trade in its central Strait of Malacca. Particularly revealing is Śrīvijaya’s unique “ritual policy” in its relation with the dominant powers of South and Southeast Asia and with China. Special attention in this regard is paid to inscriptions at Ligor on the Malay Peninsula and of king Adityavarman in Sumatra.2 REFERENCES 1AKee-Long, So. “Dissolving Hegemony or Changing Trade Pattern? Images of Srivijaya in the Chinese Sources of the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries.” Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, vol. 29, no. 2, 1998, pp. 295–308. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/20072047. Accessed 4 Feb. 2021. 1.Beaujard, P. (2019). Southeast Asia: The Rise of the Srīwijayan Thalassocracy and the Javanese Kingdoms. In The Worlds of the Indian Ocean: A Global History (pp. 88-105). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781108341219.005 2. Kulke, Hermann. “Śrīvijaya Revisited: Reflections on State Formation of a Southeast Asian Thalassocracy.” Bulletin De L'École Française D'Extrême-Orient, vol. 102, 2016, pp. 45–96. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26435122. Accessed 3 Feb. 2021. 37 CHAPTER III Thinking Through Srivijaya: Polycentric Networks in Traditional Southeast Asia By Rosita Dellios is Associate Professor of International Relations at Bond University.R. James Ferguson, PhD, is Assistant Professor of International Relations and Director of the Centre of EastWest Cultural & Economic Studies, Bond University.Australia The story of Srivijaya begins with a geopolitical preface. Just as all roads once led to Rome, so too maritime trade in Asia converged on the narrow sea route that became known as the Strait of Malacca. Unlike ancient Rome, however, the Malacca Strait has retained its geographical salience at different times in history. One such era was well conveyed by the sixteenth century Portuguese adventurer, Tomé Pires, who wrote shortly after his country’s acquisition of the port city of Malacca: “Whoever is lord of Malacca has his hands on the throat of Venice” (Courtesao 1944). Five centuries later, similar sentiments transpire; only the actors and their cargoes have changed. The lucrative spice trade that enabled the maritime republic of Venice to acquire wealth and power has been replaced by access to energy upon which modern economies depend, not least of which the world’s premier trading nation – the People’s Republic of China (PRC, China). With 80 percent of its imported oil passing through the Strait of Malacca, a chokepoint over which the PRC has no control, it is understandable that President Hu Jintao spoke in 2003 of the “Malacca dilemma” (US DoD 2005). In view of China’s vulnerability to having this maritime lifeline severed, Hu Jintao’s successor, Xi Jinping, has refocused on the “maritime silk road” and the importance of regional “connectivity” 1 (Wu and Zhao 2013; APEC 2014). This not only serves to promote regional prosperity but in light of the “Malacca dilemma” offers a strategic expedient in the vicinity of such a vital sea line of communication. As the shortest sea passage between the Pacific Ocean in the East and the Indian Ocean in the West, and flanked on one side by the Malay Peninsula and the other by the island of Sumatra, the 805-kilometer long Strait of Malacca is the busiest of archipelagic Southeast Asia’s passageways – the others being the Sunda and Lombok-Makassar straits. The latter are deeper and wider but less direct and therefore more expensive for commercial shipping. All are part of the sovereign territory of today’s Indonesia, with the exception of the Malacca Strait whose sovereignty Indonesia shares with the other two littoral states, Singapore and Malaysia. There was a time, however, when this vital sea passage and its surrounding lands were part of a vast “empire,” not necessarily like Rome with a single political and administrative center but more in keeping with a regional format of polycentric networks that will be discussed below. It, too, might have been a tripartite arrangement of polities along the 38 Malacca Strait, or a wider confederation, presenting itself under a single name for trade purposes with the Chinese court. Empire, like security, may take many forms. Such an approach allows consideration of an early manifestation of Southeast Asian regionalism, that of the Sriviyajan “empire” that emerged in the seventh century and lasted in recognizable form at least until the eleventh. For this reason it is important to “think through” the manner in which Srivijaya operated and whether in doing so the networked past might be able to serve the global present by providing an alternative perspective. To facilitate our task, we turned to two eminent sinologists who also dealt with “other voices;” indeed, a leading voice from the Chinese past, that of Confucius. We adopted the term “thinking through” Srivijaya from the book by David L. Hall and Roger T. Ames, Thinking Through Confucius, which sought to “achieve relative clarity with regard to the principal issues in Confucius’ thought” and “provide an exercise in thinking using Confucius’ philosophy as medium” (1987, 6, emphasis in the original). Insofar as the conceptual parameters of pre-modern Southeast Asian thought may be deemed as alien to people today as those of ancient China, then our work is similarly inspired. However, Srivijaya compounds the arduous endeavor of “thinking through” its complexities because its existence as a polity is less well documented than China’s and its contours still subject to debate. To think through the Srivijayan “riddle” is to look not only at the archaeological and historical evidence or weigh up scholarly theories; it is to take the next step of identifying insights that may be congruent with twenty-first century global regionalism. In embarking on such a quest, it behoves the academic time-traveller to think, to the extent that it is possible, from the perspective of this archipelagic regional power; one which participated not in the Western state system with which we are familiar but in a geo-cosmological order derived from SinoIndic influence. In the end, Hindu-Buddhist ritual and its power, together with Chinese rites (of which Confucianism was the major influence) of proper relations, bring thoughts of the world of Confucius and that of Srivijaya into mutual focus. In “thinking through” Srivijaya, it is important to put aside conventional ideas of ethnicity and nationality, state sovereignty and territorial boundaries, as well as international relations and legal conventions. Instead, preoccupations with spiritual power, ritual competence, prestige, royal lineage, oaths of loyalty and deterrent curses (see McKinnon 1985) are associated with the Srivijayan era. These coexist with a reputation for cosmopolitism born of trade and an associated diplomatic awareness of the wider world. Little wonder that in lieu of a “state,” “kingdom” or “empire,” the Indic term “mandala” was reintroduced in some Western accounts to describe such political formations – a subject to which we will return. First, however, we will think through what we do not know about Srivijaya, as this predicates much of what we do know or think we know – based on a small amount of extant evidence. 1. Thinking Through what do we do not know about Srivijaya Remarkably, our knowledge of Srivijaya emerged only in the early twentieth century when the French scholar Georges Coedès (1918) pieced together evidence of Srivijaya’s existence. 39 Others had been working around this idea but had not achieved a breakthrough. A clear problem was an absence of clues. Certainly the tropical climate and use of perishable construction materials were not conducive to the preservation of material culture. Fortunately for posterity, nine inscriptions on stone were found in Sumatra testifying to Srivijaya’s existence: for example, the Kedukan Bukit Inscription, which was discovered in 1920 in the Palembang area and dated at 683 CE hailed a “Great, prosperous and peaceful Srivijaya” (see Zakharov 2009, 8; De Casparis 1956). It is from these inscriptions, written in the Old Malay language which contained Sanskrit loanwords, that we have the name “Srivijaya.” Sri means “radiant” but is also a royal honorific; vijaya translates as victory or excellence. The presence of Sanskrit was not unusual in view of the spread of Indian cultural influence in Southeast Asia early in the Common Era. This was largely due to local rulers adopting the high culture of Hinduism for prestige rather than any concerted effort on India’s part to colonize the region (Hall 1984, 68; Wolters 1999:108-111). Military expeditions and conquests in the eleventh century by the South Indian Tamil forces occurred well after the region adopted Hindu-Buddhist culture and were not decisive in its religious leanings. Despite its cultural inheritance, much of what we know about Srivijaya comes not from “mother India” but imperial China with its dedicated record-keeping and with whom Srivijaya had closer political relations. Still, such records by non-Srivijayans do present another set of problems. Besides knowledge of Srivijaya being mediated by the experiences and expectations of external actors – the obvious one is the name by which Srivijaya was known to others. Much can potentially be lost in conceptual translation from the name found in the Old Malay epigraphy of the seventh century to the languages of traders and scribes living beyond the time and place of the inscribed “Radiant Victory” – Srivijaya. Tang dynasty (618-907) records called this southern source of much valued resins and spices, Shilifoshi. Later, under the Song dynasty (960–1279), Srivijaya was known as the tribute- bearing kingdom of Sanfoqi, while in Arabic it was often called Sribuza (So 1998, 295; Taylor 2003) or Zabaj when Srivijaya was viewed as a region inclusive of Java (Laffan 2005, 67). For Indian traders it was identified with Sumatra and its gold; hence the name Suvaranadvipa (The Golden Isle). Even in Indonesian, the name Srivijaya is not quite what it used to be: the Sanskrit v has over time indigenized into a Javanese w, becoming Sriwijaya. What was the lifespan of Srivijaya? This depends on how it is conceived and what it is called. According to an authority on Srivijaya, John N. Miksic (2015), Srivijaya was founded a few years before 680 CE. It lost its monopoly on trade after having been attacked by Chola (Cola) dynasty forces from southern India in 1025 CE. Thereafter, Miksic notes, the name Srivijaya never appears in any primary source. The most frequently cited endpoint, however, is 1288 when Srivijaya was absorbed by its East Javanese rival, Singosari. But as Srivijaya was commonly referred to by other names, depending on the identity of the external observer, there are further possibilities as to the dates of its demise. Thus one of the Chinese dynastic histories, the Mingshi, reported the decline and disappearance of Sanfoqi in the fourteenth century (Sumio 2006, 1). While dynastic histories of China are not a direct or necessarily accurate reflection of the political dynamics of other entities, they do present clues. The “san,” for instance, meaning “three” in Sanfoqi suggests that there were 40 Three Vijayas (Wolters 1999, 27; Laffan 2005, 18; Suzuki 2014). This would mean that Srivijaya/Sanfoqi was not necessarily a single entity represented by one royal court but would have comprised at least three strong centers. Possible candidates for these “champion centers” were the Sumatran kingdom of Melayu with its capital at Jambi, Kedah on the Malay Peninsula and Chaiya on the eastern side of the Isthmus of Kra (Suzuki 2014), each of which would have their attendant dependencies; or perhaps the three were the Sumatran-based centers of Palembang, Jambi, and Minangkabau (Kozok 2004, citing a fourteenth century document from Sumatra, the Tanjung Tanah Manuscript). While it is still possible to have one king above three, and a Khmer one at that – Wolters (1999, 27 citing Barth and Bergaigne 1885, 46) gives the example of “a Khmer ruler in the early seventh century” being eulogized as “the glorious sovereign of three kings” – Srivijaya may have been nothing more than “a shifting riverine zone of entrepôts that could coalesce for mutual interest” (Laffan 2005, 14). It is indeed feasible that the Srivijayan “empire” was a collective unit which would have experienced a change in composition and power distribution over the centuries of its existence. This means that Srivijaya not only had an uncertain lifespan of between four and seven centuries; but that there was probably more than one Vijaya territorially and temporally. 2. Thinking Through Srivijaya’s mistaken identity This raises the question of whether Srivijaya’s existence was a case of mistaken identity. What was its actual status in the lexicon of political constructs? Was it an “empire,” confederation or something else? It has even been described as a mix of political formations: a “trade-based citystate empire” comparable to fifteenth-to-seventeenth century Venice (Chase-Dunn et al. 2013). The combination of a small-scale “city-state” with the expanse of “empire,” especially when based on trade, may clarify matters but the thinking through part requires an understanding of its inner logic. Srivijaya – like other early Southeast Asian ruling entities – was a loosely based polity with changes in allegiance a regular feature, and therefore shifting territorial borders were not unusual. The Chinese pilgrim Yijing (I-ching, 635-713), who journeyed to Srivijaya twice (see below), employed the term “guo” (“country”) to describe Srivijaya; it is the same term used for its powerful predecessor (and possible ancestor in terms of royal lineage) further north on mainland Southeast Asia, the Khmer polity of Funan (100–545 CE). Yet Funan, like Srivijaya, was not a straightforward country/state or “guo” in the Western or Chinese sense. Funan has been shown to be “a conglomerate of chiefdoms but not a state” (Zakharov 2009, 4, citing research by Jacques 1979), though this does not discount the possibility of Funan with its centuries of existence (similar to Srivijaya) going through periods of unification and fragmentation. One scholar, Fukami Sumio (2006, 1-2), attests to Srivijaya being a collection of states in the Malacca region that stretched from the Malay peninsula across to Sumatra and West Java at the very least, before the kingdom of Malacca arose at about 1400. 41 Yet the dominant narrative holds that Srivijaya was a maritime empire or “thalassocracy” (rule by control of the sea) with a single seat of power. This description works up to a point. While relying on maritime trade for its wealth, Srivijaya limited its control to the straits within its immediate vicinity, rather than the Indian Ocean or the South China Sea. These were plied by traders from many lands. So Srivijaya could function as a maritime power without having to control the seas, only the straits where it imposed tariffs on commercial shipping, and the hinterlands from which valuable forest products were derived. Thalassocracy as a description also fails to account for the equally compelling rule by spiritual charisma, or what Wolters (1999, 112) called “men of prowess,” an institution associated with Hindu kingship even under Buddhist rule; but also manifesting in societies outside the Hindu mainstream (Wolters 1999, 113). In reconciling the secular and sacred sources of power, one could say that the sacred aspect of leadership did help in legitimating secular goals – control of trade – and shoring up obedience from rival centers. Those who view Srivijaya as a single kingdom (even if only in the initial phase) tend to agree that it maintained its headquarters in Palembang on the Musi River in southeastern Sumatra. It is in this vicinity that most of the stone inscriptions were found, as well as other archaeological remains. Besides its reputation at the time as a place of power in Tantric ritual, reasons posited for selection of the lower Musi River for establishing the Srivijayan capital include the river’s rich alluvial plain for the cultivation of surplus rice; its navigability, allowing access to forest products inland as well as the natural harbour some 80 kilometers downstream (Hall 2011, 113, 116; Junker 2006, 220). Such a distance would not have been considered an imposition but was the norm along the east Sumatran coast where the tidal swamplands affected the location of seaports. As Miksic (2011) notes, ports could be more than 100 kilometers from estuaries. Bearing this in mind, other portsettlements would have also proved serviceable for the role of capital. Notable among these is Jambi, north of Palembang, and located 120 kilometers up Sumatra’s longest river, the Batanghari, representing a better location for accessing gold from the highlands of Minangkabau. Indeed, if there was life for Srivijaya after the 1025 Chola attack, then it was to be found at Jambi, conventionally regarded as Srivijaya’s new capital and which could have been the Srivijayan royalty’s point of origin rather than the more distant Funan in the Khmer region. What occasioned the shift to Jambi in 1079? Various theories have been put forward. These include Palembang’s vulnerability to attack and Jambi’s proximity to sources of gold in a more accessible hinterland (Lieberman 2009, 775). Silting of the Musi River to the point of blocking access to the sea is another reason posited for the decline of Palembang (Gipouloux 2011, 61). Considering its choice of ports along the Malacca Strait, with many being only about 10 kilometers up river (Miksic 2011), there was indeed a noticeable clinging to the Palambang-Jambi axis, around which a vast “empire” pivoted; moreover it served as the Malacca Strait’s southern gate to the China trade. It was a gate which swung both ways, allowing China secure access to all that the Malacca region represented – trade with India and beyond, as well as a strategic outlet to compensate for periodic overland trade difficulties, as occurred during the Tang dynasty. Thus, China needed a reliable power to police the Strait. 42 At its peak in the ninth century Srivijaya exercised suzerainty over areas in Sumatra, western Java, possibly western Kalimantan, and certainly the Malay Peninsula right up to the Isthmus of Kra. Srivijayan rulers tried to curtail portage of seaborn trade across this narrow land- bridge in order to divert all trade to their own ports which, after all, were the primary sourc of their wealth. As a transshipment zone, the Malacca area was a “strategic place where ships were forced to congregate,” according to a Chinese source of the time, the Treatise on Foreign Lands (Zhufanzhi, c. 1225 in Sumio 2006, 3). Indeed, there is a general consensus, that at its height, Sriwijaya was “one of the major emporia of Asia, through which regional produce reached the markets of western Asia, India, and China” (Wolters 1999, 32). Srivijaya – to continue in the vein of its singular identity – treated trade as an expression of its power as well as a secular source of it. This meant that it was better to monopolize than to compete and to trade through authorized government channels (“tribute-trade”) rather than an open market. Though not always possible, it remained the preferred position, and a wider regional norm as demonstrated by China’s own “tribute-trade” system. The result was centuries of (sometimes enforced) stability. This was because each dominant center (or a confederation), with the allegiance of secondary and tertiary centers, was the overlord of its domain. Thus Srivijaya’s was the archipelago; China’s tributaries included Srivijaya – and therefore its dependencies – within the Chinese sphere. Taylor (2003, 24) notes that: Chinese records show tribute missions (trade) in the sixth, seventh, and eighth centuries and again in the tenth and eleventh. Srivijaya’s “tribute” consisted of pepper, resins, rattans, ivory, plumes, birds’ nests, turtles, sea cucumber, and mother-of-pearl; “gifts” from China’s emperors to Srivijaya were industrial dyes, iron, ceramics, and silk. In the Chinese presentation, for seven hundred years a Sumatran state is recognized as a vassal, which acts as intermediary for many barbarian archipelago harbor states, bringing their tribute to China along with Srivijaya’s own. In Chinese presentation, the honor of being a vassal is conferred by China, and it is taken away by China when the vassal proves itself unworthy. In 1380, Srivijaya was stripped of its special relationship to China and the honor of being China’s vassal was transferred to the Javanese kingdom of Majapahit. Srivijaya was not only a vast maritime power, but can also be considered the first of its kind in island Southeast Asia. This is despite the existence of a central Javanese rival for control of the straits: the Sailendra dynasty (750–850), the details of which are as difficult to ascertain as those of Sriviyaya. Inscriptions and other evidence suggest the Sailendras asserted their influence on both island and mainland Southeast Asia for a time, but their kingdom was less a maritime power than a land-based one. The rich volcanic soils would yield a strong agricultural base whose wealth made possible the building of the famous Borobudur Buddhist monument in 778–824. However, when the Srivijayans and Sailendras became matrimonially related competition changed to a merger at the end of Sailendra’s Javanese dynasty (SarDesai, 1994, 43-44; Zakharov, 2012). With or without the house of Sailendra, one could argue that there had never been a southern seas “empire” of Srivijaya’s scale and organization before. Its dependencies were strung along the coastal and riverine ports of the archipelago, supplying the requisite trade items. By substituting local products of “comparable value” for Middle Eastern goods that were headed for the China market (Reynolds 1995, 433; 43 Wolters 1974, ch. 9-10), such as Sumatran camphor for Arabian frankincense, Srivijaya distinguished itself as more than a mere middleman or one of the transit-stations along the maritime silk road. Together with the tolls charged on transiting ships, this commercial windfall could pay for a navy that was sufficiently powerful to prevent challenges to Srivijaya’s monopoly. In return, the dependencies received a share of the wealth, piracy diminished (thanks to many of the pirates, or sea nomads, being recruited by the Srivijayan navy) and international traders found safe harbours, storage facilities for their goods, an emporium of products from surrounding jungle and seas, and recreation while awaiting a change in the seasonal monsoonal winds for their return journey. This single-state narrative could equally apply to a polycentric Srivijaya whose constituent parts sought recognition by the Chinese emperor as the southern seas representative for trade. Ironically, the structural source of Srivijaya’a wealth, the tribute-trade system that allowed for monopolistic practices, proved also to be its undoing. Rivals were bound to arise, as Srivijaya had not conquered all – either by force of arms or the spiritual charisma of its “men of prowess.” Srivijaya’s trade restrictions were challenged by other “kingdoms” which desired the benefits of its lucrative arrangements: Java invaded Sumatra at the end of the tenth century and would do so again; the Indian maritime kingdom of Chola – as noted above – sacked Palembang in 1025; mainland Southeast Asian kingdoms sought control of the isthmus trade in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, and China itself became more active as a maritime power in the twelfth century sidelining Srivijaya (Lieberman 2009,775; Wolters 1999, 32). Srivijaya subsequently lost dominance over Sumatra to its possible erstwhile ancestor, the kingdom of Melayu centered on Jambi. The decisive blow, it would appear, came from Java when in 1288 Srivijaya’s power was absorbed by Singosari, and later in 1293 by its successor, the illustrious Majapahit which foreshadowed the unity of modern Indonesia with its motto of “unity in diversity.” Even then, the vassal ruler of Palembang, Paramesvara, tried to gain investiture from China, but the Chinese envoys were prevented from reaching Sumatra. When the ruler of Majapahit, Hayam Waruk, died in 1389, Paramesvara made a last bid at rebellion in 1391–92 but was unsuccessful (Wolters 1970). Majapahit itself was finally conquered in the late 1400s by the Malacca Sultanate that claimed its lineage from Srivijaya. Malacca had become an Islamic polity through Paramesvara’s marriage to a Muslim princess from northern Sumatra, and his self-appointed title of Sultan Iskandar Shah. Throughout all this, it is believed that he did not convert. Nonetheless, the conversion of Malacca was symptomatic of the phasing out of the maharajas of the “Indianized states” of Southeast Asia in favour of the sultans of a new arc of Islamic governance and commerce. So far, the story told is of Srivijaya as a singular entity in competition with others, expanding and contracting, absorbing others and being absorbed. This phenomenon was given a name that helped locate it within its civilizational context. O. W. Wolters, followed by I. W. Mabbett and others referred to early Southeast Asian polities as “mandalas” (Wolters 1968 & 1982; Mabbett 1978; Stuart-Fox 2000; see also Dellios 2003), a Sanskrit political term that appeared to have been adopted 44 by local rulers when they “self-Hinduized.” Stone inscriptions have been found with the word mandala though, as shown below, its usage is not unequivocal. Besides being a specialist term employed by scholars to denote traditional South and Southeast Asian political formations, the term is commonly employed to describe a cosmogram used for spiritual contemplation, especially in Hinduism and Buddhism. Early political application may be found in Kautilya’s Arthashastra or The Science of Means, a third century BCE Indian governance text, in which there are designated relationships of power in a “statal circle” (mandala) comprising a dozen polities (sometimes more, sometimes less). With one of the 12 functioning as the orienting centre of strategic planning, it was a geostrategic balance-ofpower system based on calculations like “my enemy’s enemy is my friend.” Kautilya’s system of inter-mandala relations provides a number of options for action, including the pursuit of peace through treaty or alliances, a posture of neutrality, as well as war (Dellios 2003). So “mandala” can apply to spiritual, cultural, historical, and political formulations, or a combination of these – such as spiritual-political in accordance with the “man-of-prowess” concept. According to Reynolds (1995, 427): “From its root meaning of circle and its metaphoric meanings of totality and the perfection of Buddhahood, mandala has come to be a trope for the cluster of features that encode ancestor divinization, territory, and chiefly authority.” Wolters’ use of the term mandala can refer to a single entity with an internal structure of concentric circles comprising a dominant overlord and tribute-paying “vassals,” as well as to relations among a number of such entities in the region (Wolters 1968, 1982); in other words, the international system of the day. He did not speak of a polycentric mandala in its internal affairs. This may be explained by the Hindu and Buddhist system where there was only one “universal” sovereign (who was an ideal ruler, ethical and benevolent but also strong and capable of the providing security), despite the reality of many overlapping “universal” sovereigns within the region (Wolters 1999, 27). Wolters (1999, 27, note 1) even explains the Three Vijayas of Sanfoqi as possibly a Chinese attempt “to give effect to a Malay envoy’s statement that his ruler claimed to be an overlord of three areas, each of which was known as a ‘Vijaya’.” Hence the Three Vijayas are interpreted here not as a confederation but one king above three. An absence of polycentricity within the “universal” sovereign’s realm could also be related to the already versatile nature of the concentrically hierarchical mandala. A single polity’s structure was not rigid but more of a “patchwork,” according to Gesick (1983, 3), in which “the secondary and tertiary centers preserved a great deal of their internal autonomy in exchange for acknowledging the center’s spiritual authority.” The mandala as a political term gives Srivijaya some credence as it is called by a name that is descriptive of its era. The problem here is that the stone inscriptions themselves did not use the term mandala, with the exception of the seventh century Telaga Batu-2 inscription. Its use of mandala was for smaller territorial units controlled by vassal chiefs within the larger unit of Srivijaya (De Casparis 1956, 35; Zakharov 2009, 3). There is also the argument that refutes the use of special terms like mandala to designate the political constructs of a particular time and place, as these only serve to essentialize and orientalize the object of study. Still, as Reynolds (1995, 427-9) points out, 45 when mandala-as-state is employed as a “a hermeneutic aid, not a thing whose existence has to be proved beyond the shadow of a doubt” or a model “used more or less scientifically to describe early Southeast Asian societies,” then the use of special terminology makes sense. .Besides its hermeneutic assistance, a second advantage of the scholastic employment of the term mandala is that it provides a greater depth of understanding when issues of “strategic culture” – that is, a people’s distinctive style of dealing with and thinking about the problems of national security – arise. Strategic culture complements the study of geopolitics by imbuing the physical world with cultural and historical interpretation. A mandalic strategic culture implies flexibility in terms of changing allegiances. But this also entails instability. The system, in Stuart-Fox’s words (1996, 4), “was open to any ruler to test his own merit against that of other rulers.” Merit meant spiritual and charismatic power, and equates with Wolters’ “man of prowess” concept. It was derived from the prevailing Hindu-Buddhist religious culture. Srivijaya managed, for the most part, to balance flexibility against instability. Or, in the language of today’s systems theory, Srivijaya exhibited “resilience” in an inherently unstable system (see Dellios 2010). A third benefit in using the mandala concept is that it permits a region-wide analysis rather than one that is based on Western concepts of state, or the colonial legacy. Subsequent independence and nation-building exercises often utilize history as a cohesive element. This works well when there is a significant Other, the colonizer from whom political power is wrested. But it hardly helps the historian who desires a more global view. Legge (1999, 4-5) notes that before World War II there was “the almost universal tendency of historians to focus on the constituent parts of Southeast Asia rather than to develop a perception of the region as a whole as a suitable object of study.” For this broader vantage-point (see also Acharya 2000), the Srivijayan experience suggests a mandalic region of interacting power centers in which dominance is maintained through an astute handling of relations and the exercise of both hard and soft power. In this Srivijaya – whether mandala-as-state or state-as- polycentric mandala – had performed particularly well, not only by its own efforts but also through ensuring Chinese recognition of its legitimacy. 3. Thinking Through the Mandala-Tianxia interface China obliged from within the inner workings of its own mandala. It saw itself as the political and spiritual center of all-under-Heaven (tianxia). This entailed tribute-trade relations with “vassal states” along China’s peripheral regions, even if these “vassals” viewed the relationship in more pragmatic terms of trade, regional stability and political kudos that served a domestic constituency. Thus imperial China’s geo-cosmological world order was one in which its identity as Zhongguo, meaning the Middle Kingdom – a name which it retains to this day – was predicated on two kinds of centrality: (1) a politico-territorial one of tribute to the emperor; and (2) a moral-cosmological order of ensuring harmony. To this end, the Chinese emperor performed rites to ensure China was in a state of equilibrium between potentiality and actuality, between the “yang”-power of Heaven and the “yin”-nourishment of Earth, following the yin-yang polarity of complementary opposites in Chinese 46 philosophy. This was intended to bestow harmony to all-under-Heaven – the Chinese world order. It was an “international relations” system that was to endure until the fading years of the Chinese empire in the late nineteenth century when European imperialism dictated its own international rules (see Hamashita 2003). Until then, however, there were tributary relations intersecting throughout Eastern Asia, without detracting from China’s ceremonial role of the tributary and symbolic center. While contributing to what may be termed a “mandalic regionalism,” China itself was an empire. This is worth elaborating as it provides a different view of empire to that of Srivijaya even though both displayed mandalic properties within their tribute-trade systems and China, similar to the polycentric theory of Srivijaya, was once a “confederacy” operating under a declining Zhou leadership (devolving into a multi-state system during the Warring States period). In other words, there were a number of Middle Kingdoms during the Spring and Autumn Period of 722–481 BCE before China was unified in 221 BCE. This meant it was brought under a centralized government, with a supporting bureaucracy, and a permanent army to defend the empire. Yet Chinese identity does not begin with political unification but goes back to a founding myth. The Records of the Grand Historian (109–91 BCE) of Sima Qian begins Chinese history with the mythical Yellow Emperor at around 2600 BCE. There were three progenitor dynasties – those of the Xia, Shang and Zhou – that were based on tribes, then feudal states, that owed allegiance to a central king. When these allegiances wore thin, and the house of Zhou was left with only ceremonial and religious significance, the system began to disintegrate. There followed a protracted era of instability that culminated in the Warring States Period (475–221 BCE). One “state,” the Qin, was victorious over all others. Its ruler, in a bid for spiritual and not only martial legitimacy, claimed to be descended from the progenitor dynasties and hence a new phase in Chinese history began. Thereafter, the dynastic rulers would be emperors, whereas previously they were kings; though in making this simple distinction Keay (2009, 15), in his history of dynastic China, notes: “No royal dynasties and few imperial dynasties exercised uncontested sway.” China was not the homogenous whole in contrast to Srivijaya’s malleable mandala. Its dynastic constancy and imperial uniformity were the ideals esteemed by official historians, to the point where some dynasties were considered legitimate and others not. This reflects on China’s robust and politically-charged historical drama. China’s constancy was more a case of its cycle of upheaval and renewal, division and reunification. Even while Srivijaya endured its challenges and adaptations (whether as a shift in capitals from Palembang to Jambi or through regional alliance politics), China’s Tang gave way to civil war and a rapid succession of dynasties before the emergence of the Song – which itself was divided into southern and northern dynasties. Despite domestic upheaval China maintained contact with Southeast Asia, and not only for stateendorsed reasons. There was another attraction: the pilgrimage trail. For both China and Southeast Asia, Buddhism from India had taken root. Srivijaya had become a center of Buddhist studies and 47 worship, much used by Chinese pilgrim-scholars on their way to India. The most well-known is the aforementioned Yijing. While travelling to Nalanda in India as a Buddhist pilgrim, he stayed in Srivijaya (Palembang and later Jambi) in 671-72 and again in the 680s to 695. His records are a key surviving source of our knowledge of Srivijaya. Yijing’s writings – he wrote three books, his Record, Memoir and a translation of a Buddhist Sanskrit text – represent an alternative source of knowledge on Srivijaya compared to the records of tribute missions to the emperor of China. Nonetheless, travellers’ records were inorporated in Chinese intelligence-gathering on foreign lands. Srivijaya was a welcoming destination for pilgrims as well as for merchants: Srivijaya’s rulers indulged in support of international scholars devoted to exploring Buddhist doctrines. Srivijaya’s reputation as a center for the study of Buddhism enticed Chinese scholars bound for India to make the long detour south. In Srivijaya they furthered their knowledge of Sanskrit grammar and of doctrine in preparation for more advanced studies at Buddhist centers in India itself. Within Chinese imperial records there is a direct reference to Srivijaya as site of a community of one thousand students of Buddhism (Taylor 2003, 25). Yijing had spent four years in Palembang translating Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit to Chinese and had an opportunity to observe Srivijayans on “home ground.” Scholar-pilgrims like him from China opened an intellectual dialogue with Southeast Asian colleagues. Their common quest was for greater and more accurate knowledge of Buddhism and its texts. The temper of the times recognised the legitimacy of the pursuit of spiritual treasures alongside material ones, with the two intertwining when it came to the prestige sought by rulers in both China and Srivijaya. Besides a certain zeitgeist for intellectual development, there was also a long standing strategic culture that imbued the leader with “spiritual prowess” across temporal and religious boundaries. In Srivijaya’s case it was the “man of prowess” who also derived merit from the advancement of Buddhist learning. From the Hindu perspective, he had an educative role through his identification with the authority of Siva who was “the guru of the universe” (Wolters 1999, 31). For China, the emperor in his position as Son of Heaven would possess, from a Daoist perspective, a “penetrating insight” into affairs of the world (Wechsler 1985, 86); and from a Confucian one was guided by the wisdom of the ancients which the philosopher Confucius (551 BCE–479 BCE) assiduously taught. So while there were differences in organization between the two political systems, one being an Indic mandala and the other an imperial system of tianxia governance, values were similar in upholding the tribute-trade system of secular power which, in turn, was bolstered by the moral-cosmological order embodied in the monarch. 4. Thinking Through Srivijaya’s Indic spirituality and Malay worldliness At this point it is not surprising to encounter yet another point of possible confusion, that of Srivijaya’s religious identity which leads to its most elaborate myth – or reality – its Malay “ethnicity.” The first fallacy to dismiss is the belief that Hinduism arrived in Southeast Asia before 48 Buddhism, and therefore acts as a referent for “Malay” identity. Recent radiocarbon dating of Buddhist archaeological remains indicates that they are as early as Hindu ones (Miksic 2010, 1, citing Ferdinandus 2002). A second fallacy derives from “projecting modern concepts of religious affiliation back ten centuries and more” (Milner 2008, 77). Both Hindu and Buddhist images, concepts and practices were used in “Indianized” Southeast Asia, though whether this was done syncretically or in parallel development, remains open to debate. However, as Miksic (2010, 2-3) notes, they did “share a common conception of the objective of life and of religious behaviour: to achieve a comprehension of ‘Absolute Reality’, usually considered to centre on the relationship between humans and the divine. Understanding the true nature of this relationship was usually believed to confer supernatural powers.” Not surprisingly, the esoteric aspects of both were cultivated through tantric sects. Tantra is both Hindu and Buddhist, and refers to texts as well as practices. In Hinduism it is often associated with Siva and his Sakti (divine energy). In Buddhism it features Vajrayana (the reality of emptiness) and associated meditative practices.2 This mystical element is apparent in Srivijayan inscriptions which, in turn, served to advertise the power and virtue of the ruler; while in the intellectual sphere, Buddhist scholarship was so advanced in Srivijaya that it attracted many scholars from the time of Yijing through to Atisha who assisted in the development of Vajrayana Buddhism in eleventh century Tibet. On the politico-esoteric side, the founder of the new dynasty of Sriviyaja is said to have engaged in siddhiyatra, defined as “a voyage or a pilgrimage from which one returns endowed with magical powers” (Andaya 2008, 55) or in Edwards’ (1985, 9) phrase “mystical prowess.” This is stated in the Kedukan Bukit Inscription which begins with the salutation: “Om swasti astu,” meaning “All hail and prosperity.” Then it speaks of a royal journey: “In the year 605 of the [Indian] Saka calendar [683 CE], on the eleventh day at half-moon of Waisaka [Buddha’s anniversary], His Majesty took a boat to obtain siddhayatra.” This was performed in the company of “20,000 troops and 312 people in boats and 1312 foot soldiers” which suggests a more material mission, that of conquest. Yet this quest for spiritual power as the prelude to conquest appears to be an accustomed sequence of events in the region. An example is Srivijaya’s nemesis, Singosari in East Java. Its king, Kertanagara, was a tantric practitioner of the Siva-Buddha cult who underwent a consecration ceremony to make him a Buddha-Bhairava (Hall 1981, 84). Kertanagara’s goal was the spiritual unification of his kingdom/mandala which was threatened by invasion from the forces of Khubilai Khan, grandson of one of history’s “world-conquerors,” Chinggis (Ghengis) Khan. Khubilai Khan had also undergone two dedication ceremonies as a Jina-Buddha, one in 1264 and another in 1269 (Hall 1981, 86), while Reischauer and Fairbank (1970, 278) note that he was declared by the Buddhist clergy a cakravartin, the “universal” sovereign under the Buddhist ideal. It was only two years after the second consecration that he commenced the Yuan dynasty of China. Clearly there was a vast Buddhist world spanning many parts of Asia and Srivijaya gained international prestige as a leading Buddhist country (see Hall 2011, 117). But was Srivijaya’s sphere within the Buddhist world also a defining age in the development of what has been termed the Malay world? It denotes Malay-speaking (mainly maritime) Southeast 49 Asia with its cultural heartland in the Melayu-Jambi area of Sumatra. This could in fact have been the most important of Srivijaya’s centers, and it is the site of the massive Muarajambi temple complex, located near modern Jambi on the Batanghari River. Only a tenth of the total complex, spanning 2062 hectares, has been restored (McGhee 2013, 376). This potential World Heritage site will be bigger than Borobudur – if industrial development nearby does not impede its full restoration. If the Malay world is a mandala, it too would be polycentric as it is scattered throughout the archipelago, and it would be more classically Buddhist than its later identification with the “Southeast Asian age of commerce,” to borrow Reid’s (1990) book title, between the fifteenth and mid-seventeenth centuries. This was the Islamic period of sultanates that came after Srivijaya’s time. Recent research by Tee Boon Chuan (2014) even suggests that Malay literary and intellectual history should be viewed as having undergone its “classical period” in Srivijaya in the seventh to eleventh centuries, rather than the conventionally accepted sixteenth to nineteenth centuries. He sees an evolution in Malay literary thought from the “classical Buddhistic Yogacara school in Srivijaya to the post-classical Islamic Sufi school in Aceh” and also a greater acknowledgement of the Hindu texts, explaining that the canonical texts of the period should derive not only from Buddhism, but also include Hinduism’s “five Weda or ‘pancaweda’ in the language of the oldest known Malay manuscript Kitab Undang-Undang Tanjung Tanah written around 1304CE-1436CE by Kuja Ali.” For all the esoteric aspects of an evolving Malay world, from the Indic to the Sufic, there was also a certain Malay “worldliness.” This can be seen not only in the “use” of the sacred to assist in accruing power in secular affairs – be they military or commercial – but also in other ways: a resilience that comes from mandalic calculations. As Wolters (1999, 28-29) enumerates, these include: (1) intelligence gathering so that the ruler is aware of activities at the mandala fringes to anticipate threats and also to grasp geopolitical developments in the wider trading region; and (2) the use of astute diplomacy and personal relationships as “a successful mandala overlord . . . had to be able to dispossess his rivals of their claims to space in their own right, bring them under his personal influence, and accommodate them within a network of loyalties to himself, even though they often lived in distant areas.” This meant he administered through the management of personal relationships and psychological understanding, using inducements of his office, such as investiture as well as economic rewards that accrued from his rule. The same principles applied to small and large mandalas, so that the distinction between internal and external affairs was clouded: “In practice all relations tended to be perceived as personal and therefore internal ones” (Wolters 1999, 29). Was Srivijaya a regional polycentric mandala? From this vantagepoint of thinking through Srivijaya using the mandala political philosophy as medium, we return to the question of achieving greater understanding of the principal issues in Srivijaya’s existence. In doing so, it would help to return to the example of Rome at the start of this paper with its many converging roads: the monument at the centre of ancient Rome, the Miliarium 50 Aureum (Golden Milestone), marked the center of empire. Hence we have the idiom in the English language that denotes paths leading to a center. It also means many paths lead to the same goal. This is suggestive of mandalic thinking. It is the idea of a central goal, god or virtue, surrounded by various means and guarded gateways (which must be navigated) but which ultimately lead to the core value located at the center of a spatial representation, or cosmogram. Political mandalas would have the king at the center identify himself with either a Hindu god or a Buddhist enlightened being known as a bodhisattva. Mandalas can be polycentric when various “centers” form mutually constitutive relationships in spatial proximity. In Buddhism this concept parallels the theory of Codependent Origination (Skt: Pratityasamutpada; Tib: ten del). As a general theory of causation and interdependence, it “delineates the processes by which all phenomena come into existence; not from or for their own sake but as a result of other equally contingent phenomena” (Grey 2007, 1). While power shifted from one tributary to another and circled around again, it was still the case that the idea of a unified “empire” prevailed, as demonstrated by the Majapahit mandala with its territorial expanse from southern Thailand across the archipelago down to New Guinea. The fluctuation of loyalties and the indeed the emergence of serious challengers to the dominant ruler meant that borders were fluid, expanding, contracting and shifting the centre of political gravity. Pre-colonial Southeast Asia, irrespective of whether the royal court was Hindu, Buddhist, or Islamic, displayed this common characteristic of being organized through royal centers forming a polycentric region. Polycentricity did not subside when the empire was “unified” but realigned to the dominant center – or centres in the probable case of Srivijaya when it became known to the Chinese as Sanfoqi. Instead, there was a networked system of political relationships superimposed over a geopolitical map in which the Malacca Strait represented the center of two of the three “trading circles” that spanned the wider region of the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. Drawing on documentation of maritime routes during Srivijaya’s heyday, Qin and Xiang (2011, 19) have shown these three circles to be “between China and Southeast Asia (mainly Sumatra and Java), between Southeast Asia and Arabia and the Persian Gulf, and between the Arabian area and east Africa . . . Sri Vijaya and Basra were the two key points of trading interchange that connected the three circles.” The rise and fall of great polities of the past came in different forms. For Southeast Asia, the analogy is often one of dynamic “circles” of power that expand and contract. These circles had a center or seed, be it a settlement or a royal palace, out of which grew the loose Indic- influenced kingdoms, sometimes termed “mandalas.” In this formative stage they carried pre-Indic indigenous names. As Reynolds explains: “These terms refer to the core areas which gave rise to principalities, kingdoms, and empires” (Reynolds 1995, 424; see also Kulke 1991). These larger formations became known by the Sanskrit term, mandala. But in terms of a regional consciousness, of being part of a whole, the mandalic region’s adaptability meant that it could “make sense of just about anything that was originally ‘foreign’” (Reynolds 1995, 427). The same could be said of China. Having borrowed Buddhism from India, China became a Buddhist country in addition to a Daoist and Confucian one, eventually accommodating all three, though during the Tang dynasty it was pre-eminently a Buddhist one. 51 Whereas Buddhism linked China with Srivjaya spiritually and intellectually, Islam was commonly the faith of China’s maritime communities involved in overseas trade. The historical records show that Srivijaya may well have used Arab merchants as tribute envoys to China (Chaffee 2006, 408). Islam, like Buddhism, has remained part of multi-ethic China, often in areas of contested politics and identity: namely, Buddhist Tibet and Muslim Xinjiang. By comparison, the entry of Islam in Sumatra meant that the Buddhist world of Srivijaya was unravelling. Still, Southeast Asia’s strategic geography, especially the transit areas, was such that the very designation of the region between India and China as a distinct entity – “Southeast Asia” – occurred when it was declared a theater of operations during the Second World War. To this day the regional designation remains. Reflections on Contemporary Relations Within the first “trading circle” or maritime trading mandala, spanning China and Southeast Asia, both modern China and Indonesia remain circumscribed by their geography but also enticed by the developmental potential it offers each nation. As China rises again to a position of pre-eminence, albeit within a changed international system based on Westphalian sovereignty rather than Chinese suzerainty, it is still the case that its fortunes depend on the maritime geography along the southern seas, especially the Malacca Strait. The term “Malacca dilemma,” as noted from the outset, captures its importance to China’s survival, so much so that China – short of an expensive and diplomatically disastrous arms race – realizes the solution to the “Malacca dilemma” must rest with cooperative regionalism. This depends on trust and norm building through the various multilateral organizations that have taken over from the Buddhist networks of the Srivijayan period. Notable among these is the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which China became a dialogue partner in 1996. ASEAN and its extensions – the “ASEAN Plus” system (such as ASEAN Plus China, Japan and South Korea), ASEAN Regional Forum, ASEAN Free Trade Agreement, and the newer East Asia Summit (EAS) – are where the big powers operate. China has not superimposed itself over ASEAN in any new economic “tribute system” but engages in a flexible and informal style, as regional cooperation has tended to start with informal dialogue and then progress to practical projects, for example, the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement or new rail networks interlinking southern China with mainland Southeast Asia. At the same time, it should be noted, Buddhism has not lost its relevance for the PRC. It remains geopolitically embedded within China in the form of Tibetan Buddhism which challenges the dominant Han narrative of Chinese identity, but in doing so also reminds China of its historical multiculturalism. Likewise, revivals of Mahayana Buddhism within modern China have given it a focus for new patterns of informal diplomacy towards parts of Southeast and South Asia. This should be an asset for any nation that seeks to play a constructive role in a globalized world. At the other end of the “trading circle” is Indonesia which having cultivated its regional ties through 52 ASEAN is about to do the same with the other two “trading circles”, those between Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean littoral of the Gulf region and east Africa. In this respect it is well placed as Jakarta will be the chair of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) for two years from 2015 (see Santikajaya 2014). Like Srivijaya, Indonesia needs to consider how to maximize the economic and strategic benefits of its geography. Otherwise problems of size and distances can be debilitating: The combination of 17,000 islands with an underfunded navy and poor port infrastructure results in widespread piracy, illegal fishing, and smuggling. The extraordinarily high costs of transporting goods domestically makes it cheaper for Indonesians to consume foreign goods than domestic ones, and makes the nation function more as a collection of weakly integrated economies than as a unified market (Neary 2014). The new Indonesian president, Joko Widodo, has clearly given the matter some thought and has expressed his view that Indonesia’s role should be that of a “global maritime nexus.” He has talked about this duing his visits to various summits – the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), ASEAN, EAS and G20. Speaking at the East Asia Summit in Naypyidaw, Myanmar, in November 2014, he outlined a five-pronged approach to achieve this goal (Neary 2014): 1. A revival of Indonesia’s maritime culture, recognizing the link between the country’s archipelagic geography, identity, and livelihood; 2. Improved management of Indonesia’s oceans and fisheries through the development of the country’s fishing industry and building maritime “food sovereignty” and security; 3. Boosting Indonesia’s maritime economy by improving the country’s port infrastructure, shipping industry, and maritime tourism; 4. Maritime diplomacy that encourages Indonesia’s partners to work together to eliminate conflict arising over illegal fishing, breaches of sovereignty, territorial disputes, piracy, and environmental concerns like marine pollution; and 5. Bolstering Indonesia’s maritime defenses, both to support the country’s maritime sovereignty and wealth, and to fulfill its role in maintaining safety of navigation and maritime security. If this were to be realized, then there would be more than economic and security benefits. The commitment to Indonesia becoming a “global maritime nexus” is suggestive of the “Sriwijaya idea,” as Singapore’s Nalanda-Sriwijaya Center (NSC) expresses it. It is the idea of “Southeast Asia as a place of mediation and linkages among the great civilisations” (NSC, n.d.). There were polycentric networks in terms of trade, political prestige and religious culture in traditional Southeast Asia. This maritime regionalism grew into the “idea of an Asian maritime super-region” (Medcalf, 2013) in the early fifteenth century voyages of Ming admiral Zheng He. Indeed, the mighty Ming, which was to follow through over a century after the Sino-Srivijayan period, with its diplomatic “treasure fleet” – the most technologically advanced in the world – relied on Malacca as a staging point for travels into 53 the Indian Ocean. The regional map had already been traversed, and populated with the Chinese diaspora, who were often termed Tang-ren (the people of Tang). The Ming’s “maritime superregion” was an amplified rekindling of a Tang-Song memory; while in Srivijaya’s case, its mandalic regional project was taken over by Majapahit from its Java base, incorporating the wealth of land power with that of the sea. Such open regionalism built on common interests between China and island Southeast Asia sets an historical standard for today’s aspirations. In this regard, territorial disputes in the South China Sea and a looming sense of China as threat rather than opportunity need to be moderated by a deeper probe into historical relations, with a special regard for the role of Srivijaya. References Acharya, Amitav. 2000. The Quest for Identity: International Relations of Southeast Asia. Singapore: Oxford University Pres Andaya, Leonard Y. 2008. Leaves of the Same Tree: Trade and Ethnicity in the Straits of Melaka. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. APEC. 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Anderson, Hiroko Inoue, Alexis Álvarez, Lulin Bao, Rebecca Álvarez, Alina Khan and Christian Jaworski. 2013. “Semiperipheral Capitalist City- States and the Commodification of Wealth, Land, and Labor Since the Bronze Age.” IROWS Working Paper 79 <http://irows.ucr.edu/papers/irows79/irows79.htm> (2014, December 30) Coedès, Georges. 1918. “Le Royaume De Crivijaya.” Bulletin de l'Ecole Francaise d'Extreme-Orient 18: 1-36. Courtesao, Armando, trans. and ed., 1944. The Suma Oriental of Tomo Pires. London: Hakluyt Society. De Casparis, J.C. 1956. Prasasti Indonesia. Selected Inscriptions from the 7th to the 9th century A.D. Vol. II. Bandung: Masa Baru . Dellios, Rosita. 2003. “Mandala: From Sacred Origins to Sovereign Affairs in Traditional Southeast Asia.” CEWCES Research Papers, Paper 8, 54 http://epublications.bond.edu.au/cewces_papers/8 > (2014, December 19) . October 2010. “Global Governance: New Organizational Concepts in a Culturally Diverse System.” Journal of Global Business Administration 2: 96-107. Ferdinandus, Pieter. 2002. “Recent archaeological excavations in Blandongan site, Batujaya, Karawang, West Java.” Aspek-Aspek Arkeologi Indonesia 25. Jakarta: Badan Pengembangan Kebudayaan dan Pariwisata, Deputi Bidang Pelestarian dan Pengembangan Kebudayaan, Bagian Proyek Penelitian dan Pengembangan Arkeologi. Gesick, Lorraine. 1983. “Introduction.” In Centres, Symbols, and Hierarchies: Essays on the Classical States of Southeast Asia, ed. Lorraine Gesick. Monograph No. 26, New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Southeast Asia Studies. Gipouloux, Francois. 2011. The Asian Mediterranean: Port Cities and Trading Networks in China, Japan and Southeast Asia, 13th-21st century. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing. 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Jacques C. 1979. “ ‘Funan’, ‘Zhenla’: The Reality Concealed by These Chinese Views on Indonesia.” In Early South East Asia. Essays in Archaeology, History and Historical Geography, ed. R.B. Smith and W. Watson, 371–379. Oxford, New York and Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press. Junker, Laura Lee. 2006. “Population Dynamics and Urbanism in Premodern Island Southeast Asia” (Ch. 11). In Urbanism in the Preindustrial World: Cross-Cultural Approaches, ed. Glenn R. Storey. Tuscaloosa, Alabama: University of Alabama Press. Kautilya. 1967. Kautilya's Arthasastra, 8th edn, trans. R. Shamasastry. Mysore: Mysore 55 Printing and Publishing House. Keay, John. 2009. China: A History. London: Harper Press. Kozok, Uli. 2004. “A 14th Century Malay Manuscript from Kerinci.” Archipel 67: 37-55. Kulke, Hermann. October 1991. “Epigraphical References to the ‘City’ and the ‘State’ in Early Indonesia.” Indonesia 52: 3-22. Legge, J. D. 1999. “The Writing of Southeast Asia History,” Ch. 1. In The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia, 2nd edn, ed. Nicholas Tarling. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Lieberman, Victor. 2009. Strange Parallels: Southeast Asia in Global Context, c.800-1830. Volume 2: Mainland Mirrors: Europe, Japan, China, South Asia, and the Islands. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Mabbett, I. W. 1978. “Kingship at Angkor.” Journal of the Siam Society 66: 1-58 Manguin, Pierre-Yves, ed. 1992. Sriwijaya: History, Religion & Language of an Early Malay Polity: Collected Studies by George Cœdès and Louis-Charles Damais. Kuala Lumpur: MBRAS. McKinnon, E. Edwards. October 1985. “Early Polities in Southern Sumatra: Some Preliminary Observations Based on Archaeological Evidence.” Indonesia 40: 1-36. McGhee, Annie. November 2013. “Going North to the Land of Snows: Muara Jambi, Srerlingpa, Atisha and Tibetan Buddhism.” Proceedings, The First international Conference on Jambi Studies, 365-396. Jambi, Indonesia: Seloko Jurnal Budaya. Medcalf, Rory. November-December 2013. “The Indo-Pacific: What’s in a Name?” The American Interest 9 <http://www.the-american-interest.com/article.cfm?piece=1500> (2014, October 5) Miksic, John N., “Recent Research in the Southeast Sumatran Region,” The MUA Collection. <http://www.themua.org/collections/items/show/1256> (2015, January 2) . September 2010. “The Buddhist-Hindu Divide in Premodern Southeast Asia.” Nalanda-Sriwijaya Centre Working Paper No. 1. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. . 2015. “The Srivijaya Empire.” In The Oxford World History of Empire, ed. Peter Bang, C.A. Bayly & Walter Scheidel. Oxford University Press Milner, Anthony. 2008. The Malays. United Kingdom: Wiley-Blackwell. Nalanda-Sriwijaya Center (NSC). Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore. <http://nsc.iseas.edu.sg/about_us.htm> (2015, January 4) 56 Neary, Adelle. 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Revised edn. Ithaca, NY: Southeast Asia Program Publications (SEAP), Southeast Asia Program, Cornell University, in cooperation with the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS), Singapore. Wechsler, Howard J. 1985. Offerings of Jade and Silk: Ritual and Symbol in the Legitimation of the T’ang Dynasty. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Wu, Jiao and Zhang Yunbi. October 4, 2013. “Xi in call for building of new ‘maritime silk road’.” China Daily. Xinhuanet. November 12, 2014. “Highlights: Hallmarks of APEC Beijing meetings A-Z.” <http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2014-11/12/c_133785135.htm> (2014, December 5) Zakharov, Anton O. August 2012. “The Śailendras Reconsidered.” Nalanda-Sriwijaya Centre, Working Paper No. 12. 1 “APEC leaders approved the ‘APEC Connectivity Blueprint 2015-2025’ to lay the foundation for all-round connectivity in the Asia-Pacific region, involving the construction of new roads, railways and shipping lanes; the slashing of regulatory constraints; and the easing of barriers to people-to-people interaction and mobility” (Xinhuanet 2014). 2 Vajrayana Buddhism is part of Mahayana (Great Vehicle) Buddhism. 58 CHAPTER IV Thalassocracy of the ancient maritime world thalassocracy or thalattocracy or 'sea power' is a state with primarily maritime realms, an empire at sea, or a seaborne empire. Traditional thalassocracies seldom dominate interiors, even in their home territories. Examples of this were the Phoenician states of Tyre, Sidon and Carthage, and the Italian maritime republics of Venice and Genoa of the Mediterranean; the Chola dynasty of India and the Austronesian states of Srivijaya and Majapahit of Maritime Southeast Asia. Thalassocracies can thus be distinguished from traditional empires, where a state's territories, though possibly linked principally or solely by the sea lanes, generally extend into mainland interiors[2][3] in a tellurocracy ("land-based hegemony").[4] The term thalassocracy can also simply refer to naval supremacy, in either military or commercial senses. The Ancient Greeks first used the word thalassocracy to describe the government of the Minoan civilization, whose power depended on its navy.[5] Herodotus distinguishes sea-power from land-power and spoke of the need to counter the Phoenician thalassocracy by developing a Greek "empire of the sea". History and examples of Indo-Pacific Austronesian proto-historic and historic maritime trade networks in the Indian Ocean[7] The Austronesian peoples of Maritime Southeast Asia, who built the first ocean-going ships,[8] developed the Indian Ocean's first true maritime trade network.[7] They established trade routes with Southern India and Sri Lanka as early as 1500 BC, ushering in an exchange of material culture (like catamarans, outrigger boats, lashed-lug and sewn-plank boats, and paan) and cultigens (like coconuts, sandalwood, bananas, and sugarcane); as well as connecting the material cultures of India and China. Indonesians in particular traded in spices (mainly cinnamon and cassia) with East Africa, using catamaran and outrigger boats and sailing with the help of the Westerlies in the Indian Ocean. This trade network expanded west to Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, resulting in the Austronesian colonization of Madagascar by the first half of the first millennium AD. It continued into historic times, later becoming the Maritime Silk Road. The first thalassocracies in the Indo-Pacific region began to emerge around the 2nd century AD, through the rise of emporia exploiting the prosperous trade routes between Funan and India through the Malacca Strait using advanced Austronesian sailing technologies. Numerous coastal city-states emerged, centered on trading ports built near or around river mouths which allowed easy access to goods from inland for maritime trade. These city-states established commercial networks with other trading centers in Southeast Asia and beyond. Their rulers also gradually Indianized by adopting the social structures and religions of India to consolidate their power. The thalassocratic empire of Srivijaya emerged by the 7th century through conquest and subjugation of neighboring thalassocracies. These included Melayu, Kedah, Tarumanagara, and Medang, among others. These polities controlled the sea lanes in Southeast Asia and exploited the spice trade of the Spice Islands, as well as maritime trade-routes between India and China. Srivijaya was in turn subjugated by Singhasari around 1275, before finally being absorbed by the successor thalassocracy of Majapahit (1293–1527).[14] 59 Europe and the Mediterranean The Phoenician trade routes in the Mediterranean. Phoenicia and the Delian League were early examples of Mediterranean thalassocracies. The Middle Ages saw multiple thalassocracies, often land-based empires which controlled areas of the sea, the most important of them in terms of expansion and legacy was the Crown of Aragon (later becoming the Spanish Monarchy together with Castile after the dynastic union of both states).[15] Other famous thalassocracies were the Republic of Venice, the Republic of Genoa and the Republic of Pisa. The Venetian republic was conventionally divided in the fifteenth century into the Dogado of Venice and the Lagoon, the Stato di Terraferma of Venetian holdings in northern Italy, and the Stato da Màr of the Venetian outlands bound by the sea. According to the French historian Fernand Braudel, Venice was a scattered empire, a trading-post empire forming a long capitalist antenna. The Early Middle Ages (c. 500 – 1000 AD) saw many of the coastal cities of the Mezzogiorno develop into minor thalassocracies whose chief powers lay in their ports and in their ability to sail navies to defend friendly coasts and to ravage enemy ones. These include the variously Byzantine and Lombard duchies of Gaeta, Naples, Salerno and Amalfi. After 1000, some northern and central Italian city-states developed their own trade empires, in particular the republic based on Pisa and the powerful Republic of Genoa, that rivaled Venice. These three, along with Amalfi, Gaeta, Ancona, the small Republic of Noli and the Dalmatian Ragusa are known as maritime republics. 60 With the modern age, the Age of Exploration saw some of the most formidable thalassocracies emerge. Anchored in their European territories, several nations established colonial empires held together by naval supremacy. First among them chronologically was the Portuguese Empire, followed soon by the Spanish Empire, which was challenged by the Dutch Empire, itself replaced on the high seas by the British Empire, whose landed possessions were immense and held together by the greatest navy of its time. With naval arms-races (especially between Germany and Britain), the end of colonialism, and the winning of independence by many colonies, European thalassocracies, which had controlled the world's oceans for centuries, diminished - though Britain's power-projection in the Falklands War of 1982 demonstrated continuing thalassocratic clout. Transcontinental The Ottoman Empire expanded from a land-based region to dominate the Eastern Mediterranean and to expand into the Indian Ocean as a thalassocracy from the 15th century AD. List of historical thalassocracies                         Ancient Carthage British Empire Bruneian Empire Butuan Champa Chola Empire Crown of Aragon Dál Riata Delian League Denmark-Norway Dorian Confederation Dutch Empire Empire of Japan Frisian Kingdom Hanseatic League Kedah Kediri Kilwa Sultanate Kingdom of the Isles Kingdom of Norway (872–1397) Liburnia Melayu Kingdom Majapahit Empire Maritime republics o Duchy of Amalfi o Duchy of Gaeta o Republic of Ancona o Republic of Genoa o Republic of Noli 61 Republic of Pisa Republic of Ragusa Republic of Venice Maynila Mataram Kingdom Minoan civilization Muscat and Oman North Sea Empire Omani Empire o Sultanate of Zanzibar o Sultanate of Muscat and Oman Phoenicia Portuguese Empire Republic of Pirates Ryūkyū Kingdom Singhasari Spanish Empire Srivijaya Sugbu Sultanate of Demak Sultanate of Gowa Sultanate of Johor Sultanate of Maguindanao Sultanate of Malacca Sultanate of Sulu Sultanate of Ternate Sultanate of Tidore Swedish Empire Tarumanagara Tu'i Tonga Empire o o o                          62 CHAPTER VI Ancient Maritime Trade of Bharat Navigations in the Indian Ocean was well attested in the ancient periplographical and geographical literature, though fragmentary they provide information and attest to the existence of cartographic representations. Navigators both Greek and Latin had experienced what is was to sail in the Indian Ocean at that time, offering a constantly evolving representation of this area.1 The story of oceanic trade is a reminder of India’s colonial past. Europeans – the Portuguese, followed by the Dutch, the French, and the British –arrived as sea-faring merchants, and eventually insinuated themselves in the politics of the subcontinent with the backing of their governments.The epochs of Indian history round which these various evidences regarding the shipping and maritime activity of India will be grouped, may be roughly indicated as follows: 1.The Pre-Mauryan Epoch, extending from the earliest times to about the year B.C. 321. For this period we shall discuss the evidences that can be gleaned from some of the oldest literary records of humanity like the Rig-Vecla, the Bible, and some of the old Pali and Tamil works, as also from the finds of Egyptian and Assyrian archaeologists,cregarding the early maritime intercourse of India with the West. Evidences for this period are alsocto be derived from the writings of the Greek authors Herodotus and Ctesias, in the 5th century B.C., containing references to India. 2. The Mauryan Epoch (b.c. 321-184) For this period the available evidences are those preserved in the works of many Greek and Roman authors who essayed to the story of Alexander'sIndian campaign and recorded the observations made on India by the Greek ambassadors to the courts of the Maurya emperors. These Greek and Roman notices of India have been mostly made accessible to Indian students by the translations of Mr. McCrindle. More important and interesting than these foreign evidences the evidence furnished by a recently published Sanskrit work, the Arthasdstra of Kautilya, which is a mine of information regarding the manifold aspects of a highly developed material civilization witnessed by MauryanIndia. Bearing on this period also is the evidence of tradition preserved in that monumental work of the Kashmirian poet Kshemendra called Bodhisattvdvaddna Kalpalatd, which now being published by the Asiatic Society of Bengal in the Bibliotheca Indica series. The seventy-third pallava or chapter of this work relates a story which throws some light on the seaborne trade and maritime activity of India during the days of the Emperor Asoka. 3. The Kushan Period in the north and the Andhra Period in the south, extending roughly from the 2nd century B.C. to the 3rd century a.d.( This was the period when Roman influence on India was at its height ; in fact, the whole of the southern peninsula under the Andhra dynasty was in direct communication with Rome, while the conquests in Northern India tended still further to open up trade with the Roman Empire, so that Roman gold poured into all parts of India in payment for her silks, spices, gems, and dye-stuffs. The evidences proving this are the remarkable finds of Roman coins, more numerous in the south than in the north, together with the references in the ancient Sanskrit and Pali works to " Romaka," or the city of Rome, and in ancient Tamil works to the " Yavanas " or Greeks and Romans, and to the important South Indian ports like Muchiris and Pukar, of which full descriptions are given in old Tamil poems. Besides evidences from ancient Indian literature bearing- on 63 Indian commerce with Rome, there are also definite evidences from important foreign works. The chief of these are Pliny's Natural History, the Peripius of the Erythraean Sea, and Ptolemy's Geography, besides the incidental allusions to Indian commerce and shipping thrown out by writers like Agatharcides and Strabo. 4. The Period of Hindu Imperialism in Northern India under the Guptas and Harshavardhana, extending from the 4th century to the 7th century a.d.—This was the period of the expansion of India and of much colonizing activity towards the farther East from Bengal, the Kalinga coast, and Coromandel. Parts of Burma and Malacca were colonized, chiefly from Kalinga and Bengal, The main evidences for the remarkable maritime activity of this period are supplied by the accounts of the numerous Chinese pilgrims to India, of whom Fa-Hien was the first and Hiuen Tsang the most famous. These accounts are now all accessible through translations. Among foreign works supplying valuable materials for the history of the period may be mentioned the Christian Topography. Some very valuable evidences regarding the early commerce between India and China are furnished by Chinese annals like the Kwai-Yuen Catalogue of the Chinese Tripitaka. Yule's Cathay and the Way Thither also has recorded many facts relating to the Indian intercourse with China. For the reign of Harsha the most important source of information is the Travels of Hiuen Tsang, that " treasure-house of accurate information, indispensable to every student of Indian antiquity, which has done more than any archaeological discovery to render possible the remarkable resuscitation of lost Indian history which has recently been effected." 5. The Period of Hindu Imperialism in Southern India and the rise of the Cholas, extending from the middle of the 7th century up to the Mahomedan conquests in Northern India. During this period Indian maritime intercourse was equally active with both the West and the East. The colonization of Java was completed, and the great temple of Borobudur remained a standing monument of the hold which Buddhism had on that /island. The field of Indian maritime enterprise was extended as far as Japan. Chinese traveller, contains many interesting details regarding Indian maritime activity in the Eastern waters and intercourse with China in the latter half of the 7th century. Chinese annals also furnish evidences regarding the maritime intercourse of the Cholas with China, e.g. the Sung-shih. The Musalman {pre-Mogul) Period, extending from the nth century to the 15th.—The sources of evidence for this, and indeed the whole of the Musalman period, are mostly imbedded in Persian works which have been made accessible to scholars by the monumental History of India by Sir H. Elliot, in eight volumes. For information regarding maritime enterprise and activity in Sindh our authorities are Al-Bildduri and Chach-ndma, translated in Elliot, vol. i. The early Musalman travellers throw much light upon Indian affairs of this period. Al-Biruni is our authority for the nth century and Al-Idrisi for the 12th. In the 13th century a very valuable source of information regarding Indian shipping and commerce is furnished by a foreign traveMer, the Venetian Marco Polo. Wassaf is our guide in the next century, as well as Tdrikh-iFirozshdhi. In the 15th century we have, in the Chinese account of Mahuan, the most important foreign notice of India after Marco Polo, which relates the exchange of presents between the kings of Bengal and the emperors of China. 1n the 6th century, when the .Portuguese first appear as a factor in Indian politics, details regarding Indian maritime activity are derivable from Portuguese annals like De Coutto, utilized in some of the standard works on the history of the Portuguese power in India. About the same time the foreign traveller Varthema has left a very interesting account of shipbuilding in Calicut. 64 7. The Period of Mogul Monarchy, from the 1 6th century to the i8th, i.e. from the reign of Akbar to that of Aurangzeb.—The evidence for the reign of Akbar is derived, firstly, from that mine of information, Abul-Fazl's Ayeen-i-Akbari, which gives a very valuable account of Akbar's Admiralty; and, secondly, from the abstract of Ausil Toomar yumma given in Grant's Analysis of the Finances of Bengal in the Fifth Report, in which are contained many interesting details regarding the organization and progress of the Imperial Nowwara or shipping stationed at Dacca, the sources of revenue for its maintenance, the materials for shipbuilding, and the like. The Chach-ndma in Elliot, vol. i., and AbulFazl's Ayeen~i-Akbari give some details about the shipping and ports of Sindh. Some details regarding Hindu maritime activity, commerce, and shipping in Bengal are also derived. The ‘Periplus of the Erythraean Sea’ shows how India has been part of an interconnected global network for millennia. dhow of the coast of Kenya. Monsoon as maritime destiny:In a period prior to modern navigation and ships, the monsoon integrated a world of trade across the Indian Ocean. The fact that it depended on the vagaries of the weather did not mean this trade was marginal. India’s location at the centre of this oceanic geography facilitated its rise as the fulcrum of world trade and economy. This sophisticated, wide ranging commerce, played a key role in the subcontinent. India at the time and for centuries later accounted for, according to some estimates, nearly a fifth of the world’s GDP. One of the earliest written accounts of this complex network of trade is the Greek text, Periplus Maris Erythraei or the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (read it online here). This remarkable handbook was written sometime in the middle of the first century CE and was meant for Greek merchants trading between Egypt, East Africa, southern Arabia and India. 65 1597 map depicting the locations of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. Abraham Ortelius [Public domain] The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea primarily focuses on two trade routes originating at Egyptian ports: one, on the East African coast as far as Tanzania, and the other via the Arabian peninsula and Persian Gulf to western India. The author writes in detail of numerous cities, ports and harbours on these routes but India’s western coast, from Karachi down to Kanyakumari on the southernmost tip, accounts for nearly half the narrative.Literally, Erythraean Sea means “red sea” but this is not a reference to the waterbody we know as the Red Sea today. For ancient Greek and Roman geographers, the Erythraean Sea incorporated the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the western Indian Ocean. The text of the Periplus survives in the form of a 10th-century manuscript preserved in Heidelberg, a copy of which is also housed at the British Museum. Written over 1,900 years ago and more than 1,400 years before Vasco da Gama “discovered” the trade route to India, the Periplus is a window into the diverse world of the Indian Ocean. Lionel Casson, scholar of the Periplus and also its most recent translator, has noted that other periploi, an ancient genre of manuals, from the time are primarily guides for seamen containing navigational information. In contrast, according to Casson, the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea is a guide for merchants emphasising knowledge of trade and products that could be bought and sold on each port – something akin to a modern shoppers’ guide. The descriptions of the places on these oceanic routes are colourful and the reporting style is direct and detailed giving the impression that the author, an Egyptian Greek who remains anonymous, was writing from personal experience. Manoeuvring the monsoons By the time this merchant drafted his deliberations on traversing the western Indian Ocean, Mediterranean trade with India had been on the rise for three centuries. But Indian and Arab mariners had plied the Indian Ocean years before Greek ships entered these waters. To ensure safe voyage, these seamen needed to manoeuvre the monsoons, those seasonal winds that in the western Indian Ocean, Gulf of Aden, and the Arabian Sea, blow from the southwest during the summer and from the northeast 66 during the winter. Until about a century before the Periplus was written, while goods were frequently traded between India and the Mediterranean, the Greek merchants depended primarily on their Indian and Arab counterparts for access to India. Mastery over monsoon was so integral to this entire trading world that for every port that the Periplus mentions, it also makes sure to note the most suitable months in which to make the journey. Quite apart from the delight of reading a merchant’s advice and opinions from so far back in time, the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, tells us of three vital but overlooked aspects of the ancient Indian Ocean trade. First, the ports, harbours, and metropolises located on the Indian Ocean coasts the Periplus mentions may not be well-known today but were some of the most vibrant trading centres of the world at the time. The Indian port city of Bharuch, which was also a major manufacturing centre features pre-eminently in the Greek merchant’s handbook. Muziris, roughly near present-day Kochi on the Malabar coast, was another hub of commercial interactions between the Mediterranean, India, Persia, Africa, China, and Southeast Asia. Northeast of Bharuch, Ujjan was a thriving entrepot from where products from all over the subcontinent made their way to the maritime ports. The Periplus mentions nearly 20 Indian ports, markets, and towns painting a picture of a buzzing world of trade, production, and social exchange around 50 CE. Over the centuries that followed, Indian ports, urban, and commercial centres rose to prominence as some of biggest cities of the medieval world. Second, the Periplus gives the modern reader a fascinating glimpse into the “bestsellers” traded across the Indian Ocean two millennia ago. The most frequently mentioned and perhaps also the most surprising from today’s vantage point, is tortoise shell procured from India and Africa. Frankincense and myrrh, aromatic resins used for incense and perfumes and for the purpose of embalming in Egypt also make it to the list. Less surprising is that India’s Malabar coast exported shipfulls of pepper, as it would continue to do when Vasco da Gama came in search for this precious “black gold” centuries later.The widest spread of goods was traded by India: native spices, drugs and aromatics, fine cottons and Chinese silks, ivory, and pearls. Indian merchants along with their Arab counterparts controlled the trade in everyday commodities like grain, rice, sesame oil, ghee, cane sugar, and cotton cloth. Taste on the Indian coast veered decidedly towards the more expensive side even when it came to imports from the Mediterranean. Indians bought Italian and Arab wines, olive oil, silverware and glassware. Indian kings also demanded deluxe clothing, choice unguents, as well as “slave musicians” and “beautiful girls for concubinage”. The Mediterranean demands for expensive goods from India, as the Roman officials often lamented were draining their coffers, and as the Periplus also notes, Roman gold and silver coins, valued as bullion, fetched high exchange rates on the subcontinent; the hordes of Roman coins and shards of amphorae (which mostly hold wine but also oil) that archaeologists have unearthed from India’s southwestern coast. 67 Third, it is clear that even in its earliest form, trade between India and the Mediterranean across the Indian Ocean was highly evolved. A sophisticated economic system was needed to support these intricately linked commercial and social networks. Evidence from the Periplus shows how merchants had to navigate restrictive rulers and their officials, face the threat of pirates and negotiate with vendors who drove hard bargains. Trade was conducted through barter as well as with money. Maritime ports were linked, particularly in India, to webs of internal riverine routes and inland trading and production centres. Over time, complex banking and capital generating systems came in to place. Historian Himanshu Prabha Ray has written, for instance, of the vital role Buddhist monasteries played in the cultural and commercial landscape of the northern Deccan and western India during the first century CE. Her research shows that Buddhist monasteries were able to provide early forms of banking and act as safe houses for merchants and travellers. Their location on important trade routes linked to the Arabian sea also facilitated the rise of production centres and cities in the surrounding areas; the Periplus in fact mentions the towns of Paithan and Tagara in this region that supplied onyx and ordinary cloth respectively to the port of Bharuch. A dhow carrying slaves in the Indian Ocean in 1893. Colomb, Philip Howard, 1831-1899 The world that the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea describes and that developed, over the centuries, into a network of some of the world’s richest cities is far removed from our own times. It is important to avoid the temptation to read into it only the values and ideas we cherish today. Yet, this was by no means an idyllic world. For example, even from the Periplus we glean that slaves were not only bought and sold in these markets, slaves and convicts also provided the labour for the most difficult tasks of the lucrative luxury trade like pearl diving and the unhealthy work of collecting frankincense from trees; women find only three passing mentions in the entire text. 68 However, we do learn one big thing from the Periplus: that as early as the first century CE, India was part of an interconnected global network. And as much as it was part of the old it was also a cosmopolitan, multi-lingual, dynamic world. For centuries before the European trading companies “discovered” it, the Indian Ocean was place where merchants without navies ruled the high seas. And trade without colonialism flourished.3 Kerala Maritime History: The Saga of Kerala Trade History Both the 6400 km land route taken by caravans as well as the Indian maritime history of trade route carrying cargo passed through India. The former crossed North India whereas the latter passed through the coastal belt of south India. These are well-etched stories in Indian history. Our focus is on Kerala Maritime history, discussed here is the scenario prevalent in south India in those times and the impact of trade on this part of the world. 69 Kerala Maritime History: An illustration of ancient-day Calicut port (different location) Indian Maritime History mentions that Indian ocean trade had a prominent place in world economic scenario and in linking several people and cultures. The Indian Ocean borders the African continent and connected the Mediterranean through the Red Sea, the Middle East via the Persian Gulf, makes a U shape touching both shores of the Indian subcontinent, Sri Lanka and across the Bay of Bengal links up with South China seas. There is no single maritime tradition for the entire Indian Ocean region.Instead, there are local traditions suited to a particular maritime environment and set of human needs. There are such cases all through Indian history, or specifically, in the India Maritime History. The Medieval Kerala trade history is a case in point! The geographical location of Kerala, its extensive coastline, and the course of monsoon winds set the rhythm of sea trade here. Kerala Maritime History in Boom Kerala is referred to as ‘Garden of Spices’ according to Sumerian records. Merchants from Babylonia, Assyria, Egypt, Arab, Greece and Rome have visited this part of the land for trade. Kerala maritime history points towards a rich Kerala trade history. Judaism was one of the first foreign religions to arrive in India. It is believed that King Solomon had visited Kerala for trade purposes.In the 6th century BC, the Jews came to Cranganore (which the Jews referred to as Shingly) to escape from the Babylonian captivity of Nebuchadnezzar. Later many more Jews landed here and settled in Kodungalloor (Cranganore), Parur, Palayur and Kollam.Records say Jews were traders and remained 70 loyal to the native rulers, in return the Jewish leaders were granted distinctive privileges and honours by the local rulers and land to make houses and synagogues. To this day, Kochi has a Jewish Street, a functioning synagogue and a handful of Jewish descendants. The copper plates granted by the Chera ruler in 1000 CE bears evidence to the influence the Jews enjoyed in the domestic and foreign affairs of pre-modern Kerala. When St Thomas came to Kerala, there was a large number of Jews already present here and initially, they were tried to convert to Christianity. Pepper vines in Kerala are what attracted the Romans Hoards of Roman aureus (coins) and pottery were discovered from various parts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, pointing towards Indo-Roman trade (a significant part of Indian Maritime History) in the early centuries of the Christian era. This is a great story that connects with Kerala Maritime History. Contemporaneous to the Roman Empire, south India (comprised of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and parts of Karnataka, Andhra and Sri Lanka) was ruled by Chera, Chola and Pandiya dynasties from 6th century BC to 3rd century CE, known as the Sangam Period. With the decline of the Roman Empire in the 5th century CE, trading with Rome ended. Though Chera, Chola and Pandya powers saw a decline with the rise of Kalabhras, it was short-lived. The three powers revived again during the eighth and ninth centuries. The ordainment of Pallava kingdom (A.D 600) witnessed the development of several trade organizations and economic activities in south India. Some of the ports in the coastal towns were Sopara, Ozene, Kalyana, Tyndis, Naura, Muziris, Nelcynda, Masalia, Sopatma, Kolkar etc. These ports are significant elements of Kerala Maritime History. Spice and precious herbs were traded from hinterlands and plantations of Kerala. 71 Ancient Maritime Trade Routes The scenario in South India during the Medieval Period The history of people of South Asia is mainly documented in the literature written in the Sangam period. People were divided into five different clans based on their profession: Mallars (farmers), Malavars (traders), Nagars (border security), Kadambars (forest people), Thiraiyars (seafarers) and Maravas (warriors). Each clan have their own mark in Indian history.The clans spread across the land and formed individual settlements. Seafarers obviously lived in the coastal region and the traders came to live in Kerala, western Tamil Nadu, eastern Andhra Pradesh, and southern Sri Lanka.The growth and development of trade and urbanization in medieval Kerala was a synchronized process. Agricultural production was the mainstay of the economy of Kerala in the medieval period. The land was given much importance as it was the main source of production. The very unique environmental peculiarities of Malabar supported the growth of several varieties of pepper, cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Pulses and grains were also grown and the forests produced various species of trees such as teak, veetti, trimbakam, angili, arani and mahagoni. The ballads, anthologies, inscribed sources and oral narratives refer to agricultural prosperity in the rural areas. Growth and development of agriculture in the hinterlands brought about plentiful 72 availability of surplus. The excess agricultural crops and grains were bartered for other necessities in angadis or trading centres, turning the ports to cities. Traders used coins especially in foreign trade to export spices, muslin, cotton, pearls and precious stones to countries of the west and received the wine, olive oil, amphora and terracotta pots from there. Egyptian dinars and Venetian ducats (1284-1797) were in great demand in medieval Kerala trade history. Chapter of Arab and Chinese Traders: Kerala Maritime History The Arabs and the Chinese were important trade partners of medieval Kerala. Arab trade and navigation attained a new enthusiasm since the birth and spread of Islam. Four gold coins of Umayyad Caliphs (665-750 CE) found in Kothamangalam (Ernakulam district) testifies the visit of Arab traders to Kerala in that period. With the formation of Abbasid Caliphate (750-1258 CE) the Golden Age of Islam began and trade flourished as the religion was favourably disposed towards trade. Ninth century onwards the Arab trade to Malabar was raised to new esteems and saw many outposts of Muslim merchants. This, later on, became a strong element of Kerala Maritime History. Mishkal Mosque was built by Yemeni Arab Trader Nakhuda Mishkal in the 15th Century The Trade with Malabar resulted in the drainage of Chinese gold in abundance that the Southern Sang Government (1127-1279) prohibited the use of gold, silver and bronze in foreign trade in 1219 and silk fabrics and porcelain was ordered to be bartered against foreign goods. Pepper, coconut, fish, betel nuts, etc were exported from Malabar in exchange for gold, silver, coloured satin, blue and white porcelain, musk, quicksilver and camphor from China. Traffic on sea route increased by the second half of the eighth century CE as the Chinese and the Arabs had a tough time fighting the regional tribes on the land route. By the beginning of the 15th century, Kozhikode had developed into a great emporium of international trade. Kerala coast used to be studded with settlements of traders. These settlements were due to commercial and climatic compulsions. Sailing with south-west monsoon wind, traders from the West would come to the western ports of India. Incapable of reaching Malacca and Canton in a single monsoon, they were forced to stay along Malabar Coast and thus the region became a stopover for the merchants from the west. Traders had to wait for favourable winds or stay in the port for collecting cargoes. Though pirates were very active in a number of ports along the western coast, foreign traders and their merchandise were safe at Kozhikode. The security of her waters, as well as the efficient facilities for trade, attracted foreign traders to Kozhikode. 73 Indian History: The Imperialism Before 1500 Europe was largely self-sufficient. By late 1500, many sea explorers took a series of voyages to reach India, in the hope of establishing direct trade between Europe and Asia in spices. With Vasco da Gama landing in Kozhikode, he opened the way for an age of global imperialism and the Portuguese established a colonial empire in Asia. Portuguese commercialized agriculture. Through this enriched, the economy, the beneficiaries of this richness were not the common man. Indian Maritime Trade exposed our rural economy to the international money market in terms of the price of spices which resulted in the enhanced use of coined money. The maritime cities of this oceanic trade system were Venice, Alexandria, Hormuz, Aden, Cambay, Kollam, Kozhikode, Malacca, and Canton. By the closing decade of the 15th century the first Portuguese trading post in India was established at Kochi and the trade there was comparable with that of Lisbon. Kochi saw powerful merchant families with wide connections in the inter-Asian trade. One such family was that of the Mamale Marakkar who had well-established trade connections with the East Indies. In the beginning’ of the 16th century, this merchant used to supply pepper to the Portuguese in large quantities in return for copper. Horse trade had great economic and political significance in those times. Thousands of fine quality horses were imported to the Malabar port from the trading centres of the Red Sea, especially Hormuz. Kulamukku and Kannur were centres of the lucrative horse trade. The ruling powers of the Deccan especially Vijayanagar obtained horses from Kannur. To monopolize the horse trade, the Portuguese captured Hormuz and shifted the arrival of horses to the port to Goa, reducing the significance of Kozhikode in trade. The initially controlled trade in 74 Malabar from British Telicherry The Dutch annexed Kochi by defeating the Portuguese and ruled from 1661-1795. With the British occupying the Malabar in 1795, the Dutch had to go back. In the 18th century, the British built up a well-knit commercial network in the Indian Ocean and took over the entire trade rights.With the archaeological excavations carried out at Muziris, Kerala Tourism is ready to implement an ambitious project this year called ‘Spice Route’ to rediscover the stopovers along the 2000-year-old trade route on the Indian Ocean. Explore the Kerala Maritime History with this package. An early 20th century painting captures a dhow sailing along the East African coast. These traditional boats plied the waters of the Indian Ocean for millennia, connecting continents. (Credit: Mary Evans Picture Library) It’s a chapter of history nearly forgotten: Intrepid merchants and explorers traveled thousands of miles, not along storied caravan routes, but across the great blue expanse of the Indian Ocean, exchanging goods and ideas, forming bonds and challenging our notions about the ancient world.“People think that it must have taken a long time to get anywhere, that it must have been difficult to travel long distances, but that is not true,” says archaeologist Marilee Wood, whose research focuses on the network’s glass bead trade. “This [field of study] is about opening that all up.”In fact, by the time Marco Polo set out to explore East Asia in the 13th century, communities across Africa, Asia and the Mediterranean had been exchanging their wares for thousands of years in a vast network driven by the monsoon winds of the Indian Ocean. 75 As trade flourished along the network’s routes, so did construction, such as this massive fifth-century basilica in Adulis, a port city in what’s now Eritrea on the Red Sea coast. (Credit: David Stanley) Early scholars presumed that the Indian Ocean network had developed to supply the Roman Empire’s demand for exotic goods. However, new evidence shows that the network predates the Romans by generations.The Indian Ocean system developed out of the gradual integration of earlier regional networks. By 3000 B.C., travelers in small canoes and rafts moved between towns and trading ports along coastlines from Arabia to the Indian subcontinent. By 2000 B.C., millet and sorghum — grains imported from the East African coast — were part of the cuisine of the Harappan civilization, which stretched across today’s Pakistan and northern India. Archaeological evidence and genetic studies suggest that the first major settlement of Madagascar came not from Africa — a short hop across the Mozambique Channel — but from Indonesia, 4,000 miles away. Less famous than the Silk Road — its land-based parallel — the maritime web of commerce and cultural exchange operated on seasonal monsoon winds. The network grew out of ancient regional routes and, by 2,000 years ago, connected Western Europe with East Asia. (Credit: Rick Johnson/Discover) During its peak, the trade network connected places as far-flung as China, Rome and southern African kingdoms such as Great Zimbabwe. In terms of the sheer amount of goods moved, the maritime trading system rivaled its more famous inland relative, the Silk Road. A first-century Greek manuscript, The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, recorded trading depots and ports’ locations, goods and populations with enough accuracy that researchers today are able to match archaeological sites with the text’s descriptions. For example, using the text, one team has determined a site in present-day Eritrea was Adulis, an important city in the early Christian empire of Aksum. For more than a millennium, farmers, shepherds and merchants went there from surrounding villages to exchange raw materials such as ivory, salt and animal skins for Persian glassware, Arabian spices and other exotic products. 76 Researchers found Ming Dynasty porcelain from China among artifacts of Great Zimbabwe, capital city of a massive southern African kingdom. (Credit: Chirikure 2014 African Archaeological Review) Many of these goods made their way far inland. Archaeologists today regularly recover small items like glass beads, spindle whorls or Chinese porcelain at sites across Africa and the Mediterranean. These foreign-made objects — particularly those easily transported, such as glass beads — became a kind of currency in more ways than one. “It wasn’t like money, though you could say beads the length of your arm would get you a cow, or a certain number of chickens,” Wood says. “But it created a form of wealth and power. It built alliances.” This exquisite gold rhino is one of many grave goods from burials at the site of Mapungubwe in southern Africa. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the city was a nexus for local, inland commerce and Indian Ocean gold trade. (Credit: Stefan Heunis/AFP/Getty Images) Not only owning, but also giving away such exotic items appears to have been critical in gaining political power and building trust. Movers and Shapers Archaeologists still have many questions about the Indian Ocean exchange network. Tracing the movement of goods from place to place is relatively easy. With pottery, for example, members of a single community tend to repeat the same decorative styles over time. Stone, clay and other raw materials, used to produce objects ranging from anchors to gold bullion, have unique chemical signatures that vary by geographic location and can be traced back to their source. 77 Glass beads, filling a clay cup found in southern India, served as currency along some maritime and inland routes associated with the Indian Ocean trade network. (Credit: DEA/G. Dagli Orti/Granger, NYC) Figuring out how the goods were moved is a little harder. Ships are rare finds, and inland caravans even rarer. One thing scholars know for certain is that the very nature of the ocean trade made prolonged periods of interaction necessary: The currents of the Indian Ocean change seasonally, and traders had to wait for months until currents shifted in favor of the return voyage. For many seafarers, these foreign ports became a second home. However, outside of the ports mentioned in a handful of ancient texts, it’s unclear just how merchants, and their goods, traveled inland. This bust of a “priest king” from the Indus Valley site of Mohenjo-Daro is about 4,000 years old. Its carver may have eaten millet imported from Africa via the Indian Ocean trade network. (Credit: EA/A. Dagli Orti/De Agostini/Getty Images) Kefilwe Rammutloa, a graduate student at the University of Pretoria, is building a database to trace the distribution of exotic goods at sites across southeastern Africa. She’s finding evidence that suggests members of indigenous communities exchanged these items, often as gifts, rather than professional merchants establishing trade between towns. Like Wood, Rammutloa has uncovered a social aspect to the items. Mapungubwe, for example, the first indigenous kingdom of southern Africa, was rich in ivory and gold — but bodies found in its cemeteries were interred with glass beads from Persia and porcelain from China. “People used the materials to create relationships,” says Rammutloa. “We’re talking about humans here. Someone gives you a gift, they’re negotiating a role in your life. It creates a network."Indian Ocean trade never truly disappeared. Beginning in the 15th century, however, with the expansion of European exploration and China’s withdrawal from international affairs, the world’s economic focus shifted westward.In the centuries that followed, few researchers studied this early and extensive trade 78 network. Says Wood: “It’s the European background of the people writing the histories, including our own. There’s more work being done now, but part of the problem is that we depend on written documents, and there are a lot less [for the Indian Ocean trade network]. It’s also a question of language. I’m sure there are a wealth of documents on it hidden away in China, but someone’s got to translate them.” On the Indonesian island of Sumatra, a hoard of Chinese coins found in a river estuary attest to regional commerce routes combining to create the greater Indian Ocean network. (Credit: Marilee Wood) Other forces, from unstable governments to international sanctions, have also stymied research in the past.“The political past of South Africa has left a huge gap,” says Rammutloa. “It’s only now, after apartheid, that we’re able to get involved in international projects.” Over the past decade, dozens of regional research programs have developed in coastal Africa, and connected with peers in Europe and Asia, in a way re-creating the trade routes they study. Only now they’re exchanging information rather than goods. 4 These trading enterprises began on the coasts – Malabar, Goa, Gujarat, Bengal – but as is known to every school child, the East India Company eventually took over direct and indirect control. By the 19th century, with the advent of the steamship, the British truly became the monopolistic masters of the Indian Ocean moving goods and people in large numbers. Sea trade then is associated with the tragedy that brought in the trepidations of colonial exploitation. This past prevents us from looking at the dazzling world of Indian Ocean trade that came before. Indian Ocean Trade (whose trade routes are sometimes collectively called the Monsoon Marketplace) has been a key factor in East–West exchanges throughout history. Long distance trade in dhows and proas made it a dynamic zone of interaction between peoples, cultures, and civilizations stretching from Java in the East to Zanzibar and Mombasa in the West. Cities and states on the Indian Ocean rim focused on both the sea and the land. There was an extensive maritime trade network operating between the Harappan and Mesopotamian civilizations as early as the middle Harappan Phase (2600-1900 BCE), with much commerce being handled by "middlemen merchants from Dilmun" (modern Bahrain and Failaka located in the Persian Gulf).[4] Such long-distance sea trade became feasible with the development of plank-built watercraft, equipped with a single central mast supporting a sail of woven rushes or cloth. Several coastal settlements like Sotkagen-dor (astride Dasht River, north of Jiwani), Sokhta 79 Koh (astride Shadi River, north of Pasni), and Balakot (near Sonmiani) in Pakistan along with Lothal in western India, testify to their role as Harappan trading outposts. Shallow harbours located at the estuaries of rivers opening into the sea allowed brisk maritime trade with Mesopotamian cities. Austronesian proto-historic and historic maritime trade network in the Indian Ocean The first true maritime trade network in the Indian Ocean was by the Austronesian peoples of Island Southeast Asia, who built the first ocean-going ships. They established trade routes with Southern India and Sri Lanka as early as 1500 BC, ushering an exchange of material culture (like catamarans, outrigger boats, lashed-lug and sewn-plank boats, and paan) and cultigens (like coconuts, sandalwood, bananas, and sugarcane); as well as connecting the material cultures of India and China. Indonesians, in particular were trading in spices (mainly cinnamon and cassia) with East Africa using catamaran and outrigger boats and sailing with the help of the Westerlies in the Indian Ocean. This trade network expanded to reach as far as Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, resulting in the Austronesian colonization of Madagascar by the first half of the first millennium AD. It continued up to historic times, later becoming the Maritime Silk Road. Ancient Greece–Ancient India relations Prior to Roman expansion, the various peoples of the subcontinent had established strong maritime trade with other countries. The dramatic increase in South Asian ports, however, did not occur until the opening of the Red Sea by the Greeks and the Romans and the attainment of geographical knowledge concerning the region's seasonal monsoons. In fact, the first two centuries of the Common Era indicate this increase in trade between present-day western India and Rome. This expansion of trade was due to the comparative peace established by the Roman Empire during the time of Augustus (9 September 61 BC – 19 August AD 14), which allowed for new explorations. Indo-Roman trade relations (see also the spice trade and incense road) was trade between the Indian subcontinent and the Roman Empire in Europe and the Mediterranean Sea. Trade through the overland caravan routes via Asia Minor and the Middle East, though at a relative trickle compared to later times, antedated the southern trade route via the Red Sea and monsoons which started around the beginning of the Common Era (CE) following the reign of Augustus and his conquest of Egypt in 30 BCE. The southern route so helped enhance trade between the ancient Roman Empire and the Indian subcontinent, that Roman politicians and historians are on record decrying the loss of silver and gold to buy silk to pamper Roman wives, and the southern route grew to eclipse and then totally supplant the overland trade route. 80 Roman and Greek traders frequented the ancient Tamil country, present day Southern India and Sri Lanka, securing trade with the seafaring Tamil states of the Pandyan, Chola and Chera dynasties and establishing trading settlements which secured trade with the Indian subcontinent by the GrecoRoman world since the time of the Ptolemaic dynasty a few decades before the start of the Common Era and remained long after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. As recorded by Strabo, Emperor Augustus of Rome received at Antioch an ambassador from a South Indian king called Pandyan of Dramira. The country of the Pandyas, Pandi Mandala, was described as Pandyan Mediterranea in the Periplus and Modura Regia Pandyan by Ptolemy. They also outlasted Byzantium's loss of the ports of Egypt and the Red Sea (c. 639–645 CE) under the pressure of the Muslim conquests. Sometime after the sundering of communications between the Christian Kingdom of Axum and the Eastern Roman Empire in the 7th century, the Kingdom of Axum fell into a slow decline, fading into obscurity in western sources. It survived, despite pressure from Islamic forces, until the 11th century, when it was reconfigured in a dynastic squabble. Communications were reinstated after the Muslim forces retreated. Indian ship on lead coin of Vasisthiputra Sri Pulamavi.Relief panel of a ship at Borobudur, 8th– 9th century. Roman trade with India according to the Periplus Maris Erythraei, 1st century CE. The replacement of Greece by the Roman empire as the administrator of the Mediterranean basin led to the strengthening of direct maritime trade with the east and the elimination of the taxes extracted previously by the middlemen of various land-based trading routes.[11] Strabo's mention of the vast increase in trade following the Roman annexation of Egypt indicates that monsoon was known and manipulated for trade in his time. The trade started by Eudoxus of Cyzicus in 130 BCE kept increasing, and according to Strabo (II.5.12.), writing some 150 years later: At any rate, when Gallus was prefect of Egypt, I accompanied him and ascended the Nile as far as Syene and the frontiers of Kingdom of Aksum (Ethiopia), and I learned that as many as one hundred and twenty vessels were sailing from Myos Hormos to the subcontinent, whereas formerly, under the Ptolemies, only a very few ventured to undertake the voyage and to carry on traffic in Indian merchandise. — Strabo By the time of Augustus up to 120 ships were setting sail every year from Myos Hormos to India. So much gold was used for this trade, and apparently recycled by the Kushan Empire (Kushans) for their own coinage, that Pliny the Elder (NH VI.101) complained about the drain of specie to India: Roman ports 81 The three main Roman ports involved with eastern trade were Arsinoe, Berenice and Myos Hormos. Arsinoe was one of the early trading centers but was soon overshadowed by the more easily accessible Myos Hormos and Berenice. Arsinoe Sites of Egyptian Red Sea ports, including Alexandria and Berenice./Roman piece of pottery from Arezzo, Latium, found at Virampatnam, Arikamedu (1st century CE). Musee Guimet. The Ptolemaic dynasty exploited the strategic position of Alexandria to secure trade with the subcontinent. The course of trade with the east then seems to have been first through the harbor of Arsinoe, the present day Suez. The goods from the East African trade were landed at one of the three main Roman ports, Arsinoe, Berenice or Myos Hormos. The Romans repaired and cleared out the silted up canal from the Nile to harbor center of Arsinoe on the Red Sea. This was one of the many efforts the Roman administration had to undertake to divert as much of the trade to the maritime routes as possible. Arsinoe was eventually overshadowed by the rising prominence of Myos Hormos. The navigation to the northern ports, such as Arsinoe-Clysma, became difficult in comparison to Myos Hormos due to the northern winds in the Gulf of Suez.[18] Venturing to these northern ports presented additional difficulties such as shoals, reefs and treacherous currents. Myos Hormos and Berenice Myos Hormos and Berenice appear to have been important ancient trading ports, possibly used by the Pharaonic traders of ancient Egypt and the Ptolemaic dynasty before falling into Roman control. The site of Berenice, since its discovery by Belzoni (1818), has been equated with the ruins near Ras Banas in Southern Egypt. However, the precise location of Myos Hormos is disputed with the latig Abu Sha'ar and the accounts given in classical literature and satellite images indicating a probable identification with Quseir el-Quadim at the end of a fortified road from Koptos on the Nile. The Quseir el-Quadim site has further been associated with Myos Hormos following the excavations at el-Zerqa, halfway along the route, which have revealed ostraca leading to the conclusion that the port at the end of this road may have been Myos Hormos. Major regional ports 82 The regional ports of Barbaricum (modern Karachi), Sounagoura (central Bangladesh) Barygaza, Muziris in Kerala, Korkai, Kaveripattinam and Arikamedu on the southern tip of present-day India were the main centers of this trade, along with Kodumanal, an inland city. The Periplus Maris Erythraei describes Greco-Roman merchants selling in Barbaricum "thin clothing, figured linens, topaz, coral, storax, frankincense, vessels of glass, silver and gold plate, and a little wine" in exchange for "costus, bdellium, lycium, nard, turquoise, lapis lazuli, Seric skins, cotton cloth, silk yarn, and indigo". In Barygaza, they would buy wheat, rice, sesame oil, cotton and cloth. Barigaza Trade with Barigaza, under the control of the Indo-Scythian Western Satrap Nahapana ("Nambanus"), was especially flourishing There are imported into this market-town (Barigaza), wine, Italian preferred, also Laodicean and Arabian; copper, tin, and lead; coral and topaz; thin clothing and inferior sorts of all kinds; brightcolored girdles a cubit wide; storax, sweet clover, flint glass, realgar, antimony, gold and silver coin, on which there is a profit when exchanged for the money of the country; and ointment, but not very costly and not much. And for the King there are brought into those places very costly vessels of silver, singing boys, beautiful maidens for the harem, fine wines, thin clothing of the finest weaves, and the choicest ointments. There are exported from these places spikenard, costus, bdellium, ivory, agate and carnelian, lycium, cotton cloth of all kinds, silk cloth, mallow cloth, yarn, long pepper and such other things as are brought here from the various market-towns. Those bound for this market-town from Egypt make the voyage favorably about the month of July, that is Epiphi. — Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (paragraph 49). Muziris Muziris, as shown in the Tabula Peutingeriana, with a "Templum Augusti". Muziris is a lost port city on the south-western coast of India which was a major center of trade in the ancient Tamil land between the Chera kingdom and the Roman Empire. Its location is generally identified with modern-day Cranganore (central Kerala).[22][23] Large hoards of coins and innumerable shards of amphorae found at the town of Pattanam (near Cranganore) have elicited recent archeological interest in finding a probable location of this port city. According to the Periplus, numerous Greek seamen managed an intense trade with Muziris. Then come Naura and Tyndis, the first markets of Damirica (Limyrike), and then Muziris and 83 Nelcynda, which are now of leading importance. Tyndis is of the Kingdom of Cerobothra; it is a village in plain sight by the sea. Muziris, of the same Kingdom, abounds in ships sent there with cargoes from Arabia, and by the Greeks; it is located on a river, distant from Tyndis by river and sea five hundred stadia, and up the river from the shore twenty stadia" — The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (53–54) Arikamedu The Periplus Maris Erythraei mentions a marketplace named Poduke (ch. 60), which G.W.B. Huntingford identified as possibly being Arikamedu in Tamil Nadu, a centre of early Chola trade (now part of Ariyankuppam), about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from the modern Pondicherry. Huntingford further notes that Roman pottery was found at Arikamedu in 1937, and archeological excavations between 1944 and 1949 showed that it was "a trading station to which goods of Roman manufacture were imported during the first half of the 1st century AD". Decline and legacy Following the Roman-Persian Wars, the areas under the Roman Byzantine Empire were captured by Khosrow II of the Persian Sassanian Dynasty, but the Byzantine emperor Heraclius reconquered them (628). The Arabs, led by 'Amr ibn al-'As, crossed into Egypt in late 639 or early 640 CE. This advance marked the beginning of the Islamic conquest of Egypt and the fall of ports such as Alexandria, used to secure trade with the subcontinent by the Roman world since the Ptolemaic dynasty. The decline in trade saw the ancient Tamil country turn to Southeast Asia for international trade, where it influenced the native culture to a greater degree than the impressions made on Rome. Dating back to the first century, Indian culture started making its way into the region of Southeast Asia. The expansion of Indian culture into these areas was given the term Indianization. The term was coined by French archaeologist, George Coedes in his work Histoire ancienne des états hindouisés d'ExtrêmeOrient (The Indianized States of Southeast Asia). He defined it as the expansion of an organized culture that was framed upon Indian originations of royalty, Hinduism and Buddhism and the Sanskrit dialect. A large number of nations came under the influence of the Indosphere becoming a part of Greater India, the cultural expansion caused the Sanskritization of South East Asia, the rise of Indianized kingdoms, spread of Hinduism in Southeast Asia and the Silk road transmission of Buddhism. Indian honorifics were adopted into the Malay, Thai, Filipino and Indonesian languages. The Indian diaspora, both historical (PIO or Person of Indian-Origin) and current (NRI or Non-Resident Indian), play an ongoing key role in the region in terms of geopolitical, strategic, trade, cultural traditions, and economic aspects, with most Southeast Asian countries having sizable Indian communities alongside often much larger ethnic Chinese minorities.he Satavahanas developed shipping ventures in Southeast Asia. They were also referred to as the Andhras in the Puranas, were an ancient Indian dynasty based in the Deccan region. Most modern scholars believe that the Satavahana rule began in the late second century BCE and lasted until the early third century CE, although some assign the beginning of their rule to as early as the 3rd century BCE based on the Puranas, but uncorroborated by archaeological evidence. The Satavahana kingdom mainly comprised the present-day Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. At different times, their rule extended to parts of modern Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Karnataka. The dynasty had different capital cities at different times, including Pratishthana (Paithan) and Amaravati (Dharanikota). 84 The origin of the dynasty is uncertain, but according to the Puranas, their first king overthrew the Kanva dynasty. In the post-Maurya era, the Satavahanas established peace in the Deccan region, and resisted the onslaught of foreign invaders. In particular their struggles with the Saka Western Satraps went on for a long time. The dynasty reached its zenith under the rule of Gautamiputra Satakarni and his successor Vasisthiputra Pulamavi. The kingdom fragmented into smaller states by the early 3rd century CE. The Satavahanas were early issuers of Indian state coinage struck with images of their rulers. They formed a cultural bridge and played a vital role in trade and the transfer of ideas and culture to and from the Indo-Gangetic Plain to the southern tip of India. They supported Hinduism as well as Buddhism, and patronised Prakrit literature. The 8th century depiction of a wooden double outrigger and sailed Borobudur ship in ancient Java suggests that there were ancient trading links across the Indian Ocean between Indonesia and Madagascar and East Africa sometimes referred to as the 'Cinnamon Route.' The single or double outrigger is a typical feature of vessels of the seafaring Austronesians and the most likely vessel used for their voyages and exploration across Southeast Asia, Oceania, and Indian Ocean. During this period, between 7th to 13th century in Indonesian archipelago flourished the Srivijaya thalassocracy empire that rule the maritime trade network in maritime Southeast Asia and connecting India and China. Silk route The island of Hormuz was captured by an Anglo-Persian force in the 1622 Capture of Ormuz.Part of Zheng He's navigation map providing instruction for aligning ship to travel from Hormuz to Calicut, 1430 Chinese fleets under Zheng He crisscrossed the Indian Ocean during the early part of the 15th century. The missions were diplomatic rather than commercial, but many exchanges of gift and produces were made. During the 16th and 17th century, Japanese ships also made forays into Indian Ocean trade through 85 the Red Seal ship system. During the Muslim period, in which the Muslims had dominated the trade across the Indian Ocean, the Gujaratis were bringing spices from the Moluccas as well as silk from China, in exchange for manufactured items such as textiles, and then selling them to the Egyptians and Arabs. Calicut was the center of Indian pepper exports to the Red Sea and Europe at this time with Egyptian and Arab traders being particularly active. In Madagascar, merchants and slave traders from the Middle East (Shirazi Persians, Omani Arabs, Arabized Jews, accompanied by Bantus from southeast Africa) and from Asia (Gujaratis, Malays, Javanese, Bugis) were sometimes integrated within the indigenous Malagasy clans New waves of Austronesian migrants arrived in Madagascar at this time leaving behind a lasting cultural and genetic legacy. Therefore generally the upper caste Hindus did not take up maritime activities involving seafaring.For, the upper Hindu castes, i.e. dwija or twice born castes crossing the sea was prohibited by custom. Sizable population of the coastal region was lslamised in the middle ages and they followed all these maritime activities particularly the Marakkayan and Labbais. For the voyages on the sea and across the seas the people of the Neithal or coastal region used various kinds of vessels. The names of such vessels used by the ancient Tamils are found in the Tamil literatures down from Sangam Age. A few of them are vangam, umpi, nawai, dhoney, kalam, madhalai, pathai, punai, thonnai, paru, podam.panri, thimil, pattihai,paduvai, midavai and odams. The word Kappal seems to be a very late derivation. by about 17th century. The parts of these vessels are also described in detail in these literatures9. The spread of Islam paved the way for the emergence of powerful Muslim trading communities in peninsular India. Peninsular India occupies a central position in this region and it's Lital roie in trade I undeniable. With the rise of Islamic power in West Asia, the Muslims lost no time in spreading their influence in the ports of peninsular India. Among the Hindu communities along the coast with whom they had already established friendly and close trade relations they also tried to spread their new faith.Islam. In the course of time, Arab settlements grew into powerful native Muslim trade settlements Malabar was a vital link in Muslim trade in the Indian ocean. The Chola sea power was a serious obstruction in the eleventh centuy to the growth of Muslim influence. One of the first important measure taken by Choia Raja Raja I towards the end of the tenth centuy A.D.. was to secure Malabar coast in anengagement off Kandalur Chalai and to conquer the Lacdives and Maldives islands This was intended to curb the Arab influence in Indian ocean trade. After the deciine of the Chola power in the hvelth century the Mwli influence increased, and they enjoyed a dominant role in the sea borne trade of the region 2. The Coromandel ports became the favourable settlements of the Muslim traders. Kayal was the principal port, in the thirteenth century where Muslims were principal traders. Nagapattanam also became a busy port, and important Muslim centres of trade. These maritime acts played a major economic role in the pre-cobnial Coromandel Coast. The import of war horses was one of the earliest spzdahties. By the early fourteenth century, the armies of Pandya rulers were supplied with west Asian horses, shipped in by the Muslim traders to Kayal, Petiapatham. In this, an important agency had been established here by an Arab Chief who is described by Muslim history as Malikkul Islam. He was very influencial in Pandyan Kingdom. Kayal was also an important link in horse trade to Ceylon.The diverse Muslim communities of peninsular lndia had a significant role to play in the Indian ocean trade in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries until they were ousted by the European powers By the end of twelth 86 century, the naval power of the Cholas and the Shylendras completely declined and many mercantile communities of peninsular India began to claim a major role in Indo-Ceylon trade and as well as trans oceanic trade. Soon they were able to secure a dominent role in the maritime trade of Ida and an enviable share of the seaborne trade in Malacca, lndonasian islands, Jam, Aden and Maldiws. The Muslims controlled much of the region's trade in gem stones and pearls. Many Muslim port centres also sed as outlet for the international trade in cotton piece goods. After the destruction of Bagdad in the middle thirteenth century by Mangoles, the Arab activities in the East became restricted. In fact at the end of fifteenth century the Arabs had lost their supreme position in the sea borne trade13. The Gujarathi Muslims and Tamil Muslims had taken over from the Arabs the dominant role in the Indian ocean trade Portuguese period The Portuguese under Vasco da Gama discovered a naval route to the Indian Ocean through the southern tip of Africa in 1497–98. Initially, the Portuguese were mainly active in Calicut, but the northern region of Gujarat was even more important for trade, and an essential intermediary in east– west trade.[30] Reception of Venetian ambassadors in Damascus in the time of Qaitbay. Venetian interests were directly threatened as the traditional trade patterns were eliminated and the Portuguese became able to undersell the Venetians in the spice trade in Europe. Venice broke diplomatic relations with Portugal and started to look at ways to counter its intervention in the Indian Ocean, sending an ambassador to the Egyptian court. Venice negotiated for Egyptian tariffs to be lowered to facilitate competition with the Portuguese, and suggested that "rapid and secret remedies" be taken against the Portuguese. The Mamluks sent a fleet in 1507 under Amir Husain Al-Kurdi, which would fight in the Battle of Chaul. The Ottomans tried to challenge Portugal's hegemony in the Persian Gulf region by sending an armada against the Portuguese under Ali Bey in 1581. They were supported in this endeavor by the chiefs of several local principalities and port towns such as Muscat, Gwadar, and Pasni. However, the Portuguese successfully intercepted and destroyed the Ottoman Armada. Subsequently, the Portuguese attacked Gwadar and Pasni on the Mekran Coast and sacked them in retaliation for providing aid and comfort to the enemy. Dutch and English period During the 16th century the Portuguese had established bases in the Persian Gulf. In 1602, the Iranian army under the command of Imam-Quli Khan Undiladze managed to expel the Portuguese from Bahrain. In 1622, with the help of four English ships, Abbas retook Hormuz from the Portuguese in the capture of Ormuz. He replaced it as a trading centre with a new port, Bandar Abbas, nearby on the mainland, but it never became as successful. It is a fact that the Muslims of Coromandel stumbled by the ruthless attack of the Portuguese.Their maritime enterprises met with a sudden economic misfortunes. Many withdrew from the scene.But in the course of time the Muslim traders began to accommodate and cooperate with the exploiters. There developed a symbiotic relationship between the two even with mutual freight space on board on one others ship but it was too late for the Muslims to tide up the situations. With regard to the Southeast Asian markets the Muslims avoided the Portuguese and shifted to alternate trade centres. However the superior naval power and higher capital resources of the Portuguese continued to be the real challenge to the Muslims. With their half shattered economic condition they had to face the new competitors. The 87 English had no religious bias against the Muslims like the Portuguese and the Dutch. From the second half of eighteenth centuy to the first half of nineteenth , the English East lndia Company encouraged the Muslims particularly Mamkkayars in the maritime trade. They extended them concessions but from the second quarter of nineteenth century, the economic ambitions of the English marginalized and the Muslims also. In the period the English emerged as the major political power in India and they were the purchasers and exporters of Indian goods. It was but natural for their subjects to turn in the direction of England for their trade prospects. But the policies of London were detrimental to lndian traders including the Coromandel Muslims. By 1900, the masters of maritime commerce, the Marakkayars, Labbais, Sonakars and Rowthars were reduced to small and petty traders and intermediaries to the English and local artisans and peasants. Their independent economic stability and social standing were cut short due to the various causes enumerated above. Thus at the dawn of the twentyth century the enterprises of the Coromandel Muslims became the story of the past and forgotten unsung. Maritime trade of early south India- New Archeological evidence from Motupalli A.P escavation of coastal sites is still discovering new evidences by way of pattery and artifacts that there were many more ports than those we think of today. Marakkayars is a South Asian Muslim community found in parts of Indian states of Tamil Nadu (the Palk Strait), Kerala and in Sri Lanka. The Marakkars speak Tamil in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka and Malayalam in Kerala. The community claim ancestry from marriages between early Arab Muslim traders of the high seas and indigenous coastal women. The Islamized Arabs who arrived on the Coromandel coast brought Islamic values and customs with them and intermarried with the indigenous women who followed the local Hindu customs. Naturally, their children will have imbibed both the Islamic and the local values and transmitted both to their descendants. From the outset, the Arabs must, in all probability, have asserted the centrality of the Islamic values in their relationship with the local women, at the same time making the necessary adjustments to local customs. This is the pattern that appears to have survived to this day. The Marakkayars, the early Muslim inhabitants of Coastal Tamil Nadu, are Sunnis of the Shafi‘i school of thought (Madhab). Most Marakkayars, are in some way or other, connected to foreign trade through which they became more advanced economically and socially than the other Muslim groups in the locality and even many Hindu subcastes.The Marakkars were a known to be a powerful maritime spice trading community in the medieval South Asia. They traded in and with locations such as Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia in East Asia and South Asia, Maldives and Sri Lanka. The Marakayar's have dominated the educational and economic landscape in Tamil Nadu since the 17th century. There are two main hypothesis regarding the etymology of the term 'Marrakayar', and it's various forms. 88 Arab merchants arriving in boats at Thirukkurungudi temple Tamil derivation The first being from the term ‘Marakalarayar’ which may mean those who controlled or owned boats.[4] In Tamil, 'marakalam' signifies ‘wooden boat’ and 'rayar' means ‘king’ that it is the association of these two words that gives Marakkayar.[4] Arabized derivation The second theory was derived from the arrival of Yemeni Arab royals (some of the first immigrants of this class) seeking refuge from persecutions who came by boats called ‘markabs’ in Arabic, and settled on the east coast. Their arrival in 'markabs', led to them being called Marakkayar by the local people, which literally means ‘boat people’. Marakkar Arabikadalinte Simham: (AKA Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea) A movie of Kunjali Marakkars exploits Malabari Marakkars are credited with organizing the first naval defence of the Indian coast. With the emergence of the Portuguese in India, some Marakkars were forced to take up arms and enlist themselves in service of the Hindu king (the zamorin) of Calicut. The Marakkar naval chiefs of the Calicut were known as Kunjali Marakkars. The seamen were famous for their naval guerrilla warfare and hand-to-hand fighting on board. The Marakkar vessels — small, lightly armed and highly mobile — were a major threat to the Portuguese shipping all along the Indian west coast. In 1598, the Portuguese convinced the Zamorin that Marakkar IV intended to take over his Kingdom to 89 create a Muslim empire. In an act of betrayal, the Zamorin joined hands with the Portuguese who brutally killed him. The Arabic language brought by the early merchants is no longer spoken, though many Arabic words and phrases are still commonly used. Until the recent past, the Tamil Muslim minority employed Arwi as their native language, though this is also extinct as a spoken language. They today use Tamil as their primary language with influence from Arabic. Many Arabic and Arabized words exist in the form of Tamil spoken by Marakkars. Among many examples, greetings and blessings are exchanged in Arabic instead of Tamil, such as Assalamu Alaikum instead of Sandhiyum Samadanamum, Jazakallah instead of Nandri and Pinjhan/Finjan for Bowl/Cup.There are also words which are unique to Marakkars and a few other Tamil Muslim communities such as Laatha for eldersister, Kaka for elder-brother, Umma for mother and Vappa for father. There are also words derived from Sinhala such as Mattapa for terrace. There are also words from Purananuru era such as Aanam for Kulambu and Puliaanam for rasam or soup. The Marakkars were an endogamous community and followed the system of inheritance known as marumakkathayam. This type of marriage is preferred generally among Tamils, irrespective of religion and caste, mainly to maintain family ties and prevent property leaving the family. However, unlike among the Hindus, the daughter of the brother or sister of the bridegroom is not sought after for marriage. In any case, the murai marriage, as practised among the Marakkayars, is not contrary to Islamic law, given that it does not contradict the conditions for Islamic marriages stipulated in Surah 4 of the Holy Qur’an. REFERENCES 1. New Perspectives on the Anglophone World, 2019-Reinventing the Sea Jean-Marie Kowalski, Sailing the Indian Ocean in Ancient Times », Angles [Online], 9 | 2019, Online since 01 November 2019, connection on 28 July 2020. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/angles/ 800 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/angles.800 2. MARITIME ACTIVITIES OF MUSLIMShttp://ietd.inflibnet.ac.in/jspui/bitstream/10603/832/13/13_chapter%206.pdf See also: Maritime Trade of Early South India New Archaeological Evidences from Motupalli, Andhra Pradesh,P. Krishna Mohan Reddy,East and West,Vol. 51, No. 1/2 (June 2001), pp. 143-156 (14 pages)-Published By: Istituto Italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente (IsIAO) 3.What a 2,000-year-old Greek merchant’s manual tells us about the Indian monsoon and oceanic trade, Aparna Kapadia 4. The Indian Ocean: A Maritime Trade Network History Nearly Forgot Long before the Silk Road or the Roman Empire, the Indian Ocean was awash with commerce. By Adrianne Daggett https://www.discovermagazine.com/technology/the-indian-ocean-a-maritimetrade-network-history-nearly-forgot 90 CHAPTER VII The spread of Hindu Culture and Religion by Trade routes to far East (Not including Cambodia, Indonesia or Thailand) Cambodia and Indonesia is covered in our book-Hindu temples of Bharat, Cambodia and Indonesia. For a detailed reading of these belowgiven historicites please read our TRILOGY Devraja I, DevrajaII and Devraja III with over 1500 pages. Also 27 papers cover this topis. All available to read on academia.edu,scribd,researchgate.net The Silk Roads are amongst some of the most important routes in our collective history. It was through these roads that relations between east and west were established, exposing diverse regions to different ideas and ways of life. Notably, these exchanges also included the diffusion of many of the world’s major religions including Hinduism and Islam. A trade route is a logistical network identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo. The term can also be used to refer to trade over bodies of water. Allowing goods to reach distant markets, a single trade route contains long-distance arteries, which may further be connected to smaller networks of commercial and noncommercial transportation routes. Among notable trade routes was the Amber Road, which served as a dependable network for long-distance trade. Maritime trade along the Spice Route became prominent during the Middle Ages, when nations resorted to military means for control of this influential route. During the Middle Ages, organizations such as the Hanseatic League, aimed at protecting interests of the merchants and trade became increasingly prominent. Early development: Long-distance trade routes were developed in the Chalcolithic Period. The period from the middle of the 2nd millennium BCE to the beginning of the Common Era saw societies in Southeast Asia, Western Asia, the Mediterranean, China, and the Indian subcontinent develop major transportation networks for trade. One of the vital instruments which facilitated long-distance trade was portage and the domestication of beasts of burden. Organized caravans, visible by the 2nd millennium BCE, could carry goods across a large distance as fodder was mostly available along the way. The domestication of camels allowed Arabian nomads to control the longdistance trade in spices and silk from the Far East to the Arabian Peninsula. Caravans were useful in long-distance trade largely for carrying luxury goods, the transportation of cheaper goods across large distances was not profitable for caravan operators.[9] With productive developments in iron and bronze technologies, newer trade routes – dispensing innovations of civilizations – began to rise. The dynamics of the spread of beliefs along the trade routes involves a crucial, though littleremarked, difference between two fundamental types of religions. Generally speaking, religions are either proselytizing or non-proselytizing. That is, they either actively seek to recruit new members to the faith from outside the current membership group, or they do not. In the former case, ethnicity, language, color, and other physical and cultural differences are taken to be of relatively small importance compared with the common humanity of all believers, and the availability of the faith (and its particular canons of belief, forms of worship, and promises of salvation) to all humans everywhere. In the latter case, that is, of non-proselytizing religions, membership in a religion often 91 coincides with membership in an ethnic group, so that religious participation is a birth right and not a matter of conversion; conversion often occurs only when a person marries into the faith, and in extreme cases conversion is rejected as an impossibility. Examples of proselytizing faiths are Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam; non-proselytizing faiths include Hinduism, Judaism, and Shinto. All of these were religions of the Silk Road; some spread along the trade routes to extend their spheres of faith enormously, while others did not travel from their native lands, or did so only to form enclaves of the faithful in foreign lands. Buddhism was the first of the great missionary faiths to take advantage of the mobility provided by the Silk Road to extend its reach far beyond its native ground. From its origins in north eastern India, Buddhism had already spread into the lands that are now Pakistan and Afghanistan by the 1st century BCE. Buddhist merchants from those areas built temples and shrines along the Silk Road everywhere they went; the priests and monks who staffed those religious establishments preached to local populations and passing travelers, spreading the faith rapidly. Buddhism’s essential message—that earthly life is impermanent and full of suffering, but that the painful cycle of birth, death, and rebirth can be ended through Buddhist faith and practice—had wide appeal, and its universalism enabled it to cross boundaries of space, language, and ethnicity with ease. Maritime trade One of the Borobudur ships from the 8th century, they were depictions of large native outrigger trading vessels, possibly of the Sailendra and Srivijaya thalassocracies. Shown with the characteristic tanja sail of Southeast Asian Austronesians. Much of the Radhanites' Indian Ocean trade would have depended on coastal cargo-ships such as this dhow. The Maritime Silk Road or Maritime Silk Route refers to the maritime section of the historic Silk Road that connected China, Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, Arabian peninsula, Somalia, Egypt and Europe. It flourished between the 2nd century BC and 15th century AD. Despite its association with China in recent centuries, the Maritime Silk Road was primarily established and operated by Austronesian sailors in Southeast Asia, Tamil merchants in India and Southeast Asia, Greco-Roman merchants in East Africa, India, Ceylon and Indochina, and by Persian and Arab traders in the Arabian Sea and beyond. 92 Austronesian proto-historic and historic maritime trade network in the Indian Ocean[ Historic Indosphere cultural influence zone of Greater India for transmission of elements of Indian elements such as the honorific titles, naming of people, naming of places, mottos of organisations and educational institutes as well as adoption of Hinduism, Buddhism, Indian architecture, martial arts, Indian music and dance, traditional Indian clothing, and Indian cuisine, a process which has also been aided by the ongoing historic expansion of Indian diaspora. The Maritime Silk Road developed from the earlier Austronesian spice trade networks of Islander Southeast Asians with Sri Lanka and Southern India (established 1000 to 600 BCE), as well as the jade industry trade in lingling-o artifacts from the Philippines in the South China Sea (c. 500 BCE). For most of its history, Austronesian thalassocracies controlled the flow of the Maritime Silk Road, especially the polities around the straits of Malacca and Bangka, the Malay peninsula, and the Mekong delta; although Chinese records misidentified these kingdoms as being "Indian" due to the Indianization of these regionsThe route was influential in the early spread of Hinduism and Buddhism to the east. 93 Tang records indicate that Srivijaya, founded at Palembang in 682 CE, rose to dominate the trade in the region around the straits and the South China Sea emporium by controlling the trade in luxury aromatics and Buddhist artifacts from West Asia to a thriving Tang market. Chinese records also indicate that the early Chinese Buddhist pilgrims to South Asia booked passage with the Austronesian ships that traded in Chinese ports. Books written by Chinese monks like Wan Chen and Hui-Lin contain detailed accounts of the large trading vessels from Southeast Asia dating back to at least the 3rd century CE. Prior to the 10th century, the route was primarily used by Southeast Asian traders, although Tamil and Persian traders also sailed them. By the 7th century CE, Arab dhow traders ventured into the routes, leading to the earliest spread of Islam into Southeast Asian polities. By the 10th to 13th centuries, the Song Dynasty of China started building its own trading fleets, despite the traditional Chinese Confucian disdain for trade. This was partly due to the loss of access by the Song dynasty to the overland Silk Road. The Chinese fleets started sending trading expeditions to the region they referred to as Nan hai (mostly dominated by the Srivijaya), venturing as far south as the Sulu Sea and the Java Sea. This led to the establishment of Chinese trading colonies in Southeast Asia, a boom in the maritime trade, and the emergence of the ports of Quanzhou and Guangzhou as regional trade centers in China. After a brief cessation of Chinese trade in the 14th century due to internal famines and droughts in China, the Ming dynasty reestablished the trade routes with Southeast Asia from the 15th to 17th centuries. They launched the expeditions of Zheng He, with the goal of forcing the "barbarian kings" of Southeast Asia to resume sending "tribute" to the Ming court. This was typical of 94 the Sinocentric views at the time of viewing "trade as tribute", although ultimately Zheng He's expeditions were successful in their goal of establishing trade networks with Malacca, the regional successor of Srivijaya. 16th-century Vietnamese ceramics in Aichi, Japan. By the 16th century, the Age of Exploration had begun. The Portuguese Empire's capture of Malacca led to the transfer of the trade centers to the sultanates of Aceh and Johor. The new demand for spices from Southeast Asia and textiles from India and China by the European market led to another economic boom in the Maritime Silk Road. The influx of silver from the European colonial powers however, may have eventually undermined China's copper coinage, leading to the collapse of the Ming dynasty. In Asia, the earliest evidence of maritime trade was the Neolithic trade networks of the Austronesian peoples, who were the first humans to invent ocean-going ships, among which is the lingling-o jade industry of the Philippines, Taiwan, southern Vietnam, and peninsular Thailand. It also included the long-distance routes of Austronesian traders from Indonesia and Malaysia connecting China with South Asia and the Middle East since at least 1000 to 600 BC. It facilitated the spread of Southeast Asian spices and Chinese goods to the west, as well as the spread of Hinduism and Buddhism to the east. This route would later become known as the Maritime Silk Road. Many Austronesian technologies like the outrigger and catamaran, as well as Austronesian ship terminologies, still persist in many of the coastal cultures in the Indian Ocean. Maritime trade began with safer coastal trade and evolved with the manipulation of the monsoon winds, soon resulting in trade crossing boundaries such as the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. South Asia had multiple maritime trade routes which connected it to Southeast Asia, thereby making the control of one route resulting in maritime monopoly difficult.[16] Indian connections to various Southeast Asian states buffered it from blockages on other routes.[16] By making use of the maritime trade routes, bulk commodity trade became possible for the Romans in the 2nd century BCE. A Roman trading vessel could span the Mediterranean in a month at one-sixtieth the cost of over-land routes Visible trade routes 95 Evolution of Indian trade networks. The main map shows the routes since Mughal times, Inset A shows the major prehistorical cultural currents, B: preMauryan routes, C: Mauryan routes, D: routes c. 1st century CE, and E: the "Z" shaped region of developed roads. The peninsula of Anatolia lay on the commercial land routes to Europe from Asia as well as the sea route from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea. Records from the 19th century BCE attest to the existence of an Assyrian merchant colony at Kanesh in Cappadocia (now in modern Turkey). Trading networks of the Old World included the Grand Trunk Road of India and the Incense Road of Arabia.[5] A transportation network consisting of hard-surfaced highways, using concrete made from volcanic ash and lime, was built by the Romans as early as 312 BCE, during the times of the Censor Appius Claudius Caecus. Parts of the Mediterranean world, Roman Britain, TigrisEuphrates river system and North Africa fell under the reach of this network at some point of their history. These routes – spreading religion, trade and technology – have historically been vital to the growth of urban civilization. The extent of development of cities, and the level of their integration into a larger world system, has often been attributed to their position in various active transport networks. Combined land and waterway routes Silk Road Trading routes used around the 1st 96 century CE centred on the Silk Road. GT Road The Silk Road was one of the first trade routes to join the Eastern and the Western worlds. Along the Silk Roads, technology traveled, ideas were exchanged, and friendship and understanding between East and West were experienced for the first time on a large scale. Easterners were exposed to Western ideas and life-styles, and Westerners, too, learned about Eastern culture and its spirituality-oriented cosmology. Buddhism as an Eastern religion received international attention through the Silk Roads.Cultural interactions patronized often by powerful emperors, such as Kanishka, led to development of art due to introduction of a rich variety of influences. Buddhist missions thrived along the Silk Roads, partly due to the conducive intermixing of trade and cultural values, which created a series of safe stoppages for both the pilgrims and the traders. Among the frequented routes of the Silk Route was the Burmese route extending from Bhamo, which served as a path for Marco Polo's visit to Yunnan and Indian Buddhist missions to Canton in order to establish Buddhist monasteries. This route – often under the presence of hostile tribes – also finds mention in the works of Rashid-al-Din Hamadani Grand Trunk Road For centuries, the Grand Trunk Road has served as the main artery for travel across Northern India. The Grand Trunk Road – connecting Chittagong in Bangladesh to Peshawar in Pakistan – has existed for over two and a half millennia. One of the important trade routes of the world, this road has been a strategic artery with fortresses, halting posts, wells, post offices, milestones and other facilities.[39] Part of this road through Pakistan also coincided with the Silk Road. This highway has been associated with emperors Chandragupta Maurya and Sher Shah Suri, the latter became synonymous with this route due to his role in ensuring the safety of the travelers and the upkeep of the road. Emperor Sher Shah widened and realigned the road to other routes, and provided approximately 1700 roadside inns through his empire. These inns provided free food and lodgings to the travelers regardless of their status. Amber Road The Amber Road was a European trade route associated with the trade and transport of amber. Amber satisfied the criteria for long-distance trade as it was light in weight and was in high demand for ornamental purposes around the Mediterranean. Before the establishment of Roman control over areas such as Pannonia, the Amber Road was virtually the only route available for long-distance trade. Towns along the Amber Road began to rise steadily during the 1st century CE, despite the troop 97 movements under Titus Flavius Vespasianus and his son Titus Flavius Domitianus.[43] Under the reign of Tiberius Caesar Augustus, the Amber Road was straightened and paved according to the prevailing urban standards. Roman towns began to appear along the road, initially founded near the site of Celtic oppida. The 3rd century saw the Danube river become the principal artery of trade, eclipsing the Amber Road and other commercial routes. The redirection of investment to the Danubian forts saw the towns along the Amber Road growing slowly, though yet retaining their prosperity. The prolonged struggle between the Romans and the barbarians further left its mark on the towns along the Amber Road. Austronesian maritime trade network The first true maritime trade network in the Indian Ocean was by the Austronesian peoples of Island Southeast Asia, who built the first ocean-going ships. They established trade routes with Southern India and Sri Lanka as early as 1500 BC, ushering an exchange of material culture (like catamarans, outrigger boats, sewn-plank boats, and paan) and cultigens (like coconuts, sandalwood, bananas, and sugarcane); as well as connecting the material cultures of India and China. They constituted the majority of the Indian Ocean component of the spice trade network. Indonesians, in particular were trading in spices (mainly cinnamon and cassia) with East Africa using catamaran and outrigger boats and sailing with the help of the Westerlies in the Indian Ocean. This trade network expanded to reach as far as Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, resulting in the Austronesian colonization of Madagascar by the first half of the first millennium AD. It continued up to historic times, later becoming the Maritime Silk Road. This trade network also included smaller trade routes within Island Southeast Asia, including the lingling-o jade network, and the trepanging network. In eastern Austronesia, various traditional maritime trade networks also existed. Among them was the ancient Lapita trade network of Island Melanesia;[55] the Hiri trade cycle, Sepik Coast exchange, and the Kula ring of Papua New Guinea;[55] the ancient trading voyages in Micronesia between the Mariana Islands and the Caroline Islands (and possibly also New Guinea and the Philippines); and the vast inter-island trade networks of Polynesia.[ Maritime Silk Road The Maritime Silk Road refer to the maritime section of historic Silk Road that connects China, Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, Arabian peninsula, Somalia and all the way to Egypt and finally Europe. It flourished between 2nd-century BCE and 15th-century CE.[80] Despite its association with China in recent centuries, the Maritime Silk Road was primarily established and operated by Austronesian sailors in Southeast Asia, and by Persian and Arab traders in the Arabian Sea. The Maritime Silk Road developed from the earlier Austronesian spice trade networks of Islander Southeast Asians with Sri Lanka and Southern India (established 1000 to 600 BCE), as well as the jade industry trade in lingling-o artifacts from the Philippines in the South China Sea (c. 500 BCE). For most of its history, Austronesian thalassocracies controlled the flow of the Maritime Silk Road, especially the polities around the straits of Malacca and Bangka, the Malay peninsula, and the Mekong delta; although Chinese records misidentified these kingdoms as being "Indian" due to the Indianization of these regions. Prior to the 10th century, the route was primarily used by Southeast Asian traders, although Tamil and Persian traders also sailed them. The route was influential in the early spread of Hinduism and Buddhism to the east. 98 China later built its own fleets starting from the Song dynasty in the 10th century, participating directly in the trade route up until the end of the Colonial Era and the collapse of the Qing dynasty. The fourth caste of "Sudra" or "Dasa" was formed by outsiders who were Tibeto-Burmese and Mon-Khmer and Neolithic tribal who lived in India for ages and more likely arrived prior to the Indo-Iranian group. They were "Mlechha" to Brahmin Arias become a source of bitterness and exclusions that pushed Vratya and excluded natives to embrace non-discriminatory Jainism, Buddhism, and other ascetic traditions. In Northeast India where Tibeto-Burmese (Naga people) and Austro-Asiatic people (Munda, Khasi) of India adopted these new religious traditions while integrating their own tradition into their new faiths. Buddhism, Jainism, and similar non-Brahminical traditions allowed the inclusion of tribal traditions. This made them extremely popular with this excluded group. Even some disillusioned Brahmins Joined the movement. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Historic Indosphere cultural influence zone of Greater India for transmission of elements of Indian elements such as the honorific titles, naming of people, naming of places, mottos of organisations and educational institutes as well as adoption of Hinduism, Buddhism, Indian architecture, martial arts, Indian music and dance, traditional Indian clothing, and Indian cuisine, a process which has been also aided by the ongoing historic expansion of Indian diaspora. Southeast Asia was under Indian sphere of cultural influence starting around 290 BC until around the 15th century, when Hindu-Buddhist influence was absorbed by local politics. Kingdoms in the southeast coast of the Indian Subcontinent had established trade, cultural and political relations with Southeast Asian kingdoms in Burma, Thailand, Indonesia, Malay Peninsula, Philippines, Cambodia and Champa. This led to Indianisation and Sanskritisation of Southeast Asia within Indosphere, Southeast Asian polities were the Indianised HinduBuddhist Mandala (polities, city states and confederacies). Unlike the Hindu kingdoms within the Indian subcontinent, the Pallava empire of the southeastern coast of the India peninsula did not have culture restrictions on crossing the sea. Chola empire also had profound impact on Southeast Asia, who executed South-East Asia campaign of Rajendra Chola I and Chola invasion of Srivijaya. This led to more exchanges through the sea routes into Southeast Asia. Whereas Buddhism thrived and became the main religion in many countries of the Southeast Asia, it died off on the Indian subcontinent. The peoples of maritime Southeast Asia — present day Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines — are thought to have migrated southwards from southern China sometime between 2500 and 1500 BC. The influence of the civilization of the subcontinent gradually became predominant among them, and among the peoples of the Southeast Asian mainland. Southern Indian traders, adventurers, teachers and priests continued to be the dominating influence in Southeast Asia until about 1500 CE. Hinduism and Buddhism both spread to these states from India and for many centuries existed there with mutual toleration. Eventually the states of the mainland became mainly Buddhist. 99 Indian sphere of cultural: Southeast Asia was under Indian sphere of cultural influence starting around 290 BC until around the 15th century, when Hindu-Buddhist influence was absorbed by local politics. Kingdoms in the southeast coast of the Indian Subcontinent had established trade, cultural and political relations with Southeast Asian kingdoms in Burma, Thailand, Indonesia, Malay Peninsula, Philippines, Cambodia and Champa. This led to Indianisation and Sanskritisation of Southeast Asia within Indosphere, Southeast Asian polities were the Indianised Hindu-Buddhist Mandala (polities, city states and confederacies). Unlike the Hindu kingdoms within the Indian subcontinent, the Pallava empire of the southeastern coast of the India peninsula did not have culture restrictions on crossing the sea. Chola empire also had profound impact on Southeast Asia, who executed South-East Asia campaign of Rajendra Chola I and Chola invasion of Srivijaya. This led to more exchanges through the sea routes into Southeast Asia. Whereas Buddhism thrived and became the main religion in many countries of the Southeast Asia, it died off on the Indian subcontinent. The peoples of maritime Southeast Asia — present day Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines — are thought to have migrated southwards from southern China sometime between 2500 and 1500 BC. The influence of the civilization of the subcontinent gradually became predominant among them, and among the peoples of the Southeast Asian mainland. Southern Indian traders, adventurers, teachers and priests continued to be the dominating influence in Southeast Asia until about 1500 CE. Hinduism and Buddhism both spread to these states from India and for many centuries existed there with mutual toleration. Eventually the states of the mainland became mainly Buddhist. 1. indu-Buddhist kingdoms (? - ~1400 The history of Brunei before the arrival of Magellan's ships in 1519-1522 CE is based on the interpretation of Chinese sources and local legends. Historians believe that there was a forerunner Indianised Hindu-Buddhist state to the present day Brunei Sultanate. One predecessor state was called Vijayapura, which possibly existed in northwest Borneo in the 7th century.[a] It was probably a subject state of the powerful Indianised HinduBuddhist Srivijaya empire based in Sumatra. One predecessor state was called Po-ni (pinyin: Boni).[2] By the 10th century Po-ni had contacts with first the Song dynasty and at some point even entered into a tributary relationship with China. By the 14th century Po-ni also fell under the influence of the Indianised Hindu Javanese Majapahit Empire. The book of Nagarakretagama, canto 14, written by Prapanca in 1365 mentioned Berune as a vassal state of Majahpahit.[3] However this may have been nothing more than a symbolic relationship, as one account of the annual tribute owed each year to Majahpahit was a jar of areca juice obtained from the young green nuts of the areca palm. The Ming dynasty resumed communications with Po-ni in the 1370s and the Po-ni ruler Ma-na-jih-chia-na visited the Ming capital Nanjing in 1408 and died there; his tomb was rediscovered in the 20th century, and is now a protected monument. 2. Indianised Islamic sultanate (~1400 - present day) In 1402, Sultan Muhammad Shah died, he was first to convert from Hindu-Buddhism to Islam, and his pre-conversion name was Awang Alak Betatar. 3. Mayanmar:At the western end of the South East Asian mainland, Lower Burma was occupied by the Mon peoples who are thought to have come originally from western China. In Lower 100 Burma they supplanted an earlier people: the Pyu, of whom little is known except that they practised Hinduism. 4. Arrival of Buddhism and impact of Indian literature (3rd century CE onward)[edit] The Mons strongly influenced by their contacts with Indian traders during the 3rd century B.C adopted Indian literature and art and the Buddhist religion. The Mins were the earliest known civilization in Southeast Asia. They consisted of several Mon kingdoms, spreading from Lower Burma into much of Thailand, where they founded the kingdom of Dvaravati. Their principal settlements in Burma were Thaton and Pegu. 5. Tibeto-Burman Buddhist kingdoms (11th - 13th century CE ) From about the 9th century onward Tibeto-Burman tribes moved south from the hills east of Tibet into the Irrawaddy plain. They founded their capital at Pagan in Upper Burma in the 10th century. They eventually absorbed the Mons, their cities and adopted the Mon civilization and Buddhism. The Pagan kingdom united all Burma under one rule for 200 years - from the 11th to 13th centuries. The zenith of its power occurred during the reign of King Anawratha (1044– 1077), who conquered the Mon kingdom of Thaton. King Anawratha built many of the temples for which Pagan is famous. It is estimated that some 13,000 temples once existed within the city, which some 5,000 still stand. 6. 13th-21st century-Funan 7. Angkor Wat The first of these Hinduised states to achieve widespread importance was the Kingdom of Funan founded in the 1st century CE in what is now Cambodia — according to legend, after the marriage of a Brahman into the family of the local chief. These local inhabitants were Khmer people. Funan flourished for some 500 years. It carried on a prosperous trade with India and China, and its engineers developed an extensive canal system. An elite practised statecraft, art and science, based on Indian culture. Vassal kingdoms spread to southern Vietnam in the east and to the Malay Peninsula in the west. 8. Chenla and Angkor In late 6th century CE, dynastic struggles caused the collapse of the Funan empire. It was succeeded by another Hindu-Khmer state, Chen-la, which lasted until the 9th century. Then a Khmer king, Jayavarman II (about 800-850) established a capital at Angkor in central Cambodia. He founded a cult which identified the king with the Hindu God Shiva – one of the triad of Hindu gods, Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver, Shiva the god symbolising destruction and reproduction. The Angkor empire flourished from the 9th to the early 13th century. It reached the peak of its fame under Jayavarman VII at the end of the 12th century, when its conquests extended into Thailand in the west (where it had conquered the Mon 101 kingdom of Dwaravati) and into Champa in the east. Its most celebrated memorial is the great temple of Angkor Wat, built early in the 12th century. This summarises the position on the South East Asian mainland until about the 12th century. Meanwhile, from about the 6th century, and until the 14th century, there was a series of great maritime empires based on the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Java. In early days these Indians came mostly from the ancient kingdom of Kalinga, on the southeastern coast of India. Indians in Indonesia are still known as "Klings", derived from Kalinga. 9. The later Timorese were not seafarers, rather they were land focused peoples who did not make contact with other islands and peoples by sea. Timor was part of a region of small islands with small populations of similarly land-focused peoples that now make up eastern Indonesia. Contact with the outside world was via networks of foreign seafaring traders from as far as China and India that served the archipelago. Outside products brought to the region included metal goods, rice, fine textiles, and coins exchanged for local spices, sandalwood, deer horn, bees' wax, and slaves.[4] 10. Indianised Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms 11. Indianised Javanese Hindu-Buddhist Srivijaya empire (7th - 12th century)[edit] Oral traditions of people of Wehali principality of East Timor mention their migration from Sina Mutin Malaka or "Chinese White Malacca" (part of Indianised Hindu-Buddhist Srivijaya empire) in ancient times.[5] As vassal of Indianised Javanese Hindu empire of Majapahit (12th - 16th century), the chronicles of the Majapahit empire called Timor a tributary,[6] but as Portuguese chronologist Tomé Pires wrote in the 16th century, all islands east of Java were called "Timor".[ Indonesian nationalist used the Majapahit chronicles to claim East Timor as part of Indonesia. 12. Trade with China Timor is mentioned in the 13th-century Chinese Zhu Fan Zhi, where it is called Ti-wu and is noted for its sandalwood. It is called Ti-men in the History of Song of 1345. Writing towards 1350, Wang Dayuan refers to a Ku-li Ti-men, which is a corruption of Giri Timor, meaning island of Timor.[9] Giri from "mountain" in Sanskrit, thus "mountainous island of Timor". 13. Chiefdoms or polities 14. Early European explorers report that the island had a number of small chiefdoms orprincedoms in the early 16th century. One of the most significant is the Wehali or Wehale kingdom in central Timor, to which the Tetum, Bunak and Kemak ethnic groups were aligned. Early European explorers report that the island had a number of small chiefdoms or princedoms in the early 16th century. One of the most significant is the Wehali or Wehale kingdom in central Timor, to which the Tetum, Bunak and Kemak ethnic groups were aligned. 15. European colonisation and Christianisation (16th century onward) 16. Indonesia:Beginning in the early sixteenth century, European colonialists—the Dutch in the island's west, and Portuguese in the east—would divide the island, isolating the East Timorese from the histories of the surrounding archipelago. 102 An exquisite statue of Prajñāpāramitā from 13th century Singhasari, East Java, seated in lotus position on a lotus throne performing dharmachakra-mudra./ Aerial view of 9th century Borobudur, the elaborate stupas took the form of a step pyramid and mandala plan, built by King Samaratungga of Shailendra dynasty, ruler of Mataram Kingdom. Approximately for more than a millennia, between 5th to 15th centuries, the various Indianised states and empires flourished in the Indonesian archipelago; from the era of Tarumanagara to Majapahit. Though founded possibly by either early Indian settlers or by native polities that adopted Indian culture, and have maintaining diplomatic contacts with India, these archipelagic Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms remained politically independent from the kingdoms of Indian subcontinent. Together with Cambodia and Champa, the Hindu-Buddhist civilization of Java was one of the most beautiful jewel of the Dharmic civilization ever flourished in Southeast Asia. 17. Srivijaya empire The Indonesian archipelago saw the rise of Hindu-Buddhist empires of Sumatra and Java. In the islands of Southeast Asia, one of the first organised state to achieve fame was the Buddhist Malay kingdom of Srivijaya, with its capital at Palembang in southern Sumatra. Its commercial preeminence was based on command of the sea route from India to China between Sumatra and the Malay peninsula (later known as the Straits of Malacca). In the 6th – 7th centuries Srivijaya succeeded Funan as the leading state in Southeast Asia. Its ruler was the overlord of the Malay peninsula and western Java as well as Sumatra. During the era of Srivijaya, Buddhism became firmly entrenched there. 18.Sailendra kingdom The expansion of Srivijaya was resisted in eastern Java, where the powerful Buddhist Sailendra dynasty arose. From the 7th century onwards there was great activity in temple building in central Java. The most impressive of the ruins is at Borobudur, considered to have been the largest Buddhist temple in the world. Sailendra rule spread to southern Sumatra, and up to Malay peninsula to Cambodia (where it was replaced by the Angkorian kingdom). In the 9th century, the Sailendras moved to Sumatra, and a union of Srivijaya and the Sailendras formed an 103 empire which dominated much of Southeast Asia for the next five centuries. After 500 Years of supremacy, Srivijaya was superseded by Majapahit. 19.Mataram kingdom The 9th-century Shivaistic temple of Prambanan in Central Java near Yogyakarta, the largest Hindu temple in Indonesia In the 10th century, Mataram to the challenged the supremacy of Srivijaya, resulting in the destruction of the Mataram capital by Srivijaya early in the 11th century. Restored by King Airlangga (c. 1020–1050), the kingdom split on his death and the new state of Kediri was formed in eastern Java. 20.Kediri kingdom Kediri kingdom, spread its influence to the eastern part of Southeast Asia and became the centre of Javanese culture for the next two centuries. The spice trade was now becoming of increasing importance, as the demand by European countries for spices grew. Before they learned to keep sheep and cattle alive in the winter, they had to eat salted meat, made palatable by the addition of spices. One of the main sources was the Maluku Islands (or "Spice Islands") in Indonesia, and Kediri became a strong trading nation. 20.Singhasari kingdom In the 13th century, however, the Kediri dynasty was overthrown by a revolution, and Singhasari arose in east Java. The domains of this new state expanded under the rule of its warrior-king Kertanegara. He was killed by a prince of the previous Kediri dynasty, who then established the last great Hindu-Javanese kingdom, Majapahit. 21.Majapahit empire With the departure of the Sailendras and the fall of Singhasari, a new Majapahit kingdom appeared in eastern Java, which reverted from Buddhism to Hinduism. By the middle of the 14th century, Majapahit controlled most of Java, Sumatra and the Malay peninsula, part of Borneo, the southern Celebes and the Moluccas. It also exerted considerable influence on the mainland. 22.Funan kingdom The first indigenous kingdom to emerge in Indochina was referred to in Chinese histories as the Kingdom of Funan and encompassed an area of modern Cambodia, and the coasts of southern Vietnam and southern Thailand since the 1st century CE. Funan was an Indianised kingdom, that had incorporated central aspects of Indian institutions, religion, statecraft, administration, culture, epigraphy, writing and architecture and engaged in profitable Indian Ocean trade. 104 23.Champa kingdom By the 2nd century CE, Austronesian settlers had established an Indianised kingdom known as Champa along modern central Vietnam. The Cham people established the first settlements near modern Champasak in Laos. Funan expanded and incorporated the Champasak region by the sixth century CE, when it was replaced by its successor polity Chenla. Chenla occupied large areas of modern-day Laos as it accounts for the earliest kingdom on Laotian soil. 24.Chenla kingdom The capital of early Chenla was Shrestapura which was located in the vicinity of Champasak and the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Wat Phu. Wat Phu is a vast temple complex in southern Laos which combined natural surroundings with ornate sandstone structures, which were maintained and embellished by the Chenla peoples until 900 CE, and were subsequently rediscovered and embellished by the Khmer in the 10th century. By the 8th century CE Chenla had divided into “Land Chenla” located in Laos, and “Water Chenla” founded by Mahendravarman near Sambor Prei Kuk in Cambodia. Land Chenla was known to the Chinese as “Po Lou” or “Wen Dan” and dispatched a trade mission to the Tang Dynasty court in 717 CE. Water Chenla, would come under repeated attack from Champa, the Medang sea kingdoms in Indonesia based in Java, and finally pirates. From the instability the Khmer emerged. 25.Khmer kingdom Under the king Jayavarman II the Khmer Empire began to take shape in the 9th century CE. 26. Dvaravati city state kingdoms In the area which is modern northern and central Laos, and northeast Thailand the Mon people established their own kingdoms during the 8th century CE, outside the reach of the contracting Chenla kingdoms. By the 6th century in the Chao Phraya River Valley, Mon peoples had coalesced to create the Dvaravati kingdoms. In the 8th century CE, Sri Gotapura (Sikhottabong) was the strongest of these early city states, and controlled trade throughout the middle Mekong region. The city states were loosely bound politically, but were culturally similar and introduced Therevada Buddhism from Sri Lankan missionaries throughout the region. 27.The Malay peninsula was settled by prehistoric people 80,000 years ago. Another batch of peoples the deutro Malay migrated from southern China within 10,000 years ago. Upon arrival in the peninsular some of them mix with the Australoid. This gave the appearance of the Malays. It was suggested that the visiting ancient Dravidians named the peoples of Malaysia peninsular and Sumatera as "Malay ur" meant hills and city based on the geographical terrain of Peninsular Malay and Sumatera. Claudius Ptolemaeus (Greek: Κλαύδιος Πτολεμαῖος; c. 90 – c. 168), known in English as Ptolemy, was a Greek geographer, astronomer, and astrologer who had written about Golden Chersonese, which indicates trade with the Indian Sub-Continent and China has existed since the 1st century AD. Archeologist have found relic and ruin in Bujang Valley settlement dating back at 110AD. The settlement is believed to be the oldest civilization in Southeast Asia influenced by ancient Indians. Today, Malaysians of direct Indian descent account for approximately 7 per cent of the total population of Malaysia (approximately. 2 million)[ Hinduism and Buddhism from India dominated early regional history, reaching their peak during the reign of the Sumatra-based Srivijaya civilisation, whose influence extended through Sumatra, Java, the Malay Peninsula and much of Borneo from the 7th to the 13th centuries, 105 which later gradually defeated and converted to Islam in 14th and 15th century before the erupean colonisation began in 16th century. 28.Indianised Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms (3rd century BCE to 14th century CE) Early trade and Indian settlements In the first millennium CE, Malays became the dominant race on the peninsula. The small early states that were established were greatly influenced by Indian culture, as was most of Southeast Asia.[19] Indian influence in the region dates back to at least the 3rd century BCE. South Indian culture was spread to Southeast Asia by the south Indian Pallava dynasty in the 4th and 5th century. The Buddha-Gupta stone, dating to the 4th–5th century CE, was dedicated by an Indian Merchant, Buddha Gupta, as an expression of gratitude for his safe arrival after a voyage to the Malay peninsula. It was found in Seberang Perai, Malaysia and is kept in the National Museum, Calcutta, India. In ancient Indian literature, the term Suvarnadvipa or the "Golden Peninsula" is used in Ramayana, and some argued that it may be a reference to the Malay Peninsula. The ancient Indian text Vayu Purana also mentioned a place named Malayadvipa where gold mines may be found, and this term has been proposed to mean possibly Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula.[21] The Malay Peninsula was shown on Ptolemy's map as the "Golden Khersonese". He referred to the Straits of Malacca as Sinus Sabaricus. Trade relations with China and India were established in the 1st century BC. Shards of Chinese pottery have been found in Borneo dating from the 1st century following the southward expansion of the Han Dynasty. In the early centuries of the first millennium, the people of the Malay Peninsula adopted the Indian religions of Hinduism and Buddhism, religions which had a major effect on the language and culture of those living in Malaysia. The Sanskrit writing system was used as early as the 4th century. 29.Indianised Hindu Malay kingdoms (3rd century to 7th century) 106 There were numerous Malay kingdoms in the 2nd and 3rd century, as many as 30, mainly based on the Eastern side of the Malay peninsula.[19] Among the earliest kingdoms known to have been based in the Malay Peninsula is the ancient kingdom of Langkasuka, located in the northern Malay Peninsula and based somewhere on the west coast. It was closely tied to Funan in Cambodia, which also ruled part of northern Malaysia until the 6th century. In the 5th century, the Kingdom of Pahang was mentioned in the Book of Song. According to the Sejarah Melayu ("Malay Annals"), the Khmer prince Raja Ganji Sarjuna founded the kingdom of Gangga Negara (modernday Beruas, Perak) in the 700s. Chinese chronicles of the 5th century CE speak of a great port in the south called Guantoli, which is thought to have been in the Straits of Malacca. In the 7th century, a new port called Shilifoshi is mentioned, and this is believed to be a Chinese rendering of Srivijaya. 30.Indianised Hindu-Buddhist Malay kingdoms as vassal of Srivijaya empire (7th - 13th century): Srivijaya empire Between the 7th and the 13th century, much of the Malay peninsula was under the Buddhist Srivijaya empire. The site of Srivijaya's centre is thought be at a river mouth in eastern Sumatra, based near what is now Palembang. For over six centuries the Maharajahs of Srivijaya ruled a maritime empire that became the main power in the archipelago. The empire was based around trade, with local kings (dhatus or community leaders) swearing allegiance to the central lord for mutual profit. 31.Relationship of Srivijaya empire with Indian Tamil Chola empire South-East Asia campaign of Rajendra Chola I and Chola invasion of Srivijaya Chola empire also had profound impact on Southeast Asia, who executed South-East Asia campaign of Rajendra Chola I and Chola invasion of Srivijaya. The relation between Srivijaya and the Chola Empire of south India was friendly during the reign of Raja Raja Chola I but during the reign of Rajendra Chola I the Chola Empire invaded Srivijaya cities. In 1025 and 1026 Gangga Negara was attacked by Rajendra Chola I of the Chola Empire, the Tamil emperor who is now thought to have laid Kota Gelanggi to waste. Kedah—known as Kedaram, Cheh-Cha (according to I-Ching) or Kataha, in ancient Pallava or Sanskrit—was in the direct route of the invasions and was ruled by the Cholas from 1025. A second invasion was led by Virarajendra Chola of the Chola dynasty who conquered Kedah in the late 11th century.The senior Chola's successor, Vira Rajendra Chola, had to put down a Kedah rebellion to overthrow other invaders. The coming of the Chola reduced the majesty of Srivijaya, which had exerted influence over Kedah, Pattani and as far as Ligor. During the reign of Kulothunga Chola I Chola overlordship was established over the Srivijaya province kedah in the late 11th century. The expedition of the Chola Emperors had such a great impression to the Malay people of the medieval period that their name was mentioned in the corrupted form as Raja Chulan in the medieval Malay chronicle Sejarah MelayaEven today the Chola rule is remembered in Malaysia as many Malaysian princes have names ending with Cholan or Chulan, one such was the Raja of Perak called Raja Chulan. 107 Avalokiteshvara statue found in Perak, 8th–9th century bronze. Pattinapalai, a Tamil poem of the 2nd century CE, describes goods from Kedaram heaped in the broad streets of the Chola capital. A 7th-century Indian drama, Kaumudhimahotsva, refers to Kedah as Kataha-nagari. The Agnipurana also mentions a territory known as Anda-Kataha with one of its boundaries delineated by a peak, which scholars believe is Gunung Jerai. Stories from the Katasaritasagaram describe the elegance of life in Kataha. The Buddhist kingdom of Ligor took control of Kedah shortly after. Its king Chandrabhanu used it as a base to attack Sri Lanka in the 11th century and ruled the northern parts, an event noted in a stone inscription in Nagapattinum in Tamil Nadu and in the Sri Lankan chronicles, Mahavamsa. 32.Decline of Srivijaya empire and inner fights of breakup vassal states (12th - 13th century At times, the Khmer kingdom, the Siamese kingdom, and even Cholas kingdom tried to exert control over the smaller Malay states.[19] The power of Srivijaya declined from the 12th century as the relationship between the capital and its vassals broke down. Wars with the Javanese caused it to request assistance from China, and wars with Indian states are also suspected. In the 11th century, the centre of power shifted to Malayu, a port possibly located further up the Sumatran coast near the Jambi River.[28] The power of the Buddhist Maharajas was further undermined by the spread of Islam. Areas which were converted to Islam early, such as Aceh, broke away from Srivijaya's control. By the late 13th century, the Siamese kings of Sukhothai had brought most of Malaya under their rule. In the 14th century, the Hindu Java-based Majapahit empire came into possession of the peninsula.[27] 33.Defeat and conversion to Islamic sultanates in 14th and 15th century In the 14th century that first Islamic sultanate was established. The adoption of Islam in the 14th century saw the rise of a number of sultanates, the most prominent of which was the Sultanate of Malacca. Islam had a profound influence on the Malay people. The Portuguese were the first European colonial powers to establish themselves on the Malay Peninsula and Southeast Asia, capturing Malacca in 1511, followed by the Dutch in 1641. However, it was the British who, after initially establishing bases at Jesselton, Kuching, Penang and Singapore, ultimately secured their hegemony across the territory that is now Malaysia. The Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 defined the boundaries between British Malaya and the Netherlands East Indies (which became Indonesia). A 108 fourth phase of foreign influence was immigration of Chinese and Indian workers to meet the needs of the colonial economy created by the British in the Malay Peninsula and Borneo.[37] 34.European colonisation and modern era (16th century - present day)---Colonisation commenced form European colonisation from 16th century and ended in 19th century. Indianised kingdoms in Philippines Super kingdoms spanning several present day nations Srivijaya empire: a Hindu-Buddhist kingdom also included Luzon and Visayas, rival of Mataram who also ruled Mindanao Kingdom of Mataram: a Hindu kingdom rival of Buddhist Srivijara, its king was Balitung mentioned in the Balitung inscription, spread across Java in southern Indonesia and Sulu/Mindanao in southern Philippines Locations of the archaic polities and sultanates in the Philippines (900-1521) Luzon Around Manila and Pasig river were 3 polities which were earlier HinduBuddhist, later Islamic and then subsumed and converted to Catholicism by Spanish in 16th century Namayan polity was confederation of barangays Maynila (historical entity) 109 Rajah Sulayman (also Sulayman III, 1558–1575), Indianized Kingdom of Maynila Rajah Matanda (1480–1572), ruler of the Indianized Kingdom of Maynila, together with Rajah Sulayman was co-ruled Maynila, their cousin Lakan Dula ruled Tondo. Rajah Sulayman was one of three kings that ruled parts of present-day Manila, and fought against the Spanish Empire's colonisation of the Philippines Tondo (Historical State) on Pasig river near Manila Lakan Dula, was a raja who was cousin of Rajah Sulayman and Rajah Matanda Laguna Copperplate Inscription, earliest known written document found in the Philippines, in Indianized Kawi script with Sanskrit loanwords Ma-i Buddhist kingdom of Mindoro island, from before 10th century till 14th century 1406–1576 Caboloan, was a sovereign pre-colonial Philippine polity located in the fertile Agno River basin and delta, with Binalatongan as the capital.[39] The polity of Pangasinan sent emissaries to China in 1406–1411. Visayas Rajahnate of Cebu at Singhapala (Mabolo in Cebu city on Mahinga creej) capital city in southern Cebu island was Hindu-kingdom founded by Sri Lumay or Rajamuda Lumaya, a minor prince of the Chola dynasty of India which occupied Sumatra. He was sent by the Maharajah from India to establish a base for expeditionary forces, but he rebelled and established his own independent rajahnate. Subsumed by Spanish in 16th century. King Sri Lumay was half Tamil and half Malay, noted for his strict policies in defending against Moro Muslim raiders and slavers from Mindanao. His use of scorched earth tactics to repel invaders gave rise to the name Kang Sri Lumayng Sugbu (literally "that of Sri Lumay's great fire") to the town, which was later shortened to Sugbu ("scorched earth"). Sri Bantug, king and successor son of Sri Lumay Rajah Humabon, king and successor son of Sri Batung Battle of Mactan on 27 April 1521 between Rajah Humabon and Ferdinand Magellan in which Lapu-Lapu fought on side of Rajah, resulting in the death of Ferdinand Magellan. Lapu-Lapu, warrior under Rajah Humabon, Lapu-Lapu fought Spanish Ferdinand Magellan, Portuguese explorer on hired by Spanish empire Rajah Tupas (Sri Tupas), nephew and successor of Rajah Humabon, last to rule the kingdom before subsumed by Spanish Miguel López de Legazpi in the battle of Cebu during 1565. 110 Caste system: Below the rulers were the Timawa, the feudal warrior class of the ancient Visayan societies of the Philippines who were regarded as higher than the uripon (commoners, serfs, and slaves) but below the Tumao (royal nobility) in the Visayan social hierarchy. They were roughly similar to the Tagalog maharlika caste. Lapu Lapu was a Timawa. A crude Buddhist medallion and a copper statue of a Hindu Deity, Ganesha, has been found by Henry Otley Beyer in 1921 in ancient sites in Puerto Princesa, Palawan and in Mactan, CebuThe crudeness of the artifacts indicates they are of local reproduction. Unfortunately, these icons were destroyed during World War II. However, black and white photographs of these icons survive. Kedatuan of Madja-as of Panay island was a supra-baranganic polity from 14th century till 16th century until subsumed by Spanish, were migrants from North Sumatra in Indonesia where they were rulers of Buddhist Srivihayan "kingdom of Pannai" (ruled 10 to 14th century) which was defeated by Majapahit. Mindanao Kingdom of Butuan in northeast Mindanao, Hindu kingdom existed earlier than 10th century and ruled till being subsumed by Spanish in 16th century Golden Tara (Agusan image) is a golden statue that was found in Agusan del Sur in northeast Mindanao. Mount Diwata: named after diwata concept of Philippines based on the devata deity concept of Hinduism Sultanate of Lanao of Muslims in Maguindanao in northwestern Mindanao from 15th century till present day Sultanate of Maguindanao in Cotabato in far west Mindanao from split from Srivijaya Hindu ancestors in 16th century and ruled till early 20th century, originally converted by sultan of Johor in 16th century but maintained informal kinship with Hindu siblings who are now likely Christians Sultanate of Sulu in southwestern Mindanao, established in 1405 by a Johore-born Muslim explorer, gained independence from the Bruneian Empire in 1578 and lasted till 1986. It also covered the area in northeastern side of Borneo, stretching from Marudu Bay to Tepian Durian in present-day Kalimantan. Lupah Su sultanate, predecessor Islamic state before the establishment of Sultanate of Sulu. Maimbung principality: Hindu polity, predecessor of Lupah Su]] Muslim sultanate. Sulu that time was called Lupah Sug. The Principality of Maimbung, populated by Buranun people (or Budanon, literally means "mountain-dwellers"), was first ruled by a certain rajah who assumed the title Rajah Sipad the Older. According to Majul, the origins of the title rajah sipad originated from the Hindu sri pada, which symbolises authority. The Principality was instituted and governed using the system of rajahs. Sipad the Older was succeeded by Sipad the Younger. Indians in Philippines during colonial era 111 1762–1764 British Manila Battle of Manila (1762) by the East India Company's Indian soldiers during Anglo-Spanish War (1761–63) Cainta in Rizal: historic colonial era settlement of escaped Indians sepoys of British East India Company Indian Filipino: Filipino citizens with part or whole Indian blood Key Indianised Hindu-Buddhist artifacts found in Philippines Luzon Laguna Copperplate Inscription in Luzon, earliest known written document found in the Philippines, in Indianized Kawi script with Sanskrit loanwords Palawan Tabon Caves Garuda Gold Pendant found in the Tabon caves in the island of Palawan, is an image of Garuda, the eagle bird who is the mount of Hindu deity Vishnu Visayas Rajahnate of Cebu Buddhist medallion and copper statue of Hindu Deity: A crude Buddhist medallion and a copper statue of a Hindu Deity, Ganesha, has been found by Henry Otley Beyer in 1921 in ancient sites in Puerto Princesa, Palawan and in Mactan, Cebu. The crudeness of the artifacts indicates they are of local reproduction. Unfortunately, these icons were destroyed during World War II. However, black and white photographs of these icons survive. Mindanao Golden Tara (Agusan image) from Kingdom of Butuan in northeast Mindanao is a golden statue that was found in Agusan del Sur in northeast Mindanao. 11th to 12th century Year Date 1025 Event The region was invaded and occupied by Rajendra Chola of the Chola empire in India 13th century Year Date Event 112 1299 According to the Malay Annals, the Kingdom of Singapura is founded by Sang Nila Uta 14th century Year Date Event 1320 The Mongol court sends a mission to obtain elephants from Long Ya Men 1330 The Chinese traveller Wang Dayuan visits Temasek and records an attack by Siam, 1398 Parameswara, the last Srivijayan prince, flees from Temasek. 15th century Year Date 1414 Event Temasek becomes part of the Sultanate of Malacca established by Parameswara. 16th century Year Date Event 1511 15 August Malacca fell and was sacked by Afonso de Albuquerque of Portuguese Empire. 113 An artist's impression of Parameswara, who ruled Singapore in the 1390s. The Greco-Roman astronomer Ptolemy (90–168) identified a place called Sabana at the tip of Golden Chersonese (believed to be the Malay Peninsula) in the second and third century. The earliest written record of Singapore may be in a Chinese account from the third century, describing the island of Pu Luo Chung . This is thought to be a transcription from the Malay name "Pulau Ujong", or "island at the end" (of the Malay Peninsula). In 1025 CE, Rajendra Chola I of the Chola Empire led forces across the Indian Ocean and invaded the Srivijayan empire, attacking several places in Malaysia and Indonesia. The Chola forces were said to have controlled Temasek (now Singapore) for a couple of decades. The name Temasek however did not appear in Chola records, but a tale involving a Raja Chulan (assumed to be Rajendra Chola) and Temasek was mentioned in the semi-historical Malay Annals The Nagarakretagama, a Javanese epic poem written in 1365, referred to a settlement on the island called Tumasik (possibly meaning "Sea Town" or "Sea Port"). Hindu-Buddhist kingdom (? - ~1511 The name Temasek is also given in Sejarah Melayu (Malay Annals), which contains a tale of the founding of Temasek by a prince of Srivijaya, Sri Tri Buana (also known as Sang Nila Utama) in the 13th century. Sri Tri Buana landed on Temasek on a hunting trip, and saw a strange beast said to be a lion. The prince took this as an auspicious sign and founded a settlement called Singapura, which means "Lion City" in Sanskrit. The actual origin of the name Singapura however is unclear according to scholars. In 1320, the Mongol Empire sent a trade mission to a place called Long Ya Men (or Dragon's Teeth Gate), which is believed to be Keppel Harbour at the southern part of the island.[54] The Chinese traveller Wang Dayuan, visiting the island around 1330, described Long Ya Men as one of the two distinct settlements in Dan Ma Xi (from Malay Temasek), the other being Ban Zu (from Malay pancur). Ban Zu is thought to be present day Fort Canning Hill, and recent excavations in Fort Canning found evidence indicating that Singapore was an important settlement in the 14th century. Wang mentioned that the natives of Long Ya Men (thought to be the Orang Laut) and Chinese residents lived together in Long Ya Men. Singapore is one of the oldest locations where a Chinese community is known to exist outside China, and the oldest corroborated by archaeological evidence. 114 Sometime in its history, the name of Temasek was changed to Singapura. The Sejarah Melayu (Malay Annals) contains a tale of a prince of Srivijaya, Sri Tri Buana (also known as Sang Nila Utama), who landed on Temasek after surviving a storm in the 13th century. According to the tale, the prince saw a strange creature, which he was told was a lion; believing this to be an auspicious sign, he decided to found a settlement called Singapura, which means "Lion City" in Sanskrit. It is unlikely there ever were lions in Singapore, though tigers continued to roam the island until the early 20th century. However, the lion motif is common in Hindu mythology, which was dominant in the region during that period (one of the words for "throne" in the Malay language is "singgasana", meaning "lion's seat" in Sanskrit), and it has been speculated that the "Singapura" name, and the tale of the lion, were invented by court historians of the Malacca Sultanate to glorify Sang Nila Utama and his line of descent. Different versions of its history are told in Portuguese sources, suggesting that Temasek was a Siamese vassal whose ruler was killed by Parameswara from Palembang. Historians believe that during the late 14th century, Parameswara, the last Srivijayan prince, fled to Temasek from Palembang after being deposed by the Majapahit Empire. According to Portuguese accounts, Parameswara killed the local chief with the title Sang Aji eight days after being welcomed into Temasek. A fragment of the Singapore Stone, inscribed with an Indic script, c. 10th to 13th century. By the 14th century, the empire of Srivijaya had already declined, and Singapore was caught in the struggle between Siam (now Thailand) and the Java-based Majapahit Empire for control over the Malay Peninsula. According to the Malay Annals, Singapore was defeated in one Majapahit attack. The last king, Sultan Iskandar Shah (a prince of Srivijaya empire, his Hindu name Parameswara before he was converted to Islam) ruled the island for several years, before being forced to Melaka where he founded the Sultanate of Malacca.[63] Portuguese sources however indicated that Temasek was a Siamese vassal whose ruler was killed by Parameswara (thought to be the same person as Sultan Iskandar Shah) from Palembang, and Parameswara was then driven to Malacca, either by the Siamese or the Majapahit, where he founded the Malacca Sultanate. Modern archaeological evidence suggests that the settlement on Fort Canning was abandoned around this time, although a small trading settlement continued in Singapore for some time afterwards. Islamic sultanate (1511 - 1613 The Malacca Sultanate extended its authority over the island and Singapore became a part of the Malacca Sultanate.[47] However, by the time the Portuguese arrived in the early 16th century, Singapura had already become "great ruins" according to Alfonso de Albuquerque.In 1511, the Portuguese seized Malacca; the sultan of Malacca escaped south and established the Johor Sultanate, and Singapore then became part of the sultanate which was destroyed in 1613. British colony and modern era (19th century - present 115 The Portuguese however destroyed the settlement in Singapore in 1613, and the island sank into obscurity for the next two centuries. Map of South-east Asia c. 900 CE, showing the Khmer Empire in red and Haripunjaya in light green. Thailand's relationship with India spans over a thousand years and understandably resulted in an adaptation of Hindu culture to suit the Thai environment. Evidence of strong religious, cultural and linguistic links abound. Propagation of Buddhism in Thailand by emperor Ashoka (3rd century BCE Historically, the cultural and economic interaction between the two countries can be traced to roughly around the 6th century B.C. The single most significant cultural contribution of India, for which Thailand is greatly indebted to India, is Buddhism. Propagated in Thailand in the 3rd century B.C. by Buddhist monks sent by King Asoka, it was adopted as the state religion of Thailand and has ruled the hearts and minds of Thais ever since. Presently 58,000,000 Thais, an overwhelming 94% of the total Thai populace adheres to Buddhism. However, direct contact can be said to have begun only in the 3rd century B.C. when King Asoka sent Buddhist monks to propagate Buddhism in the Indo-Chinese peninsula. Besides Buddhism, Thailand has also adopted other typically Indian religious and cultural traditions. The ceremonies and rites especially as regards the Monarchy evidence a strong Hindu influence. Sukhothai period: Settlement of Indian traders and Brahmins in Thailand (1275–1350 The Indians who moved into Thailand in the Sukhothai period (1275–1350) were either merchants who came to Siam or Thailand, for the purpose of trading or Brahmans who played an important role in the Siamese court as experts in astrology and in conducting ceremonies. The first group of Brahmans who entered Siam before the founding of Sukhothai as the first capital of Siam (1275– 1350) popularized Hindu beliefs and traditions. During the Sukhothai period Brahman temples 116 already existed. Brahmans conducted ceremonies in the court. The concepts of divine kingship and royal ceremonies are clear examples of the influence of Brahmanism. The Coronation of the Thai monarch are practiced more or less in its original form even up to the present reign. The Thai idea that the king is a reincarnation of the Hindu deity Vishnu was adopted from Indian tradition. (Though this belief no longer exists today, the tradition to call each Thai king of the present Chakri dynasty Rama (Rama is an incarnation of Vishnu) with an ordinal number, such as Rama I, Rama II etc. is still in practice.) SukhAyutthaya period: Settlement of more Indian Tamil traders in Thailand (1350–1767 CE In the Ayutthaya kingdom era (1350–1767), more Tamil merchants entered the South of the country by boat as evidenced by the statues of Hindu gods excavated in the South. Later migration of Indians to Thailand (1855 CE - present day After the year 1855, the Tamils who migrated to Thailand can be classified into three groups according to the religion they believed in, namely, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam. Indian cultural influence on Thailand The Kedah Annals also gives unreliable information on the sultans of Kedah. Listing the first sultan of Kedah as Sultan Mudzafar Shah I centuries before the partitioning of the Abbasid Caliphate into distinct sultanates and almost three centuries prior to the contradicting claims of the Terengganu Inscription Stone. This claim also directly contradicts the fact that the Buddhist Srivijaya kingdom was in direct control of Kedah at the time that Sultan Mudzafar Shah I allegedly converted the region to a sultanate. Kedah may have remained Hindu-Buddhist until the 15th century. The list of rulers of Kedah as given here is based to some extent on the Kedah Annals beginning with the Hindu ruler Durbar Raja I. According to the Kedah Annals, the 9th Kedah Maharaja Derbar Raja converted to Islam and changed his name to Sultan Muzaffar Shah, thereby started the Kedah Sultanate. A genealogy was compiled in the 1920s, Al-Tarikh Salasilah Negeri Kedah Darul Aman or Kedah Genealogy. The historicity and the dating of the list of rulers however is questionable as Kedah may have remained Hindu-Buddhist until the 15th century when its king converted to Islam. History of Kedah 117 Map of the early Kadaha kingdom and the Early transpeninsular routeway//Ancient artefact found in Kedah Around 788 BCE, a systematic government of a large settlement of Malay native of Kedah had already established around the northern bank of Merbok River. The state consisted a large area of Bujang Valley, covering Merbok and Muda river branches about 1000 square miles area. The capital of the settlement was built at the estuary of a branch of Merbok River, now known as Sungai Batu river. Around d 170 CE groups of Malay native of Hindu faith from Sumatra and Java developed settlements in Malay Peninsula, including Kedah, joining them soon were peoples from nearby islands and from the northern Mon-Khmer region. At the same time traders from India, Persia and Arab, arrived the brink of the Malacca Strait, using Gunung Jerai the Kedah Peak as marking point. Ancient Kedah covered the areas of Kuala Bahang, Kuala Bara, Kuala Qilah and Merpah, and the inhabitants of Kedah appointed Tan Derma Dewa and Tun Perkasa as their village chiefs. The king from Gombroon According to At-Tarikh Salasilah Negeri Kedah, written by Muhammad Hassan bin Dato' Kerani Muhammad Arshad, 1928, in about 630 CE, Maharaja Derbar Raja of Gombroon (now known as Bandar Abbas) in Persia was defeated in battle and escaped to Sri Lanka, and he was later blown off course by a storm to the remote shores of Kuala Sungai Qilah, Kedah.[1] The inhabitants of Kedah found him to be a valiant and intelligent person, and they made him the king of Kedah. In 634 CE, a new kingdom was formed in Kedah consisting of Persian royalty and native Malay of Hindu faith, the capital was Langkasuka.[1] Conversion to Islam Based on the account given in Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa (also known as the Kedah Annals), the Sultanate of Kedah when King Phra Ong Mahawangsa converted to Islam and adopted the name Sultan Mudzafar Shah. At-Tarikh Salasilah Negeri Kedah described the conversion to Islamic faith was started in 1136 AD. However, historian Richard Winstedt, quoting an Acehnese account, gave a date of 1474 for the year of conversion to Islam by the ruler of Kedah. This later date accords with an account in the Malay Annals where a raja of Kedah visited Malacca during the reign of its last sultan seeking the honour of the royal band that marks the sovereignty of Malacca Empire on a Muslim ruler. 1. Hindu era 2. The following is a list of kings of Kadaram, nine in total. Each used the Hindu title of Sri Paduka Maharaja. The exact dates of each king's reign are not known. 3. Durbar Raja I (330–390) 4. Diraja Putra (390-440) 5. Maha Dewa I (440-465) 6. Karna Diraja (465-512) 7. Karma (512-580) 8. Maha Dewa II (580-620) 9. Maha Dewa III (620-660) 10. Diraja Putra II (660-712) 11. Darma Raja (712-788) 12. Maha Jiwa (788-832) 13. Karma II (832-880) 118 14. Darma Raja II (880-956) 15. Durbar Raja II (956–1136; succeeded as Sultan of Kedah, see below) Source for the list of sultans is the Muzium Negeri Kedah, Alor Setar, Malaysia. "The sultans of Kedah". Nobat The Nobat musical instruments of Nagara and Nepiri were introduced to Kedah by Maharaja Derbar Raja. The instrument is also called semambu. The band is led by the king, and it consists of drums, a gong, a flute and a trumpet. Today, Nobat is a Royal orchestra, played only during royal ceremonies such as inaugurations, weddings, and funerals. The building which houses the instruments and where the ensemble rehearses is known as the Balai Nobat, literally the Office of Nobat, in Alor Setar city proper. Chi Tu (other alternative spellings include Chihtu, Chitu or Ch-iht'u; Sanskrit: Raktamaritika or Raktamrittika; Chinese: 赤土国, pinyin: Chì-tǔ-guó; Malay language: Tanah Merah) was an ancient kingdom mentioned in the history of China. The Sui Dynasty annals describe an advanced kingdom called Chi Tu in 607, when Chang Chun was sent as an ambassador there. The location of Chi Tu was disputed to be around Kelantan or Pahang state in Malay Peninsula, or in Songkhla and Pattani Province of southern Thailand. The best evidence to support the Kelantan theory was when the envoys left Chi Tu, the sail took 10 days to reach Champa, this indicates the kingdom was located somewhere 'red earth' around the main river of Kelantan. The inscribed Buddhagupta Stone found in Kedah mentioned a Raktamrttika, meaning "red earth land". he Chi Tu kingdom is believed to have existed as early as 100 BC to the 6th century AD.The royal family's name was Chu-dan (which means Gautama Buddha) and the king was Li-fo-duo-se. According to Chinese records, Chi Tu was built by kit mow (Mon-Khmer) peoples who sailed from the coast of Funan (southern Indochina). Centuries later, the local inhabitants, replaced Funan peoples. "... Chi Tu is a derivation nation of Funan, located in within the southern sea, sailing hundred days to reach, the majority terrain was red, thus named Red Earth Kingdom (Chi means red, Tu means earth). East bordering Po-Lo-La, West bordering Po-Lo-So, South bordering Ho Lo Tan, thousands of square miles in land area. The king has three wives and the kingdom embraced Buddhism ..." Chi Tu kingdom along with Langkasuka, Kedah and others were early important trade centers (approximately 100 BC to 700 AD). During this period, ships coming from China and Funan (from Indian Ocean as well) stop at the coast of Malay Peninsula. They get the local porters to transport the goods, using rafts, elephants and manpower along the Early transpeninsular routeway and part of the ancient Spice Route (Sea Route). By the 800 AD, the Chi Tu kingdom went into decline. Location: Scholars do not agree on the location of Raktamaritika. While some consider it in the area of Phatthalung / Songkhla area, or Kelantan. The ruins around the Songkhla lake such as Bang Kaeo in Phatthalung or Sathing Phra in Songkhla then might be one of the cities of Raktamaritika. Sources from Indian scholars J.L. Meons (1937) believed that early Srivijaya was located in Kelantan and K.A. Nilakanta Sastri (1949) supported the idea. The Kelantan theory may not be far-fetched, since Chinese Sui Dynasty annals of the 7th century describe an advanced kingdom called Chi Tu or Raktamrittika (as in Kelantanese history) as being in Kelantan, which the name was later changed to "Sri Wijaya Mala". 119 The founding of Sri Wijaya Mala was 667 BC with its capital called "Valai", and it was situated along the upper Kelantan river of Pergau, known for its rich gold mines. It was until 570 BC that the kingdom changed its name to Sri Wijaya.[ Songkhla vicinity theory The inscription of the Buddhagupta Stone found in Kedah mentioned a Raktamaritika, the meaning is red earth land, to be the home town of a seafarer named Buddhagupta. The old name of Songkhla is Singgora (City of Lions), which coincides with the fact that according to the Chinese chronicles the capital of Chitu was Sing-Ha (means lion) and also the nearby Singhanakhon district. This name may also be related to Tambralinga because there is "Tam" (means red) in this name as same as Raktamaritika and Tampapanni. And this state has appeared in 642, the same area of the central Malay peninsula after Chitu has already faded away from the history. The best evidence supporting this theory is the mention that when the envoys left Chitu, the sailing took 10 days to reach Champa, which indicates the kingdom was located at the 'red earth' areas such as Rattaphum because Rattaphum means red earth as well. Kedah was a kingdom on the Malay Peninsula and an important early trade centre.] Early westcoast trade centres are few in number as they were overshadowed by Kedah. Her nearness to the entrances to the Straits of Malacca — and more importantly — being on latitude 6° north of the equator, the same as Ceylon to the south of India, meant that ships sailing the Bay of Bengal in a sea lane heading due east or west between the two were in little danger of becoming lost. The early transpeninsular routeway is part of the sea trade route of the Spice Route for Arab, Persian, Tamil Nadu and India-to-China traders, as the route through the Straits does not seem to have been in general use. Early sea traders from the west, upon reaching the coast, engaged porters to transport goods by raft, elephant and man-carry along the rivers (Kelantan River, Pattani River, Pahang River, Muda River, Bernam River, Muar River, and others) to the opposite coast. The Sungai Muda in particular favoured the development of Kedah. After the 7th century, Srivijaya subjugated Kedah, but due to her fame, Indian sources continue to depict Kedah. Early Kedah also supplied its own tin, and jungle products such as rattan, resin, honey, beeswax, elephants, ivory, areca nuts, sepang wood and black woods, as well as profiting from tax collections. The early history of Kedah can be traced from various sources, from the prehistoric period to the archaeological site of Bujang Valley, the early maritime trade of India, Persia, and the Arabs to the written works of early Chinese pilgrims and early Chinese records, the Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa (known as Kedah Annals) to Al-Tarikh Salasilah Negeri Kedah. Origins: Austronesians began migrating to the Malay Archipelago approximately 3,500 years before present. It is now accepted that Taiwan is the cradle of Austronesian languages. Some 4,000 years ago, Austronesian began to migrate to the Philippines. Later, some of their descendants started to migrate southwards to what is now Indonesia and eastwards to the Pacific islands. Ancient history 120 Sketch of an 8th-century seafaring ship taken from Borobodur bas relief in central Java, Indonesia/ Map of early sea trade route (in red) and the early transpeninsula routeways of the Malay Peninsula //Flag of Kedah in the 18th century Austronesians were great seafarers, colonising as far as New Zealand, Hawaii and Madagascar. In some regions they intermarried with the local inhabitants (Orang Asli), becoming the DeuteroMalays. Possibly as early as the 4th century BCE, Austronesians started to sail westwards in search of new markets for their products. They reached the eastern coast of southern India, initiating trade. Gradually, rulers from western Indonesia began to adopt Tamil-Indian cultural and political models. However, the earliest evidence of such models found so far have been dated to only the early 5th century. Some Greco-Roman merchants in the 1st century CE described huge non-Indian ships coming from the east with rich cargoes, possibly from the Malay Archipelago. This would indicate that the Malay participated actively in Indian Ocean trade, and likely handled much of the traffic between Southeast Asia and India. Three kinds of craft are described by the author of the Periplus: light coasting boats for local traffic, larger vessels of a more complicated structure and greater carrying capacity, and lastly the big ocean-going vessels that made the voyages to Malaya, Sumatra, and the Ganges.[2] Medieval history Early in the Medieval era, Kedah became part of Srivijaya (the dominant Malay state and a major power in the Indian Ocean trade). This led to rivalries with the Indian states, especially the Chola Empire from the 9th to 13th centuries CE. The Cholas had a powerful merchant and naval fleet in the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal. In the early 11th century, Tamil Chola King Rajendra Chola I sent an expedition to attack Kedah (Sri Vijaya) on behalf of one of its rulers who sought his assistance to gain the throne. In ancient Kedah there is an important and unmistakably Hindu settlement which has been known for about a century now from the discoveries reported 1840s by Col. James Low, later subjected to a fairly exhaustive investigation by Dr. Quaritch Wales. Dr. Wales investigated no fewer than thirty sites round about Kedah . The results show this site was in continuous occupation for centuries, by people who under strong South Indian, Buddhist and Hindu influences. An inscribed stone bar, rectangular in shape, bears the Ye Dharma Hetu formula[nb 1] in South Indian characters of the 4th century CE, thus proclaiming the Buddhist character of the shrine near the find-spot (site I) of which only the basement survives. It is inscribed on three faces in Pallava 121 script, or Vatteluttu rounded writing of the 6th century CE, possibly earlier.[4] One of the early inscription stones discovered by James Low, at Bukit Meriam and in Muda River, mention of Raktamrrtika. The word Raktamrrtika means ‘Red Earth’ (Tanah Merah). Inscriptions, both in Tamil and Sanskrit, relate to the activities of the people and rulers of the Tamil country of South India. The Tamil inscriptions are at least four centuries posterior to the Sanskrit inscriptions, from which the early Tamils themselves were patronizers of the Sanskrit language. In Kedah, an inscription in Sanskrit dated 1086 CE has been found. This was left by Kulothunga Chola I (of the Chola empire, Tamil country). This too shows the commercial contacts the Chola Empire had with Malaya. An indigenous style develops The Tamils coming from Southern India and the local Malays were already using the rounded script, or Vatteluttu writing styles which differed from the Devanagari script of Northern India. Vatteluttu was also commonly known as the Pallava script by scholars of Southeast Asian studies such as George Coedes and D.G.E. Hall. The Tamil script of Vatteluttu later evolved into Old Kawi script which was used in Java, the Philippines, and Bali as well. There are stone inscriptions which indicate that the Kedah region at 400 CE or before was already an established trade centre. One of the early Malay texts include the karma verses refers to a king named Ramaunibham, who may be the first local ruler whose name is recorded in history. The history of this period showed the influence of Indian cultures on the region while the locals in return, influenced the Indians in their living skills on the sea and in the hills. Setul, officially the Kingdom of Setul Mambang Segara was a traditional Malay kingdom founded in the northern coast of Malay Peninsular. The state was established in 1808 in wake of the partition between the rulers in the Royal House of Kedah. The partition witnessed the territory being seceded to the cadet branch of the royal family. The sovereignty of the kingdom effectively ended in 1916, following the dissolution by the Siamese government. Her borders was largely inherited to her successive province, the present-day Satun, Thailand. iberation of Kedah Kuban Pasu Gua Kerbau, the historic training camp for the Kedahan militia during the Siamese occupation of Kedah. While slowly receiving the confidence of the Siamese administrator, Tunku Anum also began to recruit local Malay militia in Gua Kerbau, Bukit Keplu, located in present-day Kodiang. The regiment was trained with the aim to combat the Siamese colonial powers. While leaving his forces 122 behind in Gua Kerbau, he went to the Ligor court with a recommendation letter. He managed to gain further respect and trust of the Ligor governor during his diplomatic visit in the territory. During his mission in Ligor, the Malay militia began to launch an offensive against the Siamese troops in Alor Ganu, near Anak Bukit. Desperate, Nunchit sent a letter to his father, the Governor of Ligor to request aid to qualm the rebellion. While the ruler of Ligor mobilise its troops down south, he also offered Tunku Anum as his representative in Kedah, hoping that his expertise in the domestic governance and politics can subjugate the rebellion. Tunku Anum politely refused the position as the Ligor representative in Kedah. Believing that if he accepted the offer, Kedah shall be forever remained under the Siamese occupation and he will be reduced as a mere puppet monarch. As the battle escalated in Kedah, the Siamese again requested military assistance from Ligor. Only this time, due to the soaring cost of war, the huge number of deaths and the spreading of deadly diseases in the military camp, the Siamese decided to withdraw their military presence in Kedah, with a requirement that Kedah shall send Bunga Mas and Bunga Perak procession to Siam every 3 years. Thus, liberating the state against the Siamese occupation. The King of Kubang Pasu Sungai Tunku Anum in Kubang Pasu. The river was named in honour of the late king for his efforts on developing the territory, including improving the irrigation system of the river. Tunku Anum also led the restoration of the monarchy system in Kedah following the end of Siamese occupation in the kingdom.[3][6] Upon the return of Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin after his exile in Malacca, he awarded Tunku Anum with 24 districts from Tunjang to Sendawa, with Pulau Pisang in Jitra as its capital, for his instrumental role in liberating Kedah. He ascended the throne in 1839 and bestowed the honorific title of Darul Qiyam "the sovereign state" to the kingdom. Kubang Pasu was met with an unprecedented growth during his rule with the construction of various development projects in the area, including a judicial court, fortified defence system, prison, religious schools and land office.[7] The area then prospered as a centre for trade and rice production. He also ordered the construction of local factory which paved ways for the textile industry in the area now known as Pulau Kain and improved the irrigation system of the local river, presently called as Sungai Tunku Anum (Tunku Anum River). The land titles and grants transaction made during this era also bore the seal of Kubang Pasu. Reunification with Kedah Tunku Anum ruled the kingdom for 17 years before his death in 29 May 1853 in Istana Kota Pulau Pisang, the palatial residence of Kubang Pasu. His demise was widely believed to caused by the devastation upon the earlier death of his son in 1848. He was laid to rest in Kubang Pasu Royal Cemetery, Pekan Tunjang. A narration of his life was written nearby his tomb. In 31 May 1853, Tunku Ishak, was proclaimed as the King of Kubang Pasu, while Tunku Muhammad Saman was appointed as the Raja Muda (crown prince) of the kingdom, both princes are the grandsons of Tunku Anum.[6] In contrast to Tunku Anum, Tunku Ishak was known to be a rather unpopular monarch with his subjects and other ministers due to various bitter policy that he promulgated. Following various resistant movement by the populace during his 10-year reign, the king was forced to abdicate his position as a monarch and reunifying the area into Kedah on 10 November 1864, effectively marking the end of the Kubang Pasu Kingdom. 123 CHAPTER VIII NEIGHBOURS TO SRIVIJAYA- THE SHAILENDRA DYNASTY The remarkable creators of the Borobudur Temple and Prambanan Temple and How the Buddhist and Hindu were built The bas relief of 8th century Borobudur depict a King sitting in Maharajalilasana (king's posture or royal ease) pose, with his Queen and their subjects, the scene is based on Shailendran royal court. The expansion of Indian civilization "to those countries and islands of the Orient where Chinese civilization, with strikingly similar aspirations, seemed to arrive ahead of it," is one of the outstanding events in the history of the world, one which has determined the destiny of a good portion of mankind. "Mother of wisdom gave her mythology to her neighbors who went to teach it to the whole world. Mother of law and philosophy, she gave to three-quarters of Asia a god, a religion, a doctrine, an art. She carried her sacred language, her literature, her institutions into Indonesia, to the limits of the known world, and from there they spread back to Madagascar and perhaps to the coast of Africa, where the present flow of Indian immigrants seems to follow the faint traces of the past." Sylvain Levi, L'lnde civilisatrice: Apergu historique (Paris, 1938), p. 136. 124 Borobudur Temple, the Shailendra Kingdom's masterpiece on Java, Indonesia. Philippe Boursellier via Getty Images In the 8th century CE, a Mahayana Buddhist kingdom sprang up on the central plain of Java, now in Indonesia. Soon, glorious Buddhist monuments flowered across the Kedu Plain - and the most incredible of them all was the massive stupa of Borobudur. But who were these great builders and believers? Unfortunately, we do not have many primary historical sources about the Shailendra Kingdom of Java. Here is what we know, or suspect, about this kingdom. Like their neighbors, the Srivijaya Kingdom of the island of Sumatra, the Shailendra Kingdom was a great ocean-going and trading empire. Also known as a thalassocracy, this form of government made perfect sense for a people located at the linch-pin point of the great Indian Ocean maritime trade. Java is midway between the silks, tea, and porcelains of China, to the east, and the spices, gold, and jewels of India, to the west. In addition, of course, the Indonesian islands themselves were famous for their exotic spices, sought after all around the Indian Ocean basin and beyond. Archaeological evidence suggests, however, that the people of Shailendra did not rely entirely upon the sea for their living. The rich, volcanic soil of Java also yielded bountiful harvests of rice, which could have been consumed by the farmers themselves or traded to passing merchant ships for a tidy profit. Where did the Shailendra people come from? In the past, historians and archaeologists have suggested various points of origin for them based on their artistic style, material culture, and languages. Some said they came from Cambodia, others India, still others that they were one and the same with the Srivijaya of Sumatra. It seems most likely, however, that they were native to Java, and were influenced by far-flung Asian cultures through the sea-borne trade. The Shailendra seem to have emerged around the year 778 CE. It was around this same time that gamelan music became popular in Java and throughout Indonesia. Interestingly, at that time there was already another great kingdom in Central Java. The Sanjaya dynasty was Hindu rather than Buddhist, but the two seem to have gotten along well for decades. Both also had ties with the Champa Kingdom of the Southeast Asian mainland, the Chola Kingdom of southern India, and with Srivijaya, on the nearby island of Sumatra. The ruling family of Shailendra does seem to have intermarried with the rulers of Srivijaya, in fact. For example, the Shailendra ruler Samaragrawira made a marriage alliance with the daughter of a Maharaja of Srivijaya, a woman called Dewi Tara. This would have cemented trade and political ties with her father, the Maharaja Dharmasetu. For around 100 years, the two great trading kingdoms in Java seem to have peacefully coexisted. However, by the year 852, the Sanjaya seem to have pushed the Sailendra out of Central Java. Some inscriptions suggest that the Sanjaya ruler Rakai Pikatan (r. 838 - 850) overthrew the Shailendra king Balaputra, who fled to the Srivijaya court in Sumatra. According to legend, Balaputra then took power in Srivijaya. The last known inscription mentioning any member of the Shailendra dynasty is from the year 1025, when the great Chola emperor Rajendra Chola I launched a devastating invasion of Srivijaya, and took the last Shailendra king back to India as a hostage. 125 It is terribly frustrating that we do not have more information about this fascinating kingdom and its people. After all, the Shailendra were quite obviously literate - they left inscriptions in three different languages, Old Malay, Old Javanese, and Sanskrit. However, these carved stone inscriptions are fairly fragmentary, and don't provide a very complete picture of even the kings of Shailendra, let alone the daily lives of ordinary people. Thankfully, though, they did leave us the magnificent Borobudur Temple as a lasting monument to their presence in Central Java. https://www.thoughtco.com/thmb/MEiJyv_mnn8da16OhC82PZm2Us=/768x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/Bor obudurPhilippeBourseillerviaGetty-56b3b9b65f9b5829f82c2090.jpg 126 Introduction: The two most remarkable sites to visit around Yogyakarta would be Borobudur Temple the remarkable creation of the Shailendra dynasty and Prambanan Temple. Besides Bali, Borobudur Temple is the most visited tourist destination in Indonesia. The Builders: Shailendra dynasty : The Shailendra (meaning "Lord of the Mountain" in Sanskrit) dynasty was the name of a notable Indonesian dynasty that emerged in 8th century Java whose reign marked a cultural renaissance in the region. The Shailendras were active promoters of Mahayana Buddhism and covered the Kedu Plain of Central Java with Buddhist monuments, one of which is the colossal stupa of Borobudur, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The name may have been associated with the volcanic mountains of Central Java. The name of the dynasty (Sailendra-vamsa) is first attested in the Candi Kalasan Inscription dated 778. The Sailendra practiced intensive rice cultivation and had an administrative hierarchy which controlled the allocation of water for irrigation. The Sailendra dynasty held the concept of the "Dewa-Raja" (God-King), the belief that the King had divine power as a living god among his subjects. Though their economy was based on rice cultivation, they had access to ports on the northern coast of Java and maintained commercial and marital ties with the Srivijaya kingdom in southern Sumatra. The Sailendra participated in the Spice Route trade between China and India, but their level of participation never rivaled that of Srivijaya. The Shailendras are considered to be a thalassocracy and ruled maritime Southeast Asia, however they also relied on agriculture pursuits through intensive rice cultivation on the Kedu Plain of Central Java. The dynasty appeared to be the ruling family of both the Medang Kingdom of Central Java for some period and Srivijaya in Sumatra. The inscriptions created by Shailendras uses three languages; Old Malay, Old Javanese and Sanskrit, written either in the Kawi alphabet or pre-Nāgarī script. The use of Old Malay has sparked the speculation of a Sumatran origin or Srivijayan connection of this family; on the other hand, the use of Old Javanese suggests their firm political establishment on Java. The use of Sanskrit usually signifies the official nature and religious significance of the event written on the inscription. Although the rise of the Shailendras occurred in Kedu Plain in the Javanese heartland, their origin has been the subject of discussion. Apart from Java itself; an earlier homeland in Sumatra, India or Cambodia has been suggested. The latest studies apparently favor a native origin of the dynasty. Despite their connections with Srivijaya in Sumatra and Thai-Malay Peninsula, the Shailendras were more likely of Javanese origin.Except for its legacy of monuments, little is known of the dynasty. It apparently emanated from the agricultural lowlands of interior Java but extended its real power to the north-western coasts of the island, from which its emissaries traded with and raided the Malay peninsula and Indochina. According to the traditional account, the Sailendra kingdom came to an abrupt end when a prince from the rival Hindu Sanjaya Dynasty, named Rakai Pikatan, displaced them in 832. Rakai Pikatan, who was the crown prince of the Sanjaya Dynasty, married Pramodhawardhani, a daughter of Samaratunga, king of Sailendra. 127 Hindu and Buddhist Kingdoms of Java: In the late 8th and early 9th centuries, Java observed rivalries between two dynasties- one Buddhist and the other Hindu. 1.The Sailendra or Shailendra dynesty who were Hindus who had risen in Southern Java since 779, and 2. The first four Sanjaya Dynasty lines after King Sanjaya (Panangkaran, Panunggalan, Warak and Garung), which was known as the Amrati Kings-were Buddhists-competed over their power and religious influences with the Sailendras princes. 3. Only an isolated kingship in the east of Java, Gajayana, appeared to have control over the Mount Kawi region in 760 . Although relationship between the Amrati Kings with Sailendra was important at that time, the rivalries between the two is still unclear. From the Kalasan and Ratu Boko inscriptions, there were stated that Panangkaran granted permission requested by the collective guru of the Sailendra king to build Buddhist sculptures, shrines and monasteries in honor to the goddess Tara. The construction was built under Panangkaran's supervision, but was supported by Sailendra's expenses. In order to show his respect to the guru, Panangkaran consented the building of the shrine by giving the village of Kalasan to the Buddhist community. So apparently there was friendly give and take between the two 128 Shailendra dynasty produced a ruler of Mataram Kingdom between AD 760—775, King Panangkaran whose formal regnal name was Mahārāja dyāḥ Pañcapaṇa kariyāna Paṇaṃkaraṇa - the king of, the kingdom of which its power centralized on Java island of Indonesia. He was Crowned as Rakai Panangkaran, and was the immediate successor of Sri Sanjaya, the founder of Sanjaya Dynasty as mentioned in the Kalasan inscription. The name of Panangkaran is mentioned in the Balitung charter (found in the Kedu Plain area) as the line of kings who were named as the 'builders of ‘Krton'- which is a generic name for a palace type structure. The Shailendra dynasty from Mountain",also Sanskrit combined words Śaila and Indra, meaning "King of the spelled Sailendra, Syailendra or Selendra) was the name of a notable Indianised dynasty that emerged in 8th-century Java, whose reign signified a cultural renaissance in the region. The Shailendras were active promoters of Mahayana Buddhism with the glimpses of Hinduism, and covered the Kedu Plain of Central Java with Buddhist monuments, one of which is the colossal stupa of Borobudur, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. (See Dr Uday Dokras’ book Celestial Mysteries of the Borobodur Temple on academia.edu) The Shailendras are considered to have been a thalassocracy and ruled vast territories of maritime Southeast Asia, however they also relied on agricultural pursuits, by way of intensive rice cultivation on the Kedu Plain of Central Java. The dynasty appeared to be the ruling family of both the Medang Kingdom of Central Java, for some period, and the Srivijaya Kingdom in Sumatra. Decoding Inscriptions: To throw some light on these mysterious characters llet us examine some inscriptions. The inscriptions created by Shailendras use three languages; Old Malay, Old Javanese, and Sanskrit - written either in the Kawi alphabet, or pre-Nāgarī script. The use of Old Malay has sparked speculation of a Sumatran origin, or Srivijayan connection of this family. On the other hand, the use of Old Javanese suggests their firm political grip. 129 A. The Sojomerto inscription (c. 725) discovered in Batang Regency, Central Java, mentioned the name Dapunta Selendra and Selendranamah. The name 'Selendra' was another spelling of Shailendra, suggested that Dapunta Selendra was the progenitor of Shailendra family in Central Java.[6] The inscription is Shaivist in nature, which suggests that the family was probably initially Hindu Shaivist before converting to Mahayana Buddhism. B. The earliest dated inscription in Indonesia in which clearly mentioned the dynastic name of Śailēndra as Śailēndravamśatilaka appears is the Kalasan inscription (778) of central Java, which mention its ruler Mahārāja dyāḥ Pañcapaṇa kariyāna Paṇaṃkaraṇa and commemorates the establishment of a Buddhist shrine, Candi Kalasan, dedicated for the goddess Tara. C. The name also appears in several other inscriptions like the Kelurak inscription (782) and the Karangtengah inscription (824). Outside Indonesia, the name Shailendra is to be found in the Ligor inscription (775) on the Malay peninsula and Nalanda inscription (860) in India. It is possible that it was Paṇaṃkaraṇa that create the Chaiya, or Ligor inscription (775), and took control over Srivijayan realm in the Southern Thailand Malay Peninsula. Although the rise of the Shailendras occurred in Kedu Plain in the Javanese heartland, their origin has been the subject of discussionApart from Java itself; an earlier homeland in Sumatra, India or Cambodia has been suggested. The latest studies apparently favour a native origin of the dynasty. Despite their connections with Srivijaya in Sumatra and Thai-Malay Peninsula, the Shailendras were more likely of Javanese origin. India Connect: According to Ramesh Chandra Majumdar, an Indian scholar, the Shailendra dynasty that established itself in the Indonesian archipelago originated from Kalinga in Eastern India. This opinion is also shared by Nilakanta Sastri and J. L. Moens. Moens further describes that the Shailendras originated in India and established themselves in Palembang before the arrival of Srivijaya's Dapunta Hyang Sri Jayanasa. In 683, the Shailendras moved to Java because of the pressure exerted by Dapunta Hyang and his troops. Sumatra connect: Other scholars hold that the expansion of Buddhist kingdom of Srivijaya was involved in the rise of the dynasty in Java. Supporters of this connection emphasize the shared Mahayana patronage; the intermarriages and the Ligor inscription. Also the fact that some of 130 Shailendra's inscriptions were written in old Malay, which suggested Srivijaya or Sumatran connections. The name 'Selendra' was first mentioned in Sojomerto inscription (725) as "Dapunta Selendra". Dapunta Selendra is suggested as the ancestor of Shailendras. The title Dapunta is similar to those of Srivijayan King Dapunta Hyang Sri Jayanasa, and the inscription — although discovered in Central Java north coast — was written in old Malay, which suggested the Sumatran origin or Srivijayan connection to this family. Java Connect: Another theory suggests that Shailendra was a native Javanese dynasty and the Sanjaya dynasty was actually a branch of the Shailendras since Sri Sanjaya and his offspring belong to the Shailendra family that were initially the Shaivist rulers of the Medang Kingdom. The association of Shailendra with Mahayana Buddhism began after the conversion of Panaraban or Panangkaran to Buddhism. This theory is based on the Carita Parahyangan, which tells of the ailing King Sanjaya ordering his son, Rakai Panaraban or Panangkaran, to convert to Buddhism because their faith in Shiva was feared by the people in favor of the pacifist Buddhist faith. The conversion of Panangkaran to Buddhism also corresponds to the Raja Sankhara inscription, which tells of a king named Sankhara (identified as Panangkaran) converting to Buddhism because his Shaiva faith was feared by the people. Unfortunately, the Raja Sankhara inscription is now missing. Discounted proposal: In 1934, the French scholar Coedes proposed a relation with the Funan kingdom in Cambodia.( See further on ) Coedes believed that the Funanese rulers used similar-sounding 'mountainlord' titles, but several Cambodia specialists have discounted this. They hold there is no historical evidence for such titles in the Funan period. Borobudur, the largest Buddhist structure in the world. The Shailendra rulers maintained cordial relations, including marriage alliances with Srivijaya in Sumatra. For instance, Samaragrawira married Dewi Tara, a daughter of Srivijayan Maharaja Dharmasetu. The mutual alliance between the two kingdoms ensured that Srivijaya had no need to fear the emergence of a Javanese rival and that the Shailendra had access to the international market. Karangtengah inscription dated 824 mentioned about king Samaratungga. His daughter named Pramodhawardhani has inaugurated a Jinalaya, a sacred buddhist sanctuary. The inscription 131 also mentioned a sacred Buddhist building called Venuvana to place the cremated ashes of King Indra. The Tri Tepusan inscription dated 842 mentioned about the sima (tax free) lands awarded by Śrī Kahulunan (Pramodhawardhani, daughter of Samaratungga) to ensure the funding and maintenance of a Kamūlān called Bhūmisambhāra. Kamūlān itself from the word mula which means 'the place of origin', a sacred building to honor the ancestors. These findings suggested that either the ancestors of the Shailendras were originated from Central Java, or as the sign that Shailendra have established their holds on Java. Casparis suggested that Bhūmi Sambhāra Bhudhāra which in Sanskrit means "The mountain of combined virtues of the ten stages of Boddhisattvahood", was the original name of Borobudur. The received older version holds that the Shailendra dynasty existed next to the Sanjaya dynasty in Java. Much of the period was characterized by peaceful co-existence and cooperation but towards the middle of the 9th century relations had deteriorated. Around 852 the Sanjaya ruler Pikatan had defeated Balaputra, the offspring of the Shailendra monarch Samaratunga and princess Tara. This ended the Shailendra presence in Java and Balaputra retreated to the Srivijaya kingdom in Sumatra, where he became the paramount ruler. Earlier historians, such as N.J. Krom and Coedes, equate Samaragrawira and Samaratungga as the same person. However, later historians such as Slamet Muljana equate Samaratungga with Rakai Garung, mentioned in Mantyasih inscription as fifth monarch of Mataram Kingdom. Which means Samaratungga was the successor of Samaragrawira, and Balaputradewa that is also Samaragrawira's son, is Samaratungga's younger brother and ruled in Suvarnadvipa (Sumatra), and he is not Samaratungga's son. This version holds Balaputra that reign in Sumatra challenged the PikatanPramodhawardhani legitimation in Java, arguing that his niece and her husband has less rights to rule Java compared to his. In 851 an Arabic merchant named Sulaimaan recorded an event about Javanese Sailendras staging a surprise attack on the Khmers by approaching the capital from the river, after a sea crossing from Java. The young king of Khmer was later punished by the Maharaja, and subsequently the kingdom became a vassal of Sailendra dynasty. In 916 CE, a Javanese kingdom invaded Khmer Empire, using 1000 "medium-sized" vessels, which results in Javanese victory. The head of Khmer's king then brought to 132 Java. Shailendra in Sumatra: After 824, there are no more references to the Shailendra house in the Javanese ephigraphic record. Around 860 the name re-appears in the Nalanda inscription in India. According to the text, the king Devapaladeva of Bengala (Pala Empire) had granted 'Balaputra, the king of Suvarna-dvipa' (Sumatra) the revenues of 5 villages to a Buddhist monastery near Bodh Gaya. Balaputra was styled a descendant from the Shailendra dynasty and grandson of the king of Java. From Sumatra, the Shailendras also maintained overseas relations with the Chola kingdom in Southern India, as shown by several south Indian inscriptions. An 11th-century inscription mentioned the grant of revenues to a local Buddhist sanctuary, built in 1005 by the king of the Srivijaya. In spite the relations were initially fairly cordial, hostilities had broken out in 1025. Rajendra Chola I the Emperor of the Chola dynasty conquered some territories of the Shailendra Dynasty in the 11th century. The devastation caused by Chola invasion of Srivijaya in 1025, marked the end of Shailendra family as the ruling dynasty in Sumatra. The last king of Shailendra dynasty — the Maharaja Sangrama Vijayatunggavarman — was imprisoned and taken as hostage. Nevertheless, amity was re-established between the two states, before the end of the 11th century. In 1090 a new charter was granted to the old Buddhist sanctuary, it is the last known inscription with a reference to the Shailendras. With the absence of legitimate successor, Shailendra dynasty seems ceased to rule. Other family within Srivijaya mandala took over the throne, a new Maharaja named Sri Deva according to Chinese source establishing new dynasty to rule Srivijaya. He sent an embassy to the court of China in 1028. CE.Shailendra in Bali: Sri Kesari Warmadewa was said to be a Buddhist king of the Shailendra Dynasty, leading a military expedition, to establishing a Mahayana Buddhist government in Bali. In 914, he left a record of his endeavour in the Belanjong pillar in Sanur in Bali. According to this inscription Warmadewa dynasty was probably the branch of Shailendras that rule Bali. Family gtree: Traditionally, the Shailendra period was viewed to span from the 8th to the 9th century, confined only in Central Java, from the era of Panangkaran to Samaratungga. However the recent interpretation suggests the longer period of Shailendra family might existed, from mid 7th century 133 (edict of Sojomerto inscription) to early 11th century (the fall of Shailendran dynasty of Srivijaya under Chola invasion). For certain period, Shailendras ruled both Central Java and Sumatra. Their alliance and intermarriage with Srivijayan ruling family resulted with the merging of two royal houses, with Shailendran finally emerge as the ruling family of both Srivijaya and Medang Mataram (Central Java). Some historians tried to reconstruct the order and list of Shailendra rulers, although there is some disagreement on the list. Boechari tried to reconstruct the early stage of Shailendra based on Sojomerto inscription, while other historians such as Slamet Muljana and Poerbatjaraka tried to reconstruct the list of Shailendran king in middle and later period with their connections to Sanjaya and Srivijaya, based on inscriptions and Carita Parahyangan manuscript. However, there is some confusion occurred, because the Shailendra seems to rule many kingdoms; Kalingga, Medang and later Srivijaya. As the result name of the same kings often overlapped and seens to rule these kingdoms simultaneously. Dat e King's ruler's name or Capital Stone inscription and source of historical account Event Santanu ? Sojomerto 670—700) The Shaivist old Malayspeaking family began to settle in coastal inscription (c. Central Java, suggested of Sumatran origin (?) or native Javanese family under Srivijayan influences (vassal) c. 674 Dapunta Selendra Batang (Central Sojomerto Java north 670—700) coast) Establishing ruling family, the first time the inscription (c. name 'Selendra' (Shailendra) was mentioned 674— 703 Shima (?) c. 650 Kalingga, somewhere between Pek alongan and Carita Parahyangan, Chinese Ruling the account on Hwi-ning visits of Kalingga to Ho-ling kingdom (664) and the reign of queen Hsi134 kingdom Dat e 703— 710 710— 717 717— 760 760— 775 775— 800 King's ruler's name or Mandiminyak (?) Sanna Sanjaya Rakai Panangkaran Dharanindra Capital Stone inscription and source of historical account Jepara mo (674) ? Carita Parahyangan Son-in-law of Shima, ruling the kingdom of Galuh ? Canggal inscription (732), Carita Parahyangan Sanna ruled Java, but after his death the kingdom fell to chaotic disunity by usurper or foreign invasion Mataram, Central Java Canggal inscription (732), Carita Parahyangan Sanjaya, the nephew (or son?) of Sanna restore the order and ascend to throne, some early historian took this event as the establishment of new Sanjaya Dynasty, while other hold that this only the continuation of Shailendras Mataram, Central Java Rakai Panangkaran Raja Sankhara converted from inscription, Kalasan Shaivism to Mahayana inscription (778), Carita Buddhism, construction Parahyangan of Kalasan temple Mataram, Central Java Also ruled Srivijaya in Sumatra, construction of Manjusrigrha temple, started the construction of Borobudur (c. 770), Java ruled Ligor and Kelurak inscription (782), Ligor inscription (c. 782 or 787) 135 Event Dat e King's ruler's name or Capital Stone inscription and source of historical account Event Southern Cambodia (Chenla) (c. 790) 800— 812 Samaragrawira[ Mataram, 18]:92–93 Central Java 812— 833 Samaratungga Mataram, Central Java 833— 856 Pramodhaward hani co-reign Mamrati, with her Central Java husband Rakai Pikatan 833— 850 Balaputradewa Srivijaya, South Sumatra Ligor inscription (c. 787) Also ruled Srivijaya, lost Cambodia (802) Karangtengah inscription (824) Also ruled Srivijaya, completion of Borobudur (825) Shivagrha inscription (856) Defeated and expelled Balaputra to Srivijaya (Sumatra). Construction of Prambanan and Plaos an temple. The successors of Pikatan, the series of Medang kings from Lokapala (850—890) to Wawa (924—929) could be considered as the continuation of Shailendra lineage, although King Balitung (898— 910) in Mantyasih inscription (907) sought ancestor only as far as Sanjaya, thus enforced the Sanjaya dynasty theory. Shivagrha inscription (856), Nalanda inscription (860) Defeated by PikatanPramodhawardhani, expelled from Central Java, took refuge in 136 Dat e King's ruler's name or Capital Stone inscription and source of historical account Event Sumatra and rule Srivijaya, claim as the legitimate successor of Shailendra dynasty from Java c. 960 Śri Udayadityavar man Srivijaya, South Sumatra Sending embassies, Embassies to China (960 and tribute and trade 962) mission to China c. 980 Haji Tche) Srivijaya, South Sumatra Sending embassies, Embassies to China (980–983) tribute and trade mission to China Srivijaya, South Sumatra Sending embassies, tribute and trade mission to China, Embassies to China (988-992- Javanese 1003), Tanjore Inscription or King Dharmawangsa in vasion on Srivijaya, Leiden Inscription (1044) building of temple for Chinese Emperor, gift of village by Raja-raja I c. 988 (Hia- Sri Cudamani Warmadewa Sri Srivijaya, c. 1008 Maravijayottun South gga Sumatra Embassies to China (1008) Sending embassies, tribute and trade mission to China (1008) c. 1017 Sumatrabhumi Srivijaya, South Sumatra Embassies to China (1017) Sending embassies, tribute and trade mission to China (1017) c. 1025 Sangrama Vijayatunggav Srivijaya, South Chola Inscription on the Chola raid on Srivijaya, temple of Rajaraja, Tanjore the capital captured 137 Dat e King's ruler's name arman or Capital Stone inscription and source of historical account Sumatra Event by Rajendra Chola Relationships: There are some theories regarding the Sañjaya-Sailendra relationship. Some scholars suggested that there is no such things as Sanjaya dynasty, since there was only one dynasty called Sailendra that ruled central Java. This theory was proposed by Poerbatjaraka and suggested that there was only one kingdom and one dynasty; the kingdom is called Medang with the capital in Mataram area, and the ruling dynasty is Sailendra. He holds that Sanjaya and all of his offspring were belongs to Sailendra family that initially were Shivaist. Another suggests that the Sañjaya dynasty then was forced to the north of Java by the Sailendra dynasty, which emerged around 778. The evidence for this event is based on the Kalasan inscription. During this period, the Sañjaya dynasty existed next to Sailendra dynasty in Central Java, and much of the period was characterized by peaceful co-existence and cooperation. The association of Sailendra with Mahayana Buddhism began after the conversion of Raja Sankhara (Rakai Panaraban or Panangkaran) to buddhism. The later Sailendran kings, successors of Panangkaran become Mahayana Buddhist too and gave Buddhism royal patronage in Java until the end of Samaratungga reign. This theory was based on Raja Sankhara Inscription (now missing), Sojomerto inscription and Carita Parahyangan manuscript. Shivaist Hindu gain royal patronage again since the reign of Pikatan, well until the end of the Medang kingdom. Another evidence pointed that Sailendra family was using old Malay language in some of their inscriptions, which suggested Sailendra dynasty's foreign origin in Sumatra and their connections with Srivijaya. This theory holds that the Sailendras, with their strong connections to Srivijaya, managed to gain control of Central Java and imposing overlordship on the Rakais (local Javanese lords) including the Sañjaya, thus incorporated the kings of Mataram Sañjaya dynasty in their bureaucracy. The center of the dynasty court seems to be located in South Kedu (around Magelang, North of Yogyakarta). Campa: Kingdoms of Java maintain a close relationship with Champa kingdom in mainland Southeast Asia since at least the reign of Sañjaya dynasty . Like the Javanese, the Cham are Indianized 138 Austronesian people. An example of relationship can be seen in architectural features in Cham temples, that have many similarities with architectural styles of temples in central Java that was built during the reign of Sañjaya dynasty. Rulers of Central Java: who was the crown prince of the Sañjaya Dynasty, wedded Pramodhawardhani (833–856), a daughter of Samaratungga, king of Sailendra. From that time onwards, the influence of Sañjaya, who was a Hindu adherer, began to emerge in Mataram, replacing the Buddhist Sailendra. Rakai Pikatan toppled king Balaputra, son of Samaratungga, also the brother of Pramodhawardhani. As a result, in 850, the Sañjaya Dynasty was the sole ruler in Mataram. This ended the Sailendra presence in Central Java and Balaputra retreated to Srivijaya in Sumatra, where he became the paramount ruler. The information about Sañjaya Dynasty is also found in the Balitung inscription dated 907. According to the Balitung inscription – when a ruler died, they transformed into a divine form. From this inscriptions, the scholars estimated the possible sequence of the ruling kings of Sañjaya dynasty:  Sanjaya (732—760)  Panangkaran (760—780)  Panungalan (780-800)  Samaragrawira(Rakai Warak) (800—819)  Rakai Garung (819—838)  Rakai Pikatan (838—850)  Rakai Kayuwangi (850—898), also known as Lokapala 139  Balitung (898—910) It was also during the reign of the Sañjaya dynasty, the classic Javanese literature blossomed. The translations and adaptation of classic Hindu literatures into Old Javanese was conducted, such as the Kakawin Ramayana. Around 850s, Pikatan initiated the construction of the Prambanan temple in Central Java, later completed and expanded extensively by king Balitung. Prambanan temple complex is one of the largest Hindu temple in Southeast-Asia and its greatness rivalled Borobudur, which happened to be the biggest Buddhist temple in the world. The successions of Sañjaya kings after Balitung are:  Daksa (910—919)  Tulodong (919—924)  Wawa (924—929)  Mpu Sindok (929—947) Decline: In 929, Mpu Sindok moved the court of Mataram from Central Java to East Java. It is not entirely clear the actual reasons of the movement. There are some possible reasons; an eruption of Merapi volcano, the power struggle, or political pressure from Sailendran based in Srivijaya Empire may have caused the move. The shift to East Java marked the end for the Central Javanese Sañjaya dynasty, and from then on a new dynasty named the Isyana Dynasty emerged in East Java. 2 With the flourishing of cultures in Rome, India and China at the turn of the millennium into the common era my traders in Southeast Asia became rich. This was epitomized by the Khmer kingdom of Funan. However with the fragmentation of Rome combined with civil wars in China demand dropped precipitously and the Funan kingdom languished. In the 6th and 7th century trade began to flourish again. This was after the disastrous Chinese civil wars of the Three Kingdoms era and at beginning of the Sui dynasty followed immediately by the powerful and long lasting Tang dynasty. The Straights of Malacca: Although trade with China was beginning to grow again after their civil wars, it did not return to the Gulf of Thailand. Instead exchange of goods between East and West channeled through my islands. The westward side of my Gulf of Thailand is called the Malay Peninsula. Just south of this peninsula is a long and narrow island called Sumatra. The island begins midway up the peninsula and extends an 140 equivalent distance past the end of the peninsula. Between Sumatra and the peninsula are the Straits of Malacca. The Straits of Malacca are the only way from India and the West to the Gulf of Thailand, which connects up with China and the East of Asia. It is a narrow corridor whose trade winds correspond to the alternation of the monsoons. Beyond Sumatra is another long skinny island called Java, which we shall also visit. These islands are part of the Indonesian archipelago. Palembang We mentioned how Hinduism and Buddhism was spread throughout the land of Southeast Asia due to the influence of Indian traders. The Buddhism that was being spread from India was mixed up heavily with Hinduism, as it preceded the Theravada purifications that were coming. Because of this Indian influence and inspiration a Indianized kingdom with maharajahs began to emerge at a trading port in southern Sumatra on the way from the Bay of Bengal to the Gulf of Thailand.( See Chapter,,) The name of the port was Palembang. As well as being an important port it was also an important religious center as well. It was an entrepôt for the spread of religious ideas between India and China. As early as the 7th century it was visited by Chinese and Indian devotees to study doctrines and copy manuscripts in institutions that rivaled those in India. Due to the importance of Palembang as a cultural and trade center wealth began to accumulate. Capturing the China trade Palembang supplanted Vyadhapura of Funan as the new entrepôt. There were multiple reasons behind this transformation. So as not to lose perspective in the discussion that follows India was the dominant influence in Palembang, just as it was in Funan. Chinese Buddhists were traveling to Palembang to get Indian information, not vice versa. The Indian influence on the kingdom based at Palembang on the island of Sumatra was considerable. However in terms of trade, the Western market was still weak due to wars in and around the Mediterranean. Rome was collapsing and had yet to be replaced by anything comparable. On the other hand the China market was expanding due to an expanding economy resulting from peace and internal consolidation that occurred during the Tang dynasty. Sensitive to possibilities the traders from the East Indies were interested in capturing the growing Chinese market. That was where the money was to be made. As mentioned earlier as a warrior culture the ruling class in China were not supposed to engage in trade. Further the Chinese considered themselves the center of the civilized world. As evidence there is no word for China in Chinese. Instead they call themselves the Middle Kingdom. What this meant was 141 that traders from other kingdoms and cultures were meant to visit China - not the other way around. In the Chinese imperial mind the rest of the world consisted of vassal states that were meant to pay tribute. As matter of interest this condition persisted into the modern era up until the 20th century. The Chinese were not meant to explore and trade. They were so superior that they were brought tribute and gave out presents. Hence at this point in history the Chinese were not traders although they supplied manufactured goods to traders. Shanghai and Taiwan then as now were trading ports where huge volumes of merchandise changed hands. The main difference was that all the traders were foreign barbarians because the Chinese were not allowed by custom to leave China. The Austronesian sailors from my islands, who had spent centuries on the sea, were glad to provide this function to China. They sailed into Chinese ports with foreign goods to supply the Chinese appetite and purchased Chinese goods for resale in their ports to Indian merchants. To accommodate this big customer and capture her exclusive trade rights, the entrepôt of Palembang in Sumatra pledged obeisance to China as a vassal state. This meant that her foreign trade was treated as tribute, and the goods they received in exchange were merely considered imperial presents. By stroking the Chinese imperial ego the Palembang traders, like the Funanese before them, were able to dominate that enormous market. To further sweeten the pot and attract the Chinese pilgrims, Palembang began to stress China’s Mahayana Buddhism over Hinduism. With this mass infusion of funds being funneled into Sumatra a great Empire began to grow. Based in Palembang it was called the Srivijaya Empire. It began in the 7th century and lasted into the 13th century. It laid many foundations for the politics and religion in Southeast Asia, which we shall explore. One of the other causes of their growth as an Empire was that the traders of Palembang began to control the Straits of Malacca. They were the first empire to do so, but not the last. With the control of the Straits of Malacca all trade between the East and West was channeled through their hands. The Srivijaya Empire became the entrepôt between East and West. This Palembang/Srivijaya Empire as it is sometimes called eventually grew to have a loose control over the islands of Java and Sumatra, as well as the Malay peninsula. However they ruled by prestige rather than by military power. Cooperation and Mandala Politics in Eastern Asia Southeast Asia: “Enough advertising. Back to my story. You’re set up enough of a contrast. In your part of the world military domination combined with cultural propaganda is the rule. But not in mine. 142 In order to understand the political organization of the Srivijaya Empire we need to explore the mandala kingdom or empire. All the modern nation states are based upon clearly defined property boundaries. Real estate is of primary importance in terms of tax collection as well as property rights. Each modern country has clearly defined borders with a clearly defined citizenry. Alternately the mandala state of Eastern Asia has no specific territory, as its influence emanates from the center. Rather than defending the perimeter, the idea is to strengthen the center. With this type of political organization strict boundaries don’t exist. Instead power emanates from the center. This power is based upon military and cultural prestige. The country is defined by the capital. The spheres of influence are determined by the vassal states on the perimeter who pay tribute to the king or emperor in the center. In return for tribute the supreme ruler provides military protection and certain privileges. In the case of the Srivijaya Empire, they were provided with exclusive trading rights with the Chinese Empire in exchange by becoming one of her vassal states. In such a way the Srivijaya Empire was part of the Chinese Empire in terms of the organization. Similarly the kingdom of Funan was provided trade privileges when they pledged obeisance and tribute to China. .” Cooperating with China created the entrepôt port of Palembang and the Srivijaya Empire. This was another kingdom with vassal states, who were also rewarded for cooperating. Hence although the Srivijaya Empire had an Indianized political structure, it had the Chinese mandala system for its Empire. “Cooperate and you will be rewarded,” seemed to be the mantra that Srivijaya used with its vassal islands. The Arab historians don’t ever mention piracy in their trading ventures in the East Indies during these times. It seems that then as now that cultures that depend on trade realize that safety is good for all. The positive side of trade is that it thrives on peace. This maritime empire seems to have had only a limited army. They based their empire on positive reinforcement - through cultivation of business contacts, rather than the negative reinforcement of domination by military prowess. Because power emanates in concentric circles from the center, there is a fluid, rather than fixed, field of power. This means that if the center is weak the boundaries of influence collapse. Vice versa when the center is strong the boundaries expand. This organization applies to the religious sphere as well as the political. Under the political system the theoretical boundaries are continually shifting depending on 143 who gives the best deal and has the most prestige rather than on who has the biggest army.” Military domination of the sea was extremely difficult at this time. There was no equivalent to the military technology of bronze combined with the chariot and horse - which allowed the complete domination of one culture by another in the land based cultures. Because military domination was impossible in these island kingdoms the cultures instead relied upon cooperation and bribery. Stability of Chaos Despite the fact that these borders and spheres of influence were incredibly fluid, or perhaps because of, these empires and kingdoms were incredibly stable. The Srivijaya Empire wasn’t urbanized, didn’t have many cities, didn’t have a big army, didn’t occupy a capital continuously, and didn’t have clearly defined territories and yet it lasted nearly 700 years. Further its influence continues to modern times. Its impact has extended itself through time as well as through geography. Indra’s Order was not able to keep our Dragon’s Chaos down. The Empire survived by trade and agriculture rather than military prowess. It was not a territorial unit, as much as capital based. In the case of Srivijaya Palembang was its center. However when Palembang was attacked and conquered by the Chola Empire about 1000, it was in no ways the end of Srivijaya, they simply moved their capital elsewhere and continued for another 300 years. Similarly when the barbarians from the Central Asian steppes attacked and defeated the Chou dynasty of China in their own capital, they didn’t capitulate or disintegrate, they simply moved their capital south across the Yangtze River to get away. They also continued for another 300 years. The Sailendra Dynasty & Borobudur My cultures were hit from two directions because of the alternation of the monsoons. When the winds blew one way it would bring the Indian traders and their culture in and the Chinese home. When it blew the other way it would bring the Chinese and their culture back and the Indian traders home. This cycle exposed my island cultures to both Chinese and Indian culture. As we’ve mentioned one of these cultural meeting points was at Palembang, where Chinese, Hindu, and local scholars congregated to study Hindu and Buddhist thought. Another place that became a cultural spreading center of both Buddhism and Hinduism was a plateau on Java ruled by the Sailendra dynasty, a vassal state to the Srivijaya Empire. Common culture of India binds my region Indian influence had reached Indonesia in the 1st century AD, but the first Indianized kingdoms emerged in west Java, Sumatra and Borneo in the middle of the millennium from the 3rd to 6th 144 centuries. There was a certain prestige associated with the adoption of Indian political forms. It was also a convenient way of shifting loyalties and energies from the clan and family to the greater nation. Prior to this the people of my islands and my mainland all participated in a cult of ancestors. This spirit or ancestor worship seems to be a universal among your species. While we land masses are very rooted already, honoring the spirits of your forefathers allows you ephemeral humans to sink some roots into the past. It gives you a sense of continuity that extends past your short century on the planet. Of course the problem with this clan worship is that it tends to separate you from other clans or tribes because you worship different spirits. This sense of difference frequently degenerates into aggression and warfare. One way of joining disparate tribes was through the worship of national heroes. In this way the patriotism of the nation replaces the tribalism of ancestor worship. Of course the larger nations tend to separate themselves into warring groups because they too worship different spirits. The next globalization of this innate spirit worship has to do with worshipping the same gods. Hence the tribes of my area could all worship the same Hindu gods, This religious universality not only bound them to their nation but also to my entire territory, as well. Thus India’s maharajah system combined with their Hindu gods united my humans in a way that they never had been before. My central Java kingdom, who were speaking a Austronesian dialect, communicated directly with the contemporary Khmer kingdom of Chenla, who spoke a Austroasiatic dialect. Both these kingdoms and more were in constant cultural contact with both Sri Lanka, the Tamils of southern India, and the Burmese, who spoke respectively an Indo Aryan, Dravidian, and Sino-Tibetan language. Thus the culture of India connected clans, tribes and nations who spoke languages from 5 different language families. Note these are not dialects; they are more different than Spanish and English. Of course the next stage of human belligerence has to do with competing universal gods connected to competing nation spirits. This is the modern state of affairs. Hence the Christian nations have been battling the Muslim nations which have been battling the Jewish nation for over a thousand years. When they stop the religious wars they revert to wars of nationalism. You humans are certainly an aggressive species. It is almost as if there is nothing to fight over, you will find something. Unfortunately your modern cult of science has killed all the spirits of your ancestors, the spirits of nations, and the gods, which leaves you poor pathetic humans rootless, swept away by the latest fad or political idea. Your innate sense of family loyalty which connects you with past and future has been washed away by a supposedly scientific rational nationalism - which threatens to destroy my planet for your species at least. Better to root yourself in my Earth and extend your spine to the Heavens to 145 maintain an autonomy from the mob mentality that seems to dominate your behavior - leading you to your demise - like a moth to a flame. The Javanese God-kings first Devarajas The valley between the Progo and Opak Rivers in the central valley of Java, is one of the most bountiful on earth because of lava and volcanic ash that falls regularly from Mount Merabi and other volcanic mountains in the vicinity. The farmers have a guaranteed surplus with which to supply the needs of an Empire. And they did. While power has gradually shifted to the northwest coast, the kingdoms of Java began and extended from this agricultural center. The ancient city of Yogyakarta, noted on the map on page 211, was a locus for human emergence. This fertile plateau was the birthplace of devarajas, god-kings. In a Sanskrit inscription from 684 AD to commemorate the building of a park we have the first clear cut example of a ruler presenting himself as a divine religious leader. In this King’s prayer, he assures the reader that building this park will bring merit to all involved. He goes on to say that while disloyalty to the king brings death that obedience brings eternal bliss. In such a way these rulers aligned themselves with the gods in bringing agony or ecstasy to their populace. If the ruler manifested divine qualities then those around him were attracted to his court and kingdom. This idea was the foundation of the mandala kingdom. 146 The Javanese were worshippers of Shiva, called Shaivites - presumably because of the many active volcanoes on Java and on the surrounding islands. Shiva, one of the three main gods of Hinduism, was noted for being an ascetic, as well as the god of destruction. As such he was considered the consummate Yogi. Hence these Kings were also ascetics like Shiva. The Javanese, being of a flexible mind, were also Buddhists. Under the influence of Mahayana Buddhism this god-king became a Bodhisattva, a divine being who was meant to assist people on their path to enlightenment. Whether on my mainland or my islands, my kings have regularly played the role of the compassionate one, the Bodhisattva - providing the means of personal salvation to others. As such they attempted to maintain their country as a holy land, by providing an environment where religion could flourish. This was a huge responsibility. It meant keeping the peace, protecting religious sites, encouraging spiritual practices such as purification and scriptural study, and teaching his people about the religious significance of life on the earth. Along these lines my Bodhisattva Kings were meant to help his subjects along the spiritual path by providing them with opportunities for spiritual advancement and growth. Borobudur - architectural Buddhism One such ‘opportunity’ was supporting the king by helping in the construction of temples. In this way they could earn religious merit. There are even inscriptions which reveal that local Javanese princes ‘cheerfully’ participated in these projects. rather than being required to by law. The rulers of the Sailendra dynasty manifested the concept of the devaraja on a grand scale. During their rule they constructed many religious monuments designed to instruct their people and the following generations to enter on the path to enlightenment. The most famous of these monuments is Borobudur, a Buddhist masterpiece of superior grandeur and beauty. Consisting of 1.3 million stone blocks, it was carved and constructed by 50,000 Javanese over 50 years. At 115 feet tall atop a 403 foot square, it is still the largest Buddhist stupa in the world. This area became historical in 732 CE, when a Hindu noble, Sanjaya, established a kingdom called Mataram in one of the fertile central valleys of Java. In 775 CE his kingdom began construction on a monument to commemorate the introduction of Hinduism to Java - near the confluence of the Progo River and its tributaries. Ten years later this Hindu kingdom was replaced by the Buddhist Sailendra dynasty, vassals to the Srivijaya Empire. Accordingly they shifted the orientation of the temple to 147 Buddhism. It took 50 more years to complete this architectural monument at Borobudur. Revered for less than 200 years, it seemed to have been buried by volcanic ash in the 11th century, possibly by an eruption of one of the many active volcanoes. It was lost until the Dutch discovered and uncovered it in 1907. Although Borobudur is built in the style of the Indian tjandis with a pyramidal structure, the Javanese introduced their own innovations. The Indian tjandis were meant to house the gods - provide them a home - a resting spot - a sophisticated spirit house. However Borobudur was not just meant as a memorial or shrine of the gods, a place of worship. Instead it was meant to be an architectural representation of Buddhist philosophy. It was designed to represent complex metaphysical theories. At this level it was completely original. As such it provided the pattern for Angkor. The temple mountain at Borobudur, like the Indian tjandi, was constructed from a solid mass of stone, 2 million cubic feet around small hill, with little or no interior space - certainly no internal shrines. (In contrast the Khmer temples of Angkor are noted for their vast amount of empty space created by structural pillars.) 148 Based upon the supreme mystical power of the mandala, Borobudur has 10 stories corresponding with the 10 stages until Buddhist Enlightenment. The first level is the entry level. The next five are associated with the 5 Buddhas which represent the entire external Universe - the vajra-dhatu - the realm of total reality. This group of 5 Buddhas is familiar in the diverse areas of Tibet, Japan, and northeast India. These levels are all squarish, having a zigzag external design on their corners which is similar to the Hindu yantra. The next three levels are all circular terraces with stupas on top. They represent the 3 Buddhas of the esoteric tradition associated with Tantric Buddhism - the garbha-dhatu - the womb of innermost secrets. The 10th level is empty, representing the final goal of Enlightenment, the abandonment of attachment to Form. This is the Void of the Vairocana Buddha. On the walls of each level there are sculptured relief panels, 1500 over all, which represent the trials and traps on the journey to enlightenment. The zigzag corridors and prescribed direction concealed the Buddhist statuary so that the adherent wouldn’t be dsitracted by what lay ahead and could focus upon the lesson at hand. Thus on one level the entire monument is a Buddhist teaching device. The Sacred Mountain On another level this enormous pyramid is meant to be viewed as a sacred mountain. The sacred mountain has many parallels in religion. The most immediate is Mount Meru of Hindu mythology. Frequently these tjandis, upon which Borobudur was based, were meant to be temporal representations of Mount Meru, a mythical mountain in the center of the Universe, which connects god and man. This merged neatly with native beliefs. As with many early cultures the Javanese had always worshipped sacred places. Seeing as how their central plane had 6 active volcanic mountains, ranging in height from 6000 to over 10,000 feet, the Javanese had great respect for mountains. Mount Merabi, an active volcano in the vicinity of Borobudur, had already been dedicated to Shiva - the entire mountain, not just a temple. 149 Javanese Devaraja contrasted with other god kings Hence in constructing this mountain temple, the king was fulfilling his role as Bodhisattva. This public project established this idea on many planes simultaneously. As Bodhisattva, the king was constructing a teaching device to aid in the quest for enlightenment for his people. The king was also building this sacred mountain to establish his correspondence with the gods. Finally he was providing an external circumstance where a maximum of his subjects could earn merit towards enlightenment by service to their king, who was actually god or Buddha on earth. The Javanese devaraja - their god/king is to be differentiated from the Pope or Mohammed who are merely meant to be God’s representatives rather than God or Allah himself. The Roman and Chinese Emperors were worshipped in their own right as divine beings. However in each of these circumstances the ruler was worshipped as one of many gods, not as the god. Indeed there has always been a tendency, even today, for humans to worship a powerful ruler as a link between the divine and temporal world. This is expressed in the idea of fulfilling manifest destiny or the divine right of kings in the West or as the Mandate of Heaven in China. These manifestations of godlike powers are on the political plane only, while my devarajas manifest on the spiritual plane. Many god kings in the rest of the world built elaborate burial shrines as a testament to their power on earth. As examples we have the Egyptian pyramids or the burial mounds of the Chin Emperor of China. In contrast Borobudur was not meant to glorify the Javanese king in any way. It was not meant as form 150 of king worship or as a burial shrine. As a monument it was and is merely meant to spread Buddhism. The Javanese notion of Bodhisattva-king puts a greater spiritual responsibility upon the royalty than in the aforementioned circumstances. While in the Chinese tradition the Emperor has the duty to rule well, as expressed through Confucianism, this does not include assisting his subjects in their quest for enlightenment. The rulers in the west may have been worshipped but it was only for their manifestation of external power and nothing to do with their role as a spiritual leader. In many tribes there existed a chief and a shaman, one to deal with the political the other to do with the spiritual. In modern times we have priests and politicians. While the political and religious leader of a culture merges from time to time into one person, most of the time he is thought of as a representative of the gods rather than as a god himself. In Java this was different. The king was not just representing the gods, he was the god himself. This wouldn’t bear so much attention except that this idea of devaraja - god/king, was continued by the Khmer in Cambodia and then in Thailand, even up to the present. Connection between Devaraja and the Ramayana Where did the idea of devaraja come from? Who knows? We will offer one plausible explanation, which has no scholarly foundation whatsoever. Only the wealthy classes could read. Therefore the sophisticated ideas of Buddhism or Hinduism could not be 151 read by the bulk of the people. To remedy this situation the stories of Hinduism were spread because they could be understood by all. One of the most widely disseminated stories of all time, as we’ve mentioned earlier in this lengthy tome, was and is the Ramayana. To refresh your memory Rama is a prince who is an incarnation of Vishnu, one of the supreme gods of Hinduism. Vishnu incarnates to save the world of humans as well as the world of the gods. This story told over and over, dramatized, sculpted, and painted, inculcated the consciousness of entire cultures. Inspired by this powerful literature the populace would hope that their King would be the incarnation of Vishnu and the King might think himself a divine incarnation. In the West Either God Or Man: In the East a Continuum Again let us stress the difference between East and West. In the Biblical West there is an unbridgeable gulf between God and human, while in the East there is a continuum between god and man. The whole Vishnu story is based on regular divine incarnation. In some ways Buddhism could be called the Way for Everyman to move up the continuum to achieve Divinity. In the Biblical West we have an Either/Or Polarity based upon the man/god duality, while in Asian East we have a Both/And Continuum. In this Eastern sense Jesus’ statement that he was the son of God would have just meant that he was closer than the rest of us. In fact it has been suggested that he studied in the East in India, where he might been exposed to the Man/God Continuum. If this was the case then modern Christianity is based upon a colossal misunderstanding. When Jesus said that he was the son of god, he was actually only affirming humanity’s connection with divinity. God is in all of us. We are only attempting to realize our God nature - our Buddha nature. Jesus was successful. Hinduism refers to uncovering the divinity within, Buddhism talks about realizing our own true nature, Taoism speaks about constantly purifying in order to allow our Self to manifest as purely as possible and Yoga emphasizes the need to transcend the Duality. The Sailendra kings who produced Borobudur were of this nature to a greater extent. On this continuum their subjects and the king himself considered that he had purified enough to have reached this sacred state. Indeed the Sailendra kings also worshipped Shiva as another manifestation of Buddha. Shiva was considered the god of the Ascetic, who was a Yogi, who had transcended the Duality. Hence the yogi/king could experience reality directly because he had transcended the Verbal Duality through a rigorous program of meditation and practicing austerities. This is Yoga - restraint. Through the practice of Yoga the king realized his Buddha nature - In the realization of his Buddha nature, he naturally manifested as a Bodhisattva in this 152 world. This could be called the purified human or it could be called god-like. It pretty much amounts to the same thing. To reiterate the Javanese king practiced Yogic asceticism in order to cleanse his inner self of all the social accretions so that he could lead his population to the enlightenment of Bodhisattvahood. Mandala Self vs. Territorial Self The mandala organization of the country and empire was further reflected in the pyramid architecture. This huge monument was the central point of the spiritual empire. The mandala conception of the self is quite different than what we will call the territorial conception of the self. The territorial sense of self is the traditional one. We are our Body. The mandala sense of self says that we are the point where our consciousness is. The body is merely one of our spheres of influence rather than really being our self. Our self is merely the point of consciousness - which is everything, rather than being the external body, which is merely an emanation from the middle. Just as the mandala empire was maintained by treating her subjects well, similarly the mandala self is maintained by treating the body well rather than by ignoring her needs. Both emanate from the center to influence those around by virtue of the personal power that it is generated internally. In order to generate personal power, the internal self must be pruned of excess ballast that will sink the boat or prevent the balloon from rising to the Heavens. Focusing an entire culture on creating a spiritual masterpiece upon the Earth is to transform the whole culture into a Bodhisattva. Hence the Sailendra dynasty generated a Bodhisattva culture, which attempted to assist all of humanity in their quest to polish their luminous Egg of cultural accretions so that they could manifest clearly. However the more that the Self or Self-Culture grasps territoriality as the foundation of personal boundaries the greater the reduction in spiritual power because it is just too fat to resonate with the Universal harmonies. Java’s Prambanam temple complex While the Sailendra Dynasty lasted less than 100 years, they also built other religious monuments on this fertile mountain plateau. To indicate the direct borrowing from Indian architecture, one was called Tjandi Ngawen and the other Tjandi Mendut. The Sailendra Dynasty, who had their roots in the Sumatran based Srivijaya Empire,were peaceful invaders. The Sanjaya family who they had replaced were not destroyed. They had simply moved to the 153 sidelines. With the ascendancy of the Sailendra Dynasty the Sanjaya family bowed out to become a vassal state on their perimeter. With the decline of the Sumatran dynasty the Sanjaya family reasserted control over the valley in the middle of the 9th century and the Sailendra court moved to Sumatra. Legend has it that a Sanjaya prince married a Sailendra princess to become king. Because of the paucity of historical information, it is not clear if his was a military takeover or if he were merely stepping in to fill a power vacuum. Because religious construction normally comes to a halt during times of military stress we prefer the second explanation. The temple building frenzy continued unabated under this renewed Hindu kingdom of Mataram for another 30 years. It was not even close to being over yet. Under the Mahayana Buddhism of the Sailendra dynasty the Hindu worship of Shiva and Vishnu was not eliminated or even suppressed. Similarly the other way around. The Sanjaya family, showing typical Javanese tolerance, created some more Buddhist temples, Candi Sari and Candi Plaoson. Close by on the same plateau they also went on to build some Hindu temples called the Prambanam complex. There was no decline in quality. They continued to create the first class art of Java. Here is a map of all the temples that were created during this century. In opposition to the moral didacticism of Buddhism, symbolized by relatively squat Borobudur, these Hindu temples, dedicated to Shiva, Hindu literature and aesthetics, soared skyward. As contrasted with 154 the Buddhist tjandis many of these had interior space and included sculpture in the round. One of the most impressive of these is called Lara Janggrang. It was built about 900 CE. It is a colossal work meant to represent Mount Meru, the cosmic mountain of Hinduism. It reminds one of the temples of Angkor with its vegetal lotus structure shown below. size perspective here is someone at one of the entryways. Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma, the three gods of Hinduism are all represented. It also includes representations of the Kala monster, which represents Time, vomiting scrolls. Plus it includes sculptural representations in stone of many Hindu stories. Including - the Ramayana. Reiterating its timeless themes: a parent’s binding love of their child, combined with the necessity of breaking free to 155 fulfill an individual destiny - the transforming power of romantic love - the necessity of seeking assistance from friends to achieve one’s ends. These universal themes are combined with some unique concepts primary of which is the possibility and perhaps probability that a god has incarnated in each of us to accomplish a divine mission. This mission has to do with driving away or conquering the dark forces. This cosmic battle not only assists the individual to accomplish his or her individual goals but also assists the rest of humanity as well as the gods themselves. Further the whole story comes to a happy ending because of forgiveness. In many ways the Khmer temples of Angkor were more in the tradition of these Hindu temples than the Buddhist stupas of Borobudur. Further their kingdoms were contemporary with each other. They probably even shared some of the same craftsman, especially after the fall of these Java kingdoms in the early 900s due to volcanic activity. This efflorescence of temple building in Java came to an abrupt halt with the eruption of some local volcanoes in about 930 AD. As evidence one of the temples, while covered with 3 feet of ash, is well preserved - showing no signs of decay or looting. It seems to have been suddenly abandoned, like the buildings of Pompeii. Evidence suggests that the population suddenly dropped, going to the coast. Hence from 732 CE to 930 CE, about 200 years, this culture on the Javanese plateau created multiple architectural religious masterpieces and then suddenly disappeared. Like the Khmer of Angkor, the Malay of Java must have thought that their kingdom was destined to last forever - aligned as they were with the gods. Unfortunately for them the Universe had other plans. Legitimization of leadership Another function of the temple building was to legitimize leadership. Prior to the advent of the maharajah system from India the Malays had organized themselves in smaller egalitarian tribes. The hierarchical organization of Hinduism and China, with the potential for nation and empire building was foreign to the Malays. Hence to establish legitimacy for his court the devaraja hit upon the idea of employing large percentages of the population in these public works projects. This not only bound them to the new aristocracy for employment, but also was a cultural bonding experience. Previously the individual might have considered himself a part of his tribe with no need for a centralized government. However once he was involved in one of these national projects, it would increase his tendency to 156 identify with the larger group. Hence these national temple building projects were not only to legitimize the power of the king they were actually the method of actually building a sense of nation in the populace. Participation led to a shift from tribal identification to national identification. In many ways these massive temples created the nation rather than being a manifestation of national or religious pride. This may have been why each successive king kept building these temples, almost feverishly. It legitimized their rule and created the idea of nation as opposed to tribe. Further the emphasis upon Buddhist and Hindu mythology minimized the importance of spirit and ancestor worship, which was so prevalent in that area. This is a global phenomenon - the replacement of pride in family heritage with national identification and patriotism. This is quite apparent in modern American society where many people have little knowledge of ancestry and could care less, while the city, state, and especially national pride and patriotism is stressed in all the cultural propaganda from our education system and media. The theory that the state was created by the temple building is supported by the rapid demise of these Javanese kingships once the temple building ceased. We already saw a similar phenomenon in the Khmer civilization of Cambodia. The Devaraja vs. the Bodhisattva king While the art and temples of the Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms were quite different, the practical role of these rulers of Java was nearly identical. The Hindu king was considered a devaraja -a god-king, and the Buddhist king was considered a Bodhisattva, Buddha’s helper. However they both tended to the spiritual well being of their people. Both type of kings inspired their subjects to create religious monuments. And in both cases the religious monuments were meant to incorporate religious philosophy. Because the practical manifestations of the two types of kings is so similar, we use the terms interchangeably. Buddhist object to this merger of their kings. The devaraja of Hinduism is based upon faulty understanding of human divinity, they thought. Gods and kings are both illusion. Internal growth through dispelling ignorance is the only reality. In our quest for personal enlightenment we reject the supernatural as well as worldly power. Yet from a Hindu perspective and in contrast they embrace the supernatural and the caste of warriorking. In actual practice the Hindu god-king and the Buddhist Bodhisattva king were both meant to 157 assist the spiritual growth of their subjects by ruling wisely. The words of your two religious philosophies contain significant differences and emphases, but the end result was the same for the people. One reason that Buddhism faded out in India was that all of their teachings were already incorporated in Hinduism. While Buddhism divided humanity into two categories, those on the serious quest and the rest, called householders, Hinduism more effectively dealt with the social obligations of each class. Although Hinduism could be criticized for being too obsessive in its class distinctions, Buddhism could be criticized for its simplistic view of humanity. This is why Mahayana Buddhists allow for the persistence of local traditions as long as there is a Buddhist overlay. They even tolerate Hinduism as long as the practitioner acknowledges the superior ideas of the Buddha. Practical Buddhism. Witness both Borobudur and the Hindu temples standing almst “side by side.Alternately the Hindus easily accommodated Buddhism as one of our myriad cults.This is why they got along so famously. The Malay cultures blended the tenets and gods of this diverse cultural mix into one. For instance the Buddhist Sailendra kings were also Shaivites, worshippers of the Shiva, a Hindu god.This is not contradictory at all. Remember that an underlying tenet of Mahayana Buddhism was that any god or goddess could be worshipped externally as long as the worshipper understood that it was only Form, which was all illusion. For instance the Chinese worshipped their own gods under the auspices of Buddhism, not the Hindu gods. On the other hand the Malays mixed up the Hindu gods, not the Chinese gods, with their Buddhism. As an example, on the central plateau of Java, there is both Borobudur which is distinctly Buddhist and also the impressive Lara Janggrang, the exquisite Hindu temple devoted to Shiva. In fact the Buddhist temple of Borobudur was completed by the same Hindu ruler who created Lara Janggrang. Being neighbors, the Khmer of Cambodia were no different than the Malays Their syncretic religious field, like ours, mixed Hindu gods with Buddhism rather than the Chinese gods. A Khmer Prince( who created Angkor Wat) returns from his education in Java In the brief 100 years of the Sailendra dynasty of the Srivijaya Empire, the kings as devarajas created a series of monuments on the high mountain plateau on my island of Java. During this period a young 158 Khmer prince had been sent to Java for upbringing and education. There had already been a long history of connection between Cambodia and Java. The Javanese even considered themselves descendants of the Funanese of Cambodia. This Cambodian prince was exposed to the Javanese concept of the devaraja connected with their pyramid building - these god kings creating their own Mount Meru. Inspired by the great Javanese culture this young Cambodian prince, who was being held as hostage or was merely being educated abroad, escaped or just returned home to Cambodia with grandiose ideas. This was in 790 AD, when Borobudur was still in the middle of its 50 years of construction. Jayavarman II was the name of this Java educated Khmer Prince who returned to Cambodia and founded the Khmer Empire which eventually created Angkor Wat. Summarizing The Khmer of Cambodia founded an Indianized kingdom, which was a mixture or blending of Hindu culture with an indigenous stone cutting culture which had already been around for over a thousand years. However, the Khmer were part of the your greater Southeast Asian cultural web. As such they were heavily influenced by the Sailendra dynasty of the Java based Srivijaya Empire, which traced its roots to the first Khmer kingdom of Funan - from which Angkor derived. In terms of the cultural energy. Due to the geographical location of Cambodia with its proximity to the Gulf of Thailand, the city of Vyadhapura became the first important Southeast Asian entrepôt. Because of the influx of foreign traders and the resulting wealth the native tribal culture was mixed with the Hindu culture to create the kingdom of Funan. This was symbolized by the marriage of the Naga Princess with a Hindu prince, whose child was the Khmer. As a result of Chinese civil wars, which impoverished their best client, combined with disastrous floods which destroyed their port city of Vyadhapura, the Funan kingdom declined in economic and cultural importance. While Funan was replaced politically by the Chenla kingdom as the dominant kingdom of mainland Southeast Asia, the cultural and political energy of the Funan actually shifted to the island based Srivijaya Empire of Sumatra and Java, which had captured the China trade by controlling the trade routes and funneling the profits through Palembang in Sumatra. This new entrepôt, which 159 supplanted the Funanese entrepôt, generated the wealth and cultural exchange which created the new mandala empire. Our Khmer prince was then educated in Java under one of the most artistic dynasties of the Srivijaya Empire, the Sailendra. He returned to Cambodia with great visions which re-energized the Southeast Asian mainland. Extending irrigation techniques that were already in place, he was able to feed a larger population due to multiple annual growing seasons. Further he inspired the local population to create great works of art which bound them together as a community. This was related with the idea of the devaraja or god king concept of the Srivijaya Empire. The Southeast Asian king as a Buddhist Bodhisattva was responsible for inspiring and educating his people - leading them to spiritual transformation and growth. After quite a few centuries this Khmer temple building sputtered out - probably due to ecological, as well as cultural devolution. At this point the Thai people, pushed out of Southern China by Genghis Kahn and the Mongols, moved into the mainland of Southeast Asia. They conquered the Khmer but they also assumed their spiritual, cultural and political mantle. The Thai continued the tradition of the devaraja, which they maintain to this day - particularly in Bangkok, but in Thailand in general. The Thai King, named after Rama of the Ramayana, looks after the spiritual health of the country by encouraging the local culture and funding the creation and renovation of temples, which employs the artistic community as well as providing for the edification of the greater community, including the rest of the world. In short all countries of Cambodia, Thailand, and Indonesia are connected into a neat little bundle which goes back thousands of years. My Intermediate Empires Srivijaya’s Story (7th- 11th AD) We left the Srivijaya Empire at the point that the Khmer Empire was established at Angkor in and about 900 CE. The Srivijay empire had a good life, as empires go and lasted from the 7th to 13th centuries of the modern era. The peak of their power was about 800 AD. They dominated the islands of Sumatra, Java, and Borneo, as well as the Malay Peninsula. Although theirs was an Indianized kingdom with a courtly culture, the prosperity and political strength was based upon a relationship with China. 160 China considered Srijijay as her imperial representative. As such she supported channeling her trade through the principle Srivijay port of Palembang on the island of Sumatra. Palembang was the center of the mandala of the political power. Srivijay was a mandala empire with no real boundaries. My overlordship issued gradually. No armies. They maintained control of their vassal states through cultural and economic politics. Economically they attempted to provide a protective and mutually beneficial trading arrangement to all by enforcing a peaceful environment. Further Palembang, was the heartland for 4 centuries, until her fall to the Chola dynasty early in 2nd millennium, was a major cultural center and nexus between India and China. I -ching, a Buddhist pilgrim from China, visited in 671 AD on a 20 day voyage from Canton in southern China on his way to India. He recommended Palembang as an excellent Buddhist center. To indicate the international flavor the art of Palembang reveals artistic network with Mon Dvaravati kingdom of the mainland, where Thailand is now. They both made bronze Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. It is said that the Khmer Empire, who created Angkor in the Tonle Sap region of Cambodia between the 9th to the 13th centuries was inspired by Srivijay. Theirs too wa a most impressive mandala empire. Their devaraja, their god-king, more than anyone else, transformed the physical environment to reflect the connection between the state and heaven. Their water system, based upon ancient Indian techniques, was most intricate. It supplied the kingdom with 3 to 4 crops of rice per year. This abundance supported 1 million people in the vicinity of Angkor. Each of Angkor’s king regularly built a new capital to reflect their flexibility. Finally however they located permanently and surrendered their mandala flexibility Anyway in the heyday the Chinese relied on Srivijay people to do all her foreign shipping - her import/export business. China considered them as one of her barbarian vassals and provided us with tributary trade. In exchange Srivijay provided her merchants with a safe base in the islands of Indonesia. The trade began growing in the 5th and 6th centuries, but with the Chinese civil wars, trade dropped off in the late 6th and early 7th centuries. With the rise of the stable Tang dynasty Srivijay wanted to capture the lucrative China trade. First the rulers in Palembang pretended to be vassals to cater to the Chinese ego. Second the rulers determined to control all the harbors in the region by controlling the Straits of Malacca through Palembang. Prior to this there had been many small harbor kingdoms. This militancy is reflected in some of the old Malay inscriptions. 161 The power of Srivijay maharajahs depended on the alliance with those who possessed warships - the Chinese. Plus a China connection gave lots of prestige. There is no mention of piracy in the Arab accounts of the time. They governed and ruled through positive reinforcement nationally and individually. The subjects were rewarded with wealth, posts of honor, and supernatural rewards for cooperating. In such a way a this maritime Malay grouping was formed which was the Srivijaya Empire. They were powerful as long as Palembang was a thriving entrepôt. The bounty of the rulers depended on the tributary status with China, which needed a great and secure entrepôt. The early Malay history is one of this Sino Malay alliance. The Chinese felt that Srijijay maharajas were her imperial agents. Unfortunately the Malay unity was undermined when Chinese began doing her own shipping in the 10th century. After this there was no single entrepôt anymore. The mandala centralization collapsed and Srivijay were left prey to the next invader, which happened to be the Chola dynasty of southern India. The Story of the Chola Dynasty (11th- 13th AD) Like Srivijaya, Chola was a political dynasty - Tamils from southern India to be exact. The wave of Chola expansion began about 750 AD, when my dynasty established control of the southern part of the Indian peninsula. From here their maritime culture expanded into the Sea of Bengal, conquering Ceylon. They then took control of the Malay Peninsula. Intent on eliminating the middle man in the lucrative spice and silk trade between Southeast Asia and the Arabs and the Africans, they launched a naval attack on the Srivijaya Empire in 1025 AD. The force of the attacks, like a wave, crashed with so much force that it washed away the entrepôt of Palembang which had been the source of wealth and prestige for Srivijaya. In typical Malay fashion the Srivijay just moved to another port in Java, but this effectively sent their Empire into a long decline. This military victory eliminated Srivijaya as the middle man and enabled Chola people to establish control over most of the ports of call and transit areas which were used to connect the traders of the Indian Ocean with the traders of Eastern Asia. From this point they were able to trade directly with China. Now they were the new middle man for the valuable spices sold at high profits in Europe. The prosperity from this trade fueled the Empire for another few hundred years. This was the golden age between the 11th and 13th centuries. Then their wave lost its forward momentum, fragmented and 162 dissolved back into the great sea of humanity. At our peak they were invincible and then suddenly only traces in the sand - nothing more. The Chola, Tamil dynasty of southern India was replaced by the Java based Majapahit Empire. The reason was that the Cholas could not hold on to the new territory but cfreated a vassel state and most of they sailed back to Tamil lands. Theirs was a plundering conquestalso to eliminatge the piracy of the Srivijay. The Majapahit Empire (13th-to16th AD) Majapahit was the last Indianized kingdom in Indonesia. In many ways it was a continuation of the Srivijaya Empire. Once back the Chola disintegrated due to problems at home, his vassal states began to reassert themselves. Among those were remnants of the Srivijaya Empire. They had moved to Java from their Sumatran capital of Palembang when attacked by the Chola culture. Having bided their time for a few hundred years they moved to insert themselves into the power vacuum. The Mongols, who had just conquered China under Kublai Khan sent an emissary. The court evidently didn’t treat the emissary with respect because the Muslim culture in the Middle East executed their emissary, the Mongols obliterated and overran many cities - killing many of people. Because Java was so far away, it took some time before the Mongols found out how their emissary was treated. However when they did they immediately organized themselves for revenge. Somehow they arranged for their famous horseman to be shipped to Java to avenge this insult to their culture. By the time they arrived a new ruler was in place who didn’t even remember what had happened. Vijaya, a descendant of Sanjaya, who founded the Mataram kingdom of Java in the 8th century, was vying with Srivijaya’s court for power. He befriended the Mongols, got them to expel the ruler, and then convinced them to go home, leaving him in charge. This was 1277 AD, the beginning of the Golden Age. Majapahit Empire, while similar to Srivijaya, was actually a resurrection of the Mataram kingdom of Java. The rivalry with Srivijaya went back to the 8th century. Sanjaya, after founding our Mataram kingdom, initiated the construction of the first Hindu temple on our fertile island. Then the Sailendra dynasty of Srivijaya pushed them. A mere century later they were displaced and then built more Hindu and Buddhist temples on the central plateau in Java. This Golden Age was interrupted by the eruption of a volcano. To indicate the importance of each of our traditions, the Sanjaya family is still the royal family of Java to this day. And when the last Prince of Srivijaya converted to Muslim, all of the Malay followed in his lead. 163 While competing for political dominance we islanders shared a common culture. Our kings. like theirs, were ascetics, who were revered as Shiva-Buddhas. They had an obligation to the gods to cleanse our kingdom, the holy land of Java, and thus the world, of impurities, by permeating the world with their royal divinity. With this mission in mind they attempted to maintain the country as a literary temple. In the typical mandala politics of the region, the kings ruled by prestige rather than by force. The king was responsible for keeping the peace so that trade could occur rather than waging war on his neighbors with a strong military. The kings of the dynasty made regular tours of the countryside to ensure that citizens were being taken care of. The influence of Javanese Empire was considerable although only demanded homage and tribute. Note that this was similar to the political system of our allies, the Chinese. Because there was very little military strength involved in maintaining our influence, the power of our Empire depended upon the prestige of our king,Accordingly the golden age of the Majapahit Empire coincided with the rule of our greatest king, Hayam Wuruk. Unfortunately he died in 1389. Everything - good and evil, great and small, is consumed by the Fire of Time. There was a power struggle to take 164 his place. Many vassal states arose to fill the vacuum slowly fragmenting.1 REFERENCES 1. Posting Lebih BaruPosting LamaBeranda 2.Szczepanski, Kallie. "The Shailendra Kingdom of Java." Thought Co, Feb. 11, 2020, thoughtco.com/the-shailendra-kingdom-of-java-195519. BIBLIOGRAPHY        Briggs, Lawrence Palmer. 1951. [Review of] South East Asia. Crossroad of Religions by K.P. Landon. The Far Eastern Quarterly 9 (3): 271–277. Claude, Jacques, R.B. Smith, and W. Watson. 1979. "Funan," "Zhenla." The Reality Concealed by These Chinese Views of IndoChina. In Early South East Asia. Essays in Archaeology, History, and Historical Geography, 371–389. New York/Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0197135870 De Casparis, J.G. de. 1956. Prasasti Indonesia II: Selected Inscriptions from the 7th to the 9th Centuries AD. Bandung: Masu Baru. G. Coedes. 1934. On the Origins of the Sailendras of Indonesia. Journal of the Greater India Society I: 61–70. Kenneth Perry Landon. 1969. Southeast Asia. Crossroad of Religions. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226468402 K.R. Hall. 1985. Maritime Trade and State Development in Early South East Asia. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0824809599 M. Vickery. 2003–2004. Funan Reviewed: Deconstructing the Ancients. Bulletin de l' Ecole Francaise d' Extreme Orient: 101–143. The following images have specially created for this book by our well wisher and contributing Artist Ms. Kerry Penny, Contemporary British Artist 165 166 167 168 169 C H A P T E R IX The MYSTERIOUS Srivijaya Empire (L'Uniona Homanus) Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth . ...Gautama Buddha Foundation of the Srivijaya Empire: George Cœdès who was director of the National Library of Thailand in 1918, and director of L'École française d'Extrême-Orient, 1929 is credited with rediscovering the former kingdom of Srivijaya, centred on the modern-day Indonesian city of Palembang, but with influence extending from Sumatra through to the Malay Peninsula and Java. He wrote two texts in the field, The Indianized States of Southeast Asia (1968, 1975) (first published in 1948 as Les états hindouisés d'Indochine et d'Indonésie) and The Making of South East Asia (1966), as well as innumerable articles, in which he developed the concept of the Indianized kingdom. Perhaps his greatest lasting scholarly accomplishment was his work on Sanskrit and Old Khmer inscriptions from Cambodia. In addition to scores of articles (especially in the Bulletin of the École française d'ExtrêmeOrient), his 8-volume work Inscriptions du Cambodge (1937-1966) contains editions and translations of over a thousand inscriptions from pre-Angkorian and Angkor-era monuments, and stands as Cœdès' magnum opus. One stele, the recently rediscovered K-127, contains an inscription of what has been dubbed the "Khmer Zero", the first known use of zero in the modern number system. 170 In Sanskrit, Sri Means "shining" and Vijaya means "victory". It was not until the 1920s that the people of modern Sumatra, in Indonesia, had their imperial ancestry rediscovered. In the year 687 the Chinese monk Yi Jing, returning from a 25-year pilgrimage, passed through Srivijaya. He was so impressed by the standard of Buddhist scholarship in the country that he stayed there for eight years, working on translating the local texts. Buddhism was the chief religion of the region at the time, as Islam had yet to spread this far. Monks from all over the area came to study at “the fortified city of Bhoga”, which archaeologists have identified as being in the area of modern Palembang. From Yi Jing’s accounts, we can get a picture of the region, and the influence of Srivijaya within it. There is no further record of Srivijaya in the history of Indonesia; the forgotten past was reestablished by a foreign scholar. No modern Indonesian people who heard about Srivijaya until the 1920s, when French scholar George Coedes publish his findings in the Dutch language newspaper, and Indonesia. Coedes stated that the reference to "San-fo-ts'i", previously read "Sribhoja", and some inscriptions in the ancient Malays refer to the same empire. Srivijaya became a symbol of the greatness of early Sumatra, and the kingdom of Majapahit in the archipelago except for East Java. In the 20th century, the kingdom has become a reference by the nationalists to show that Indonesia is a unit of Dutch colonialism before. Srivijaya called by various names. People call 171 Tionghoa Shih-li-fo-Shih, or San-fo-Fo ts'i or San Qi. In Sanskrit and Pali, the kingdom of Srivijaya called Yavadesh and Javadeh. Arabs call Zabag Malay and Khmer. The number of names is another reason why Srivijaya was difficult to find.1 Srivijaya was one of the most magnificent and prosperous maritime kingdoms in Indonesia from 500 CE to 1400 CE. The name itself is a Sanskrit word meaning, Sri = Shining and Jaya = Victory. We know about this kingdom first from the writings of Yijing, a Chinese monk, from the 7th century. According to Yijing’s writings and Drs. R. Soekmono (1973), the center of the kingdom was near Riau. However, other sources such as the Kedukan Bukit inscription says otherwise as it shows that the kingdom was located near a place now known as Palembang and the banks of Musi (Coedès, 1968) . The Srivijaya Kingdom managed to control almost every South East Asian kingdom in Java, Sumatra, West Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. “Arab accounts state that the empire of the Srivijayan Maharaja was so vast that the swiftest vessel would not have been able to travel round all its islands within two years” - Marwati Djoened Poesponegoro, Nugroho Notosusanto, (1992), Sejarah nasional Indonesia: Jaman kuna, PT Balai Pustaka, ISBN 979407-408-X Nomenclature:George Coete first published about it in a Dutch and Indonesian newspaper in 1920 based on the inscriptions that were discovered in Sumatra and Malaysia Peninsula. “No modern Indonesians, not even those of the Palembang area around which the kingdom was based, had heard of Srivijaya until the 1920s, when French scholar and epigraphist George Coedès published his discoveries and interpretations in Dutch and Indonesian-language newspapers.” - Taylor, Jean Gelman. Indonesia: Peoples and Histories. New Haven; and London: Yale University Press, 2003. ISBN 0300105185 Origin Little is known about the origin of the Srivijaya Kingdom. Although Srivijaya’s territory was wide, the very limited number of relics left made it hard for the 172 archaeologists to know everything there is to know about this kingdom. The fact that there is little relics left from Srivijaya is due to the attack of Majapahit at 1477. From the little relics that we still have, the Kedukan Bukit inscription showed that the name of the first king of Srivijaya was Dapunta Hyang Sri Jayanasa. According the the inscription, the king embarked on a journey with 20 000 people in search of power and prosperity (Farrington, 2002). Srivijaya is known to be one of the two big empires in early Indonesia, the other one being Majapahit. It was argued which one was the prior colonial Indonesian identity It i s s a i d T h a t i t (also written Sri Vijaya or Sriwijaya in Malay or Indonesian) was a Buddhist thalassocratic Indonesian empire based on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia, which influenced much of Southeast Asia. Srivijaya was an important centre for the expansion of Buddhism from the 8th to the 12th century AD. Srivijaya was the first unified kingdom to dominate much of the Indonesian archipelago. The rise of the Srivijayan Empire was parallel to the end of the Malay sea-faring period. Due to its location, this once-powerful state developed complex technology utilizing maritime resources. In addition, its economy became progressively reliant on the booming trade in the region, thus transforming it into a prestige goods-based economy. The earliest reference to it dates from the 7th century. A Tang Chinese monk, Yijing, wrote that he visited Srivijaya in 671 for six months. The earliest known inscription in which the name Srivijaya appears also dates from the 7th century in the Kedukan Bukit inscription found near Palembang, Sumatra, dated 16 June 682. Between the late 7th and early 11th century, Srivijaya rose to become a hegemon in Southeast Asia. It was involved in close interactions, often rivalries, with the neighbouring Java, Kambuja and Champa. Srivijaya's main foreign interest was nurturing lucrative trade agreements with China which lasted from the Tang to the Song dynasty. Srivijaya had religious, cultural and trade links with the Buddhist Pala of Bengal, as well as with the Islamic Caliphate in the Middle East. The kingdom ceased to exist in the 13th century due to various factors, including the expansion of the rival Javanese Singhasari and Majapahit empires. After Srivijaya fell, it was largely forgotten. It was not until 1918 that French historian George Cœdès, of École française d'Extrême-Orient, formally postulated its existence. Srivijaya is a Sanskrit-derived name: श्रीविजय, Śrīvijaya. Śrī means "fortunate", "prosperous", or 173 "happy" and vijaya means "victorious" or "excellence".Thus, the combined word Srivijaya means "shining victory","splendid triumph", "prosperous victor", "radiance of excellence" or simply "glorious.” Early 20th-century historians that studied the inscriptions of Sumatra and the neighboring islands thought that the term "Srivijaya" referred to a king's name. In 1913, H. Kern was the first epigraphist that identified the name "Srivijaya" written in a 7th century Kota Kapur inscription (discovered in 1892). However, at that time he believed that it referred to a king named "Vijaya", with "Sri" as an honorific title for a king. The Sundanese manuscript of Carita Parahyangan, composed around the late 16th-century in West Java, vaguely mentioned a princely hero that rose to be a king named Sanjaya that — after he secured his rule in Java — was involved in battle with the Malayu and Keling against their king Sang Sri Wijaya. The term Malayu is a Javanese-Sundanese term referring to the Malay people of Sumatra, while Keling — derived from the historical Kalinga kingdom of Eastern India, refers to people of Indian descent that inhabit the archipelago. Subsequently, after studying local stone inscriptions, manuscripts and Chinese historical accounts, historians concluded that the term "Srivijaya" referred to a polity or kingdom. Historiography As a Vajrayana Buddhist teaching centre, Srivijaya attracted pilgrims and scholars from countries in Asia. Among other priests from China I-sing, who visited Sumatra on his way to study at Nalanda University, India, in the year 671 and 695, and in the 11th century, Atisha, a Buddhist scholar from Bengal who played in the development of Vajrayana Buddhism in Tibet. I-sing reported that Srivijaya became home to thousands of Buddhist scholars to become Buddhist learning centre. Visitors who came to this island state that gold coins have been used in the coastal empire. Hinayana and Mahayana Buddhism also developed in the Kingdom. In the early days, the Khmer empire was also a colony of Srivijaya. Many historians claim that Chaiya, Surat Thani province, southern Thailand, as the last capital of the kingdom, Srivijaya influence apparent on building the pagoda-style Borom That Kingdom. After the fall of Srivijaya, Chaiya is divided into three cities namely (Mueang) Chaiya, Thatong (Kanchanadit), and Khirirat Nikhom. 174 Srivijaya also closely related to the Pala kingdom in Bengal, and a numbered plaque notes that 860 kings Balaputra a monastery dedicated to the University Nalada, Pala. Relations with the Chola dynasty of southern India quite well and then become worse after Rajendra Coladewa ascended the throne and an attack on the 11th century. 175 Srijijaya Fleet Talang Tuwo inscription, discovered in Bukit Seguntang area, tells the establishment of sacred Śrīksetra park. Little physical evidence of Srivijaya remains. There had been no continuous knowledge of the history of Srivijaya even in Indonesia and Malaysia; its forgotten past has been resurrected by foreign scholars. Contemporary Indonesians, even those from the area of Palembang (around which the kingdom was based), had not heard of Srivijaya until the 1920s when the French scholar, George Cœdès, published his discoveries and interpretations in the Dutch — and Indonesian — language newspapers. Cœdès noted that the Chinese references to "Sanfoqi", previously read as "Sribhoja", and the inscriptions in Old Malay refer to the same empire. The Srivijayan historiography was acquired, composed and established from two main sources: the Chinese historical accounts and the Southeast Asian stone inscriptions that have been discovered and deciphered in the region. The Buddhist pilgrim Yijing's account is especially important on describing Srivijaya, when he visited the kingdom in 671 for six months. The 7th-century siddhayatra inscriptions discovered in Palembang and Bangka island are also vital primary historical sources. Also, regional accounts that some might be preserved and retold as tales and legends, such as the Legend of the Maharaja of Javaka and the Khmer King also provide a glimpse of the kingdom. Some Indian and Arabic accounts also vaguely describe the riches and fabulous fortune of the king of Zabag. The historical records of Srivijaya were reconstructed from a number of stone inscriptions, most of them written in Old Malay using Pallava script, such as the Kedukan Bukit, Talang Tuwo, Telaga Batu and Kota Kapur inscriptions. Srivijaya became a symbol of early Sumatran importance as a great empire to balance Java's Majapahit in the east. In the 20th century, both empires were referred to by nationalistic intellectuals to argue for an Indonesian identity within an Indonesian state that had existed prior to the colonial state of the Dutch East Indies. Srivijaya, and by extension Sumatra, had been known by different names to different peoples. The Chinese called it Sanfoqi or Che-li-fo-che (Shilifoshi), and there was an even older kingdom of Kantoli, which could be considered the predecessor of Srivijaya. Sanskrit and Pali texts referred to it as Yavades and Javadeh, respectively. The Arabs called it Zabag or Sribuza and the Khmers called it 176 Melayu.[18] While the Javanese called them Suvarnabhumi, Suvarnadvipa or Malayu. This is another reason why the discovery of Srivijaya was so difficult.[18] While some of these names are strongly reminiscent of the name of "Java", there is a distinct possibility that they may have referred to Sumatra instead. In the year 902, Srivijaya sent tribute to China. Two years later, the last king of the Tang Dynasty conferred the title of the messenger of Srivijaya. China envoy from the literature that has this Arabic name given the information that in those days was related to Srivijaya. Arab allows Srivijaya had entered the Islamic influence in the kingdom.In the first half of the 10th century, between the fall of the Tang dynasty and the rise of the Song dynasty, with foreign trade is rampant, especially Fujian, Min royal and the rich countries of Guangdong, the kingdom of Nan Han. Srivijaya undoubtedly benefited from this trade. In the year 903, the Muslim writer Ibn Battuta was impressed with the prosperity of Srivijaya. Urban areas include the kingdom of Palembang (especially Hill Seguntang), Muara Jambi and Kedah. It was this unity, then, that probably caused the sultanate to persist through the centuries in the minds of the conquered people, while knowledge of Srivijaya faded. Even its cities were abandoned, the most famous of these the great Buddhist temple of Borobudur.Even to this day, it is the world’s largest Buddhist temple, but in the 14th century, it was abandoned to the jungle. It was the British colonial ruler of Java, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, who in 1814 ordered the expedition that cleared the temple and brought it to the attention of the world. 177 Srivijaya was first established in the vicinity of today's Palembang, on the banks of Musi River. It mentions that Dapunta Hyang Sri Jayanasa came from Minanga Tamwan. The exact location of Minanga Tamwan is still a subject of discussion. The Palembang theory as the place where Srivijaya was first established was presented by Cœdes and supported by Pierre-Yves Manguin. Soekmono, on the other hand, argues that Palembang was not the capital of Srivijaya and suggests that the Kampar River system in Riau where the Muara Takus temple is located as Minanga Tamwan. Other than Kedukan Bukit and other Srivijayan inscriptions, immediately to the west of modern Palembang city, a quantity of artefacts have been revealed through archaeological surveys commenced 178 since the 20th century. Artefacts unearthed includes large amount of Chinese ceramics and Indian rouletted ware remains, also the ruins of stupa at the foot of Seguntang Hill. Furthermore, a significant number of Hindu-Buddhist statuary has been recovered from the Musi River basin. These discoveries reinforce the suggestion that Palembang was the center of Srivijaya. Nevertheless, Palembang left little archaeological traces of ancient urban settlement. This is probably because of the nature of Palembang environment — a low-lying plain which frequently flooded by Musi River. Expert suggests that the ancient Palembang settlement was formed as a collection of floating houses made from thatched materials, such as wood, bamboo and straw roof. The 13th century Chinese account confirmed this; in his book Chu-Fan-Chi, Chau-Ju-kua mentioned that "The residents Sanfo-tsi (Srivijaya) live scattered outside the city on the water, within rafts lined with reeds." It was probably only Kadatuan (king's court) and religious structures were built on land, while the people live in floating houses along Musi River. Palembang and its relevance to the early Malay state suffered a great deal of controversy in terms of its evidence build-up through the archaeological record. Strong historical evidence found in Chinese sources, speaking of city-like settlements as early as 700 AD, and later Arab travelers, who visited the region during the 10th and 11th centuries, held written proof, naming the kingdom of Srivijaya in their context. As far as early state-like polities in Malay archipelago, the geographical location of modern Palembang was a possible candidate for the 1st millennium kingdom settlement like Srivijaya as it is the best described and most secure in historical context, its prestige was apparent in wealth and urban characteristics, and the most unique, which no other 1st millennium kingdom held, was its location in junction to three major rivers, the Musi, the Komering, and the Ogan. The historical evidence was contrasted in 1975 with publications by Bennet Bronson and Jan Wisseman. Findings at certain major excavation sites, such as Geding Suro, Penyaringan Air Bersih, Sarang Wati, and Bukit Seguntang, conducted in the region played major roles in the negative evidence of the 1st millennium kingdom in the same region. It was noted that the region contained no locatable settlements earlier than the middle of the second millennium. Lack of evidence of southern settlements in the archaeological record comes from the disinterest in the archeologist and the unclear physical visibility of the settlement themselves. Archeology of the 1920s and 1930s focused more on art and epigraphy found in the regions. Some northern urban settlements were sited due to some overlap in fitting the sinocentric model of city-state urban centers. An approach to differentiate between urban settlements in the southern regions from the northern ones of Southeast Asia was initiated by a proposition for an alternative model. 179 Excavations showed failed signs of a complex urban center under the lens of a sinocentric model, leading to parameters of a new proposed model. Parameters for such a model of a city-like settlement included isolation in relevance to its hinterland. No hinterland creates for low archaeological visibility. The settlement must also have access to both easy transportation and major interregional trade routes, crucial in a region with few resources. Access to the former and later played a major role in the creation of an extreme economic surplus in the absence of an exploited hinterland. The urban center must be able to organize politically without the need for ceremonial foci such as temples, monuments and inscriptions. Lastly, habitations must be impermanent, being highly probable in the region Palembang and of southern Southeast Asia. Such a model was proposed to challenge city concepts of ancient urban centers in Southeast Asia and basic postulates themselves such as regions found in the South, like Palembang, based their achievements in correlation with urbanization. Mataram and Srivijaya Another kingdom—Mataram— arose as Srivijaya began to flourish in the early eighth century, in 180 south-central Java on the Kedu Politically, the two hegemonies were probably more alike than different. The rulers of both saw themselves and their courts ( kedatuan, keratuan, or kraton) as central to a land or realm ( bhumi), which, in turn, formed the core of a larger, borderless, but concentric and hierarchically organized arrangement of authority. In this greater mandala, an Indic-influenced representation of a sort of idealized, “galactic” order, a ruler emerged from constellations of local powers and ruled by virtue of neither inheritance nor divine descent, but rather through a combination of charisma ( semangat), strategic family relationships, calculated manipulation of order and disorder, and the invocation of spiritual ideas and supernatural forces. The exercise of power was never absolute, and would-be rulers and (if they were to command loyalty) their supporters had to take seriously both the distribution of benefits (rather than merely the application of force or fear) and the provision of an “exemplary center” enhancing cultural and intellectual life. In Mataram, overlords and their courts do not, for example, appear to have controlled either irrigation systems or the system of weekly markets, which remained the purview of those who dominated local regions ( watak) and their populations. This sort of political arrangement was at once fragile and remarkably supple, depending on the ruler and a host of surrounding circumstances. Mysterious Culture: Very little is known about social realities in Srivijaya and Mataram, and most of what is written is based on conjecture. With the exception of the religious structures on Java, these societies were constructed of perishable materials that have not survived the centuries of destructive climate and insects. There are no remains of either palaces or ordinary houses, for example, and we must rely on rare finds of jewelry and other fine metalworking (such as the famous Wonosobo hoard, found near Prambanan in 1991), and on the stone reliefs on the Borobudur and a handful of other structures, to attempt to guess what these societies may have been like. (The vast majority of these remains are Javanese.) A striking characteristic of both Srivijaya and Mataram in this period is that neither—and none of their smaller rivals—appear to have developed settlements recognizable as urban from either Western or Asian traditions. On the whole, despite evidence of socioeconomic well- being and cultural sophistication, institutionally Srivijaya and Mataram remained essentially webs of clanship and patronage, chieftainships carried to their highest and most expansive level. * Srivijaya Culture 181 Srivjaya was a Buddhist kingdom. The Srivijaya kings practiced Mahayana Buddhism which suggests its introduction from India. As a stronghold of Mahayana Buddhism, Srivijaya attracted pilgrims and scholars from other parts of Asia. These included the Chinese monk Yijing and the eleventh-century Buddhist scholar Atisha, who played a major role in the development of Tibetan Buddhism. In the 8th century Srivjaya introduced a mixture of Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism to Malaysia and Thailand. [Sources: Library of Congress, noelbynature, southeastasianarchaeology.com, June 7, 2007] Srivijaya was considered to be one of the major centres of learning for the Buddhist world. The Chinese pilgrim Yijing (635–713), who briefly visited Srivijaya in 671 and 687 and then lived there from 687 to 695, recommended it as a world-class center of Buddhist studies. Inscriptions from the 680s, written in Pallava script and the indigenous Old Malay language (forerunner of contemporary Bahasa Indonesia), identified the realm and its ruler by name and demanded the loyalty of allies by pronouncing elaborate threats and curses. [Library of Congress] Yijing, a Buddhist monk who travelled between China and India to copy sacred texts mentioned the high quality of Sanskrit education in Palembang, and recommended that anyone who wanted to go to the university at Nalanda (north India) should stay in Palembang for a year or two to learn “how to behave properly”. Srivijaya’s prominent role in the Buddhist world can be found in several inscriptions around Asia: an inscription in Nalanda dated 850-860 AD described how a temple was built in Nalanda at the request of a king of Srivijaya. In the 11th century, a temple in Guangzhou in China received a donation from Srivijaya to help with the upkeep. The Wiang Sa inscription quoted above recounts how a Srivijayan king ordered the construction of three stupas in Chaiya, also in the Thai peninsula. Very little is known about social realities in Srivijaya and Mataram (570-927, a Hindu-Buddhist kingdom based in Java), and most of what is written is based on conjecture. With the exception of the religious structures on Java, these societies were constructed of perishable materials that have not survived the centuries of destructive climate and insects. There are no remains of either palaces or ordinary houses, for example, and we must rely on rare finds of jewelry and other fine metalworking (such as the famous Wonosobo hoard, found near Prambanan in 1991), and on the stone reliefs on the Borobudur and a handful of other structures, to attempt to guess what these societies may have been like. (The vast majority of these remains are Javanese.) A striking characteristic of both Srivijaya and Mataram in this period is that neither—and none of their smaller rivals—appear to have developed settlements recognizable as urban from either Western or Asian traditions. On the whole, despite evidence of socioeconomic well- being and cultural sophistication, institutionally Srivijaya and 182 Mataram remained essentially webs of clanship and patronage, chieftainships carried to their highest and most expansive level. The chedi of temples produced during the Srivijaya period resemble Hindu-Buddhist stupas of central Java which have a ‘stacked” appearance. This style was copied in Thailand, including at temples in the great Thai kingdom of Sukothai (m 1238 until 1438). Early Trade in Indonesia Medieval Sumatra was known as the “Land of Gold.” The rulers were reportedly so rich they threw solid gold bar into a pool every night to show their wealth. Sumatra was a source of cloves, camphor, pepper, tortoiseshell, aloe wood, and sandalwood—some of which originated elsewhere. Arab mariners feared Sumatra because it was regarded as a home of cannibals. Sumatra is believed to be the site of Sinbad’s run in with cannibals. Sumatra was the first region of Indonesia to have contact with the outside world. The Chinese came to Sumatra in the 6th century. Arab traders went there in the 9th century and Marco Polo stopped by in 1292 on his voyage from China to Persia. Initially Arab Muslims and Chinese dominated trade. When the center of power shifted to the port towns during the 16th century Indian and Malay Muslims dominated trade. Traders from India, Arabia and Persia purchased Indonesian goods such as spices and Chinese goods. Early sultanates were called “harbor principalities.” Some became rich from controlling the trade of certain products or serving as way stations on trade routes. The Minangkabau, Acehnese and Batak— coastal people in Sumatra— dominated trade on the west coast of Sumatra. The Malays dominated trade in the Malacca Straits on the eastern side of Sumatra. Minangkabau culture was influenced by a series of 5th to 15th century Malay and Javanese kingdoms (the Melayu, Sri Vijaya, Majapahit and Malacca). Economy: The Hindu-Buddhist kingdom of Srivijaya was the first major Indonesian kingdom and the first major Indonesian commercial sea power . Ruled by Tamils and centered in Palembang, on the Musi River in present-day Sumatera Selatan Province, it was founded in Sumatra the end of the 6th century after Funan had been conquered and thrived from the 8th to 13th centuries.. At its height, it ruled Western Indonesia and controlled the strategic Molucca Straits—a choke point on the India-China trade route— and much of the trade in the area. Although historical records and archaeological evidence are scarce, it appears that by the seventh century A.D., the Indianized kingdom of Srivijaya, 183 centered in the Palembang area of eastern Sumatra, established suzerainty over large areas of Sumatra, western Java, and much of the Malay Peninsula With a reach spanning from Sumatra and Java to as far north as the Thai peninsula and a reign of some 600 years, it’s remarkable that what is now known as the Srivijaya empire was only unearthed relatively recently. The first hint of a Sumatran-based polity was first alluded to by the eminent French scholar George Coedes 1918, based on inscriptions found in Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula. In this primer, we’ll talk about the Srivijayan empire, the extent of its influence and its eventual fall. The kingdom of Srivijaya, a name which translates to “shining victory”, was a Malay polity and a Hindu-Buddhist trading kingship ruled by the Maharajahs of Srivijaya. The empire was based around trade, with local kings (dhatus or community leaders) swearing allegiance to the central lord for mutual profit. Srivijaya’s area of influence included neighbouring Jambi, to the north the kingdoms of the Malay Peninsula: Chitu, Pan-pan, Langkasuka and Kataha, as well as eastwards in Java, where links with the Sailendra dynasty and Srivijaya are implied. The same Sailendra dynasty was responsible for the construction of the massive Buddhist stupa of Borobudur between 780 and 825 AD. Srivijaya Trade and Economic Power Srivijaya was the first major Indonesian commercial sea power. Primarily a costal empire, it drew its riches and power from maritime trade and extended its power to the coasts of West Java and Malaysia and to Vhaiya in southern Thailand. It was able to control much of the trade in Southeast Asia in part because its location on the Strait of Melaka between the empires of the Middle east, India and China. Merchants from Arabia, Persia and India brought goods to Sriwijaya’s coastal cities in exchange for goods from China and local products. [Sources: Library of Congress, noelbynature, southeastasianarchaeology.com, June 7, 2007] At its zenith in the ninth and tenth centuries, Srivijaya extended its commercial sway from approximately the southern half of Sumatra and the Strait of Malacca to western Java and southern Kalimantan, and its influence as far away as locations on the Malay Peninsula, present-day southern Thailand, eastern Kalimantan, and southern Sulawesi. Its dominance probably arose out of policies of war and alliance applied, perhaps rather suddenly, by one local entity to a number of trading partners and competitors. The process is thought to have coincided with newly important direct sea trade with 184 China in the sixth century, and by the second half of the seventh century Srivijaya had become a wealthy and culturally important Asian power. The important Strait of Melaka (Malacca) which facilitated trade between China and India. With its naval power, the empire managed to suppress piracy along the Malacca strait, making Srivjayan entrepots the port of choice for traders. Despite its apparent hegemony, the empire did not destroy the other non-Srivijayan competitors but used them as secondary sources of maritime trade. Srivijaya’s wide influence in the region was a mixture of diplomacy and conquest, but ultimately operated like a federation of port-city kingdoms. Besides the southern centre of power in Palembang, Arab, Chinese and Indian sources also imply that Srivijaya had a northern power centre, most probably Kataha, what is now known as Kedah on the western side of the Malay peninsula. Kedah is now known for remains of Indian architecture at the Bujang Valley. This was due to the invasion by the Chola kingdom from South India —“ an invasion which ultimately led to the fall of Srivijaya. Dominating the Malacca and Sunda straits, Srivijaya controlled the trade of the region and remained a formidable sea power until the thirteenth century. Serving as an entrepôt for Chinese, Indonesian, and Indian markets, the port of Palembang, accessible from the coast by way of a river, accumulated great wealth. Control over the burgeoning commerce moving through the Strait of Malacca. This it accomplished by mobilizing the policing capabilities of small communities of seafaring orang laut (Malay for sea people), providing facilities and protection in exchange for reasonable tax rates on maritime traders, and maintaining favorable relations with inland peoples who were the source of food and many of the trade goods on which commerce of the day was built. But Srivijaya also promoted itself as a commanding cultural center in which ideas from all over Buddhist Asia circulated and were redistributed as far as away Vietnam, Tibet, and Japan. Srivijaya declined in the 11th century because of forced changes in trade routes brought about by increased piracy in the Sunda and Malacca Straits. Palembang on the Musi River in Sumatra: Heart of ancient Srivijaya Palembang, the second largest town on Sumatra after Medan, was the celebrated seat of the Srivijaya kingdom for more than three centuries. The city was then known as the wealthy trade hub as well as the center for Buddhist learnings. Monks from China, India and Java used to congregate here to learn and teach the lessons of Buddha. In AD 671 the famous Chinese Buddhist monk, Yojing wrote that there were more than 1.000 Buddhist monks in the city and advised Chinese monks to study Sanskrit in Palembang before proceeding to India. While the Srivijaya kings lived inland on shore, his subjects lived along the wide Musi river, manning 185 the powerful fleet and busily trading in gold, spices, silks, ivories and ceramics with foreign merchants who sailed in from China, India and Java. In 1025, however, the king of Chola in South India sent a fleet to Sumatra, destroying the kingdom, marking the end of its golden era. Later, Chinese admiral Cheng Ho, emissary of the Chinese emperor visited Palembang in the 15th century. Palembang is also known in history as the origin of the Malays whose kings are believed to have descended to earth at Gunung Siguntang, north of Palembang.Today, not much can be seen from Srivijaya’s golden age, except for evidence of the area’s fine gold and silver songket weaving that persists until today, the fine lacquerware it produces for which Palembang is renowned, and its regal dances and opulent costumes. On Kemaro Island in the middle of the Musi river there is a large Buddhist temple and the grave of a Chinese princess, who was destined to wed a Srivijaya king. The island is today the center of the Cap Go Meh celebrations. During Cap Go Meh, Chinese communities from around the city squeeze into this small piece of land, together with those coming from Hongkong, Singapore and China. Ever since the 9th century Srivijaya was a thriving trading power and an epicenter for Buddhist learnings, Chinese merchants came to trade in Palembang and monks stayed here to study Sanskrit before proceeding to India. Over the centuries many Chinese settled in the area. Legend of the Srivijaya Princess and the Chinese Prince There are many legends connected to the Chinese princess (or maybe a prince) buried on Kemaro. According to one version, the island is evidence and symbol of the love and loyalty of Princess Siti Fatimah, daughter of the King of Srivijaya, towards a Chinese prince called Tan Bun An. In the 14th century, so the legend goes, Prince Tan Bun An arrived in Palembang to study. After living here for some time, he fell in love with princess Siti Fatimah. He came to the palace to ask the king for her hand in marriage. The king and queen gave their approval on one condition, that Tan Bun An must present a gift. Tan Bun An then sent a messenger back to China to ask his father for such a gift to be presented to the King of Srivijaya. When the messenger returned with pots of preserved vegetables and fruits, Tan Bun An was surprised and enraged because he had asked his father to send Chinese jars, ceramics and gold.In his anger he threw the ships cargo into the Musi River, unaware that his father had placed gold bars inside the fruits and vegetables. Ashamed after finding out his mistake, he tried to recover what he had thrown into the river. Tan Bun An, however, never returned as he drowned with the precious cargo. When Siti Fatimah heard about the tragedy, the Princess ran to the river and drowned herself to follow 186 her lover, but not before leaving a message saying; "If you see a tree grow on a piece of land where I drown, it will be the tree of our true love ".At the place where the princess drowned, a piece of land appeared on the surface of the river. The locals believe that this new island is the couple’s tomb and therefore, they call it "Kamarau Island" which means that despite high tides in the Musi River, this island will always remain dry. The local ethnic Chinese believe that their ancestor, Tan Bun An, lives on this island. As a result, the island is always crowded during Chinese New Year. Today, a magnificent Chinese temple, the Hok Cing Bio, stands here. Built in 1962, it attracts many devotees. On special occasions, especially on what the Hokkien call the ‘Cap Go Meh’ Celebrations, the island is packed with locals and visitors coming from Palembang and overseas. There is something magical about Kamaro island. Witnessing the crowds on this particular occasion is an attraction by itself. Srivijaya Civilization in Malaysia In the 7th century the powerful Shrivijaya kingdom in Sumatra spread to Malay peninsula and introduced a mixture of Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism. Srivijaya influence extended over the Malay Peninsula and much of Borneo from the 7th to the 14th centuries. Shrivijaya ruled a string of principalities as far north Chaiya in what is today southern Thailand with support from China When Srivijaya in Chaiya extended its sphere of influence, those cities became tributary states of Srivijaya. The Srivijaya kingdom in Malaysia was based in the the Bujang Valley or Lembah Bujang, a sprawling historical complex situated near Merbok, Kedah. It is regarded as the richest archaeological area in Malaysia. Over the years, numerous artefacts have been uncovered in the Bujang Valley celadon, porcelain, stoneware, clay, pottery, fragments of glass, beads and Persian ceramics - evidences that Bujang Valley was once a centre of international and entrepot trade in the region. More than 50 ancient Hindu or Buddhist temples, called candi, have also been unearthed, adding to the spirituality of the place. The most well-preserved of these is located in Pengkalan Bayang Merbok, which is also where the Bujang Valley Archaeological Museum is located. This museum is the first archaeology museum built in Malaysia, under the Museum and Antiquity. Kedah also had a strong Tamil influence which have led to surmise at least some of the Srivijaya maharajas may have been Tamiles. A 7th-century Sanskrit drama, Kaumudhimahotsva, refers to Kedah as Kataha-nagari. The Agnipurana also mentions a territory known as Anda-Kataha with one of its boundaries delineated by a peak, which scholars believe is Gunung Jerai. Stories from the Katasaritasagaram describe the elegance of life in Kataha. The Buddhist kingdom of Ligor took control 187 of Kedah shortly after. Its king Chandrabhanu used it as a base to attack Sri Lanka in the 11th century, an event noted in a stone inscription in Nagapattinum in Tamil Nadu and in the Sri Lankan chronicles, Mahavamsa. Decline of Srivijaya Civilization in Malaysia At times, the Khmer kingdom, the Siamese kingdom, and even Cholas kingdom in India tried to exert control over the smaller Malay states. In 1025 and 1026 Gangga Negara was attacked by Rajendra Chola I, the Tamil emperor who is now thought to have laid Kota Gelanggi to waste. Kedah—known as Kedaram, Cheh-Cha (according to I-Ching) or Kataha, in ancient Pallava or Sanskrit—was in the direct route of the invasions and was ruled by the Cholas from 1025. The senior Chola's successor, Vira Rajendra Chola, had to put down a Kedah rebellion to overthrow other invaders. The coming of the Chola reduced the majesty of Srivijaya, which had exerted influence over Kedah, Pattani and as far as Ligor. The power of Srivijaya declined from the 12th century as the relationship between the capital and its vassals broke down. Wars with the Javanese caused it to request assistance from China, and wars with Indian states are also suspected. In the 11th century CE the centre of power shifted to Melayu, a port possibly located further up the Sumatran coast at near the Jambi River. The power of the Buddhist Maharajas was further undermined by the spread of Islam. Areas which were converted to Islam early, such as Aceh, broke away from Srivijaya’s control. By the late 13th century, the Siamese kings of Sukhothai had brought most of Malaya under their rule. In the 14th century, the Hindu Java-based Majapahit empire came into possession of the peninsula. By the fourteenth century, Srivijaya’s dominance had ended because it lost Chinese support and because it was continually in conflict with states seeking to dominate lucrative trade routes. In 1405 the Chinese admiral Cheng Ho arrived in Melaka with promises to the locals of protection from the Siamese encroaching from the north. With Chinese support, the power of Melaka extended to include most of the Malay Peninsula. Islam arrived in Melaka around this time and soon spread through Malaya. As for the other region of Malaysia, Borneo, evidence suggests that Borneo developed quite separately from the peninsula and was little affected by cultural and political developments there. The kingdom of 188 Brunei was Borneo’s most prominent political force and remained so until nineteenth-century British colonization. Srivijaya Prince and the Founding of Malacca The founding of trading port of Malacca on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula is credited to the Srivijayan prince Sri Paramesvara, who fled his kingdom to avoid domination by rulers of the Majapahit kingdom. In 1402 by Parameswara fled Temasek (now Singapore). The Sejarah Melayu claims that Parameswara was a descendant of Alexander the Great and said he sailed to Temasek to escape persecution. There he came under the protection of Temagi, a Malay chief from Patani who was appointed by the king of Siam as regent of Temasek. Within a few days, Parameswara killed Temagi and appointed himself regent. Some five years later he had to leave Temasek, due to threats from Siam. During this period, a Javanese fleet from Majapahit attacked Temasek Parameswara headed north to found a new settlement. At Muar, Parameswara considered siting his new kingdom at either Biawak Busuk or at Kota Buruk. Finding that the Muar location was not suitable, he continued his journey northwards. Along the way, he reportedly visited Sening Ujong (former name of present-day Sungai Ujong) before reaching a fishing village at the mouth of the Bertam River (former name of the Melaka River), and founded what would become the Malacca Sultanate. Over time this developed into modern-day Malacca Town. According to the Malay Annals, here Parameswara saw a mouse deer outwitting a dog resting under a Malacca tree. Taking this as a good omen, he decided to establish a kingdom called Malacca. He built and improved facilities for trade. The Malacca Sultanate is commonly considered the first independent state in the peninsula. Srivijaya Civilization Thailand The Wiang Sa Inscription (Thai Peninsula) dated 775 AD reads: “Victorious is the king of Srivijaya, whose Sri has its seat warmed by the rays emanating from neighbouring kings, and which was diligently created by Brahma, as if this God has in view only the duration of the famous Dharma.” Joe Cummings wrote in the Lonely Planet guide for Thailand:While much of northern and eastern Thailand was controlled by the Angkor-based Khmers, “southern Thailand – the upper Malay Peninsula – was under the control of the Srivijaya empire, the headquarters of which is believed to have been located in Palembang, Sumatra, between the 8th and 13th centuries. The regional centre for 189 Srivijaya was Chaiya, near modern Surat Thani. Remains of Srivijaya art can still be seen in Chaiya and its environs.” Srivijaya was a maritime empire that lasted for 500. It ruled a string of principalities in what is today Southern Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Chaiya, near Present-day Surat Thani (685 kilometers south of Bangkok, jumping off area for Ko Samui), was a provincial capital of the Srivijaya Empire. Just north of Surat Thani city, Chaiya is the home of Wat Phra Boromathat, Thailand's most important monument from the Srivijaya period. Surrounded by walls and moats, this temple features a cloister with a large number of Buddhist images. At the center of the courtyard is an ancient Srivjaya-style stupa restored during the reign of King Rama V. Surat Thani is located on the Gulf of Thailand about equidistant between Bangkok and the Malaysian border. When Srivijaya in Chaiya extended its sphere of influence, those cities became tributary states of Srivijaya. Srivijaya ruled a string of principalities in what is today southern Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Chaiya contains several ruins from Srivijaya times, and was probably a regional capital of the kingdom. Some Thai historians even claim that it was the capital of the kingdom itself for some time, but this is generally disputed. After Srivijaya lost its influence, Nakhon Si Thammarat became the dominant kingdom of the area. During the rule of King Ramkhamhaeng the Great of Sukhothai leader, Thai influence first reached Nakhon Si Thammarat in the south. Due to the strategic location of the kingdom, maritime trading became a major reason why the kingdom had that much riches and power. The kingdom manage to gain control of 2 key and significant straits in routes which traders and merchants often travel through. These straits are the Malacca strait and Sunda strait. Hence, it managed to control a lot of the trades that were going on in Asia, including India and China. The strategic location has also made Srivijaya a resourceful empire. Because the Musi river was rich with silt, the land around the river is arable. Hence, it was also well known as a source for cloves, camphor, pepper, tortoiseshell, aloe wood, and sandalwood, as well as ivory, gold and tin. The empire’s riches can be equaled to any Maharaja in India. Relics Like all the other great kingdoms, there are artefacts found from the 190 Srivijaya kingdom, including inscriptions. Inscriptions are evidence that show that kingdoms exist, and it worked the same for Srivijaya. although majority of artefacts and evidences of Srivijaya’s existence has perished, there are still some artefacts and inscriptions which proved the existence of Srivijaya Kingdom. There are 2 inscriptions that are believed to have been cursed for those who do not follow the rules and the king’s order. This inscription is carved on an andesite stone and is 118 cm tall. On top of the inscription, it is embellished by seven deities head, or what we call nāga. There is some king of a water channel at the lower portion that were likely used for some kind of allegiance ritual in the past. It is written in the Old Malay language in Pallava alphabet. It was found in Palembang. One of the oldest written evidence of the Old Malay language that survived. It is also written in Pallava alphabet in Old Malay language. This inscriptions was carved on a pinnacle stone and is 177 cm tall. It was found on 606 CE west of Palembang. Legacy Though the great kingdom was almost forgotten, its greatest legacy would be the spreading of the Old Malay language. Being a maritime kingdom, trading played a huge part on where it got its riches. Due to the extensive trading that took place, the Srivijayans managed to spread Old Malay language to the traders in the region. Old Malay is the foundation for Bahasa Melayu and Bahasa Indonesia and the large territory of Srivijaya, are probably the reasons why Malaysia, Brunei, and Singapore have Malay as their main language and Bahasa Indonesia became the language that unite the diverse Indonesia. Today the Srivijaya Kingdom’s influence can be found from the local set of song and dance called “Gending Sriwijaya” in Palembang, South Sumatra. The dance was created to tell the glory and magnificence of the kingdom that successfully united the west side of Indonesia. All in all, this mysterious great kingdom played a big part in spreading buddhism 191 i n i t s r e a l m . There is another version to the story, and probably not the last one: The Srivijaya started as a project by the Japanese Emperor Koizumi to attack the Sinicans from another angle on the Asian Continent. The Srivijaya Founders were a mix of Buddhists who were thrown out of the Maurya Empire in India under the leadership of a man named Thenmobala, who then established the splinter religion of Thenmobism, as well as immigrants from the Cambodia region of South East Asia, who then became the ethnic majority in the country and from where the name Khmer originates. The Thenmobis religion became a guiding principle that led to the conquest of a part of Sumatra before the Japanese intervened. The imperial vision that the Khmer leaders was only achieved with the weapons and strategy of the Japanese and if it was not provided then their aspirations would likely have been set back many decades or centuries perhaps. In 677 (76 BC) the first maharajah was declared and he set out to take the islands of Indonesia, the taking of the sparsely inhabited, though Sinican dominated, Southeast Asian Peninsula also provided many aspects of respect and diplomacy with the Mainland countries. The Srivijaya had a small war with the Japanese to take the islands of the Philippines but the end of the conflict concluded with the largest island of Luzon going to the Japanese and the remaining smaller islands left to the Japanese. The Srivijaya name comes from the Sanskrit, ancient language of Buddhists, words 'Sri' meaning 'radiant' and 'vijaya' meaning 'victory'. Vietnam, a Sinitic state, rebelled and joined the Japanese empire. Rulers or Maharajas of the Empire 1. Jayanasa 678-693 (75-60 BC) 2. Srivatsav 693-701 (60-52 BC) 3. Balaputra 701-735 (52-18 BC) 4. Balaputra II 735-752 (18-1 BC) 5. Girindra 752-769 (1 BC- 16 AD) 6. Mandakranta 769-786 (16-33 AD) 7. Neelanchal 786-799 (33-46 AD) 8. Girindra II 799-811 (46-58 AD) 9. Balaputra III 811-829 (58-76 AD) 10. Privrata 829-842 (76-89 AD) 11. Balaputra IV 842-857 (89-104 AD) 12. Girindra III 857-866 (104-113 AD) 13. Balaputra V 866-878 (113-125 AD) 192 14. Trishanku 878-885 (125-132 AD) 15. Balaputra VI 885-915 (132-162 AD) Killed by Jayavarman, King of the Khmer. Last Maharajah Countries (L'Uniona Homanus) 2. The Srivijaya Empire , 3. The First Han Dynasty , 4. Kingdom of Bei , 5. Kingdom of Chu , 6. Kingdom of Han , 7. Kingdom of Nan , 8. Kingdom of Song , 9. Kingdom of Tang , 1. Former Countries 10. Kingdom of Wei , 11. Kingdom of Xi , 12. Kingdom of Yan, 2.Asian Countries 3.African Countries 13. Thai Kingdom , 14. United Kingdom of Lao-Cham , 15. Khmer Kingdom , 16. The Maurya Empire, 17. Satavahana Kingdom 1. The Second Han Dynasty , 2. The Japanese Empire , 3. Tibetan Empire , 4. The Korean Empire , 5. The Mongol Empire, 6. The Indian Empire 1. Zulu Republic , 2. The Bantu Kingdom , 3. The Siddharthist Republic , 193 4. 1. Roman Empire , 4.European Countries 5.Hyperborean The Otjomouise Kingdom 2. (North Cimbrian Alliance The United Tribes American) Countries Legacy: Once the existence of Srivijaya had been established, it became a symbol of early Sumatran greatness, and a great empire to balance Java's Majapahit in the east. In the twentieth century, both empires were referred to by Indonesian nationalist intellectuals to argue for an Indonesian identity within and Indonesian state prior to the establishment of the Dutch colonial state. Due to the contradicting pattern found in southern regions, like Palembang, in 1977 Bennet Bronson developed a speculative model for a better understanding of the Sumatran coastal region, such as insular and peninsular Malaysia, the Philippines, and western Indonesia. Its main focus was the relationship of political, economic and geographical systems. The general political and economic pattern of the region seems irrelevant to other parts of the world of their time, but in correlation with their maritime trade network, it produced high levels of socio-economic complexity. He concluded, from his earlier publications in 1974 that state development in this region developed much differently than the rest of early Southeast Asia. Bronson's model was based on the dendritic patterns of a drainage basin where its opening leads out to sea. Being that historical evidence places the capital in Palembang, and in junction of three rivers, the Musi, the Komering, and the Ogan, such model can be applied. For the system to function appropriately, several constraints are required. The inability for terrestrial transportation results in movements of all goods through water routes, lining up economical patterns with the dendritic patterns formed by the streams. The second being the overseas center is economically superior to the ports found at the mouth of the rivers, having a higher population and a more productive and technologically advanced economy. Lastly, constraints on the land work against and do not developments of urban settlements. Floating houses in Musi River bank near Palembang in 1917. The Srivijayan capital was probably formed from a collection of floating houses like this. An aerial photograph taken in 1984 near Palembang (in what is now Sriwijaya Kingdom Archaeological Park) revealed the remnants of ancient man-made canals, moats, ponds, and artificial 194 islands, suggesting the location of Srivijaya's urban centre. Several artefacts such as fragments of inscriptions, Buddhist statues, beads, pottery and Chinese ceramics were found, confirming that the area had, at one time, dense human habitation. By 1993, Pierre-Yves Manguin an emeritus professor at the École française d'Extrême-Orient (EFEO, French School of Asian Studies) whose research focuses on the history and archaeology of coastal states, trade networks, and ships of Southeast Asia, had shown that the centre of Srivijaya was along the Musi River between Bukit Seguntang and Sabokingking (situated in what is now Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia). Palembang is called in Chinese: 'Giant Harbour', this is probably a testament of its history as once a great port. A Bibliography for Sriwijayan Studies,Manguin Pierre-Yves, Efeo, 1989 However, in 2013, archaeological research led by the University of Indonesia discovered several religious and habitation sites at Muaro Jambi, suggesting that the initial centre of Srivijaya was located in Muaro Jambi Regency, Jambi on the Batang Hari River, rather than on the originally-proposed Musi river.[26] The archaeological site includes eight excavated temple sanctuaries and covers about 12 square kilometers, stretches 7.5 kilometers along the Batang Hari River, 80 menapos or mounds of temple ruins, are not yet restored. The Muaro Jambi archaeological site was Mahayana-Vajrayana Buddhist in nature, which suggests that the site served as the Buddhist learning center, connected to the 10th century famous Buddhist scholar Suvarṇadvipi Dharmakīrti. Chinese sources also mentioned that 195 Srivijaya hosts thousands of Buddhist monks. Another theory suggests that Dapunta Hyang came from the east coast of the Malay Peninsula, and that the Chaiya District in Surat Thani Province, Thailand, was the centre of Srivijaya.[29] The Srivijayan Period is referred to as the time when Srivijaya ruled over present-day southern Thailand. In the region of Chaiya, there is clear evidence of Srivijayan influence seen in artwork inspired by Mahayana Buddhism. Because of the large amount of remains, such as the Ligor stele, found in this region, some scholars attempted to prove Chaiya as the capital rather than Palembang.[30] This period was also a time for art. The Buddhist art of the Srivijayan Kingdom was believed to have borrowed from Indian styles like that of the Dvaravati school of art. The city of Chaiya's name may be derived from the Malay name "Cahaya" which means "light" or "radiance". However, some scholars believe that Chaiya probably comes from Sri Vijaya. It was a regional capital in the Srivijaya empire. Some Thai historians argue it was the capital of Srivijaya itself, but this is generally discounted. Dvaravati itself was heavily influenced by Indian culture though the process of cultural diffusion over several centuries starting from the Christian 5th century, and played an important role in introducing Mahayana Buddhism and particularly Buddhist art to the region. It is a form of artistic work originating from Mon. Dvaravati flourished from the Dvaravati Mon ancient artifacts are in present-day Thailand and Burma, Mon states to the west in southern Myanmar (Burma) and with the Mon state in northern Thailand. Dvaravati experienced political domination by neighbouring peoples on three separate occasions: in the 10th century, when the Burmese conquered the Mon state of Thaton west of the Tenasserim Yoma; from the 11th to the 13th century, when the Khmer empire (Cambodia) arose in the east; and finally, in the late 13th century, when Dvaravati was absorbed by the Thai empire. Dvaravati art came into form around the 6th century by the Mon communities as part of numerous minor kingdoms that existed in Thailand. Surrounding geography proved treacherous for travel and thus provided a fair amount of isolation for the individual kingdoms. Isolation enabled development of a highly sophisticated and distinct Mon-Dvaravati style. Architecture: Archaeological research and restoration have indicated that Buddhist monuments of the Dvaravati style exhibited contemporary art of Gupta temple-architecture with many constructed with open-air structures. Chief among the architecture is the stupa style architecture. 196 There are four major categories: 1. Chedi with terrace in each story 2. stupa with a square base 3. The central part of this is pointed in a finial way has a stupa with a square base and a central part, This form is shaped in an inverted alms-bowl. This form has numerous superimposed flat rings with a bulb terminal. Inspired by Mahayana Buddhism. 4. Stupa with a square base and 5 terraces.The lowest is the biggest terrace while the smallest is the top terrace. Each terrace has 3 niches in each of the four direction. Inside these 3 niches stand Buddha images. The temple complex at Wat Phra That Hariphunchai, dating to the 9th and 11th centuries, is a pristine example of Dvaravati architecture. Phra Pathommachedi is a wat dating to the 12th century that exemplifies the architecture.The temple's origins date from the 11th century but the central stupa is thought to originate in the 9th century.Its earliest origins were in 897 when the then king of Hariphunchai is said to have built a stupa (now the central stupa) to house a hair of the Buddha. The present compound, founded by Hariphunchai King Athitayarai, dates from 1044.The temple was first rebuilt in 1443 by King Tilokaraja of Lanna kingdom Chiang Mai. The temple's pyramid-shaped Chedi Suwanna was built in 1418. In the 1930s temple renovations were made by the northern Thai monk Khru Ba Sriwichai. Architecture : The restoration of 1443 enlarged and enhanced the central stupa, including the incorporation of repousse Buddha images on bronze sheets affixed to the stupa bell element (anda). These repousse Buddhas are indicative of the Lanna Early Classic period. Chedi Suwanna 197 The unusual pyramid-shaped, 46 m high Chedi Suwanna in the northwest of the compound is in the Dvaravati-style of the Haripunchai period and believed to be modeled on similar stupas at nearby Wat Chama Thewi (Wat Kukut. The chedi is featured on the reverse of the one-satang coin.It houses a 15th-century Lanna Buddha. Near the wihan is a library of 19th-century origin. The library's staircase features naga images. Also near the wihan is a large bronze gong, purportedly the world's largest. The gong dates from 1860.The southwestern corner of the temple compound has a stone indented with four footprints. Worshippers believe these to confirm the legend of a Buddha visit to the area. Art: Various pottery excavated from former Dvaravati sites in central Thailand exhibit the sophistication and complexity of Dvaravati art. Many Buddha statues were created with Dvaravati style. Some Buddha statues have mudras (hand positions) and others have katakahasta mudra (fingers folded down into palms, suggesting if it is holding something), both of which have evolved before 800 CE. Buddha statues are common artefacts Pottery There are various kinds of Dvaravati pottery.  Dish on stand; These pots often have a polished reddish-brown colour with red or white alternating stripes.  Carinated pot these pots come in a variety of colours such as red, orange, brown, and black, although the top part of these vessels are plain.  Shallow cup These cups are used as lamps. They are made with a medium texture to a brown and gray finish. Most are handmade.  Spouted bowl These bowls are used as candles and often are coarse in texture with a black brown or shiny black in colour.  Globular pot  Jar with spout There are two variations 198 Foot note: Artifacts have been collected over the years. Many pristine examples of artifacts can be found in Thai museums such as the Phra Pathommachedi National Museum in Nakhon Pathom city and the Prachinburi National Museum in Prachinburi, Prachinburi, Thailand By the late 8th century, the political capital was shifted to Central Java, when the Sailendras rose to become the Maharaja of Srivijaya. In the second half of the eighth century, the capital of Srivijayan Mandala seems to be relocated and reestablished in Central Java, in the splendid court of Medang Mataram located somewhere in fertile Kedu and Kewu Plain, in the same location of the majestic Borobudur, Manjusrigrha and Prambanan monuments. This unique period is known as the Srivijayan episode in Central Java, when the monarch of Sailendras rose to become the Maharaja of Srivijaya. By that time, Srivijayan Mandala seems to be consists of the federation or an alliance of city-states, spanned from Java to Sumatra and Malay Peninsula, connected with trade connection cemented with political allegiance. By that time Srivijayan trading centres remain in Palembang, and to further extent also includes ports of Jambi, Kedah and Chaiya; while its political, religious and ceremonial center was established in Central Java. History. Formation and growth. Siddhayatra 199 The Kedukan Bukit inscription displayed in the National Museum of Indonesia The Kedukan Bukit inscription is an inscription discovered by the Dutchman M. Batenburg on 29 November 1920 at Kedukan Bukit, South Sumatra, Indonesia, on the banks of the River Tatang, a tributary of the River Musi. It is the oldest surviving specimen of the Malay language, in a form known as Old Malay.It is a small stone of 45 cm × 80 cm. This inscription is dated 1 May 683 CE. This inscription was written in Pallava script. The inscriptions contain numerous Sanskrit words. Transliteration 1 svasti śrī śaka varṣātīta 605 ekādaśī śukla- 2 pakṣa vulan vaiśākha ḍapunta hiyaṃ nāyik di 3 sāmvau maṅalap siddhayātra di saptamī śuklapakṣa 200 4 vulan jyeṣṭha ḍapunta hiyaṃ marlapas dari mināṅa 5 tāmvan mamāva yaṃ vala dua lakṣa daṅan kośa 6 dua ratus cāra di sāmvau daṅan jālan sarivu 7 tlu ratus sapulu dua vañakña dātaṃ di mukha upaṃ 8 sukhacitta di pañcamī śuklapakṣa vulan āsāḍha 9 laghu mudita dātaṃ marvuat vanua ... 10 śrīvijaya jaya siddhayātra subhikṣa nityakāla Modern Malay translation Svasti! Pada 11 hari bulan separuh Vaiśākha tahun 605 Śaka, Dapunta Hiyang menaiki sampan untuk mendapatkan siddhayātra. Pada hari ke tujuh iaitu 15 hari bulan separuh Jyeṣṭha, Dapunta Hiyang berlepas dari Mināṅa membawa 20000 orang bala tentera dengan bekal-bekalan sebanyak 200 peti di sampan diiringi 1312 orang yang berjalan kaki banyaknya datang ke hulu Upang dengan sukacitanya. Pada 15 hari bulan separuh āsāḍha dengan mudah dan gembiranya datang membuat benua ... Śrīvijaya jaya siddhayātra subhikṣa nityakāla! English Translation Om swasti astu! All hail and prosperity. In the year 605 of the Saka calendar, on the eleventh day at half-moon of Waisaka, Sri Baginda took dugouts in order to obtain siddhayatra.[5] On Day 7, on the 15th day at half-moon of Jyestha, Sri Baginda extricated himself from minānga tāmvan.[6] He took 20,000 troops with him ... as many as 200 in dugouts, with 1,312 foot soldiers. They arrived at ... Truly merry on the fifteenth day of the half-moon..., agile, happy, and they made a trip to the country ... Great Sriwijaya! Prosperity and riches. Around the year 500, the roots of the Srivijayan empire began to develop around present-day Palembang, Sumatra. The Kedukan Bukit inscription (683), discovered on the banks of the Tatang River near the Karanganyar site, states that the empire of Srivijaya was founded by Dapunta Hyang Sri Jayanasa and his retinue. He had embarked on a sacred siddhayatra journey and led 20,000 troops and 201 312 people in boats with 1,312 foot soldiers from Minanga Tamwan to Jambi and Palembang. From the Sanskrit inscriptions, it is notable that Dapunta Hyang Sri Jayanasa launched a maritime conquest in 684 with 20,000 men in the siddhayatra journey to acquire wealth, power, and 'magical powers'. Under the leadership of Dapunta Hyang Sri Jayanasa, the Melayu Kingdom became the first kingdom to be integrated into Srivijaya. This possibly occurred in the 680s. Melayu, also known as Jambi, was rich in gold and held in high esteem at the time. Srivijaya recognised that the submission of Melayu would increase its own prestige. The empire was organised in three main zones: the estuarine capital region centred on Palembang, the Musi River basin which served as a hinterland, and rival estuarine areas capable of forming rival power centres. The areas upstream of the Musi River were rich in various commodities valuable to Chinese traders.[36] The capital was administered directly by the ruler, while the hinterland remained under local datus or tribal chiefs, who were organised into a network of alliances with the Srivijaya maharaja or king. Force was the dominant element in the empire's relations with rival river systems such as the Batang Hari River, centred in Jambi. The Telaga Batu inscription, discovered in Sabokingking, eastern Palembang, is also a siddhayatra inscription, from the 7th century. This inscription was very likely used in a ceremonial sumpah (allegiance ritual). The top of the stone is adorned with seven nāga heads, and on the lower portion there is a type of water spout to channel liquid that was likely poured over the stone during a ritual. The ritual included a curse upon those who commit treason against Kadatuan Srivijaya. The Talang Tuwo inscription is also a siddhayatra inscription. Discovered in Bukit Seguntang, western Palembang, this inscription tells about the establishment of the bountiful Śrīksetra garden endowed by King Jayanasa of Srivijaya for the well-being of all creatures.[3]:82–83 It is likely that the Bukit Seguntang site was the location of the Śrīksetra garden. Regional conquests According to the Kota Kapur inscription discovered on Bangka Island, the empire conquered most of southern Sumatra and the neighbouring island of Bangka as far as Palas Pasemah in Lampung. Also, according to the inscriptions, Dapunta Hyang Sri Jayanasa launched a military campaign against Java in the late 7th century, a period which coincided with the decline of Tarumanagara in West Java and the Kalingga in Central Java. The empire thus grew to control trade on the Strait of Malacca, the Sunda Strait, the South China Sea, the Java Sea and the Karimata Strait. 202 Chinese records dating to the late 7th century mention two Sumatran kingdoms and three other kingdoms on Java as being part of Srivijaya. By the end of the 8th century, many western Javanese kingdoms, such as Tarumanagara and Kalingga, were within the Srivijayan sphere of influence. The golden Malayu-Srivijayan Avalokiteśvara, Rataukapastuo, Muarabulian, Jambi, Indonesia The 7th-century Sojomerto inscription mentioned that an Old Malay-speaking Shivaist family led by Dapunta Selendra had established themselves in the Batang area of the northern coast of Central Java. He was possibly the progenitor of the Sailendra family. By the early 8th century, an influential Buddhist family related to Srivijaya dominated Central Java. The family was the Sailendras. of Javanese origin. The ruling lineage of Srivijaya intermarried with the Sailendras of Central Java. Conquest of Malay Peninsula Malay polities in Sumatra and Malay Peninsula. By the turn of the 8th century the states in Sumatra and Malay Peninsula were under Srivijayan domination. During the same century, Langkasuka on the Malay Peninsula became part of Srivijaya.[40] Soon after this, Pan Pan and Tambralinga, north of Langkasuka, came under Srivijayan influence. These kingdoms on the peninsula were major trading nations that transported goods across the peninsula's isthmus. The Ligor inscription in Vat Sema Muang says that Maharaja Dharmasetu of Srivijaya ordered the construction of three sanctuaries dedicated to the Bodhisattvas Padmapani, Vajrapani, and Buddha in 203 the northern Malay Peninsula.[41] The inscription further stated that the Dharmasetu was the head of the Sailendras of Java. This is the first known instance of a relationship between Srivijaya and the Sailendra. With the expansion into Java and the Malay Peninsula, Srivijaya controlled two major trade choke points in Southeast Asia: the Malacca and Sunda straits. Some Srivijayan temple ruins are observable in Thailand and Cambodia. At some point in the late 7th century, Cham ports in eastern Indochina started to attract traders. This diverted the flow of trade from Srivijaya. To stop this, Maharaja Dharmasetu launched raids against the coastal cities of Indochina. The city of Indrapura by the Mekong was temporarily controlled from Palembang in the early 8th century. The Srivijayans continued to dominate areas around present-day Cambodia until the Khmer King Jayavarman II, the founder of the Khmer Empire dynasty, severed the Srivijayan link later in the same century. In 851 an Arabic merchant named Sulaimaan recorded an event about Javanese Sailendras staging a surprise attack on the Khmers by approaching the capital from the river, after a sea crossing from Java. The young king of Khmer was later punished by the Maharaja, and subsequently the kingdom became a vassal of Sailendra dynasty. In 916 CE, a Javanese kingdom invaded Khmer Empire, using 1000 "medium-sized" vessels, which results in Javanese victory. The head of Khmer's king then brought to Java. Srivijayan rule in Central Java After trade disruption at Canton between 820 and 850, the ruler of Jambi was able to assert enough independence to send missions to China in 853 and 871. Jambi's independence coincided with the troubled time when the Sailendran Balaputra, expelled from Java, seized the throne of Srivijaya. The new maharaja was able to dispatch a tributary mission to China by 902. Only two years later, the expiring Tang Dynasty conferred a title on a Srivijayan envoy. In the first half of the tenth century, between the fall of Tang Dynasty and the rise of Song, there was brisk trade between the overseas world and the Fujian kingdom of Min and the rich Guangdong kingdom of Nan Han. Srivijaya undoubtedly benefited from this, in anticipation of the prosperity it was to enjoy under the early Song. Around 903, the Persian explorer and geographer Ibn Rustah who wrote extensively of his travels was so impressed with the wealth of Srivijaya's ruler that he declared one would not hear of a king who was richer, stronger or with more revenue. The main urban centers were at Palembang (especially the Bukit Seguntang area), Muara Jambi and Kedah. 204 The Sailendras of Java established and nurtured a dynastic alliance with the Sumatran Srivijayan lineage, and then further established their rule and authority in the Medang Mataram Kingdom of Central Java. In Java, Dharanindra's successor was Samaragrawira (r. 800—819), mentioned in the Nalanda inscription (dated 860) as the father of Balaputradewa, and the son of Śailendravamsatilaka (the jewel of the Śailendra family) with stylised name Śrīviravairimathana (the slayer of a heroic enemy), which refers to Dharanindra.[3]:92 Unlike his predecessor, the expansive and warlike Dharanindra, Samaragrawira seems to have been a pacifist, enjoying the peaceful prosperity of interior Java in Kedu Plain and being more interested in completing the Borobudur project. He appointed Khmer Prince Jayavarman as the governor of Indrapura in the Mekong delta under Sailendran rule. This decision was later proven to be a mistake, as Jayavarman revolted, moved his capital further inland north from Tonle Sap to Mahendraparvata, severed the link to Srivijaya and proclaimed Cambodian independence from Java in 802. Samaragrawira was mentioned as the king of Java that married Tārā, daughter of Dharmasetu.[3]:108 He was mentioned as his other name Rakai Warak in Mantyasih inscription. Earlier historians, such as N. J. Krom and Cœdes, tend to equate Samaragrawira and Samaratungga as the same person.[3]:92 However, later historians such as Slamet Muljana equate Samaratungga with Rakai Garung, mentioned in the Mantyasih inscription as the fifth monarch of the Mataram kingdom. This would mean that Samaratungga was the successor of Samaragrawira. Dewi Tara, the daughter of Dharmasetu, married Samaratunga, a member of the Sailendra family who assumed the throne of Srivijaya around 792.[45] By the 8th century, the Srivijayan court was virtually located in Java, as the Sailendras monarch rose to become the Maharaja of Srivijaya. The construction of the Borobudur was completed under the reign of Samaratunga of the Sailendra dynasty.(See ht Book by Dr Uday Dokras “The Celestial Mysteries of the Borobodur Temple” on academia.edu After Dharmasetu, Samaratungga became the next Maharaja of Srivijaya. He reigned as ruler from 792 205 to 835. Unlike the expansionist Dharmasetu, Samaratungga did not indulge in military expansion but preferred to strengthen the Srivijayan hold of Java. He personally oversaw the construction of the grand monument of Borobudur; a massive stone mandala, which was completed in 825, during his reign.[46] According to Cœdès, "In the second half of the ninth century Java and Sumatra were united under the rule of a Sailendra reigning in Java... its center at Palembang."[3]:92 Samaratungga, just like Samaragrawira, seems to have been deeply influenced by peaceful Mahayana Buddhist beliefs and strove to become a peaceful and benevolent ruler. His successor was Princess Pramodhawardhani who was betrothed to Shivaite Rakai Pikatan, son of the influential Rakai Patapan, a landlord in Central Java. The political move that seems as an effort to secure peace and Sailendran rule on Java by reconciling the Mahayana Buddhist with Shivaist Hindus. Return to Palembang Prince Balaputra, however, opposed the rule of Pikatan and Pramodhawardhani in Central Java. The relations between Balaputra and Pramodhawardhani are interpreted differently by some historians. An older theory according to Bosch and De Casparis holds that Balaputra was the son of Samaratungga, which means he was the younger brother of Pramodhawardhani. Later historians such as Muljana, on the other hand, argued that Balaputra was the son of Samaragrawira and the younger brother of Samaratungga, which means he was the uncle of Pramodhawardhani. It is not known whether Balaputra was expelled from Central Java because of a succession dispute with Pikatan, or he already ruled in Suvarnadvipa (Sumatra). Either way, it seems that Balaputra eventually ruled the Sumatran branch of Sailendra dynasty and enthroned in Srivijayan capital of Palembang. Historians argued that this was because Balaputra's mother Tara, the queen consort of King Samaragrawira, was the princess of Srivijaya, making Balaputra the heir of the Srivijayan throne. Balaputra the Maharaja of Srivijaya later stated his claim as the rightful heir of the Sailendra dynasty from Java, as proclaimed in the Nalanda inscription dated 860.[3]:108 After a trade disruption at Canton between 820 and 850, the ruler of Jambi (Melayu Kingdom) was able to assert enough independence to send missions to China in 853 and 871.[citation needed] The Melayu kingdom's independence coincided with the troubled times when the Sailendran Balaputradewa was expelled from Java and, later, he seized the throne of Srivijaya. The new maharaja was able to dispatch a tributary mission to China by 902. Two years after that, the expiring Tang Dynasty conferred a title on a Srivijayan envoy. In the first half of the 10th century, between the fall of Tang Dynasty and the rise of Song, there was 206 brisk trading between the overseas world with the Fujian kingdom of Min and the rich Guangdong kingdom of Nan Han. Srivijaya undoubtedly benefited from this. Sometime around 903, the Muslim writer Ibn Rustah was so impressed with the wealth of the Srivijayan ruler that he declared that one would not hear of a king who was richer, stronger or had more revenue. The main urban centres of Srivijaya were then at Palembang (especially the Karanganyar site near Bukit Seguntang area), Muara Jambi and Kedah. Srivijayan explorations The core of the Srivijayan realm was concentrated in and around the straits of Malacca and Sunda and in Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula and Western Java. However, between the 9th and the 12th centuries, the influence of Srivijaya seems to have extended far beyond the core. Srivijayan navigators, sailors and traders seem to have engaged in extensive trade and exploration, which reached coastal Borneo,[48] the Philippines archipelago, Eastern Indonesia, coastal Indochina, the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean as far as Madagascar. The migration to Madagascar accelerated in the 9th century when Srivijaya controlled much of the maritime trade in the Indian Ocean. The migration to Madagascar was estimated to have taken place 1,200 years ago around 830 CE. According to an extensive new mitochondrial DNA study, native Malagasy people today can likely trace their heritage back to 30 founding mothers who sailed from Indonesia 1,200 years ago. Malagasy contains loan words from Sanskrit, with all the local linguistic modifications via Javanese or Malay, hinting that Madagascar may have been colonised by settlers from Srivijaya. The influence of the empire reached Manila by the 10th century. A kingdom under its sphere of influence had already been established there. The discovery of a golden Tara statue in Agusan del Sur and a golden Kinnara from Butuan, Northeastern Mindanao, in the Philippines suggests an ancient link between ancient Philippines and the Srivijayan empire, since Tara and Kinnara are important figures or deities in Mahayana Buddhist beliefs. The Mahayana-Vajrayana Buddhist religious commonality suggests that ancient Philippines acquired their Mahayana-Vajrayana beliefs from Srivijayan influence in Sumatra. The 10th-century Arab account Ajayeb al-Hind (Marvels of India) tells of an invasion in Africa, probably by Malay people of Srivijaya, in 945–946. They arrived on the coast of Tanganyika and 207 Mozambique with 1,000 ships and boats and attempted to capture the citadel of Qanbaloh, though they eventually failed. The reason for the attack was to acquire African commodities coveted by the Asian market, especially China, such as ivory, tortoiseshell, panther fur, and ambergris, and also to extract black slaves from Bantu tribes (called Zeng or Zenj by Malay, Jenggi by Javanese); these were perceived as physically strong and thus would make good slaves. By the 12th century, the kingdom included parts of Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula, Western Java, Borneo and the Philippines, most notably the Sulu Archipelago and the Visayas islands. It is believed by some historians that the name 'Visayas' is derived from the empire. Ancient Javanese vessel depicted in Borobudur. War against Java In 990 King Dharmawangsa of Java launched a naval attack against Srivijaya in Sumatra. In the 10th century, the rivalry between Sumatran Srivijaya and the Javanese Medang kingdom became more intense and hostile. The animosity was probably caused by Srivijaya's effort to reclaim the Sailendra lands in Java or by Medang's aspiration to challenge Srivijaya domination in the region. In East Java, the Anjukladang inscription dated from 937 mentions an infiltration attack from Malayu — which refers to a Srivijayan attack upon the Medang Kingdom of East Java. The villagers of Anjuk Ladang were awarded for their service and merit in assisting the king's army, under the leadership of Mpu Sindok, in repelling invading Malayu (Sumatra) forces; subsequently, a jayastambha (victory monument) was erected in their honor. In 990, King Dharmawangsa of Java launched a naval invasion against Srivijaya and attempted to capture the capital Palembang. The news of the Javanese invasion of Srivijaya was recorded in Chinese Song period sources. In 988, a Srivijayan envoy was sent to the Chinese court in Guangzhou. After sojourning for about two years in China, the envoy learned that his country had been attacked by Shepo (Java) which made him unable to return home. In 992 the envoy from She-po (Java) arrived in the Chinese court and explaining that their country was involved in continuous war with San-fo-qi 208 (Srivijaya). In 999 the Srivijayan envoy sailed from China to Champa in an attempt to return home, however, he received no news about the condition of his country. The Srivijayan envoy then sailed back to China and appealed to the Chinese Emperor for the protection of Srivijaya against Javanese invaders.[58]:229 Dharmawangsa's invasion led the Maharaja of Srivijaya, Sri Cudamani Warmadewa, to seek protection from China. Warmadewa was known as an able and astute ruler, with shrewd diplomatic skills. In the midst of the crisis brought by the Javanese invasion, he secured Chinese political support by appeasing the Chinese Emperor. In 1003, a Song historical record reported that the envoy of San-fo-qi was dispatched by the king Shi-li-zhu-luo-wu-ni-fo-ma-tiao-hua (Sri Cudamani Warmadewa). The Srivijayan envoy told the Chinese court that in their country a Buddhist temple had been erected to pray for the long life of Chinese Emperor, and asked the emperor to give the name and the bell for this temple which was built in his honor. Rejoiced, the Chinese Emperor named the temple Ch'eng-t'enwan-shou ('ten thousand years of receiving blessing from heaven, which is China) and a bell was immediately cast and sent to Srivijaya to be installed in the temple.[58]:6 In 1006, Srivijaya's alliance proved its resilience by successfully repelling the Javanese invasion. The Javanese invasion was ultimately unsuccessful. This attack opened the eyes of Srivijayan Maharaja to the dangerousness of the Javanese Medang Kingdom, so he patiently laid a plan to destroy his Javanese nemesis. In retaliation, Srivijaya assisted Haji (king) Wurawari of Lwaram to revolt, which led to the attack and destruction of the Medang palace. This sudden and unexpected attack took place during the wedding ceremony of Dharmawangsa's daughter, which left the court unprepared and shocked. With the death of Dharmawangsa and the fall of the Medang capital, Srivijaya contributed to the collapse of Medang kingdom, leaving Eastern Java in further unrest, violence and, ultimately, desolation for several years to come. 209 A Siamese painting depicting the Chola raid on Kedah Chola invasion The contributory factors in the decline of Srivijaya were foreign piracy and raids that disrupted trade and security in the region. Attracted to the wealth of Srivijaya, Rajendra Chola, the Chola king from Tamil Nadu in South India, launched naval raids on ports of Srivijaya and conquered Kadaram (modern Kedah) from Srivijaya in 1025.[3]:142–143 The Cholas are known to have benefitted from both piracy and foreign trade. At times, the Chola seafaring led to outright plunder and conquest as far as Southeast Asia.[59] An inscription of King Rajendra states that he had captured the King of Kadaram, Sangrama Vijayatunggavarman, son of Mara Vijayatunggavarman, and plundered many treasures including the Vidhyadara-torana, the jewelled 'war gate' of Srivijaya adorned with great splendour. According to the 15th-century Malay annals Sejarah Melayu, Rajendra Chola I after the successful naval raid in 1025 married Onang Kiu, the daughter of Vijayottunggavarman.[60][61] This invasion forced Srivijaya to make peace with the Javanese kingdom of Kahuripan. The peace deal was brokered by the exiled daughter of Vijayottunggavarman, who managed to escape the destruction of Palembang, and came to the court of King Airlangga in East Java. She also became the queen consort of Airlangga named Dharmaprasadottungadevi and, in 1035, Airlangga constructed a Buddhist monastery named Srivijayasrama dedicated to his queen consort. The Cholas continued a series of raids and conquests of parts of Sumatra and Malay Peninsula for the next 20 years. The expedition of Rajendra Chola I had such a lasting impression on the Malay people of the period that his name is even mentioned (in the corrupted form as Raja Chulan) in the medieval Malay chronicle the Sejarah Melayu (Malay Annals).[60][63][64][65] Even today the Chola rule is remembered in Malaysia as many Malaysian princes have names ending with Cholan or Chulan, one such was the Raja of Perak called Raja Chulan.[66][67][68] Ruins of the Wat Kaew in Chaiya, dating from Srivijayan times 210 Rajendra Chola's overseas expeditions against Srivijaya were unique in India's history and its otherwise peaceful relations with the states of Southeast Asia. The reasons for the naval expeditions are uncertain as the sources are silent about its exact causes. Nilakanta Sastri suggests that the attacks were probably caused by Srivijaya's attempts to throw obstacles in the way of the Chola trade with the East or, more probably, a simple desire on the part of Rajendra Chola to extend his military victories to the well known countries to gain prestige. It gravely weakened the Srivijayan hegemony and enabled the formation of regional kingdoms like Kediri, which were based on intensive agriculture rather than coastal and long-distance trade. With the passing of time, the regional trading center shifted from the old Srivijayan capital of Palembang to another trade centre on the island of Sumatra, Jambi, which was the centre of Malayu. Rule of the Cholas The Chola control over Srivijaya under Rajendra Chola I lasted two decades until 1045 AD. According to one theory proposed by Sri Lankan historian Paranavitana, Rajendra Chola I was murdered in 1044 AD, during his visit to Srivijaya by Purandara, on the order of Samara Vijayatunggavarman, Sangrama Vijayatunggavarman's brother.[citation needed] According to this theory, Samara launched a massive annihilation against Chola and claimed the Srivijaya throne in 1045. Samara sent his cousin and son-inlaw, Mahendra, with his army to help Vijayabahu I to defeat the Cholas and regain the throne. Samara's name was mentioned by Mahinda VI of Polonnaruwa in the Madigiriya inscription and Bolanda inscription.[69] On the contrary, according to South Indian epigraphs and records, Rajendra Chola I died in Brahmadesam, now a part of the North Arcot district in Tamil Nadu, India. This information is recorded in an inscription of his son, Rajadhiraja Chola I, which states that Rajendra Chola's queen Viramadeviyar committed sati upon Rajendra's death and her remains were interred in the same tomb as Rajendra Chola I in Brahmadesam. It adds that the queen's brother, who was a general in Rajendra's army, set up a watershed at the same place in memory of his sister.[70] There is also evidence to suggest that Kulottunga Chola, the maternal grandson of emperor Rajendra Chola I, in his youth (1063) was in Sri Vijaya,[3]:148 restoring order and maintaining Chola influence in that area. Virarajendra Chola states in his inscription, dated in the 7th year of his reign, that he conquered Kadaram (Kedah) and gave it back to its king who came and worshiped his feet. These expeditions were led by Kulottunga to help the Sailendra king who had sought the help of Virarajendra 211 Chola. An inscription of Canton mentions Ti-hua-kialo as the ruler of Sri Vijaya. According to historians, this ruler is the same as the Chola ruler Ti-hua-kialo (identified with Kulottunga) mentioned in the Song annals and who sent an embassy to China. According to Tan Yeok Song, the editor of the Sri Vijayan inscription of Canton, Kulottunga stayed in Kadaram (Kedah) after the naval expedition of 1067 AD and reinstalled its king before returning to South India and ascending the throne. Internal and external rivalries[edit] Further information: Melayu Kingdom and Dharmasraya Candi Gumpung, a Buddhist temple at the Muaro Jambi Temple Compounds of the Melayu Kingdom, later integrated as one of Srivijaya's important urban centre Between 1079 and 1088, Chinese records show that Srivijaya sent ambassadors from Jambi and Palembang.[74] In 1079 in particular, an ambassador from Jambi and Palembang each visited China. Jambi sent two more ambassadors to China in 1082 and 1088.[74] That would suggest that the centre of Srivijaya frequently shifted between the two major cities during that period.[74] The Chola expeditions as well as the changing trade routes weakened Palembang, allowing Jambi to take the leadership of Srivijaya from the 11th century onwards.[75] By the 12th century, a new dynasty called Mauli rose as the paramount of Srivijaya. The earliest reference to the new dynasty was found in the Grahi inscription from 1183 discovered in Chaiya (Grahi), Southern Thailand Malay Peninsula. The inscription bears the order of Maharaja Srimat Trailokyaraja Maulibhusana Warmadewa to the bhupati (regent) of Grahi named Mahasenapati Galanai to make a statue of Buddha weighing 1 bhara 2 tula with a value of 10 gold tamlin. The artist responsible for the creation of the statue is Mraten Sri Nano. According to the Chinese Song Dynasty book Zhu Fan Zhi,[76] written around 1225 by Zhao Rugua, the two most powerful and richest kingdoms in the Southeast Asian archipelago were Srivijaya and Java (Kediri), with the western part (Sumatra, the Malay peninsula, and western Java/Sunda) under Srivijaya's rule and the eastern part was under Kediri's domination. It says that the people in Java followed two kinds of religions, Buddhism and the religion of Brahmins (Hinduism), while the people 212 of Srivijaya followed Buddhism. The book describes the people of Java as being brave, short-tempered and willing to fight. It also notes that their favourite pastimes were cockfighting and pig fighting. The coins used as currency were made from a mixture of copper, silver and tin. Zhu fan zhi also states that Java was ruled by a maharaja and included many "dependencies” Srivijaya remained a formidable sea power until the 13th century. According to Cœdès, at the end of the 13th century, the empire "had ceased to exist... caused by the simultaneous pressure on its two flanks of Siam and Java” Javanese pressure: By the 13th century, the Singhasari empire, the successor state of Kediri in Java, rose as a regional hegemon in maritime Southeast Asia. In 1275, the ambitious and able king Kertanegara, the fifth monarch of Singhasari who had been reigning since 1254, launched a naval campaign northward towards the remains of the Srivijayan mandala. The Pamalayu campaign was a military expeditionary force sent by Javanese King Kertanegara of Singhasari to conquer the Sumatran Melayu Kingdom. It was decreed in 1275, though perhaps not undertaken until later. Little is known about the results of the expedition. Padang Roco Inscription dated from 1286 CE states a religious statue of Amoghapasa were established at Dharmasraya on the orders of Kertanagara, and that all the inhabitants of Melayu and especially their king rejoiced at the presentation of the gifts. The expedition arguably established Javanese domination upon Malayu and trade in Strait of Malacca. To cement the relationship between the two kingdoms, a political marriage was arranged. According to Pararaton two Malay princesses, Dara Petak and Dara Jingga went to Java, originally intended for Kertanegara. However following his demise by Jayakatwang, princess Dara Petak would later be married to Raden Wijaya of Majapahit, Kertanegara's successor. The union would result in the second king of Majapahit, Jayanegara. The strongest of these Malay kingdoms was Jambi, which captured the Srivijaya capital in 1088, then the Dharmasraya kingdom, and the Temasek kingdom of Singapore, and then remaining territories. In 1288, Kertanegara's forces conquered most of the Melayu states, including Palembang, Jambi and much of Srivijaya, during the Pamalayu expedition. The Padang Roco Inscription was discovered in 1911 near the source of the Batang Hari river.[80] The 1286 inscription states that under the order of king Kertanegara of Singhasari, a statue of Amoghapasa Lokeshvara was transported from Bhumijawa 213 (Java) to Suvarnabhumi (Sumatra) to be erected at Dharmasraya. This gift made the people of Suvarnabhumi rejoice, especially their king Tribhuwanaraja. Statue of Amoghapasa on top of inscription (1286) sent by Kertanegara of Singhasari to be erected in Suvarnabhumi Dharmasraya In 1293, the Majapahit empire, the successor state of Singhasari, ruled much of Sumatra. Prince Adityawarman was given power over Sumatera in 1347 by Tribhuwana Wijayatunggadewi, the third monarch of Majapahit. A rebellion broke out in 1377 and was quashed by Majapahit but it left the area of southern Sumatera in chaos and desolation. In the following years, sedimentation on the Musi river estuary cut the kingdom's capital off from direct sea access. This strategic disadvantage crippled trade in the kingdom's capital. As the decline continued, Islam made its way to the Aceh region of Sumatra, spreading through contacts with Arab and Indian traders. By the late 13th century, the kingdom of Pasai, in northern Sumatra, converted to Islam. At the same time, Srivijayan lands in the Malay Peninsula (now Southern Thailand) were briefly a tributary state of the Khmer empire and later the Sukhothai kingdom.[citation needed] The last inscription on which a crown prince, Ananggavarman, son of Adityawarman, is mentioned, dates from 1374. Sang Sapurba and Kingdom of Singapura 214 After decades of Javanese domination, there were several last efforts made by Sumatran rulers to revive the old prestige and fortune of Malay-Srivijayan Mandala. Several attempts to revive Srivijaya were made by the fleeing princes of Srivijaya.[citation needed] According to the Malay Annals, a new ruler named Sang Sapurba was promoted as the new paramount of Srivijayan mandala. It was said that after his accession to Seguntang Hill with his two younger brothers, Sang Sapurba entered into a sacred covenant with Demang Lebar Daun, the native ruler of Palembang. The newly installed sovereign afterwards descended from the hill of Seguntang into the great plain of the Musi river, where he married Wan Sendari, the daughter of the local chief, Demang Lebar Daun. Sang Sapurba was said to have reigned in Minangkabau lands. According to Visayan legends, in the 1200s, there was a resistance movement of Srivijayan datus aimed against the encroaching powers of the Hindu Chola and Majapahit empires. The datus migrated to and organized their resistance movement from the Visayas islands of the Philippines, which was named after their Srivijayan homeland. Ten Datus, led by Datu Puti, established a rump state of Srivijaya, called Madja-as, in the Visayas islands. This rump state waged war against the Chola empire and Majapahit and also raided China, before they were eventually assimilated into a Spanish empire that expanded to the Philippines from Mexico. In 1324, a Srivijaya prince, Sri Maharaja Sang Utama Parameswara Batara Sri Tribuwana (Sang Nila Utama), founded the Kingdom of Singapura (Temasek). According to tradition, he was related to Sang Sapurba. He maintained control over Temasek for 48 years. He was recognised as ruler over Temasek by an envoy of the Chinese Emperor sometime around 1366. He was succeeded by his son Paduka Sri Pekerma Wira Diraja (1372–1386) and grandson, Paduka Seri Rana Wira Kerma (1386–1399). In 1401, the last ruler, Paduka Sri Maharaja Parameswara, was expelled from Temasek by forces from Majapahit or Ayutthaya. He later headed north and founded the Sultanate of Malacca in 1402. The Sultanate of Malacca succeeded the Srivijaya Empire as a Malay political entity in the archipelago. Government and economy/Political administration 215 Telaga Batu inscription adorned with seven nāga heads on top, and a waterspout on the lower part to channel the water probably poured during a ceremonial allegiance ritual The 7th century Telaga Batu inscription, discovered in Sabokingking, Palembang, testifies to the complexity and stratified titles of the Srivijayan state officials. These titles are mentioned: rājaputra (princes, lit: sons of king), kumārāmātya (ministers), bhūpati (regional rulers), senāpati (generals), nāyaka (local community leaders), pratyaya (nobles), hāji pratyaya (lesser kings), dandanayaka (judges), tuhā an vatak (workers inspectors), vuruh (workers), addhyāksi nījavarna (lower supervisors), vāsīkarana (blacksmiths/weapon makers), cātabhata (soldiers), adhikarana (officials), kāyastha (store workers), sthāpaka (artisans), puhāvam (ship captains), vaniyāga (traders), marsī hāji (king's servants), hulun hāji (king's slaves) During its formation, the empire was organised in three main zones — the estuarine capital region centred on Palembang, the Musi River basin which served as hinterland and source of valuable goods, and rival estuarine areas capable of forming rival power centres. These rival estuarine areas, through raids and conquests, were held under Srivijayan power, such as the Batanghari estuarine (Malayu in Jambi). Several strategic ports also included places like Bangka Island (Kota Kapur), ports and kingdoms in Java (highly possible Tarumanagara and Kalingga), Kedah and Chaiya in Malay peninsula, and Lamuri and Pannai in northern Sumatra. There are also reports mentioning the JavaSrivijayan raids on Southern Cambodia (Mekong estuarine) and ports of Champa. After its expansion to the neighbouring states, the Srivijayan empire was formed as a collection of several Kadatuans (local principalities), which swore allegiance to the central ruling powerful Kadatuan ruled by the Srivijayan Maharaja. The political relations and system relating to its realms is described 216 as a mandala model, typical of that of classical Southeast Asian Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms. It could be described as federation of kingdoms or vassalised polity under a centre of domination, namely the central Kadatuan Srivijaya. The polity was defined by its centre rather than its boundaries and it could be composed of numerous other tributary polities without undergoing further administrative integration. The relations between the central kadatuan and its member (subscribers) kadatuans were dynamic. As such, the status would shift over generations. Minor trading ports throughout the region were controlled by local vassal rulers in place on behalf of the king. They also presided over harvesting resources from their respective regions for export. A portion of their revenue was required to be paid to the king.[89] They were not allowed to infringe upon international trade relations, but the temptation of keeping more money to themselves eventually led foreign traders and local rulers to conduct illicit trading relations of their own.[90] Other sources claim that the Champa invasion had weakened the central government significantly, forcing vassals to keep the international trade revenue for themselves. In addition to coercive methods through raids and conquests and being bound by pasumpahan (oath of allegiance), the royalties of each kadatuan often formed alliances through dynastic marriages. For example, a previously suzerained kadatuan over time might rise in prestige and power, so that eventually its ruler could lay claim to be the maharaja of the central kadatuan. The relationship between Srivijayan in Sumatra (descendants of Dapunta Hyang Sri Jayanasa) and Sailendras in Java exemplified this political dynamic. Buddhism expansion from northern India to the rest of Asia, Srivijaya once served as a centre of Buddhism learning and expansion. This expansion followed trade routes of Silk Road inland and maritime route. The main interest of Srivijayan foreign economic relations was to secure a highly lucrative trade agreement to serve a large Chinese market, that span from Tang to Song dynasty era. In order to participate in this trade agreement, Srivijaya involved in tributary relation with China, in which they sent numbers of envoys and embassies to secure the Chinese court's favour. The port of Srivijaya served as an important entrepôt in which valuable commodities from the region and beyond are collected, traded and shipped. Rice, cotton, indigo and silver from Java; aloes, resin, camphor, ivory and rhino's tusks, tin and gold from Sumatra and Malay Peninsula; rattan, rare timber, camphor, gems 217 and precious stones from Borneo; exotic birds and rare animals, iron, sappan, sandalwood and rare spices including clove and nutmeg from Eastern Indonesian archipelago; various spices of Southeast Asia and India including pepper, cubeb and cinnamon; also Chinese ceramics, lacquerware, brocade, fabrics, silks and Chinese artworks are among valuable commodities being traded in Srivijayan port. What goods were actually native to Srivijaya is currently being disputed due to the volume of cargo that regularly passed through the region from India, China, and Arabia. Foreign traders stopped to trade their cargo in Srivijaya with other merchants from Southeast Asia and beyond. It was an easy location for traders from different regions to meet as opposed to visiting each other directly. This system of trade has led researchers to conjecture that the actual native products of Srivijaya were far less than what was originally recorded by Chinese and Arabic traders of the time. It may be that cargo sourced from foreign regions accumulated in Srivijaya. The accumulation of particular foreign goods that were easily accessible and in large supply might have given the impression they were products of Srivijaya. This could also work in the opposite direction with some native Srivijayan goods being mistaken as foreign commodities.[91][89] By 1178, Srivijaya mission to China higlighted the Srivijaya's role as intermediary to acquire Borneo product, such as plum flower-shaped Borneo camphor planks. In the world of commerce, Srivijaya rose rapidly to be a far-flung empire controlling the two passages between India and China, namely the Sunda Strait from Palembang and the Malacca Strait from Kedah. Arab accounts state that the empire of the Srivijayan Maharaja was so vast that the swiftest vessel would not have been able to travel around all its islands within two years. The islands the accounts referred to produced camphor, aloes, sandal-wood, spices like cloves, nutmegs, cardamom and cubebs, as well as ivory, gold and tin, all of which equalled the wealth of the Maharaja to any king in India.[92] The Srivijayan government centralized the sourcing and trading of native and foreign goods in “warehouses” which streamlined the trade process by making a variety of products easily accessible in one area. Ceramics were a major trade commodity between Srivijaya and China with shard artifacts found along the coast of Sumatra and Java. It is assumed that China and Srivijaya may have had an exclusive ceramics trade relationship because particular ceramic shards can only be found at their point of origin, Guangzhou, or in Indonesia, but nowhere else along the trade route. When trying to prove this theory, there have been some discrepancies with the dating of said artifacts. Ceramic sherds found around the Geding Suro temple complex have been revealed to be much more recent than previously assumed. A 218 statuette found in the same area did align with Srivijayan chronology, but it has been suggested that this is merely a coincidence and the product was actually brought to the region recently. Other than fostering the lucrative trade relations with India and China, Srivijaya also established commerce links with Arabia. In a highly plausible account, a messenger was sent by Maharaja Sri Indravarman to deliver a letter to Caliph Umar ibn AbdulAziz of Ummayad in 718. The messenger later returned to Srivijaya with a Zanji (a black female slave from Zanj), a gift from the Caliph to the Maharaja. Later, a Chinese chronicle made mention of Shih-li-t-'o-pa-mo (Sri Indravarman) and how the Maharaja of Shih-li-fo-shih had sent the Chinese Emperor a ts'engchi (Chinese spelling of the Arabic Zanji) as a gift in 724. Arab writers of the 9th and 10th century, in their writings, considered the king of Al-Hind (India and to some extent might include Southeast Asia) as one of the 4 great kings in the world.[94][95] The reference to the kings of Al-Hind might have also included the kings of Arab trading records from the 9th and 10th centuries mention Srivijaya, but do not expand upon regions further east thus indicating that Arabic traders were not engaging with other regions in Southeast Asia thus serving as further evidence of Srivijaya's important role as a link between the two regions. The currency of the empire wwas gold and silver coins embossed with the image of the sandalwood flower (of which Srivijaya had a trade monopoly on) and the word “vara,” or “glory,” in Sanskrit. Other items could be used to barter with, such as porcelain, silk, sugar, iron, rice, dried galangal, rhubarb, and camphor.[89] According to Chinese records, gold was a large part of Srivijaya. These texts describe that the empire, also referred to as “Jinzhou” which translates to “Gold Coast”, used gold vessel in ritual offering and that, as a vassal to China, brought “golden lotus bowls” as luxurious gifts to the Emperor during the Song Dynasty.[97] Some Arabic records that the profits acquired from trade ports and levies were converted into gold and hidden by the King in the royal pond. Thalassocratic empire Expansion of Srivijayan empire, started in Palembang in the 7th century, expanding throughout Sumatra, Malay Peninsula, Java, Cambodia, and receded as Malayu Dharmasraya in the 13th century.The Srivijayan empire was a coastal trading centre and was a thalassocracy. As such, its 219 influence did not extend far beyond the coastal areas of the islands of Southeast Asia. Srivijaya benefited from the lucrative maritime trade between China and India as well as trading in products such as Maluku spices within the Malay Archipelago. Serving as Southeast Asia's main entrepôt and gaining trade patronage by the Chinese court, Srivijaya was constantly managing its trade networks and, yet, always wary of potential rival ports of its neighbouring kingdoms. A majority of the revenue from international trade was used to finance the military which was charged with the responsibility of protecting the ports. Some records even describe the use of iron chains to prevent pirate attacks. The necessity to maintain its trade monopoly had led the empire to launch naval military expeditions against rival ports in Southeast Asia and to absorb them into Srivijaya's sphere of influence. The port of Malayu in Jambi, Kota Kapur in Bangka island, Tarumanagara and the port of Sunda in West Java, Kalingga in Central Java, the port of Kedah and Chaiya in Malay peninsula are among the regional ports that were absorbed within Srivijayan sphere of influence. A series of Javan-Srivijaya raids on the ports of Champa and Cambodia was also part of its effort to maintain its monopoly in the region by sacking its rival ports. The maritime prowess was recorded in a Borobudur bas relief of Borobudur ship, the 8th century wooden double outrigger vehicles of Maritime Southeast Asia. The function of an outrigger is to stabilise the ship. The single or double outrigger canoe is the typical feature of the seafaring Austronesians vessels and the most likely type of vessel used for the voyages and explorations across Southeast Asia, Oceania, and the Indian Ocean. The ships depicted at Borobudur most likely were the type of vessels used for inter-insular trades and naval campaigns by Sailendra and Srivijaya. The Srivijayan empire exercised its influence mainly around the coastal areas of Southeast Asia, with the exception of contributing to the population of Madagascar 3,300 miles (8,000 kilometres) to the west.[50] The migration to Madagascar was estimated to have taken place 1,200 years ago around 830.[51] Culture and society[edit] Srivijaya-Palembang's significance both as a center for trade and for the practice of Vajrayana Buddhism has been established by Arab and Chinese historical records over several centuries. Srivijaya' own historical documents, inscriptions in Old Malay, are limited to the second half of the 7th century. The inscriptions uncover the hierarchical leadership system, in which the king is served by many other high-status officials.[98] A complex, stratified, cosmopolitan and prosperous society with refined tastes in art, literature and culture, with complex set of rituals, influenced by Mahayana 220 Buddhist faith; blossomed in the ancient Srivijayan society. Their complex social order can be seen through studies on the inscriptions, foreign accounts, as well as rich portrayal in bas-reliefs of temples from this period. Their accomplished artistry was evidenced from a number of Srivijayan Art Mahayana Buddhist statues discovered in the region. The kingdom had developed a complex society; which characterised by heterogeneity of their society, inequality of social stratification, and the formation of national administrative institution in their kingdom. Some forms of metallurgy were used as jewelry, currency (coins), as status symbols—for decorative purposes. Srivijayan Art A B C D A 2.77 metres tall statue of Buddha in Amaravati style, from Bukit Seguntang, Palembang, c. 7th-8th century. B.Avalokiteshvara Bingin Jungut, Musi Rawas, South Sumatra. Srivijayan art (c. 8th-9th century CE) resemble Central Java Sailendran art. C bronze Maitreya statue from Komering, South Sumatra, 9th century Srivijayan art. D.The bronze torso statue of the bodhisattva Padmapani, 8th century CE Srivijayan art, Chaiya, Surat Thani, Southern Thailand. The statue demonstrate the Central Java (Sailendra) art influence. Trade allowed the spread of art to proliferate. Some art was heavily influenced by Buddhism, further spreading religion and ideologies through the trade of art. The Buddhist art and architecture of Srivijaya was influenced by the Indian art of the Gupta Empire and Pala Empire. This is evident in the Indian Amaravati style Buddha statue located in Palembang. This statue, dating back to the 7th and 8th centuries, exists as proof of the spread of art, culture, and ideology through the medium of trade. According to various historical sources, a complex and cosmopolitan society with a refined culture, 221 deeply influenced by Vajrayana Buddhism, flourished in the Srivijayan capital. The 7th century Talang Tuwo inscription described Buddhist rituals and blessings at the auspicious event of establishing public park. This inscription allowed historians to understand the practices being held at the time, as well as their importance to the function of Srivijayan society. Talang Tuwo serves as one of the world's oldest inscriptions that talks about the environment, highlighting the centrality of nature in Buddhist religion and further, Srivijayan society. The Kota Kapur Inscription mentions Srivijaya military dominance against Java. These inscriptions were in the Old Malay language, the language used by Srivijaya and also the ancestor of Malay and Indonesian language. Since the 7th century, the Old Malay language has been used in Nusantara (Malay-Indonesian archipelago), marked by these Srivijayan inscriptions and other inscriptions using old Malay language in the coastal areas of the archipelago, such as those discovered in Java. The trade contact carried by the traders at the time was the main vehicle to spread Malay language, since it was the language used amongst the traders. By then, Malay language become lingua franca and was spoken widely by most people in the archipelago. However, despite its economic, cultural and military prowess, Srivijaya left few archaeological remains in their heartlands in Sumatra, in contrast with Srivijayan episode in Central Java during the leadership of Sailendras that produced numerous monuments; such as the Kalasan, Sewu and Borobudur mandala. The Buddhist temples dated from Srivijayan era in Sumatra are Muaro Jambi, Muara Takus and Biaro Bahal. Some Buddhist sculptures, such as Buddha Vairocana, Boddhisattva Avalokiteshvara and Maitreya, were discovered in numerous sites in Sumatra and Malay Peninsula. These archaeological findings such as stone statue of Buddha discovered in Bukit Seguntang, Palembang,[103] Avalokiteshvara from Bingin Jungut in Musi Rawas, bronze Maitreya statue of Komering, all discovered in South Sumatra. In Jambi, golden statue of Avalokiteshvara were discovered in Rataukapastuo, Muarabulian. In Malay Peninsula the bronze statue of Avalokiteshvara of Bidor discovered in Perak Malaysia, and Avalokiteshvara of Chaiya in Southern Thailand.[106] All of these statues demonstrated the same elegance and common style identified as "Srivijayan art" that reflects close resemblance — probably inspired — by both Indian Amaravati style and Javanese Sailendra art (c. 8th to 9th century). The difference in material, yet overarching theme of Buddhism found across the region supports the spread of Buddhism through trade. Although each country put their own spin on an idea, it is evident how trade played a huge role in spreading ideas throughout Southeast Asia, especially in Srivijaya. The commonality of Srivijayan art exists in Southeast Asian sites, proving their influence on art and 222 architecture across the region. Without trade, Srivijayan art could not have proliferated, and crosscultural exchanges of language and style could not have been achieved. After the bronze and Iron Age, an influx of bronze tools and jewelry spread throughout the region. The different styles of bangles and beads represent the different regions of origin and their own specific materials and techniques used. Chinese artworks were one of the main items traded in the region, spreading art styles enveloped in ceramics, pottery, fabrics, silk, and artworks. Religion "...Many kings and chieftains in the islands of the Southern Ocean admire and believe (Buddhism), and their hearts are set on accumulating good actions. In the fortified city of Bhoga [Palembang, Srivijaya's capital] Buddhist priests number more than 1,000, whose minds are bent on learning and good practices. They investigate and study all the subjects that exist just as in the Middle Kingdom (Madhyadesa, India) ; the rules and ceremonies are not at all different. If a Chinese priest wishes to go to the West in order to hear (lectures) and read (the original), he had better stay here one or two years and practise the proper rules and then proceed to Central India." — from I-tsing's A Record of Buddhist Practices Sent Home from the Southern Sea.[108] Remnants of Buddhist shrines (stupas) near Palembang and in neighboring areas aid researchers in their understanding of the Buddhism within this society. Srivijaya and its kings were instrumental in the spread of Buddhism as they established it in places they conquered like Java, Malaya, and other lands. People making pilgrimages were encouraged to spend time with the monks in the capital city of Palembang on their journey to India. Other than Palembang, in Srivijayan realm of Sumatra, three archaeological sites are notable for their Buddhist temple density. They are Muaro Jambi by the bank of Batang Hari River in Jambi province; Muara Takus stupas in Kampar River valley of Riau province; and Biaro Bahal temple compound in Barumun and Pannai river valleys, North Sumatra province. It is highly possible that these Buddhist sites served as sangha community; the monastic Buddhist learning centers of the region, which attracts students and scholars from all over Asia. 223 Candi Tinggi, one of the temples within Muaro Jambi temple compound 250 years before I Ching, scholar and traveler, Fa Xian, did not notice the heavy hand of Buddhism within the Srivijayan region. Fa Xian, however, did witness the maritime competition over the region and observed the rise of Srivijaya as a Thalassocracy. (See Chapter II…) I-Tsing stayed in Srivijaya for six months and studied Sanskrit. According to I-Tsing, within Palembang there were more than 1000 monks studying for themselves and training traveling scholars who were going from India to China and vice versa. These travelers were primarily situated in Palembang for long periods of time due to waiting for Monsoon winds to help further their journey. A stronghold of Vajrayana Buddhism, Srivijaya attracted pilgrims and scholars from other parts of Asia. These included the Chinese monk I Ching, who made several lengthy visits to Sumatra on his way to study at Nalanda University in India in 671 and 695, and the 11th century Bengali Buddhist scholar Atisha, who played a major role in the development of Vajrayana Buddhism in Tibet. I Ching, also known as Yijing, and other monks of his time practised a pure version of Buddhism although the religion allowed for culture changes to be made. He is also given credit for translating Buddhist text which has the most instructions on the discipline of the religion. I Ching reports that the kingdom was home to more than a thousand Buddhist scholars; it was in Srivijaya that he wrote his memoir of Buddhism during his own lifetime. Travellers to these islands mentioned that gold coins were in use in the coastal areas but not inland. A notable Srivijayan and revered Buddhist scholar is Dharmakirti who taught Buddhist philosophy in Srivijaya and Nalanda. The language diction of many inscriptions found near where Srivijaya once 224 reigned incorporated Indian Tantric conceptions. This evidence makes it clear the relationship of the ruler and the concept of bodhisattva—one who was to become a Buddha. This is the first evidence seen in the archaeological record of a Southeast Asian ruler (or king) regarded as a religious leader/figure. One thing researchers have found Srivijaya to be lacking is an emphasis in art and architecture. While neighboring regions have evidence of intricate architecture, such as the Borobudur temple built in 750850 AD under the Saliendra Dynasty, Palembang lacks Buddhist stupas or sculpture. Though this does not accurately reflect Buddhist influence. Although historical records and archaeological evidence are scarce, it appears that by the 7th century, Srivijaya had established suzerainty over large areas of Sumatra, western Java and much of the Malay Peninsula. The oldest accounts of the empire come from Arabic and Chinese traders who noted in their travel logs the importance of the empire in regional trade.[114] Its location was instrumental in developing itself as a major connecting port between China and the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Control of the Malacca and Sunda Straits meant it controlled both the spice route traffic and local trade, charging a toll on passing ships. Serving as an entrepôt for Chinese, Malay, and Indian markets, the port of Palembang, accessible from the coast by way of a river, accumulated great wealth. Instead of traveling the entire distance from the Middle East to China, which would have taken about a year with the assistance of monsoon winds, it was easier to stop somewhere in the middle, Srivijaya. It took about half a year from either direction to reach Srivijaya which was a far more effective and efficient use of manpower and resources. A round trip from one end to Srivijaya and back would take the same amount of time to go the entire distance one way. This theory has been supported by evidence found in two local shipwrecks. One off the coast of Belitung, an island east of Sumatra, and another near Cirebon, a coastal city on the nearby island of Java. Both ships carried a variety of foreign cargo and, in the case of the Belitung wreck, had foreign origins The Melayu Kingdom was the first rival power centre absorbed into the empire, and thus began the domination of the region through trade and conquest in the 7th through the 9th centuries. The Melayu Kingdom's gold mines up in the Batang Hari River hinterland were a crucial economic resource and may be the origin of the word Suvarnadvipa, the Sanskrit name for Sumatra. Srivijaya helped spread the Malay culture throughout Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula, and western Borneo. Its influence waned in the 11th century. It was then in frequent conflict with, and ultimately subjugated by, the Javanese kingdoms of Singhasari and, later, Majapahit.[115] This was not the first time the Srivijayans had a 225 conflict with the Javanese. According to historian Paul Michel Munoz, the Javanese Sanjaya dynasty was a strong rival of Srivijaya in the 8th century when the Srivijayan capital was located in Java. The seat of the empire moved to Muaro Jambi in the last centuries of Srivijaya's existence. The Khmer Empire might also have been a tributary state in its early stages. The Khmer king, Jayavarman II, was mentioned to have spent years in the court of Sailendra in Java before returning to Cambodia to rule around 790. Influenced by the Javanese culture of the Sailendran-Srivijayan mandala (and likely eager to emulate the Javanese model in his court), he proclaimed Cambodian independence from Java and ruled as devaraja, establishing Khmer empire and starting the Angkor era. Some historians claim that Chaiya in Surat Thani Province in southern Thailand was, at least temporarily, the capital of Srivijaya, but this claim is widely disputed. However, Chaiya was probably a regional centre of the kingdom. The temple of Borom That in Chaiya contains a reconstructed pagoda in Srivijaya style. Pagoda in Srivijaya style in Chaiya, Thailand Wat Phra Boromathat Chaiya is highlighted by the pagoda in Srivijaya style, elaborately restored, and dating back to the 7th century. The Buddha relics are enshrined in the chedi or stupa. In the surrounding chapels are several Buddha statues in Srivijaya style, as it was labelled by Damrong Rajanubhab in his Collected Inscriptions of Siam, which is now attributed to Wat Hua Wiang in Chaiya. Dated to the year 697 of the Mahasakkarat era -775, the inscriptions on a bai sema tells about 226 the King of Srivijaya having erected three stupas at that site; which are possibly the ones at Wat Phra Borom That. However, it is also possible that the three stupas referred to are located at Wat Hua Wiang (Hua Wiang temple), Wat Lhong (Lhong temple) and Wat Kaew (Kaew temple) which are also found in Chaiya. After the fall of the Srivijaya, the area was divided into the cities (mueang) Chaiya, Thatong (now Kanchanadit) and Khirirat Nikhom. Srivijaya also maintained close relations with the Pala Empire in Bengal. The Nalanda inscription, dated 860, records that Maharaja Balaputra dedicated a monastery at the Nalanda university in the Pala territory. The relation between Srivijaya and the Chola dynasty of southern India was initially friendly during the reign of Raja Raja Chola I. In 1006, a Srivijayan Maharaja from the Sailendra dynasty, king Maravijayattungavarman, constructed the Chudamani Vihara in the port town of Nagapattinam. However, during the reign of Rajendra Chola I the relationship deteriorated as the Chola Dynasty started to attack Srivijayan cities. The reason for this sudden change in the relationship with the Chola kingdom is not really known. However, as some historians suggest, it would seem that the Khmer king, Suryavarman I of the Khmer Empire, had requested aid from Emperor Rajendra Chola I of the Chola dynasty against Tambralinga. After learning of Suryavarman's alliance with Rajendra Chola, the Tambralinga kingdom requested aid from the Srivijaya king, Sangrama Vijayatungavarman.[119][120] This eventually led to the Chola Empire coming into conflict with the Srivijiya Empire. The conflict ended with a victory for the Chola and heavy losses for Srivijaya and the capture of Sangramavijayottungavarman in the Chola raid in 1025. During the reign of Kulothunga Chola I, Srivijaya had sent an embassy to the Chola Dynasty. Legacy The gilded costume of South Sumatran Gending Sriwijaya dance invoked the splendour of the 227 Srivijaya Empire. Although Srivijaya left few archaeological remains and was almost forgotten in the collective memory of the Malay people, the rediscovery of this ancient maritime empire by Cœdès in the 1920s raised the notion that it was possible for a widespread political entity to have thrived in Southeast Asia in the past. Modern Indonesian historians have invoked Srivijaya not merely as a glorification of the past, but as a frame of reference and example of how ancient globalisation, foreign relations and maritime trade, has shaped Asian civilisation. Language: The most important legacy of Srivijayan empire was probably its language. Unlike some inscriptions of Srivijayan contemporaries — Tarumanagara and other Javanese polities that uses Sanskrit — Srivijayan inscriptions was written in Old Malay. This has promoted the status of local languages vis-a-vis to sanskrit; as the language of elite, employed in royal and religious edicts. Sanskrit was only known by a limited circle; brahmin (priests) and kavi (poets), while Old Malay was a common language in Srivijayan realm. This linguistic policy was probably stemmed from the rather egalitarian nature of Mahayana Buddhist adhered in Srivijaya, in contrast to the elitist nature of Hinduism. Unlike Hinduism, Mahayana Buddhism did not emphasize the caste system that limiting the use and knowledge of liturgical language only to Brahmin caste. For centuries, Srivijaya, through its expansion, economic power and military prowess, was responsible for the widespread of Old Malay throughout the Malay-Indonesian archipelago. It was the working language of traders and it was used in various ports, and marketplaces in the region. The language of Srivijayan had probably paved the way for the prominence of the present-day Malay and Indonesian language, now the official language of Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore and the unifying language of modern Indonesia. According to the Malay Annals, the founder of Malacca Sultanate Parameswara claimed to be a member of the Palembang Srivijaya lineage. That shows that even in the 15th century, the prestige of Srivijaya still remained and was used as a source for political legitimacy in the region. Modern Indonesian nationalists have also invoked the name of Srivijaya, along with Majapahit, as a source of pride in Indonesia's past greatness. Srivijaya has become the focus of national pride and regional identity, especially for the people of Palembang, South Sumatra province, and the Malay people as a whole. For the people of Palembang, Srivijaya has also become a source of artistic 228 inspiration for Gending Sriwijaya song and traditional dance. The Sriwijaya Museum in Srivijaya Archaeological Park The same situation also happened in southern Thailand, where Sevichai (Thai: Srivijaya) dance was recreated in accordance with the art and culture of ancient Srivijaya. Today, the Srivijayan legacy is also celebrated and identified with Malay minority of Southern Thailand. In Thailand, the Srivijayan art was associated with Javanese art and architecture, which probably demonstrate the Sailendra influences over Java, Sumatra and the Peninsula. The examples of Srivijayan style temples are Phra Borom Mahathat at Chaiya constructed in Javanese style made of brick and mortar (c. 9th – 10th century), Wat Kaew Pagoda at Chaiya, also of Javanese form and Wat Long Pagoda. The original Wat Mahathat at Nakhon Si Thammarat (a Srivijayan city) was subsequently encased by a larger Sri Lanka styled building. 229 In Indonesia, Srivijaya is a name given to streets in many cities and has become synonymous with Palembang and South Sumatra. Srivijaya University, established in 1960 in Palembang, was named after Srivijaya. Kodam Sriwijaya (a military commando area unit), PT Pupuk Sriwijaya (a fertiliser company), Sriwijaya Post (a Palembang-based newspaper), Sriwijaya Air (an airline), Gelora Sriwijaya Stadium, and Sriwijaya F.C. (Palembang football club) were also all named to honour this ancient maritime empire. On 11 November 2011, during the opening ceremony of 2011 Southeast Asian Games in Gelora Sriwijaya Stadium, Palembang, a colossal dance performance titled "Srivijaya the Golden Peninsula" was performed featuring Palembang traditional dances and also an actual sized replica of an ancient ship to describe the glory of the maritime empire. In popular culture, Srivijaya has become the sources on inspiration for numbers of fictional feature films, novels and comic books. The 2013 film Gending Sriwijaya for example, took place three centuries after the fall of Srivijaya, telling the story about the court intrigue amidst the effort to revive the fallen empire. List of Srivijaya kings 230 Date Name Capital Stone inscription or embassies to China and events Kedukan Bukit (682), Talang Tuwo (684), and 683 Dapunta Hyang Sri Jayanasa Srivijaya Kota Kapur inscriptions Malayu conquest, Central Java conquest[3]:82–83 702 728 Embassies 702, 716, 724 to China[3]:83–84 Sri Indravarman Srivijaya Che-li-t'o-lo-pa-mo Shih-li-fo-shih Rudra Vikrama Srivijaya Liu-t'eng-wei-kung Shih-li-fo-shih Embassies to Caliph Muawiyah I and Caliph Umar bin Abdul Aziz Embassies 728, 742 to China[3]:84 No information for the period 742–775 775 Dharmasetu or Vishnu Java 775 Dharanindra Java 782 Samaragrawira Java 792 Samaratungga Java 835 Balaputradewa Nakhon Si Thammarat (Ligor),[3]:84 Vat Sema Muang Ligor, started to build Borobudur in 770, conquered South Cambodia Ligor, Arabian text (790), continued the construction of Borobudur Karangtengah inscription (824), 802 lost Cambodia, 825 completion of Borobudur Srivijaya Lost Central Java, moved to Srivijaya San-fo-ts'i Nalanda inscription (860) No information for the period 835–960 Sri Udayadityavarman 960 Si-li-Hu-ta-hsia-li-tan Shih-li Wu-yeh 980 San-fo-ts'i Haji Srivijaya Hsia-ch'ih San-fo-ts'i Sri Cudamani Warmadewa 988 Srivijaya Se-li-chu-la-wu-ni-fu-ma-tianhwa Chinese Embassies 960, 962[3]:131 Chinese Embassies 980, 983[3]:132 Chinese Embassies 988,992,1003,1004[3]:132,141 Srivijaya Javanese King Dharmawangsa attack of Srivijaya, San-fo-ts'i building of temple for Chinese Emperor, Tanjore Inscription or Leiden Inscription (1044), building 231 Date Name Capital Stone inscription or embassies to China and events of temple at Nagapattinam with revenue from Rajaraja Chola I Constructed 1006, Sri Maravijayottungavarman Srivijaya 1008 Se-li-ma-la-pi 1017 Srivijaya Ha-ch'i-su-wa-ch'a-p'u San-fo-ts'i Chudamani Vihara in Nagapattinam, India in 1006.[117] San-fo-ts'i Sumatrabhumi the Chinese Embassies 1008,1016[3]:141–142 Chinese Embassy 1017 Chola invasion of Srivijaya, captured by Rajendra 1025 Sangrama Srivijaya Chola Vijayatunggavarman[3]:142 San-fo-ts'i Chola Inscription on the temple of Rajaraja, Tanjore 1028 Sri Deva Palembang Shih-li Tieh-hua Pa-lin-fong 1045 Samara Vijayatunggavarman 1078 Chinese Embassy 1028[3]:143 Building of Tien Ching temple, Kuang Cho (Kanton) for Chinese Emperor Srivijaya Madigiriya inscription, Bolanda inscription San-fots'i Kulothunga Chola I Palembang Ti-hua-ka-lo Pa-lin-fong Chinese Embassy 1077[3]:148 No information for the period 1080–1155 1156 Raja H Tunggavarman 1183 Srimat Trailokyaraja Maulibhusana Warmadewa Kadaram Larger Leyden Plates Pa-lin-fong Jambi, Dharmasraya Kingdom Bronze Buddha (Grahi inscription), Chaiya 1183[3]:179 No information for the period 1183–1275 1286 Srimat Tribhuwanaraja Mauli Warmadewa Jambi, Dharmasraya Kingdom Padang Roco inscription expedition 1275–1293 INDONESIA- TIMELINE 232 1286, Pamalayu Date Name Capital Stone inscription or embassies to China and events Prehistory Early kingdoms Srivijaya (third to fourteenth centuries) Sailendra (eighth & ninth centuries) Kingdom of Mataram (752–1045) Kediri (1045–1221) Singhasari (1222–1292) Majapahit (1293–1500) The rise of Muslim states The spread of Islam (1200–1600) Malacca Sultanate (1400–1511) Sultanate of Demak (1475–1518) Aceh Sultanate (1496 - 1903) Mataram Sultanate (1500s to 1700s) Colonial Indonesia The Portuguese in Indonesia (1512-1850) Dutch East India Company (1602–1799) Dutch East Indies (1800–1942) The emergence of Indonesia National Revival (1899–1942) Japanese Occupation (1942-45) Declaration of Independence (1945) National Revolution (1945–1950) Independent Indonesia Liberal Democracy (1950-1957) Guided Democracy (1957-1965) Transition to the New Order (1965–1966) The New Order (1966-1998) Reformation Era (1998–present) 233 Neither beginning nor end: Records of its beginning are scarce, and estimations of its origins range from the third to fifth centuries, but the earliest solid proof of its existence dates from the seventh century; a Chinese monk, I-Tsing, wrote that he visited Srivijaya in 671 for six months and studied at a Buddhist temple there; and the Kedukan Bukit Inscription containing its name is dated 683. The kingdom ceased to exist between 1200 and 1300 due to various factors, including the expansion of Majapahit in Java. In Sanskrit, sri means "shining" or "radiant" and vijaya means "victory" or "excellence." After it fell it was largely forgotten, and was largely unknown to modern scholars until 1918 when French historian George Coedès of the École française d'Extrême-Orient postulated the existence of a Srivijayan empire based in Palembang. Around 1992 and 1993, Pierre-Yves Manguin proved that the centre of Srivijaya was along the Musi River between Bukit Seguntang and Sabokingking (situated in what is now the province of South Sumatra, Indonesia).[5] There is no continuous knowledge of Srivijaya in Indonesian histories; its forgotten past has been recreated by foreign scholars. No modern Indonesians, not even those of the Palembang area around which the kingdom was based, had heard of Srivijaya until the 1920s, when French scholar and epigraphist George Coedès published his discoveries and interpretations in Dutch and Indonesianlanguage newspapers. Coming back to him, Coedès noted that the Chinese references to "Sanfoqi," previously read as "Sribhoja," and the inscriptions in Old Malay refer to the same empire. In 1918, George Coedès linked a large maritime state identified in seventh-century Chinese sources as Shilifoshih, and described in later Indian and Arabic texts, to a group of stone inscriptions written in Old Malay which told about the foundation of a polity named Srivijaya, for which Shilifoshih was a regular Chinese transcription. These inscriptions were all dated between 683 and 686, and had been found around the city of Palembang, on Sumatra. A few Hindu and Buddhist statues had been found in the region, but there was little archaeological evidence to document the existence of a large state with a wealthy and prestigious ruler and a center of Buddhist scholarship. Such evidence was found at other sites on the isthmus of the Malay Peninsula, and suggested that they may have been the capital of Srivijaya. Finally, in the 1980s, enough archaeological evidence was found in Southern Sumatra and around Palembang to support Coedès' theory that a large trading settlement, with manufacturing, religious, commercial and political centers, had existed there for several centuries prior to the 234 fourteenth century. Most of the information about Srivijaya has been deduced from these archaeological finds, plus stone inscriptions found in Sumatra, Java, and Malaysia, and the historical records and diaries of Arab and Chinese traders and Buddhist travelers. While some of these names are strongly reminiscent of the name of Java, there is a distinct possibility that they may have referred to Sumatra instead. Borobudur stupas overlooking a shadowy mountain of Java. For centuries, it has been deserted. Little physical evidence of Srivijaya remains. According to the Kedukan Bukit Inscription, the empire of Srivijaya was founded by Dapunta Hyang Çri Yacanaca (Dapunta Hyang Sri Jayanasa). He led twenty thousand troops (mainly land troopers and a few hundred ships) from Minanga Tamwan (speculated to be Minangkabau) to Palembang, Jambi, and Bengkulu. The empire was a coastal trading centre and was a thalassocracy (sea-based empire). It did not extend its influence far beyond the coastal areas of the islands of Southeast Asia, with the exception of contributing to the population of Madagascar 3,300 miles to the west. Around the year 500, Srivijayan roots began to develop around present-day Palembang, Sumatra, in modern Indonesia. The empire was organized in three main zones—the estuarine capital region centred on Palembang, the Musi River basin which served as hinterland, and rival estuarine areas capable of forming rival power centers. The areas upstream of the Musi river were rich in various commodities valuable to Chinese traders.[12] The capital was administered directly by the ruler while the hinterland remained under its own local datus or chiefs, who were organized into a network of allegiance to the Srivijaya maharaja or king. Force was 235 the dominant element in the empire's relations with rival river systems such as the Batang Hari, which centered in Jambi. The ruling lineage intermarried with the Sailendras of Central Java. Under the leadership of Jayanasa, the kingdom of Malayu became the first kingdom to be integrated into the Srivijayan Empire. This possibly occurred in the 680s. Malayu, also known as Jambi, was rich in gold and was held in high esteem. Srivijaya recognized that the submission of Malayu to them would increase their own prestige. Chinese records dated in the late seventh century mention two Sumatran kingdoms as well as three other kingdoms on Java as being part of Srivijaya. By the end of the eighth century, many Javanese kingdoms, such as Tarumanagara and Holing, were within the Srivijayan sphere of influence. It has also been recorded that a Buddhist family related to Srivijaya, probably the Sailendras dominated central Java at that time. According to the Kota Kapur Inscription, the empire conquered Southern Sumatra as far as Lampung. The empire thus grew to control the trade on the Strait of Malacca, the South China Sea and Karimata Strait. During the same century, Langkasuka on the Malay Peninsula became part of Srivijaya.[15] Soon after this, Pan Pan and Trambralinga, which were located north of Langkasuka, came under Srivijayan influence. These kingdoms on the peninsula were major trading nations that transported goods across the peninsula's isthmus. With the expansion to Java as well as the Malay Peninsula, Srivijaya controlled two major trade choke points in Southeast Asia. Some Srivijayan temple ruins are observable in Thailand, Cambodia and on the Malay Peninsula. At some point in the seventh century, Cham ports in eastern Indochina started to attract traders, diverting the flow of trade from Srivijaya. In an effort to redirect the flow of trade back to Srivijaya, the Srivijayan king or maharaja, Dharmasetu, launched various raids against the coastal cities of Indochina. The city of Indrapura by the Mekong River was temporarily controlled from Palembang in the early eighth century.[14] The Srivijayans continued to dominate areas around present-day Cambodia until the Khmer King Jayavarman II, the founder of the Khmer Empire dynasty, severed the Srivijayan link later in the same century. 236 After Dharmasetu, Samaratungga, the last ruler of the Sailendra dynasty, married Dharmasetu’s daughter, Dewi Tara, the princess of Srivijaya, and became the next Maharaja of Srivijaya. He reigned as ruler from 792 to 835. Unlike the expansionist Dharmasetu, Samaratuga did not indulge in military expansion, but preferred to strengthen the Srivijayan hold of Java. He personally oversaw the construction of Borobudur; the temple was completed in 825, during his reign. By the twelfth century, the Srivijyan kingdom included parts of Sumatra, Ceylon, the Malay Peninsula, Western Java, Sulawesi, the Moluccas, Borneo and the Philippines, most notably the Sulu Archipelago and the Visayas islands (the latter island group, as well as its population, is named after the empire).Srivijaya remained a formidable sea power until the thirteenth century. Vijrayana Buddhism: A stronghold of Vajrayana Buddhism, Srivijaya attracted pilgrims and scholars from other parts of Asia. These included the Chinese monk Yijing, who made several lengthy visits to Sumatra on his way to study at Nalanda University in India in 671 and 695, and the eleventh century Bengali Buddhist scholar Atisha, who played a major role in the development of Vajrayana Buddhism in Tibet. In the year 687, Yi Jing stopped in the kingdom of Srivijaya on his way back to Tang (China), and stayed there for two years to translate original Sanskrit Buddhist scriptures to Chinese. In the year 689 he returned to Guangzhou to obtain ink and papers and returned again to Srivijaya the same year. Yijing reports that the kingdom was home to more than a thousand Buddhist scholars; it was in Srivijaya that he wrote his memoir of Buddhism during his own lifetime. Travelers to these islands mentioned that gold coinage was in use on the coasts, but not inland. Diplomacy: Between 1079 and 1088, Chinese records show that Srivijaya sent ambassadors from Jambi and Palembang. In 1079 in particular, an ambassador from Jambi and Palembang each visited China. Jambi sent two more ambassadors to China in 1082 and 1088. This suggests that the center of Srivijaya frequently shifted between the two major cities during that period.[20] The Chola expedition as well as changing trade routes weakened Palembang, allowing Jambi to take the leadership of Srivijaya from the eleventh century on. The sixth and seventh centuries saw the reunification of China under the Sui (590 – 618) and T’ang dynasties, and the demise of long-distance trade with Persia, created new opportunity for Southeast Asian traders.[19] Although historical records and archaeological evidence are scarce, it appears that by the seventh century, Srivijaya had established suzerainty over large areas of 237 Sumatra, western Java and much of the Malay Peninsula. Dominating the Malacca and Sunda straits, Srivijaya controlled both the spice route traffic and local trade, charging a toll on passing ships. Serving as an entrepôt for Chinese, Malay, and Indian markets, the port of Palembang, accessible from the coast by way of a river, accumulated great wealth. Envoys traveled to and from China frequently. The domination of the region through trade and conquest in the seventh and ninth centuries began with the absorption of the first rival power center, the Jambi kingdom. Jambi's gold mines were a crucial economic resource and may be the origin of the word Suvarnadvipa (island of gold), the Sanskrit name for Sumatra. Srivijaya helped spread the Malay culture throughout Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula, and western Borneo. Srivijaya's influence waned in the eleventh century, as it came into frequent conflict with, and was ultimately subjugated by, Javanese kingdoms, first Singhasari and then Majapahit. The seat of the empire moved to Jambi in the last centuries of Srivijaya's existence. Some historians claim that Chaiya in the Surat Thani province in Southern Thailand was at least temporarily the capital of Srivijaya, but this claim is widely disputed. However, Chaiya was probably a regional center of the kingdom. The temple of Borom That in Chaiya contains a reconstructed pagoda in Srivijaya style. The Khmer Empire may also have been a tributary in its early stages. Srivijaya also maintained close relations with the Pala Empire in Bengal, and an 860 inscription records that the maharaja of Srivijaya dedicated a monastery at the Nalanda university in Pala territory. Relations with the Chola dynasty of southern India were initially friendly but deteriorated into actual warfare in the eleventh century. T h e d o w n f a l l Fall of Srivijaya By the early eleventh century, Srivijaya had been weakened by decades of warfare with Java and a devastating defeat in 1025 at the hands of the Chola, a Tamil (south Indian) maritime power. Chola launched an attack on Srivijaya, systematically plundering the Srivijayan ports along the Straits of Malacca, and even captured the Srivijayan king in Palembang. The reasons for this change in relations between Srivijaya and the Cholas are unknown, although it is theorised that plunder made up an essential part of the Chola political economy. While it seemed that the Cholas only intended to plunder Srivijaya, they left a lasting presence on Kataha, the remains of which are still visible at the Bujang Valley archaeological museum. [Source: noelbynature, southeastasianarchaeology.com, June 11, 2007 The successful sack and plunder of Srivijaya had left it in a severely weakened state that marked the beginning of the end of Srivijaya. Having lost its wealth and prestige from the Chola attack, the port cities of the region started to initiate direct trade with China, shrugging off the exclusive influence Srivijaya once held over them. 238 Towards the end of Srivijaya’s influence, the power centre of Srivijaya began to oscillate between Palembang and neighbouring Jambi, further fragmenting the once-great empire. Other factors included Javanese invasion westwards toward Sumatra in 1275, invading the Malayu kingdoms. Later towards the end of the 13th century, the Thai polities from the north came down the peninsula and conquered the last of the Srivijayan vassals. Despite its influence and reach,Srivijaya flew very quickly into obscurity, and it was not until the last 90 years that the kingdom’s history was rediscovered, mainly through epigraphical sources. Palembang, determined as the centre of power for Srivijaya poses a special problem for archaeologists, for if the modern settlement followed the ancient settlement pattern, ancient Palembang would have been built over shallow water and any archaeological remains would be buried deep in the mud. As the 19th-century naturalist Alfred Wallace described it, Palembang is a populous city several miles long but only one house wide! By way of a quick epilogue, the story of Srivijaya ends where the story of the Malacca Sultanate begins. The Sejarah Melayu, or Malay Annals, begins with a story about Raja Chulan —perhaps an allusion to the king (Raja) of the Cholas, whose sack of Srivijaya led to its ultimate downfall. The annals go on to relate the appearance of three princes at Bukit Seguntang in Palembang, one of whom eventually founds a city of Singapura in Temasek before establishing Malacca further north. As Srivijaya’s hegemony ebbed, a tide of Javanese paramountcy rose on the strength of a series of eastern Java kingdoms beginning with that of Airlangga (r. 1010–42), with its kraton at Kahuripan, not far from present-day Surabaya, Jawa Timur Province. A number of smaller realms followed, the best-known of which are Kediri (mid-eleventh to early thirteenth centuries) and Singhasari (thirteenth century), with their centers on the upper reaches of the Brantas River, on the west and east of the slopes of Mount Kawi (Gunung Kawi), respectively. In this region, continued population growth, political and military rivalries, and economic expansion produced important changes in Javanese society. Taken together, these changes laid the groundwork for what has often been identified as Java’s—and Indonesia’s— “golden age” in the fourteenth century. In Kediri, for example, there developed a multilayered bureaucracy and a professional army. The ruler extended control over transportation and irrigation and cultivated the arts in order to enhance his own reputation and that of the court as a brilliant and unifying cultural hub. The Old Javanese literary tradition of the kakawin (long narrative poem) rapidly developed, moving away from the Sanskrit models of the previous era and producing many key works in the classical canon. Kediri’s military and economic influence spread to parts of Kalimantan and Sulawesi. The decline of Srivijaya Kingdom was caused by the Chola dynasty. The Chola dynasty was a Tamil Maritime power and was a major competitor of the trade in the region. Captivated and jealous of the success of Srivijaya, Chola dynasty decided to attack Srivijaya’s ports. Additionally, they engaged with acts of robbery and stole goods that are to and from Srivijaya (Coedès,1968). Not only did they plundered the kingdom, they 239 also kidnapped the King of Kadaram which was an important partner of Srivijaya’s trades (Kulke, Kesavapany & Sakhuja, 2009). Due to the Chola attack, the kingdom became weaker and even the port cities of Srivijaya shrugged off the exclusive influence of Srivijaya and started to initiate direct trade with China. The kingdom also became more fragmented as there was a power struggle between the city of Palembang and neighboring city Jambi. Furthermore, Srivijaya was already in a weakened state from decades of war with the Javanese. Further attacks from Java and the Majapahit empire ensured the once great empire’s downfall. In 1025, Rajendra Chola, the Chola king from Coromandel in South India, conquered Kedah from Srivijaya and occupied it for some time. The Cholas continued a series of raids and conquests throughout what is now Indonesia and Malaysia for the next 20 years. Although the Chola invasion was ultimately unsuccessful, it gravely weakened the Srivijayan hegemony and enabled the formation of regional kingdoms based, like Kediri, on intensive agriculture rather than coastal and long-distance trade. 240 241 TARI GENDING SRIWIJAYA // GENDING SRIWIJAYA DANCE Region - South Sumatra (Palembang) Gending Sriwijaya is the name of the song and the traditional dance from Palembang, South Sumatra. This song is sung or played during the Gending Sriwijaya dance performance. Both was created to describe the splendor, cultural refinement, glory and the grandeur of Srivijayan empire that once succeed on unifying the western parts of Indonesian archipelago REFERENCES 1.https://althistory.fandom.com/wiki/Srivijaya_Empire_(L%27Uniona_Homanus) BIBLIOGRAPHY    The Indianized States of Southeast Asia (1968, 1975) (first published in 1948 as Les états hindouisés d'Indochine et d'Indonésie) The Making of South East Asia (1966), The Indianized States of Southeast Asia, Edited by Walter R Vella, Translated by Susan Brown Cowing, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY PRESS CANBERRA.1975 CHAPTER X 242 SPREAD OF INDIAN CULTURE ABROAD MODES OF CULTURAL EXCHANGE - THROUGH TRADERS, TEACHERS, EMISSARIES, MISSIONARIES AND GYPSIES Introduction The culture of India has been one of the great civilizing and humanizing factors evolved by man. For centuries together, the general spiritual life of the larger part of the continent of Asia ‗meant mainly its response to the call of the eternal ideas discovered, systematized and humanized by the sages and saints of ancient India. In other word, cultures in Asia has been a complex fabric of life woven by several different strands of which India is the most prominent. Undoubtedly, India was a civilizing force in many backward countries of Asia. India was a the civilizer, after the synthesis of Hindu culture, from about the beginning of the first millennium B.C down to the closing centuries of the first millennium A.D. Because it was during this long period that there was the cultural unification if India, and it went on simultaneously with the cultural expansion of India in to overseas countries like Ceylon, Burma, Siam or Thialand, Indo-China, Malaya, Indonesia and to a large extent in to the countries of North-West like Afghanistan, Baluchistan and Turkmenistan in Central Asia. The transformation of the eastern countries like China, Korea and Japan was achieved through their close contact with the spiritual forces from India. 243 Thus in moulding the Asian culture, Indian share has been very significant. But India or more precisely the Hindu culture of India was not a civilizing force merely. It brought to them intellectual awakening, social consciousness and material prosperity. With many backward races of Asia, the sense of social order and organization, arts and crafts seems to have drowned for the first time with the advent of merchants and the Brahman and Buddhist missionaries from India. It not only brought material to uplift these backward peoples, but their dormant intellectual and other powers and talents were quickened to life and they were enabled to attain the fulfillment of those powers without any difficulty or hindrance. The Hindu culture thus helped other peoples to make 244 their own contributions to world civilization, while it absorbed them and participated in the deeper and wider life. The Hindu culture brought to other nations their own spiritual ideas and values. In the case of an ancient and highly cultural people like the Chinese, contact with Indian thought gave the finishing touch in the formation and in the highest expression of their culture. Buddhism which was carried to China by the Indians brought home the Chinese the necessity of going into the fundamental questions of existence and endeavor. Java and Siam, China and Japan enjoyed richness of life and witnessed the astonishing efflorescence of their minds and spirits manifesting itself in literature, fine arts and religious rituals which contact with Indian culture brought about. Assimilation and unfoldment and not hindrance and suppression was the key note of Hindu cultural expansion. Indian philosophy and culture went abroad not to destroy and ruin but to awaken and fulfill. It went there like the refreshing showers and life giving rain and not like the burning wind or the killing blight. Hence their achievement, unlike that of the western culture, is more than that of a mere force of material civilization or civilized organization. Wherever the Indians went and settled, they spread their own culture but at the same time were absorbing the native cultural trends. Consequently, they evolved a new culture the key note of which was Indian. Thus, they created culture in other Asiatic countries, the values of which were awareness of the unity of the life and a love for the ultimate and the universal in preference to the immediate and the particulars. Even though India is surrounded by sea on three sides and the Himalayan in the north but that did not stop Indians from interacting with the rest of the world. In fact they travelled far and wide and left their cultural footprints wherever they went. In return they also brought home ideas, impressions, customs and traditions from these distant lands. However, the most remarkable aspect of this contact has been the spread of Indian culture and civilization in various parts of the world, especially Central Asia, South East Asia, China, Japan, Korea etc. What is most remarkable of this spread is that it was not a spread by means of conquest or threat to life of an individual or society but by means of voluntary acceptance of cultural and spiritual values of India. In this lesson we shall find out how Indian culture spread to other countries and the impact it had on these countries. This lesson also brings forward the beautiful idea that peace and friendship with other nations, other societies, other religions and other cultures help our lives and make it more meaningful. Colonial and cultural Expansion From time immemorial, the people of India had been maintaining free and intimate intercourse with the outside world, even in the pre-historic age, the Neolithic people had relations with countries of the Far East, and they emigrated in large numbers, both by land and sea and settled in Indo-China and the Indian Archipelago. In succeeding ages, while a rich and prosperous civilization of high degree flourished in the Indus valley, there was undoubtedly friendly and familiar intercourse with 245 the countries of western and central Asia. Of the two important races that moulded to a great extent Indian culture and civilization, the Aryans and the Dravidians entered into India from outside and necessary relations were established and maintained by them, at least for a few centuries, with the countries where they had lived before the occupation of India. From very ancient times, India had commercial relations both with the lands of the East and the West. The stories of the Mahabharat, the Jataks and the Katha Sarit Sagar have references to Indian merchants sailing to the countries beyond the seas in search of gain. A Jataka story informs us how Indian merchants sailed to the lands of Baveru (Babylon) with a varied cargo that included an Indian peacock. Other stories relate how Indian traders sailed to the region stretching from Burma to Indonesia-called Suvarnabhumi. Thus India had trade relations with Babylon, Syria and Egypt in the most ancient periods. In the centuries immediately preceding the Christian Era, India had commercial and cultural relations with the countries of Central Asia in the north, Greek kingdoms of the west and the islands of the pacific in the west. In the Mauryan period, such relation became more definite, compared to the past. The accounts of the Periplus and Pliny inform us that Indian merchants and missionaries sailed from such harbours as Barbarika, Barygaza, Muziris, Neleyanda, Bakari, Korkai and Puhar. Later on for the commercial purpose, Indians settled in some islands of the Arabian sea and the island of Sacotra and the port of Alexandria had colonies of Indian merchants. When the Roman Empire came into existence, Indians maintained political and commercial relations with the Romans. In the seventh century, when the Arabs controlled land and sea routes, India carried on active trade with the Arabs. Thus India‘s commercial relations with Babylonia, Syria, Egypt, Greece, Rome and Arabia left traces of Indian culture on the Egyptian, Greeks, Roman and Arabian Cultures, because culture and civilization follow in the wake of trade and commerce. Indian merchants, Buddhist and Brahmana missionaries, adventurous Kshatriya princes and enterprising emi9grants sailed from India and settled down in the countries and islands of SouthEast Asia. There they introduced Indian customs, manners, philosophy, religions, rituals, literature and fine arts. In due course, they intermarried with the local peoples and Indianised them. Indianised kingdom soon came into being, either as a result of Indian imposing himself on the native population, or else through native chief adopting Indian civilization. This process of Indianisation commenced in the third century B.C, and continued till the 13th Century A.D. It would, therefore, be not unreasonable to conclude that India had never led lonely and isolated life, completely cut off from the rest of the world. The view that ancient Indians were a stay-at-home people isolated from rest of mankind by mountains and ocean barriers and leading a peaceful, quit and unadventurous life, within the discoveries. Many remains of Indian culture in various parts of Asia have been brought to light. These indicate that Indians went beyond the sea and the mountains that gird her and established 246 colonies. Indian art and literature reaped its head abroad and Indian culture penetrated into some of the obscure corners of the world. Causes for the Hindu Cultural Expansion It is true that cultures have been spreading in the wake of conquest and commerce. Undoubtedly, the spread of Hindu culture in the Far Eat began through commercial relations between Indian and the countries of the Far East. Lucrative commerce and economic gains encouraged Indians to sail across the Indian Ocean, go to distant lands and suffer innumerable difficulties and dangers. Being situated in the Indian Ocean, India occupied central position and in ancient times was on the sea-routes to culture and civilized countries of the world. Her geographical position enabled India to form a link between the East and the West. Consequently, Indians undertook innumerable voyages for the commerce. In ancient India, Eastern countries like Java, Sumatra, Malaya were regarded as the varitable El Dorado which constantly eluded enterprising traders by promising immense riches to them. This view is reflected in the name suvarnadvipa or Suvaranabhumi (Land of gold) which was applied to this vast region of the Eastern countries. The desire to acquire immense gold provided a potent stimulus to the Indians to sail to these countries. The uncivilized wild races came in close contact with these Indian merchants from whom they learnt the first lessons of culture. Besides the enterprising merchants, the Buddhist missionaries and the Buddhist teachers, the torchbearers of the Hindu culture accompanied the Indian merchant community to the distant lands. They carried the Indian thought and culture. But they did not go there as members of an alien ruling race with natural advantage by virtue of their superior position. Having no political power and administrative rights, Indian missionaries used to mix amongst the wild and uncultured alien races and in face of overwhelming hindrances and great dangers used to deliver sermons to them and indirectly made them more cultures and civilized. Sometimes, Indian saints and sages set-up their hermitages in foreign lands, which in due course became the significant centres of Indian culture and spread the Indian cultural trends like a radio-station. Kaundinya and Agastya had such hermitages and Ashramas. Kaundinya‘s name is revered in inscriptions as the founder of the Hindu royal families in greater India. Besides these two agencies –Indian merchants and missionaries many Indians who settled in foreign lands, contributed substantially towards Hindu cultural expansion. They had established their own colonies. Naturally, their cultural influence on the foreign peoples was very deep and far reaching. Sometimes, adventurous young Kshatriya princes sailed t the distant regions to seek their fortunes and carve out new kingdoms for themselves. The history of Indo-China provides many examples of such Indian Kshatriya princes and persons of royal blood. Consequently, Indians had established a large number of Kingdoms in the eastern countries. They had offered their own valuable contribution towards the formation of greater India. Thus, the principal agencies for the cultural expansion were merchants, emigrants and Kshatriya princes of royal families. 247 However, it should be noted that the Hindu culture did not spread in the wake of a world conquering king who carried head of his legions fire and sword, savage barbarians and innumerable sufferings. India neither enforced her cultural aggressively nor make herself manifest to the outside world in the person of world shaker and conqueror like Alexander, Ceaser, Mahamad Ghaani, Chengiz Khan, Timur and Nadir Shah. Her Digvijaya or world conquest was the conquest of truth and law- the Dharma Vijaya. Those who disseminated Hindu culture abroad were impelled by inner spiritual urge and conscious will to carry the message of ideal spiritual life into distant lands. Their yearning for the general welfare and salvation of all persons inspired them to settle down in inaccessible lands and sacrifice themselves for the realization of the highest good and the conquest of piety. Herein lays the eternal glory of the Hindu culture. It built a unique empire-an empire sharing not in a political life under a suzerain, but in a common cultural and spiritual life in a commonwealth of free peoples. The empire that India built overseas and overland was conquered by the piety and the religious energy. The guiding principles of this empire was Dharma or religious culture and righteousness Indian colonial empire differed fundamentally from those of western nations. Though Indians had established their colonies in the south-east Asia, but they did not think it right to settle down their growing population there, nor did they regard these colonies as profitable market for their expanding industries and increasing commerce. These colonies were never exploited anyway by the Indian emigrants‘ or conquerors. Moreover, there is nothing to show that the Indian states derived any political advantage or economic gain from this extensive empire. It is even doubtful whether the colonial powers maintained any regular contact with the political powers in India, though the claims of Samudragupta that he exercised suzerainty over all the islands of South-East Asia might have reference to some of them. But the most outstanding effect of the establishment of this overseas Hindu Empire was the spread of Hindu culture and civilization in the distant lands. Medium of Indian cultural expansion In ancient times, traders from India went to distant lands in search of new opportunities in business. They went to Rome in the west and China in the east. As early as the first century BC, they travelled to countries like Indonesia and Cambodia in search of gold. They travelled especially to the islands of Java, Sumatra and Malaya. This is the reason why these countries were called Suvarnadvipa (suvarna means gold and dvipa means island). These traders travelled from many flourishing cities like Kashi, Mathura, Ujjain, Prayag and Pataliputra and from port cities on the east coast like Mamallapuram, Tamralipti, Puri, and Kaveripattanam. The kingdom of Kalinga had trade relations with Sri Lanka during the time of Emperor Ashoka. Wherever the traders went, they established cultural links with those places. In this way, the traders served as cultural ambassadors and established trade relations with the outside world. Like the east coast, many cultural establishments have also been found on and near the west coast. Karle, Bhaja, Kanheri, Ajanta and Ellora are 248 counted among the well known places. Most of these centres are Buddhist monastic establishments. The universities were the most important centres of cultural interaction. They attracted large numbers of students and scholars. The scholars coming from abroad often visited the library of Nalanda University which was said to be a seven storey building. Students and teachers from such universities carried Indian culture abroad along with its knowledge and religion. The Chinese pilgrim Huien-tsang has given ample information about the universities he visited in India. For example, Huien-tsang describes his stay at two very important universities-one in the east, Nalanda and the other in the west, Valabhi. Vikramashila was another university that was situated on the right bank of the Ganges. The Tibetan scholar Taranatha has given its description. Teachers and scholars of this university were so famous that the Tibetan king is stated to have sent a mission to invite the head of the university to promote interest in common culture and indigenous wisdom. Another university was Odantapuri in Bihar which grew in stature under the patronage of the Pala kings. A number of Monks migrated from this university and settled in Tibet. Two Indian teachers went to China on an invitation from the Chinese Emperor in AD 67. Their names are Kashyapa Martanga and Dharmarakshita. They were followcd by a number of teachers from universities like Nalanda, Takshila, Vikramashila and Odantapuri. When Acharya Kumarajiva went to China, the king requested him to translate Sanskrit texts into Chinese. The scholar Bodhidharma, who specialised in the philosophy of Yoga is still venerated in China and Japan. Acharya Kamalasheel of Nalanda University was invited by the king of Tibet. After his death, the Tibetans embalmed his body and kept it in a monastery in Lhasa. Another distinguished scholar was Jnanabhadra. He went to Tibet with his two sons to preach Dharma. A monastery was founded in Tibet on the model of Odantapuri University in Bihar. The head of the Vikramashila University was Acharya Ateesha, also known as Dipankara Shreejnana. He went to Tibet in the eleventh century and gave a strong foundation to Buddhism in Tibet. Thonmi Sambhota, a Tibetan minister was a student at Nalanda when the Chinese pilgrim Huien-tsang visited India. Thonmi Sambhota studied there and after going back, he preached Buddhism in Tibet. A large number of Tibetans embraced Buddhism. Even the king became a Buddhist. He declared Buddhism as the State religion. Among the noteworthy teachers, Kumarajiva was active in the fifth century. Some groups of Indians went abroad as wanderers. They called themselves Romas and their language was Romani, but in Europe they are famous as Gypsies. They went towards the West, crossing the present-day Pakistan and Afghanistan. From there, their caravans went through Iran and Iraq to Turkey. Travelling through Persia, Taurus mountains and Constantinople, they spread to many countries of Europe. A Brief Accounts on Outside Contact of India in Ancient Time 4.1.5.1.Indian culture in Central Asia 249 Indian cultures expanded beyond the Himalays in Central Asia. From the 2nd century B.C. onwards India maintained commercial contact with China and Central Asia. Central Asia is a landmass bound by China, Russia, Tibet, India and Afghanistan. Traders to and from China regularly crossed the region despite hardships. The route that was opened by them later became famous as the Silk Route. The route was so named because silk was one of the chief mercantile commodities of China. In later times, the same route was used by scholars monks and missionaries. The route served as a great channel for the transmission of cultures of the then known world. The impact of Indian culture was felt strongly in Central Asia. Among the kingdoms of Central Asia, Kuchi was a very important and flourishing centre of the Indian culture. It was the kingdom where the Silk Route bifurcates and meets at the Dun-huang caves in China again. Thus, there is the Northern and the Southern Silk Route. The Northern route goes via Samarkand, Kashgarh, Tumshuk, Aksu, Karashahr, Turfan and Hami and the Southern route via Yarkand, Khotan, Keriya, Cherchen and Miran. Many Chinese and Indian scholars travelled through these routes in search of wisdom and to propagate the philosophy of Buddhism. Indian colonies were set up along the silk route at Saila Deasa (Kashgar), Chokkuka (Yarkand), Khotamna (Khotan), and also at Domoko, Niya, Dandanoilik, Endre, Lou-Lan, Rawak and Miran etc. Besides at Bharuka (Aqsu district and along Uch-Turfan), Kuchi (Modern Kucha), Yen-ki or Agni Deas (Modern Kara Shahar) and Turfan, in addition to various other localities are few to mentioned where Indian colonies were set up in ancient days. All those flourishing Indian colonies are now buried under the sand of the Gobi desert. The expansion of the Mauryan empire towards the north-west, the missionaries activities of Asoka and domination of Kushana kings over the parts of central Asia led to a continuous commercial intercourse between Central Asia and India. It brought Indian sinto close contact with the peoples of Central Asia. Consequently, partly by the Buddhist missionaries propaganda and partly by political influence of the Kushanas, the torch of Indian culture and civilization was carried beyond the Pamirs into Turkistan and Mongolian regions of the nomadic people that settled in the vast regions extending between the shores of the Caspian Sea and the Wall of China. Colonist Indians from Kashmir and north-western India also settled in large number in the region round Khotan, Kshgar, Yarkand, Khotan and Kushi were the significant centres of Indian culture and relgion especially Buddhism. According to the account of the famous Chinese pilgrim, FA-Hien, Indians were living in this region in the early centuries of Christian Era, and by the fifth century A.D. the whole of Central Asia was completely Indianised. He inform us that the tribes living in the west of the Lake Lobnar had embraced Indian religions and used Indian languages. Even it was during the seventh century A.D that during his travel Hiuen Tsang, he noted the dominance of Buddhism and Indian culture over hat wider area. Cultural exchanges that took place between India and the countries of Central Asia are visible from 250 the discoveries of ancient stupas, temples, monasteries, images and paintings found in all these countries. Along the route there were resting places for Monks and Missionaries, for pilgrims and merchants and later these became famous centres of Buddhist learning. Silk and jade,horses and valuables changed hands, but the most lasting treasure that travelled along the route was Buddhism. Thus, the trade route transmitted religion and philosophy, ideas and beliefs, languages and literature, and art and culture. Khotan was one of the most important outposts. It was on the Southern Silk Route. The history of cultural relationship between India and the kingdom goes back to over two millennia. Khotan was famous for its silk industry, dance, music, literary pursuits, and commercial activities and for gold and jade exports. The history of the Indo-Khotanese relationship is witnessed by a continuous flow of teachers and monks from India to Khotan. Coins found from the first century AD bear engravings in Chinese on the obverse and Prakrit in Kharosthi script on the reverse providing evidence of a composite culture in Khotan. A large number of Sanskrit manuscripts, translations and transcriptions of Buddhist texts in Sanskrit were discovered from the monasteries buried in sand. Indian culture in East Asia From Central Asia, Indian culture spread to China, Korea and Japan. The contact between India and China began around the 2nd Century B.C. Indian culture first entered China with two monk scholarsKashyapa Martanga and Dharmarakshita who went to China in AD 67 on the invitation of the Chinese Emperor Ming Ti. After Kashyapa Martanga and Dharmarakshita, there was a continuous flow of scholars from India to China and from China to India. The Chinese were a highly cultured people. They listened to the thrilling stories of the Buddha with great attention. The Chinese who came in search of wisdom wrote about India and the Indian culture to such an extent that today they are the most important sources of Indian history. Prominent teachers from the Indian Universities and monasteries became famous in China. For example, a scholar named Bodhidharma went to China from Kanchipuram. He went to Nalanda, studied there and left for China. He carried the philosophy of Yoga with him and popularized the practice of ‘dhyana’, (meditation), which was later known in China as ch’an. Bodhidharma became such an eminent figure that people began to worship him in China and Japan. The Buddhists philosophy appealed to the Chinese intellectuals because they already had a developed philosophical school in Confucianism. In the fourth century A.D the Wei Dynasty came to power in China. Its first Emperor declared Buddhism as the state religion. This gave an impetus to the spread of Buddhism in China. Thousands of Sanskrit books were translated into Chinese. Braving the hazards of a long and perilous journey they came to visit the land of the Buddha. They stayed in India and collected Buddhist relics and manuscripts related to Buddhism and learnt about it staying at the various educational centres. With the spread of Buddhism, China began to build cave temples and monastic complexes on a large 251 scale. Colossal images were carved on the rocks and caves were beautifully painted from the inside. Dun-huang, Yun-kang and Lung-men are among the most famous cave complexes in the world. Indian influences are quite evident on these complexes. The two way traffic of scholars and monks was responsible for cultural contacts and exchange of ideas. Korea: Korea is situated on the Northeast of China. Korea received Indian cultural elements through China. Sundo was the first Buddhist Monk who entered Korea, carrying a Buddha image and sutras in AD 352. He was followed by Acharya Mallananda, who reached there in AD 384. In AD 404, an Indian monk built two temples in the Pyongyang city in Korea. He was followed by a number of teachers from India. They brought philosophy, religion, the art of making images, painting, and metallurgy. Many scholars came to India from Korea in search of knowledge. They were trained in astronomy, astrology, medicine and in several other fields of knowledge. Monasteries and temples acted as centres of devotion and learning all over Korea. A large number of Buddhist texts were translated there. The philosophy of ‘dhyana yoga’ reached Korea in the eighth to ninth century AD. The kings and queens, princes and ministers, even warriors began to practise yoga to be brave and fearless. Out of devotion to wisdom, Buddhist texts were printed by the Koreans in six thousand volumes. Indian scripts had also reached Korea by then. Japan: The story of Indian culture in Japan is believed to go back to more than fïfteen hundred years. But the earliest historical evidence of Indian culture going to Japan is from AD 552. At that time, the Korean Emperor sent a Buddhist statue, sutras, instruments for worship, artists, sculptors, painters and architects as gifts for the Japanese Emperor. Soon, Buddhism was given the status of State Religion. Thousands of Japanese became monks and nuns. Sanskrit was accepted as the sacred language in Japan. Monks were given special training to write the Sanskrit syllables and mantras. The script in which all these are written is known as ‗Shittan‘. Shittan is believed to be Siddham, the script that gives ‘siddhi’ (accomplishment). Even today, there is a keen desire among the Japanese scholars to learn Sanskrit. As the language of Buddhist scriptures, it is a cementing force between India and Japan. Buddhist sutras, translated into Chinese, were brought to Japan during the time of Prince Shotokutaishi in the seventh century, who was highly impressed by their philosophy. Tibet: Tibet is situated on a plateau to the north of the Himalayas. The people of Tibet are Buddhists. The Tibetan king Naradeva is believed to have sent his minister Thonmi Sambhot accompanied by sixteen outstanding scholars to Magadha where they studied under Indian teachers. After sometime, Thonmi Sambhot went to Kashmir. It is said that he devised a new script for Tibet in the seventh century on the basis of Indian alphabets of the Brahmi script. Till today, the same script is being used in Tibet. It also influenced the scripts of Mongolia and Manchuria. It seems Thonmi Sambhot carried with him a number of books from India. On going back to Tibet, he wrote a 252 new grammar for the Tibetans which is said to be based on the Sanskrit grammar written by Panini. The king was so attracted to the literature brought by him that he devoted four years to study them. He laid the foundation for the translation of Sanskrit books into Tibetan. As a result, from seventh to seventeenth century, there were continuous efforts on translation. According to this tradition, ninetysix thousand Sanskrit books were translated into Tibetan. Indian culture in Sri Lanka and South-East Asia King Ashoka made great efforts to propagate Buddhism outside India. He sent his son Mahendra and daughter Sanghamitra to Sri Lanka to spread the message of the Buddha. A number of other scholars also joined them. It is said that they carried a cutting of the Bodhi tree from Bodhgaya which was planted there. At that time Devanampiya Tissa was the king of Sri Lanka. The teachings of the Buddha were transmitted orally by the people who had gone from India. For around two hundred years, the people of Sri Lanka preserved the recitation of Buddhist scriptures as transmitted by Mahendra. The first monasteries built there are Mahavihar and Abhayagiri. Sri Lanka became a stronghold of Buddhism and continues to be so even today. Pali became their literary language. Buddhism played an important role in shaping Sri Lankan culture. The Dipavansa and Mahavamsa are well known Sri Lankan Buddhist sources. With Buddhism, Indian Art forms also reached Sri Lanka, where the themes, styles and techniques of paintings, dance, folklores and art and architecture were taken from India. The most renowned paintings of Sri Lanka are found in the cave-shelter monasteries at Sigiriya. King Kashyap is believed to have converted it into a fortified place in the fifth century AD. Figures painted in the cave are in the Amaravati style of India. Myanmar: People and culture of India began to reach Myanmar in the beginning of the Christian era. Myanmar is situated on the route to China. People coming from the port towns of Amaravati and Tamralipti often settled down in Myanmar after the second century AD. The people who had migrated included traders, brahmins, artists, craftsmen and others. In Burma, Pagan was a great centre of Buddhist culture from the eleventh to the thirteenth century. It is still famous for its magnificent Pagodas. King Aniruddha was a great builder who built Shwezegon Pagoda and about a thousand other temples. They also developed their own Pali language and translated both Buddhist and Hindu scriptures in their version of Pali. Indian traditions were quite strong at the Burmese court. Up to the recent times the court astrologers, soothsayers and professors were known to be brahmins called ponnas. Most of them were believed to be from Manipur. Pundits were said to be very active. They were also known for their knowledge of science, medicine, and astrology. Thailand: Till the year 1939, Thailand was called Siam, its original name. Indian cultural influences began to reach there in the first century AD. It was first carried by Indian traders, followed by teachers and missionaries. The Thai kingdoms were given Sanskrit names such as Dwaravati, Shrivijay, Sukhodaya and Ayutthiya. The names of their cities also indicate a strong cultural 253 interflow. For example, Kanchanaburi is from Kanchanapuri, Rajburi is from Rajpuri, Lobpuri is Lavapuri, and names of the cities like Prachinaburi, Singhaburi are all derived from Sanskrit. Even the names of the streets like Rajaram, Rajajrani, Mahajaya and Cakravamsha remind us of the popularity of the Ramayana. Brahminical images and Buddhist temples began to be constructed in third and fourth century AD. The earliest images found from Thailand are those of Lord Vishnu. At different points of time, the Thai kingdom was shifted from one place to another. At every place a number of temples were built. Ayutthiya (Ayodhya) is one such place where large number of temples still stand though today most of the temples there are in ruins. There are four hundred temples in Bangkok, the present capital of Thailand. Cambodia: The famous kingdoms of Champa (Annam) and Kamhuja (Cambodia) were ruled by the kings of Indian origins. The history of deep-rooted cultural relationship between India and Cambodia goes back to the first and second centuries AD. In Kambuja, Kaundinya dynastyof Indian origin ruled from the first century A.D. We can reconstruct their history from numerous Sanskrit inscriptions and from literary works. We can also see their splendor from the magnificent temples. Cambodians constructed huge monuments and embellished them with sculptural representations of Shiva, Vishnu. Buddha and other divinities from Indian Epics and the Puranas. The episodes from these texts were chosen by the kings to symbolise great historical events. Sanskrit remained their language for administration till the fourteenth century. Their kings bore Sanskrit names. Brahmins assumed the highest position. The government was run according to the Hindu polity and Brahminical jurisprudence. Ashrams were maintained in temple vicinities as seats of learning. A large number of localities were given Indian names like Tamrapura, Dhruvapura and Vikramapura. The names of months in their language are known as chet, bisak, jes, asadh and so on. In fact, thousands of such words are still in use with a slight variation in pronunciation. Angkor Vat is supposed to be the abode of Vishnu, that is, Vaikunthadhama. Its five towers are said to be the five peaks of the Sumeru Mountain. The king Suryavarman is portrayed there as an incarnation of Vishnu who had attained a place in heaven because of his meritorious deeds. The temple represents a square mile of construction with a broad moat running around adding to its spectacular charm. Scenes from Ramayana and Mahabharata are engraved on the walls of this temple. The largest among all of them is the scène of Samudra manthan that is churning of the ocean. Another grand temple constructed at Yashodharapura in the eleventh century, known as Baphuon, is embellished by scenes from the epics such as the battle between Rama and Ravana, Shiva on mount Kailasha with Parvati and the destruction of Kamadeva. Vietnam (Champa): Indian culture was carried to the distant land of Vietnam by a number of enterprising traders and princes who migrated and established themselves as pioneers in the field of politics and economics. They named the cities there as Indrapura, Amaravati, Vijaya,Kauthara and Panduranga. The people of Champa are called Cham. They built a large number of Hindu and 254 Buddhist temples. The Cham people worshipped Shiva, Ganesha, Saraswati, Lakshmi, Parvati, Buddha and Lokeswara. Images of these deities and Shivalingas were housed in the temples. Most of the temples are in ruin now. Malaysia: Malaysia was known to us since ancient times. There are references in the Ramayana, the Jataka stories, Malindapanha, Shilapadikaram, Raghuvamsha and many other works. Evidence of Shaivism has been discovered in Kedah and in the province of Wellesly. Female figurines with trident have been unearthed. The Head of a Nandi made of granite stone, a relief of Durga image, Ganesha and Shivlingas belonging to the seventh and eighth centuries have been discovered from various sites. Brahmi, in its late form, was the script of ancient Malaysia. Tablets of Buddhist texts written in a script that resembles old Tamil have been found at Kedah. Sanskrit was one of the source languages for them. Till today a fairly large number of Sanskrit words can be seen in their language, for example, svarga, rasa, guna, dahda, mantri, dhïpati, and laksha. Hanuman and Garuda were known in Malaysia for their superhuman qualities. Sanskrit inscriptions are the earliest records of our cultural relations with Malaysia. They are written in Indian script of fourth and fifth centuries AD. The most important inscription is from Ligor. Over fifty temples were found around this place. Indonesia: In the field of religious architecture, the largest Shiva temple in Indonesia is situated in the island of Java. It is called Prambanan. It was built in the ninth century. It has a Shiva temple flanked by Vishnu and Brahma temples. Opposite these three temples are temples constructed for their vahanas. They are Nandi (Bull) for Shiva, Garuda for Vishnu and Goose for Brahma. In between the two rows are the temples dedicated to Durga and Ganesh, numbering eight in all, surrounded by 240 small temples. It is an example of wonderful architecture. The stories of Ramayana and Krishna, carved on the walls of the temple, are the oldest representations in the world. Sanskrit hymns are recited at the time of puja. Over five hundred hymns, stotras dedicated to Shiva, Brahma, Durga, Ganesha, Buddha, and many other deities have been discovered from Bali. In fact Bali is the only country where Hindu culture flourished and survived. Today, while the entire Archipelago has accepted Islam, Bali still follows Hindu culture andreligion. A large number of scriptural works have been found from Java. They are mostly written on palm leaves in their ancient script called Kawi. Kawi script was devised on the basis of Brahmi. Some of them contain Sanskrit verses (shlokas) followed by commentary in Kawi language. Among the texts on Shaiva religion and philosophy, Bhuvanakosha is theearliest and the longest text. This has five hundred and twenty five shlokas in Sanskrit. A commentary is written to explain the meaning. Perhaps no other region in the world has felt the impact of India‘s culture and religion as South East Asia. The most important source of study of the remains of this cultural intercourse and impact are the Sanskrit inscriptions written in Indian script. They have been found all over this region and a study of these inscriptions and other literature shows that the language, literature, religious, political 255 and social institutions were greatly influenced by India. The Varna system and the division of society into the four castes i.e. Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Sudras was known to them. But the system was not as rigid as in India. It was more like in the Rig Vedic age where the society was divided on the basis of profession and not on the basis of birth especially in Bali. Even some of their marriage customs are similar. The most popular form of amusement was the shadow play called Wayung (like the Indian puppet shows) where the themes are derived mainly from the epics – Ramayana and Mahabharata, still very popular in South East Asia. Contacts between India and the Arab civilization India‘s links with West Asia, by land as well as sea routes, goes back to very ancient times. These ties between the two culture zones (the idea of nations had not yet developed) became particularly close with the rise and spread of Islamic civilization in West Asia. About the economic aspects of this relationship, we have from about mid-ninth century AD a number of accounts by Arab and other travellers, such as Sulaiman, the Merchant, Al-Masudi, Ibn Hauqal, Al Idrisi, etc, which attest to a flourishing commercial exchange between these areas. Evidence for a very active interaction in the cultural sphere, however, goes back to the eighth century and earlier. The fruitful cultural intercourse between India and West Asia is evident in many areas. We shall see here how the Islamic world was enriched as a result of this. In the field of astronomy, two important works namely the Brahma-sphuta-siddhanta better known to the Arab world as Sindhin and Khandakhadyaka (known as Arkand) were brought to Baghdad by embassies from Sindh. With the help of Indian scholars of these embassies, they were translated into Arabic by Alfazari, who probably also assisted Yakub Iun Tarik. Later Aryabhatta‘s and Varahamihira‘s works on astronomy were also studied and incorporated into the scientific literature of the Arabs. Another important contribution of India to Arab civilization was mathematics. The Arabs acknowledged their debt to India by calling mathematics ‗hindisa’ (pertaining to India). Indian mathematics, in fact, became their favourite field of study and discussion, its popularity being enhanced by the works of Alkindi among others. They were quick to appreciate the revolutionary character of the Indian decimal system with its concept of zero; a contemporary Syrian scholar paid glowing tribute to it: ‗I wish only to say that this computation is done by means of nine signs. If those who believe, because they speak Greek, that they have reached the limits of science, should know these things, they would be convinced that there are also others who know something‖. A number of Arab sources dating back to the tenth and thirteenth centuries inform us about several Indian works on medicine and therapeutics that were rendered into Arabic at the behest of the Caliph Harun al-Rashid, the ruler of Baghdad from AD 786 to 809. Indian scholars were also involved in these translations. For instance, the Sushruta Samhita was translated by an Indian called Mankh in Arabic. 256 Apart from astronomy, astrology, mathematics, and medicine, Arabs admired with keen interest many other aspects of Indian culture and civilization as well. They translated Indian works on a wide variety of subjects, but did not remain satisfied with the translations and went on to work out original compositions based on or derived from the treatises they translated. The other fields of Indian knowledge they studied included works on snake poison, veterinary art and books on logic, philosophy, ethics, politics and science of war. In the process their vocabulary was also enriched considerably. For instance, in the field of shipping, of which they were renowned masters, you can easily identify a number of Arabic words that had Indian origin: hoorti (a small boat) from hori, banavi from baniya orvanik, donij from dongi and so on. India’s contact with the Greco-Roman World For a period of about a thousand years from the invasion of Darius to the sack of Rome by the Goath-India was in more or less constant communication with the west. Long before the arrival of Alexander the great on India's north-western border, there are references in early Indian literature calling the Greeks Yavanas. Panini, was acquainted with the word yavana in his composition. Katyayana explains the term yavanani as the script of the Yavanas. The start of the so-called Hellenistic Period is usually taken as 323 BC, the year of death of Alexander in Babylon. During the previous decade of invasion, he had conquered the whole Persian Empire, overthrowing King Darius. He opened large number of colonies on the route through which he reached India and Alexander had indeed opened the East to an enormous wave of immigration, and his successors continued his policy by inviting Greek colonists to settle in their realms. Alexander's settlement of Greek colonists and culture in the east resulted in a new Hellenistic culture, aspects of which were evident until the mid-15th century. The overall result of Alexander's settlements and those of his successors was the spread of Hellenism as far east as India. Throughout the Hellenistic Period, Greeks and Easterners became familiar with and adapted themselves to each other's customs, religions, and ways of life. Although Greek culture did not entirely conquer the East, it gave the East a vehicle of expression that linked it to the West. The Greek not only opened the route between east and the west but as noted above largely emigrated and settled them in northwest India. The contact between India and the Hellenic world resulted in synthesis of east and of west which is clearly visible in the art and culture of India in the Pre Christian Era. However, the emergence of Roman Civilisation replaced the Greeks and opened a new chapter in the history of contact between the West and the East. So far as Indo-Roman trade is concerned in the early centuries of Christian Era, south India played a greater role and trade was the medium of contact between the Roman world and the India. As mentioned above, it was Southern India which had the monopoly of the products that were in great demand in the West. In fact, the first three centuries of the Christian era saw a profitable sea- borne trade with the West represented mainly by the Roman Empire which had become India‘s best 257 customer. This trade happened mostly in South India and is testified both by literary texts and finds of Roman coins. Items like pepper, betel, spices, scents and precious stones like gem, diamond, ruby and amethyst, pearls, ivory, silk and muslins were in great demand. This trade with Rome was bound to bring in gold to India which gave her a favourable position in trade and established a stable gold currency for the Kushana Empire of those days. The Tamil kings even employed ‘yavanas’ to guard their tents on the battlefield and the gates of Madurai. In ancient India the term ‘yavana’ was used for people belonging to Western Asia and the Mediterranean region and included Greeks and Romans. Some historians feel that the ‘yavana’ bodyguards might have included Roman legionaries. According to Pliny, India‘s exports included pepper and ginger which fetched a price that was a hundred times more than their original value. There was also a demand for incenses, spices and aromatics from India. Lavish consumption of these commodities took place in Rome. The importance of trade with foreigners was quite high as one can understand from the number of ambassadors that were either sent to or received by the Indian kings. A Pandya king sent an ambassador to Roman Emperor Augustus of the first century BC. Ambassadors were also sent to Troy after AD 99. Claudius (from Ceylon), Trajan, Antonmis, Puis, Instiman and other ambassadors adorned the courts of various Indian kings. The volume of trade with Rome was so high that to facilitate its movement, ports like Sopara, and Barygaza (Broach) came to be built in the west coast, while the Coromandal coast in the east carried on trade with ―Golden Chersonese (Suvarnabhumi) and Golden Chyrse (Suvarnadvipa)‖. The Chola kings equipped their ports with lighthouses, exhibiting blazing lights at night to guide ships to ports. The ships and foreign trade Trade thus became a very important mode that helped in the spread of Indian culture abroad. Even in very ancient times our ships could sail across the vast open seas and reach foreign shores to establish commercial ties with several countries. The literature, art and sculpture of the neighbouring countries clearly shows the influence of Indian culture and civilization. Even in places like Surinam and the Caribbean Islands that are as far as the American coast, there is evidence of ancient Indian culture. Samudra Gupta (AD 340-380) not only had a powerful army but also had a strong navy. Some inscriptions discovered in the Trans-Gangetic Peninsula and the Malaya Archipelago testifies to the activities of Indian navigators in the Gupta age. Hsuan-tsang, who visited India during the reign of Emperor Harsha (AD 606-647), has also written a detailed description of India during those times. The Chola rulers had built a strong navy and conducted raids across the sea. The Portuguese have noted that some merchants in India owned as many as fifty ships. According to them, it was a usual practice for the merchants to have their own ships. Certain objects belonging to the Indus Civilization found at various sites in the West prove that there were trade and cultural contacts with the Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations in the third millennium BC. India also 258 had contacts with ancient Persia, Greece and Rome which provided a great impetus to the exchange of cultural, religious and social ideas. This flourishing trade contact with the Roman Empire is confirmed by the Roman historian Pliny who deplored the drain of wealth from Rome to India. Conclusion The Indians learnt many new things from the foreigners for examples minting of gold coins from the people of Greece and Rome. They learnt the art of making silk from China. They learnt how to grow betel from Indonesia. They established trade contact with the foreigners. The art and culture of the various countries got itself reflected over the Indian culture as well as get reflected in the other countries also. The above discussions only throw a brief account on the different part of ancient world with whom India in ancient times maintain relation. In the subsequent chapters we will examine in details about the contact of Indian with above mentioned regions of ancient world with all their aspects. Summary  Indian culture spread to various parts of the world in ancient times through different modes.  Indian Universities were famous for their standards of education which attracted students from many countries. These students acted as agents for spreading Indian culture.  Sanskrit/Buddhist texts were translated into different languages. They became the best modes to spread Indian culture.  A large number of monasteries and temples were built in all these countries where Indian culture and religion reached.  Indian art styles were adopted by the artists of many countries.  Indian Epics are famous in many countries. The Ramayana and the Mahabharata are popular Epics in Southeast Asian countries.  Sri Lanka was the first country to embrace Buddhism.  Indian script Brahmi was the model for many scripts in the Southeast Asian countries.  A large number of Sanskrit inscriptions found in these countries are the major sources for the history of Indo-Asian cultural connections.  Buddhism is a living religion in countries like Burma, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Cambodia.  An important contribution of India to Arab civilization was mathematics. Exercise 1. What were the various modes through which Indian culture spread abroad? 2. What was the role of the ancient universities in spreading Indian culture abroad? 3. How would Buddhism reach the countries of East Asia as a religion of peace? 4. Give an account of the Indian culture in Thailand? 5. Describe the religious architecture of Indonesia? 6. Briefly describe India‘s trade relations with the Roman Empire. 259 7. Ancient India had a great access to sea and foreign trade. Discuss. Further Readings  Coedes, George (1968) The Indianized States of Southeast Asia. Honolulu: East-West Center Press.  Daweewarn, Dawee (1982) Brahmanism in South-East Asia. New Delhi: Sterling.  Ghoshal, Baladas, ed, (1996) India and Southeast Asia: Challenges and Opportunities. New Delhi: Konark Publishers.  Hall, D. G. E. (1981, 4th edition) A History of South-East Asia. New York: St. Martin's Press.  Leur, J. C. van (1955) Indonesian Trade and Society: Essays in Asian Social and Economic History. The Hague: W. van Hoeve.  Susan Whitfield. Life along the Silk Road. Berkeley, 1999. Focuses on the experiences of ten individuals who lived or traveled along the silk roads.  Francis Wood. The Silk Road: Two Thousand Years in the Heart of Asia. Berkeley, 2002. A brilliantly illustrated volume discussing the history of the silk roads from antiquity to the twentieth century. 260 CHAPTER XI INDIAN CULTURE IN SOUTH EAST ASIA Introduction The colonizing activities of the Hindus and their maritime adventures found heir full scope in the South-East Asia. Across the Bay of Bengal lay Indo-China and the Island of Java, Sumatra, Borneo and Bali which were inhabited by primitive, uncultured wild races and had almost a monopoly of the world spice trade. These extensive and fertile regions were also rich in minerals and consequently drew the attention of the Indians. The eastern coast of India, from the mouth of the river Gangas to the Cape Camorin, was studded with many harbours. It was from these ports that Indians had sailed and developed important commercial relations with the South-East from the second century B.C. Indians literature including the Buddhist texts has faithfully preserved the common traditions of the ancient times of such perilious voyages to unknown distant lands beyond the sea. As pointed above , in the beginning of this Unit , the stories in the Jataka , the Katha Sarita Sagara and the Brihat Katha and Katha kosa and other similar collections and books frequently refer to traders voyages to Suvarnabhumi and Suvarnadvipa which was a general designation of several lands in the South-East. Commercial intercourse and sea voyages to Suvarnadvipa, Takkora and China are referred to in Milindo-Panho. The Arthasastra of Katulya also mentions Aguru (Aloe) of Suvarnadvipa. Ptolemy who flourished in the second Century A.D and the writer of the Periplus of Erythrean Sea, who lived in the first Century A.D. refrer to Indian intercourse with these countries of the Far-East and SouthEast Asia. The Buddhist text Niddesa, which was probably composed in the second century A.D, narrates the voyages and adventures of a sailor who sails the high seas, visits different countries and experiences various kinds of torments and sufferings. It provide the names of twenty four localities to which the merchants sailed and ten difficult land routes which they followed. These stories and Indian folk tales about adventures sea voyages indicate that the spirit of commercial enterprise, exploration and adventures was a characteristic feature of ancient India. Enterprising merchants, adventurers and princes of ancient Indian sailed in ship from Indian ports, reached Suvarnadvipa stayed there and returned home with immense riches. Sometimes many met with ship wreck while a few escaped miraculously. There were considerable dangers, sufferings and miseries of various other kinds. Some stories relate how persons of royal blood and young Kshatriya princess, dispossessed of their hereditary kingdoms sailed to Suvarnadvipa to carve out their destiny. We have reasons to believe that some such Kshatriya enterprise, we owe the foundation of Indian political power in these far-off regions of the South-East Asia. Indian followed both land as well as sea routes for going to the countries of South-East Asia. The land routes lay thorough Bengal, Assam and Manipur hills, they reached the region of upper Burma and through Arakan went to lower Burma. From Burma, it was easy to go to India-China and the main land China. As regard the sea routes, they boarded the ships at Tamralipti. Their ships either sailed 261 along the coast of Bengal and Burma or crossed the Bay of Bengal and undertook a direct voyage to the Malaya peninsula and then to the East Indies and Indo-Chine beyond it. In addition to Tamralipti, there were other port fort eastern voyages, chief beings Palur near Gopalpur in Odisha, and there near Musslipattanam. There were regular voyages from these ports along the eastern coast to Ceylon and to countries of South-Eastern Asia some times, merchants sail from Birukacha on the western coast and making a coastal voyages come to any one of the ports on eastern coast of India. Whence they made a direct voyage to the South Eastern Asia across the Bay of Bengal, trade was the chief stimulus of the intercourse between Indian and the countries of South-East and Asia and Far East. Commercial intercourse began in the last two centuries of the Christian era. Traders carry Indian religion and cultures with them, some of them permanently settled and established their colonies there. They were followed by monks and missionaries to preach and propagate their religion in these countries. They were also torch bearer of Indian culture and religion. In course of time, Indian merchants, missionaries, monks a, adventurer and the princes who were embolden with adventurous spirit, went to these countries. From the second centuries A.D onwards there references to kingdom and principalities ruled by person with Indian names. Their religion, language, social customs all were Indians. They may, therefore, be safely regarded as Indian colonial kingdom. Between the second and and the firth centuries A.D, such kingdoms were successfully set up in Malaya Peninsula, Cambodia, Annam and the islands of Sumatra, Java, Bali and Borneo. The Brahmanical religion, mainly Saivism, flourished in these kingdoms, though Buddhism, especially Mahayana sect, was also followed by the people. The aborigines‘ adopted the master in their life style and other aspects. Hindu institutions, custom and manner were modified to some extent by close contact with these people. Mythology taken from the Mahabharata, the Ramayana and the Purana and other Sanskrit texts were observed and followed. Dhramasastra, the sacred law of Hinduism, and in particular the law of Manu were followed in societies. The traditional genealogies of royal families of the Gangetic region with their tradition were adhere to. The conception of royalty characterized by the Hindu and Buddhist conquest. Some of the splendid monuments of Indian art and culture which still survive there are undying testimony to the early colonizing enterprise. Cambodia (Funan) The first of these ―Indianised‖ states to achieve widespread importance was Funan, in Cambodia, founded in the 1st century A.D. - according to legend, after the marriage of an Indian Brahman into the family of the local chief. These local inhabitants were the Khmer people. Khmer was the former name of Cambodia, and Khmer is their language. The Hindu-Khmer empire of Funan flourished for some 500 years. It carried on a prosperous trade with India and China, and its engineers developed an extensive canal system. An elite practised statecraft, art and science, based on Indian culture. Vassal kingdoms spread to southern Vietnam in the east and to the Malay peninsula in the 262 west. Late in the 6th century A.D. dynastic struggles caused the collapse of the Funan empire. It was succeeded by another Hindu-Khmer state, Chen-la, which lasted until the 9th century. Then, a Khmer king, Jayavarman II (about 800-850) established a capital at Angkor in central Cambodia. He founded a cult which identified the king with the Hindu God Siva - one of the triad of Hindu gods, Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver, Siva the god symbolising destruction and reproduction. The Angkor expire flourishes from the 9th to the early 13th century. It reached the peak of its fame under Jayavarman VII at the end of the 12th century, when its conquests extended into Thailand in the west (where it had conquered the Mon kingdom of Dyaravati) and into Champa in the east. Its most celebrated memorial is the great temple of Angkor Wat, built early in the 12th century. In the 13th century the Khmer kingdom in Cambodia began to ecline, owing to a succession of weak rulers, and perhaps due to the undermining of the Brahman government by the spread of Buddhism. Thai invasions in the late 13th and early 14th centuries three times captured Angkor, which was abandoned in 1431 as being within too easy reach of Thai expeditions. The capital was moved to Phnom Penh in south eastern Cambodia. Thereafter the Khmer domains steadily diminished. The Thais encroached in the north and west, and the Vietnamese in the east. The Khmer kings were forced from time to time to recognize Siamese suzerainty. Malaya The Malay peninsula had been settled during the period around 2000 to 1500 B.C. by Mongoloid tribes from south-western China, who mixed with other tribes to become the ancestors of the Malays. The Malays came under Indian influence from about the beginning of the Christian era. In Malaya the rise of Islam was bound up with the foundation and subsequent importance of the settlement of Malacca on the west coast. It was founded at the beginning of the 15th century, traditionally by a Sumatran prince, Parameswara, who had fled from the island of Temasek (Singapore). (Temasek in the late 14th century was the scene of struggles between the failing power of Srivijaya, its successor Majapahit, and Siam. In the course of these struggles it was destroyed.) 263 Parameswara was converted to Islam, which under him and subsequent rulers spread throughout the peninsula. Malacca, situated at a strategic point on the trade routes linking India, South East Asia and China, became the main trading port of the East. For a hundred years (the 15th century) Malacca maintained its independence, protected in its early years from Siamese aggression by the diplomatic activity of the Ming rulers of China. And Malacca became the centre of Islam in South East Asia. Vietnam At the eastern extremity of South East Asia, northern Vietnam was originally occupied by Indonesian peoples. About 207 B.C. a Chinese general, taking advantage of the temporary fragmentation of the Chinese Expire on the collapse of the Ch‘in dynasty, created in northern Vietnam the kingdom of Annam. During the first century B.C. Annam was reincorporated in the Chinese Empire of the Han dynasty; and it remained a province of the Expire until the fall of the T'ang dynasty early in the 10th century. It then regained its independence, often as a nominal Vassal of the Chinese Emperor. In south-central Vietnam the Chams, a people of Indonesian stock, established the Indianised kingdom of Champa about A.D.400. Although subject to periodic invasions by the Annamese and by 264 the Khmers of Cambodia, Champa survived and prospered. Further east, Champa in southern Vietnam was subjected in the 13th century to further attacks by the northern Vietnam kingdom of Annam (and towards the end of the century Kublai Khan sent unsuccessful expeditions against both Annam and Champa). In the 14th century Champa became a vassal of Annam, and in the next century was gradually absorbed by Annam until it finally disappeared. During the 16th century Annam was divided by civil war, but at the end of the century it was re-united under the Trinh dynasty. Burma At the western end of the South East Asian mainland, Lower Burma was occupied by the Mon peoples, who are thought to have come originally from western China. In Lower Burma they supplanted an earlier people, the Pyu, of whom little is known except that they practiced Hinduism. The Mons, strongly influenced by their contacts with Indian traders as early as the 3rd century B.C, adopted Indian literature and art and the Buddhist religion; and theirs was the earliest known civilisation in South East Asia. There were several Man kingdoms, spreading from Lower Burma into much of Thailand, where they founded the kingdom of Dvaravati. Their principal settlements in Burma were Thaton and Pegu. From about the 9th century onwards Tibeto-Burman tribes moved south from the hills east of Tibet into the Irrawaddy plain, founding their capital at Pagan in Upper Burma in the 10th century. They eventually absorbed the Mons and their cities, and adopted the Mon civilisation and Buddhism. The Pagan kingdom united all Burma under one rule for 200 years from the 11th to 13th centuries. The zenith of its power was in the reign of King Anawratha (1044-1077), who conquered the Mon kingdom of Thaton. He also built many of the temples for which Pagan is famous. It is estimated that some 13,000 temples once existed in the city - of which some 5,000 still stand. In Burma, Kublai Khan‘s conquest of southern China had devastating repercussions. The Pagan kingdom rejected Kublai Khan's demands for tribute – and raided Yunnan - whereupon the Mongol armies invaded Burma (1287) and the power of Pagan was destroyed. The disruption was taken advantage of by some of the Thai tribes (known in Burma as Shans) displaced from Nan Chao. They moved into Burma and set up a number of petty states in the centre and north of the country. In the south the Mons established a state based on Pegu (notable for having for a time in the 15th century the only female ruler in Burmese history - Queen Shin Sawba). The Burmese abandoned Pagan, which was occupied by the Mongols for thirty years, and in 1365 made Ava in central Burma their new capital. Further south, Toungoo became another centre of Burmese power. Two centuries later, in 1527, Ava was captured and destroyed by the Shans, and Toungoo became the Burmese capital. King Tabin Shweti (1531-1550) of the Toungoo dynasty then conquered the Mon kingdom of Pegu and such of central Burma. His successor Bayinnaung subjugated the Shans, took Ava, and for a time Siam and Luang Prabang (Laos) came under his 265 control. The Thais soon recovered, and invaded Burma. This, and internal rebellions, broke up Burma into a collection of small states, which were re-united in the 17th century by King Anaukpetlun. He moved the capital back to Ava, and Burma under the Toungoo dynasty then retired into isolation from the outside world for the next hundred years. Thailand and Laos At about the same time as the Burmese invasion of Burma, another group of people, the Thai, began moving south and west from their homeland, the Thai kingdom of Nan Chao in southern China. They settled in northern Thailand, and later, in the 10th and 11th centuries, in Loas. This summarises the position cm the South East Asian mainland until about the 12th century. Meanwhile, from about the 6th century, and until the 14th century, there was a series of great Maritime empires based on the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Java. In early days these Indians mostly comes from the ancient Kingdom of Kalinga, on the south-eastern coast of India. Indians in Indonesia are still known as "Klings", derived from Kalinga. In the course of this subjugation the ancient Thai kingdom of Nan Chao in Yunnan (southern China) was crushed. The result was a mass movement of Thai peoples southwards. At first divided into principalities, vassals of the Khmer king, they founded in 1238 the kingdom of Sukothai in west central Thailand. King Ramkamhaeng adopted the Khmer alphabet and gave the Thais a written language; and he introduced Buddhism into his kingdom. In 1350 Prince Ramatibodi founded a rival Thai kingdom in the south, with its capital at Ayuthhia. This soon superseded Sukothai. Ramatibodi, generally regarded as the first King of Siam (or Thailand) was an enlightened ruler. He brought in a new core of law and his armies drove the Khmer back into Cambodia. The Ayuthhia kingdom survived for over 400 years, for much of which Siam was engaged in war with the Khmer in the east and then with Burma in the west. In 1353 - about the same time as the foundation of the Thai kingdom of Ayuthhia - a Buddhist Thai settlement at Luang Prabang in northern Laos united neighbouring communities to form the first Laotian kingdom of Lan Xang (the "land of a million elephants'). Two hundred years later, conflict with Siam and Burma forced the transfer of the capital further south, to Vientiane, but the kingdom maintained its independence. The Philippines The Philippines, so far barely mentioned in this history, had been occupied for many centuries by a mixture of Malays and Indonesians who were organised in tribal units known as ―Barangays". They had their own culture, and traded extensively with Indian, Chinese, and Arab merchants; but they seen to have managed to keep themselves isolated from the various imperial struggles of South East Asia. Many of them were converted to Islam during the 13th to 15th centuries, but they remained uninvolved in outside affairs until the Europeans arrived there in the 16th century. Apart from Malaya, Islam made little impact on the mainland of South East Asia, which remained 266 overwhelmingly Buddhist. The "Indianised" Empires of Sumatra and Java In the islands of South East Asia the first organised state to achieve fame was the Hindu-ised Malay kingdom of Srivijaya, with its capital at Palembang in southern Sumatra. Its commercial preeminence was based on command of the sea route from India to China between Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula (later known as the Straits of Malacca). In the 6th-7th centuries Srivijaya succeeded Funan as the leading state in South East Asia. Its ruler was the overlord of the Malay Peninsula and western Java as well as Sumatra. Like most of the early kingdoms of South East Asia, Srivijaya was Indian in culture and administration, and Buddhism became firmly entrenched there. The expansion of Srivijaya was resisted in eastern Java, where the powerful Buddhist Sailendra dynasty arose. (From the 7th century onwards there was great activity in temple building in eastern Java. The most impressive of the ruins is at Borobudur, considered to have been the largest Buddhist temple in the world.) Sailendra rule spread to southern Sumatra, and up to Malay Peninsula to Cambodia (where it was replaced by the Angkor kingdom). In the 9th century the Sailendras moved to Sumatra, and a union of Srivijaya and the Sailendras formed an empire which dominated much of South East Asia for the next five centuries. ` With the departure of the Sailendras a new kingdom appeared in eastern Java, which reverted from Buddhism to Hinduism. In the 10th century this kingdom, Mataran, challenged the supremacy of Srivijaya, resulting in the destruction of the Mataran capital by Srivijaya early in the 11th century. Restored by King Airlangger (about 1020-1050), the kingdom split on his death; and the new state of Kediri, in eastern Java, became the centre of Javanese culture for the next two centuries, spreading its influence to the eastern part of island South East Asia. The spice trade was now becoming of increasing importance, as the demand by European countries for spices grew. (Before they learned to keep sheep and cattle alive in the winter, they had to eat salted meat, made palatable by the addition of spices.) One of the main sources was the Molucca Islands (or "Spice Islands") in Indonesia, and Kediri became a strong trading nation. In the 13th century, however, the Kediri dynasty was overthrown by a revolution, and another kingdom arose in east Java. The domains of this new state expanded under the rule of its warrior-king Kartonagoro. He was killed by a prince of the previous Kediri dynasty, who then established the last great Hindu-Javanese kingdom, Majapahit. By the middle of the 14th century Majapahit controlled most of Java, Sumatra and the Malay peninsula, part of Borneo, the southern Celebes and the Moluccas. It also exerted considerable influence on the mainland. After 500 Years of supremacy Srivijaya was superseded by Majapahit. To return to maritime South East Asia: we have seen that in the middle of the 14th century the Hindu-Javanese kingdom of Majapahit held sway over an island empire and exerted considerable influence on the mainland. But it was already facing two threats to its commercial and cultural 267 eminence. In Malaya it was challenged by the rising power of Siam; and in the islands its authority was being undermined by the arrival of Islam. The islands had been in contact with Islam, through Arab traders, for many centuries; but their traditional cultural dependence on India prevented Islam from being acceptable to them until Islam was firmly established under Moslem rulers in the north of India itself, at about the end of the 12th century. Then, in the 13th century, Indian merchants from Gujarat (in north-western India) converted to Islam some of the ports of northern Sumatra. From there Islam spread to the Malay Peninsula, Java, and the Philippines. The various Indianised states and empires of this first 1500 years A.D., though founded by Indian colonisation and maintaining diplomatic contacts with India, remained politically independent of the Indian kingdoms. The only exception to this was the temporary conquest of Malaya by the Chola kingdom of southern India it the 11th century, but the Sailendra kings of Srivijaya were victorious in a long war against the Chola armies. Meanwhile in Indonesia the Majapahit empire broke up into a number of small and weak Moslem states. The island of Bali alone remained - and still remains Hindu in religion. Hindu Culture in South East-Asia For the nearly fifteen hundred years and even down to the period, when the Hindus lost their political independence in India, Hindu sovereigns were ruling over Indo-China and several other South-Eastern countries and Island. Indian religion and literature, Indian social institutions and custom moulded the life of primitive races and made a through conquest of these far off lands. Peoples of the South East Asian countries have adopted names of important Indian town such as Dwaravati, Champa, Videha, Kalinga, Kamboja, Amaravati, Gandhara etc. They are also used Indian rivers name like Gomati, Chandrabhaga etc. The peoples of South Eastern countries felt the impact f Indian civilization and culture. The aborigines‘ imbibed a more elevated moral spirit, global sense of spirituality and higher intellectual taste through the religion, art and literature of India. Society The social life of the Hindu colony was based on the Indian pattern. The caste system of the Hindu was introduced early enough in the colonies. There are many references to chaturvarna or four castes with the specific mention of Brahmana, Kshatriya, Baisyas and Sudras in literature and the inscription of the countries of South-East Asia. Although the colonial society was divided into four broad division- Brahmana, Kshatriya, Baisyas and Sudras, yet the caste system had not attend at rigidity which is seen in India. The Brahmanas did not occupy a position of unquestioned supremacy, they did not dominate the Kings, the state and administration is some extent like mainland India. Sometimes, the Kshatrya were placed superior to the Brahmana, the Brahmana were divided into two groups designated after the deity which they worship, Siva or Buddha. The king assumes Kshatryahood and took the name of the Varman, meaning protector. Untouchability was not known there. The Sudra 268 forms a distinct caste, Caste were not tied to specific profession of craft. The man of all caste having taken to agriculture, Sudras, in addition, followed other arts and crafts there even today. Marriages among different caste were not prohibited, but a man could marry a girl of his caste or lower caste. The women could marry one of equal or higher caste. The children of mixed marriage belong to the caste of their father, though they might differ in ranks and status according to the caste of the mother. In addition to the social division into caste there prevailed a distinction also between the aristocracy and the common people. The Brahmana and Ksahatiya form a bulk of the aristocracy; they have adopted certain external symbols of distinction as in India. These were. Special article such as dress, ornaments and decoration, Right to use special kind of conveyance such as palanquin and elephants to the accompaniment of music, attendants etc., Claim to get a seat near the king. Women general held high honorable position in society if some ascended the throne; others held high position in administration. A queen Guanapriya ruled with her husband over the island of Bali. Her name was placed before that of her husband. The kind Sindok of eastern Java was succeeded by his daughter Sri Isnatungavijaya. Though she was married to Lokapala, she ruled as a queen and had brothers. Another princess acted as regent for her mother although she had a grownup son. Royal queens and ladies of the harem were noted for their scholarship in Kamboja and actively participated in royal religious and social function. Some educated ladies occupied the highest office of the states and wife of the officials are mentioned in the inscription who have received presents and gifts from the kings along with their husband on various ceremonial occasion. Religion and Spirituality The inscription and images, discovered in the countries of South-East Asia proved that besides the Brahminical religion, Buddhism had also made its influence felt in these regions. Both often mixed together and flourished amicably. Brahmanism was firmly established in many colonies specially Kamboja and Bali. There are references to Hindu philosophical ideas, Vedic religions, Puranic and Epic myths and legends and all prominent Brahminical divinities and ideas. Brahma, Vishnu and Siva were worshiped together with satellite gods and goddess. The images of the gods combined together in trimurti as we‘ll as the image of the composite god Siva and Vishnu were found in Java and Kamboja. The entire Puranic pantheon was known to the people there. Hindu religion, in both canonical and popular aspects, was flourished in fullness. Numerous magnificent temples and shrines were erected and images of all known god and goddess were made. Endowments were provided for the temples and pious religious foundations. Hindu religion is still prevalent in Bali. There the images of Indra, Vishnu and Krishna are installed and Lord Shiva and Durga are worshipped and all those things are used in India for worship are used even to this day in Bali. The Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Purana are recited in the temple there. A silent feature of religion in these countries was that beyond the external forms of religion, there 269 was a higher and deeper spiritual view of life. There appeared a spirit of piety and renunciation, a deep yearning for emancipation from the trammels of birth and evils of the world, and the longing for the attainment of highest bliss and salvation by union with Brahman, the ultimate reality. These ideas have been the basis of Indian religious and spiritual life. A large number of inscriptions in Kamboja and Java reveal these ideas. The royal personas and official were inspired by these high spiritual ideas. This was partly due to the close contact with India and partly to the propagation of these ideas by pious and learned Brahmanas, who went to Kamboja and other countries. Agastya, Diavakara Bhatta, Hiranyadam were such Brahmana. All these lead to the noble and high spiritual outlook of the king and people. Establishment and extension of the Asrama widened the noble spiritual outlook. In addition to Brahminsim, Hinayana and Mahayana form of Buddhism and the most debased Tnantric cult also flourished in these countries. Java became important renowned centre of Buddhism and attracted great scholars like I-Tsing, Dharmapala of Nalanda and Dipanakara Srignana of Vikramasila University for higher studies. Under the royal patronage of Sri Sailendra king, Mahayana Buddhism predominated there. A Large numbers of Buddhist temple, Shrine and monasteries were constreucted and Buddhist images were installed therein. The Buddhist temples of Dong-Duong and Barabuddor bear testimony to popularity of Buddhism there. Inspite of the various Brahminical sects and those of Buddhism, flourishing together, there was no religious persecution, animosity among their followers. A spirit of religious toleration and harmony prevailed there. Language and Literature The Sanskrit language and literature were highly cultivated and most of the records were written in book in almost flawless Sanskrit. The language of the court and the polished society was Sanskrit. Several Sanskrit inscription of a high literary merit have been discovered in KIamboja , Champa, Malaya peninsula and Java. The inscription found in these countries reveals a majesty of Sanskrit Kavya. Some of this inscription excels in literary merit vis-à-vis Sanskrit inscription so far a discovered in India. It seems that the authors of these inscriptions had a thorough knowledge of Sanskrit metres. And the most abstruse rules of Sanskrit rhetoric, prosody and grammars and very close acquaintance with Indian Epics, Purana, Dharamasastra, Philosophy , Veda , Vedanta , Smrits, works of Manu, Panini, Patanjanli, Kalidasa, Vastyayana etc. Epics and religious texts of Brahminism, Buddhism and Jainsim were studies. Royal persons and officials were scholars and took a leading part in literary activities. King Jayaverman V of Kamboja was surrounded by intellectuals, poets, writers and scholars. Indo-Javanses literature is most remarkable product of Indian colonization. In Burma and Ceylon the study of Buddhist texts in Pali led to development of new classical literature adopted everywhere. Art Temple, shrines, stupas and image of the countries of South-East Ais show distinct influence of 270 Indian architecture and sculpture. If some are close imitations, almost replicas of their original Indian models, others are development of local styles with the addition of Indian features. The colonial art, in fact forms a type by itself. Although it went from Indian and the skilled and unskilled workmen imbibed traditions of their mother country (India), yet in their new environments, the Indian engineers, and artisans assimilated ideas and produced works which were different and in some respect assuredly superior to their original standard in India. Their architectural and sculptural monuments have been remarkable for their massive grandeur and artistic excellence. The Siavite temple at Moisan, Po-Ngar, The Buddhist temple at Dong-Duong in Champa have forms or type found in the rock cut temple at Mahabalipuram in India. The massive temple at Ankorvat one of the largest sanctuaries ever executed. The Angorthom, one of the biggest township, in Cambodia has the world renowned monuments which have in a feeble charm and indelible grandeur among the monument of the world. The group of Buddhist temple at Chandikalasan, Chandisari and Chandisevu, The Brahmanical temple at Larajongrang and the fine temple of Chandi Mandut and Chandi Pavol and the greatest Buddhist shrine of Barabudur in Java and the Anand temple at Pagan in Burma are the renowned monuments of Indian colonial art. Administration In addition to art, culture and religion the influence of Hindu civilization and culture is also clearly marked in political ideas and in the system of administration. About the government of the countries of South-East Asia, the Chinese Anal informs us that the king had eight great ministers called the Eight Seats and all were chosen from among the Brahmanas. The Hindu culture in the colony continued to be a dynamic force so long as Hindusim was in full vigor in India. The subsequent downfall of the Hindu in the mainland India led to the decayed of their colonial supremacy in the South Eastern Asia. The cultural expansion of India has its own historic significance. The history of colonies demonstrates the unsoundness of the popular belief that Hinduism cannot be adopted by the foreigner but it is meant only for central Asia and South East Asia show the great vigor with which Indian culture and religion could observe and vitalized foreign culture and could elevate even the aborigines and primitive races to an higher and noble sphere of culture and civilization. In the early centuries of Christian Era, the Indian built an extensive cultural empire in the western, Central, Eastern and South Eastern Asia and within a few succeeding centuries, it flourished luxuriantly an existed for nearly a thousand years. A very large numbers of parts and cities of theses region became the flourishing centre of Indian culture and were rarely subjected to Indian Kings and conquerors, who hardly witnessed the horror and havoc of any Indian military campaign or expedition and were perfectly free politically and economically. There people elevated to nobler sphere by Indian culture, religion and Arts, looked upon India n as holly land, a sacred region of pilgrimage rather an area of jurisdiction and political supremacy. The silent features of the Indian cultural expansion were that it 271 was carried out by the Indians not by the military force but by the persuasion and individual instant of the devotion to deeds, not by arms but by missionaries. The cultural expansion of Indians was never confused by them which colonial domination and their commercial dynamism was never identifies with economic exploitation. They expanded their culture with political objective, commenced an advanced commercial intercourse with imperialist design and established their settlement without colonial excesses. This is the true character of Indian cultural expansion. The Hindu vulture in all its aspect permitted the life of the people of Central Asia, South East Asia and elevated them spiritually. The aspects of true greatness of Indian were not sufficiently and properly emphasized. The spread of Indian culture and civilization to the other parts of Asia constitutes an important chapter in the history of India. India had established commercial contacts with other countries from the earliest times. It had inevitably resulted in the spread of Indian languages, religions, art and architecture, philosophy, beliefs, customs and manners. Indian political adventurers even established Hindu kingdoms in some parts of South East Asia. However, this did not lead to any kind of colonialism or imperialism in the modern sense. On the other hand these colonies in the new lands were free from the control of the mother country. But they were brought under her cultural influence. Indianisation of South East Asia- An Analysis By the early centuries of the Christian era, many parts of Southeast Asia and India were part of the world-trading network. Though this period was marked by the domination of Indian Ocean by roman trade, it also witnessed the establishment of trade relations between India and Southeast Asia. It has been argued that this relationship further resulted in the colonization of South East Asia, but the argument has been firmly countered in the wake of recent research, which emphasize on the mutual influence, rather than partial view of one-sided influence. In this paper, an attempt has been made to study the process of state-formation vis-à-vis the interplay of trade to examine the roleplayed by indigenous factors and the influence of ‗indic‘ elements. It also presents an analysis of relations behind the increased economic activities (trade also) between India and Southeast Asia from 5-6th century onwards and the resultant socio-political, economic and cultural impact of this relationship on both regions. Sources of study for this early relationship between India and Southeast Asia and the scanty and ambiguous in nature. South East Asia has been portrayed and referred as the ‗golden island‘ or "Golden Peninsula" or Yavadipa or Suvarnadipa in the Indian literature from the first centuries AD Apart from Ramayana, the Buddhist Jataka fables also mention about south east Asia. Chinese records provide a satisfactory, yet still incomplete view of the burgeoning Southeast Asian commerce. In the last few decades, archaeological excavations at various sites in southeast Asia has resulted in the yielding of various remains, which presents an entirely different and new picture of the region. The availability of epigraphic sources and inscriptions at various places has been of great 272 use in reconstructing the history of this region. The various categories of inscriptions are Sanskrit, Tamil and indigenous language inscriptions. Cultural Dependency As far as state-formation is concerned, the maritime region has been well served partly due to paucity of intractability of the data, and partly to the fact that most of the scholars dealing with early history of maritime regions are struggling to produce adequate description of the states of the later first millenium A.D. The reflections of the Indian ideas, beliefs and religious culture upon the monumental, artistic and literary remains of the early historic states of south east Asia made the scholar argue for the colonisation/Indianisation of the region. It is argued that the contact with the Brahmana-Buddhist culture of India resulted in the formation of the states that were culturally dependent on India. This proposition began to be questioned when scholars raised the problem of the identity of the Indian incomers and the circumstances under which they arrived and interacted with the local population. The local populace was active participants in the process, though he argued that necessary political and social skills for state-building were acquired from India as these essential ingredients were assumed to be missing in local societies. He argued that the local rulers, having learned of Indian culture through interaction with Indians on the maritime route, recognized the advantages of certain elements of Indian civilization and drew from the Indian tradition for their own benefit. The idea of a mutual sharing process in the evolution of Indianised statecraft in Southeast Asia is also important. The initial contact with the knowledge of Indian cultural tradition came through the south East Asian sailors. The local-rulers, recognizing the fact that Indian culture provided certain opportunities for administrative and technological advantages vis-à-vis their rivals, followed up on these contacts. Thus the initiative was south East Asian, not Indian, and it was a slow process of cultural synthesis rather than Indianisation made possible by the imposition of Hinduism by the influx of the Brahmanas. He continues that South-East Asian region was characterized by the tribal societies, ruled by chiefs and thus, there was no indigenous sense of kingdom and its supraterritorial demands of loyalty among the south east Asians themselves. The rulers/chiefs rather than developing state institutions initiated religious cults to command over the native population. This proposition of Indianisation and its continuity from early centuries of the Christian era to the later times as first contact was made in the peripheral areas which lacked continuity to central areas (east Kalimantan & 8th century Mataram). Apart from south India, Northeastern India (Bengal, Bizarre and Orrin) also played an important part and at time, predominated in some regions. Same is the case with Southeast Asia. The early South-east Asian society was marked by chiefdom, among whom the instrumental exchanges characteristic of a reciprocate mode of integration dominated. Entrepreneurial advances 273 associated with developing commerce created social imbalances as ‗redistributive exchange‘ system emerged-(Funan‘s case). Several Southeast Asian societies developed into ‗mobilisative sectors‘ economics, which developed organizational mechanisms for the acquisition, control and disposal of resources in pursuit of collective goals (generally political) and impersonalism took hold. This led to the development of state-institutions and transformation of chiefs into rulers. The important point on his suggestions concerning the potential destabilizing effects of partial borrowings of economic and political institutions from other cultures, which may be expected to provoke continuing change with the recipient cultures until a new equilibrium can be established. Trade & State Formation The importance of trade in political developments and the possibility of archaeological recovery of the phase of transition from lower to higher levels of political integration through study of evidence from changing trade patterns have begun to be exposed in maritime south east Asia. Archaeological sources have supported the argument that long-distance sea trade itself played a key role in stimulating political development which eventually led to the formation of state. J.W. Christie divides the maritime Southeast Asia into three distinct groupings. The first grouping covers the end of the pre-historic period in the maritime region (5th century BC to 5th century AD), the archaeological remains of which includes megalithic burial sites, inhumation, hoards, boat fragments and settlement sites. The second grouping comprises several set of early inscriptions on stone found in the region, a few other archaeological remains and some other vague references in Chinese records, dating 5th and 6th centuries AD The third grouping dates 7th to 8th centuries AD , and comprises further collections of inscriptions, some rather more reliable Chinese and a number of monumental structures and structural remains assumed to have been produced during this period. Now, it is pertinent to discuss the process of state-formation in few parts of Southeast Asia, as it will help locating the role of indigenous factors/developments. The two foci of early state-formation in the maritime Southeast Asia were the Malacca Straits and the southern sea of the Java shore. These were also the centers of wealth accumulation and trading activities and shared a number of basic political concepts. Political developments occurred in the region owing to the response given by the coastal communities to the same external economic stimuli. The increasing wealth in these two sub-regions was increasingly concentrated in the hands of politically powerful elite who exercised some control over prestige-goods economies. Moreover, the contacts with other regions brought advanced metallurgical techniques and enhanced resourcebase of the region to trade. This expansion of economic base of a number of trading communities, possibly in conjunction with increased exposure to more developed political cultures, led to the formation of a series, first of chiefdoms, and then, of nascent states, on the relevant coasts of peninsula and the western islands. Same was the case with Funan, which rose on the account of developed trade and port facilities owing to strategic location and supported by an agrarian base. 274 K.R. Hall argues that Funan may be considered as the first south east Asian ‗state‘ as it was an economic center, with an economic base that supported a more sophisticated level of political integration, and acted as the locus of contact between various regional and local marketing networks. Thus the pre-existing indigenous cultural and ethnic diversity were synthesized with external ideology to create a new systematic higher order cultural base. This is documented in the growing use of Sanskrit in Funan (Sanskrit inscription of 3rd century AD), use of Indian vocabulary and technical knowledge. Thus trade appears to have been key to economic growth control of trade appears to have provided the key to political development. Moreover, trade in this region was information maximizing as it carried a substantial baggage of information and ideas alongwith material commodities. This suggests that the carriers of most of this trade were members of maritime Southeast Asian communities rather than outsiders. Here, an important point to be noted is that none of the communities on the east coast of the Indian sub-continent or on the mainland of Southeast Asia, involved in trade at this time, belonged to sophisticated or powerful state and all these communities were in the process of transforming themselves politically. Thus interaction at this time was on a fairly equal basis. Thus it is evident that in the early period before 200 BC, the above was the case whereas till 300 AD the other argument of outside stimuli would have been the case. The economic stimulation came from India and China, whereas the political and cultural stimulation of the region was primarily from Indian sub-continent, probably carried along Buddhist commercial network. The period between 300-600 A.D witnessed several fully formed states in this maritime region. Clear differences began to develop during this period between coastal trading states of the Malice straits and the increasingly mixed economy. The coastal trading states extended the use of Buddhism as a commercial networking religion, pulling ports of north and west Borneo into their cultural orbit. The elite groups in the states of the Java sea and their dependencies began to add elements of Hinduism-with its royal and agrarian overtones-to the already existing Buddhist cum ‗Megalithic‘ cultural mix of the ports, as they began to attach farming population of the interior to their coastal centers. Lastly by the 7th-9th century AD, when states in both the sub-regions began to produce literature in the indigenous language, it is apparent that the old, small states were being increasingly absorbed into larger, more complex political entities. Trade with India After discussing the process of state-formation in the Southeast Asian region, owing more to indigenous factors with the restricted use of Indian elements, it is significant to discuss the trade between the two regions that brought about this interaction and consequent influences. K.R. Hall has presented four reasons behind growth of this trade. Firstly, historians have theorized that gold became difficult to acquire during this time due to internal disturbances in the central Asian steppe region and slowing down of flow of Roman gold coins. As a consequence Indian merchants ventured into 275 Southeast Asia looking for the mythical wealth of the "Islands of Gold". Secondly, it was due to revolution in boat construction and navigation techniques, which increased the sizes of the ships and sailing efficiency. Thirdly, the adequate ideological support provided by Buddhism played a great role as evident in the distribution of outstanding Dipankara statues of Buddha throughout southeast Asia. And last reason was the Chinese interest. Much of the interaction between Indian and maritime southeast Asian economies were driven by interest in the trade of the South China Sea and the eastern seas of Indonesia. Thus the Southeast Asian trade was entirely dependent upon the Indian Ocean and South China Sea. In the first three centuries of the Christian era, the trading relation with India is established by the distribution of Roman-Indian Rouletted pottery at few coasts including north coasts of Java and Bali and the coast of central Vietnam. In the period between 300-600 AD, Buddhism, pilgrimage grew which reflects commercial links with India and China. The Southeast Asian trade is well documented after 7th century AD onwards. The 7th and 8th century AD witnessed expansion in volume of Asian sea trade involving maritime southeast, due to Chinese interest and parallel rise in the demand from the prosperous centers on the east coast of India. The regions which benefited the most were Javanese State of Ho-ling and Malacca straits port hierarchy of Srivijaya, which also created a bi-polar pattern of trade networking in the archipelago. This was followed by a decline of trade in the late 8th and the 9th centuries owing to the disintegration of the Pallava states in south India. This argument is reinforced not only by epigraphic data from the peninsula and northeast India, but also by archaeological evidence that a postage route across Isthmus of Kra was in use for some decades in that century. The period between early tenth and the early thirteenth centuries was marked by an economic boom, benefiting maritime Southeast Asia the most and it affected sea trade in both the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. The dominant economic force in the eastern sector of the Indian Ocean was the grouping of several south Indian merchant associations or Banigrama, which operated under the aegis of the expanding Chola Empire. Trade in southern and eastern India began to benefit from political consolidation under the Cholas. The maritime trade boom of this period included greater commercial activity, volumes of trade, range of commodities and the number of regular participants were far greater and the region directly involved was far more extensive. The effects on the Indonesian archipelago included increasing carrier of larger volume, lower value cargoes between islands as well as a number of technological and agricultural innovations, particularly in Java and Bali, stimulated by a combination of overseas market opportunities and domestic market pressures. The Chola raids on many southeast Asian ports including Srivijaya itself seems to be more because of the economic interest, rather than mere expansion of territory. Moreover, the effects of these raids appear, for the most part, to have been minimal and transitory and soon Srivijaya grew wealthy. The 276 decline of Srivijaya trade after 1028 AD has been countered by Christie as one points to a diplomatic decision by Chinese court to restrict the burgeoning number of trade missions to port areas. In the context of Kedah conquest, the archaeological remains, though indicate the presence of Indian pottery; argue that the port population was largely of local extraction (religious remains) and thus counters the conquest theory. In southern India, a series of merchant associations developed powerful networks and vertical monopolies, from tied manufacturers to private armies. These are of particular interest in relation to trade with Sumatra and the Malaya peninsula, and to Javanese ands Balinese responses to the growth in trade during the same period. During this period (10th to 13th century AD), there occurred a shift in focus of merchant associations from the west coasts towards the east, stimulated by increasing trade with the east, was accompanied by a broadening of the range of commodities traded (Iron, cotton, textile). The effects on India were developments in the weaving and dying industries as introduction of the Draw Loom and of the spinning wheel and revival of coin-minting. The Indian trade interest in the eastern coast of the Indian Ocean is well reflected in the Tamil language inscriptions and south Indian religious remains found on the eastern fringe of the Indian Ocean, from Burma down to Sumatra. Many of these are bilingual inscriptions which either bear donations or gifts made to religious centers (Monastery and Vishnu and Siva temples) or gives description of trade and the articles involved in trade. These inscriptions refer to South Indian merchant associations- Maningramam, actively involved in transit trade bypassing the Malacca strait; and Nanadesi branch of the Ayyarole. Most of the 13th century Tamil inscriptions do not mention merchant associations, perhaps reflecting the sharp decline of this economic power during this period as evident also from the epigraphic records within southern India. Tamil inscriptions and religious and other remains suggested establishment of the South Indian enclaves to the west of the Malacca straits. These conclaves were confined to regions accessible directly from the Indian Ocean dare to the firm hold of Srivijaya over the groupings, involving very mixed personnel and structures of southeast Asian along with South Asian, as suggested by evidences from Java and Bali, such as formation of the Banigrama. It was followed by the appearance of a local version of the Banigrama in the major north-coast parts of both the islands like at Julah which was a predominantly local merchant association, along with some foreigners. They were indigenous organizations collected to the local economic system as tax farmers licensed by the rulers. This trend was short-lived. The abandonment of the term may reflect both the retreat of organized south Indian groups to the western edge of the archipelago and the fact that in Javanese and Balinese states the relations which tax-farming merchants maintained with the political leadership were essentially personal, patron-client links. Individual foreign traders from south India were present in maritime Southeast Asian ports as merchants and tax-farmers, both were before and after the appearance of Banigrama inscriptions. 277 The items of trade included crops like rice, areca nuts, pepper, mysobalans , iron, cotton (raw and textile) , thread, wax, honey, sandalwood, aloes wood, silk, rose water, yak‘s tail, camphor oil, civet, horses, elephants, medicinal herbs, metals(gold,silver), semi-precious stones, pearls etc. There occurred noticeable changes in the patterns of domestic consumption and production owing to large volumes of foreign imports and their varied distribution. As far as ports are concerned, although the Malacca straits port-hierarchy of Srivijaya played an important role inn manufacturing largely indigenous hold over the sea-trade links eastwards from the India-Ocean, partly by forcing powerful south Indian merchant associations to trade on local terms, it was the state of Mataram in Java played the key role in moulding maritime southeast Asia‘s shared economic culture. Ritual as a Legitimising Tool In context of influence of Indic elements, it was used as a means of elevating the status of indigenous rulers both in the eyes of their own people and with the visiting Indian merchants whose presence was essential to continue prosperity. The Indian rituals and celestial deities provided the sacro-religious legitimacy to local rulers. The Brahmanas played an important part by performing rituals and concocting genealogies for the local rulers, thus providing legitimacy. By 10th century AD many texts like few parvans of Mahabharata were translated into local languages like Javanese prose. Most of Sanskrit language inscriptions were largely religious in context. The continuing impact of cultural borrowings from India was, however reflected in these reflections by the heavy use of Sanskrit conceptual vocabulary, the integration of some Indian weights and measures into the local system and the adoption of Sanskrit or Sanskritised names. The presence of two Buddha statues at Kotachina (Sumatra) points to the influence of Chola sculpture and thus the foreign trade (imported material to build statues). In Kadiri period in east Java, predominance of Vaishnavism is reflected in court poetry of old Javanese literature. Other examples are the great temple of Angkorvat in Cambodia. Translations of many texts took place like Raghuvamsa. Apart from Buddhist sculpture, an Indian affinity is reflected in the particular from of Tantricism in east Java. Islam in these regions also came from Indian subcontinent, not from Arabic world. Conclusion It may be argued that the Southeast Asian states borrowed extensively from the broader Indian religious traditions in manner that suggests a self-conscious balancing of ideas thought to be useful for the maintenance of power in economies at once agrarian and mercantile. Indian export trade provoked shifts in the habits of consumption that in turn stimulated innovations in the local production. The religious and cultural impact was restricted to the rulers and the elite sections of the society and did not make many inroads into the local level. Thus the economic competition and mutual influence rather than forceful confrontation characterized the relations between Southeast Asia and India, which counters the Indianisation/colonization theory. 278 Summary  The colonizing activities of the Hindus and their maritime adventures found heir full scope in the South-East Asia. Across the Bay of Bengal lay Indo-China and the Island of Java, Sumatra, Borneo and Bali which were inhabited by primitive, uncultured wild races and had almost a monopoly of the world spice trade.  Indians literature including the Buddhist texts has faithfully preserved the common traditions of the ancient times of such perilious voyages to unknown distant lands beyond the sea.  Indian followed both land as well as sea routes for going to the countries of South-East Asia. The land routes lay thorough Bengal, Assam and Manipur hills, they reached the region of upper Burma and through Arakan went to lower Burma. From Burma, it was easy to go to India-China and the main land China.  As regard the sea routes, they boarded the ships at Tamralipti. Their ships either sailed along the coast of Bengal and Burma or crossed the Bay of Bengal and undertook a direct voyage to the Malaya peninsula and then to the East Indies and Indo-China beyond it.  For the nearly fifteen hundred years and even down to the period, when the Hindus lost their political independence in India, Hindu sovereigns were ruling over Indo-China and several other South-Eastern countries and Island.  Indian religion and literature, Indian social institutions and custom moulded the life of primitive races and made a through conquest of these far off lands. Peoples of the South East Asian countries have adopted names of important Indian town such as Dwaravati, Champa, Videha, Kalinga, Kamboja, Amaravati, Gandhara etc.  They are also used Indian rivers name like Gomati, Chandrabhaga etc. The peoples of South Eastern countries felt the impact f Indian civilization and culture. The aborigines‘ imbibed a more elevated moral spirit, global sense of spirituality and higher intellectual taste through the religion, art and literature of India.  The spread of Indian culture and civilization to the other parts of Asia constitutes an important chapter in the history of India. India had established commercial contacts with other countries from the earliest times.  It had inevitably resulted in the spread of Indian languages, religions, art and architecture, philosophy, beliefs, customs and manners. Indian political adventurers even established Hindu kingdoms in some parts of South East Asia.  However, this did not lead to any kind of colonialism or imperialism in the modern sense. On the other hand these colonies in the new lands were free from the control of the mother country. But they were brought under her cultural influence. Exercise 279 1. Write short notes: Angkorwat, Borobudur, Cultural contacts between India and Myanmar, India and Bali. 2. Trace the cultural contacts between India and China. 3. Write a short note on Indo-Java Art. 4. Give an account of the spread of Indian culture in South East Asia. 5. Assess the impact of Indian cultural influence in other parts of Asia Further Reading 1. Abraham,M, 1988, Two Medieval Merchant Guilds of South India, New Delhi, Ch 5-p227281. 2. Christie, J.W., 1995, State formation In early Maritime Southeast Asia, BTLV 3. Christie, J.W., 1999, The Banigrama in the Indian Ocean and the Java sea during the early Asian trade boom, Communarute‘s maritimes de l‘ocean Indien, Brepols 4. De Casparis, J.G., 1983, India and Maritime Southeast Asia: A lasting Relationship, Third Sri Lanka Endowment Fund Lecture. 5. Hall, K.R., 1985, Maritime Trade and State development in early Southeast Asia, Honolulu.Walters, O.W., 1967, Early Indonesian Commerce, Ithaca. *************** 280 CHAPTER XII India’s cultural and civilisational influence on Southeast Asia JAYSHREE SENGUPTA The Mother Temple of Besakih, one of Bali's most significant Hindu temples SOUTHEAST ASIA The Government of India’s ‘Act East policy’ aims at improving economic and political relations with the Southeast Asian region which has had close contacts with India for centuries and is linked culturally and geographically with it. India has been able to make inroads in trade and investments with members of the ASEAN by signing a Free Trade Agreement in 2009 which will aims at increasing business between the two and renew the partnership and contact with member countries with similar culture, artistic tradition, family values and customs. In Cambodia, Thailand and Indonesia or Burma today, many symbolic remnants of India’s influence are clearly visible in their art, culture and civilisation. Through the centuries, India has been a source of inspiration for art and architecture in countries belonging to the present day ASEAN. The eleven countries of ASEAN are Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Brunei, the Philippines and recently added Timor Leste. Temples of Angkor Wat, Pagan, Borobudur and Prambanan bear evidence to the deep penetration of Indian art and architectural forms in these famous Southeast Asian monuments. Some of these monuments surpass the grandeur of Indian temples from the same period because of their scale, extensive stone bas relief carvings and expanse. Thanks to the contact with Indian civilisation, the Southeast Asia also created many literary works based on the Ramayana but with something distinctively their own being discernable in them. Face-towers depicting Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, Bayon-temple in Angkor, Cambodia 281 It must be said that Southeast Asia did not accept all foreign influences in an indiscriminate manner. Two notably important external influences came from China and India, but Southeast Asia accepted only those influences and practices that were suitable to their local cultures. Almost every country accepted Ramayana because it is easy to retell, understand, modify and apply to contemporary culture. Folklore singers and artistes played a very important role in popularising and modifying Indian literary works in Southeast Asia and it was the most popular and effective way of propagating Indian culture. Through retelling of the stories from generation to generation, the great epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata could be edited and retold to attract bigger and bigger audiences. The artistes who popularised these were called ‘dalangs’ and contributed to the process of adaptation of these epic works originating outside their country by adding or changing them to make them more contextual and localised. This was the beginning of the formation of new texts like Seri Rama ( Malaysian adaptation of Ramayana) and RamKer ( Ramayana Khmer) in Cambodia. These are regarded as some of the highest literary works of Southeast Asia. Similarly sculptors and artists copied and combined original Indian motifs with local artistic motifs to arrive at something distinctively Southeast Asian and produced stylised masterpieces of their own. Modelled after Gupta period icons, the Cambodian ( Khmer) sculpture of 8 th to 13 th centuries are very different in appearance and form yet they are beautiful creations representing stylised figures of gods, goddesses, Buddha, Apsaras and demons with Southeast Asian features. India’s civilisation and culture spread in many parts of the world through trade but struck firm roots in Southeast Asia including in dance forms. Yet India’s cultural conquests were peaceful and without forced conversions. There was no evidence of violence, colonisation and subjugation and there was no extensive migration from India to the countries of Southeast Asia. The Indians who went there did not go to rule nor had any interest in controlling from afar. Southeast Asia was particularly attractive to Indian mercantile class and they named the faraway lands Swarnabhumi or land of gold, Tokola or land of cardamoms or Narikeldeep , land of coconuts. They followed two routes—one through land via Bengal, Assam, Manipur and Burma to reach different parts of Southeast Asia. The other route was the maritime route from Coromandel coast or the coast of Bay of Bengal to Cape Comorin and via Malacca strait to reach the Malay Peninsula. India during Gupta period was a land of riches and people possessed great skills at weaving textiles, crafting gold jewellery, metal, sculpture and beautiful objects. There was much demand for Indian goods and trade between India and Southeast Asia which was seen as a land of spices and rice growing fertile lands, flourished. Funan in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam was the first trading post of Indian traders. Traders took residence there and from there spread to other countries of the region. Hindu priests and Buddhist monks accompanied mercantile class and assumed a leading role in spreading the message of Indian thought and culture to the entire Southeast Asian region. Since they had no political ambitions and were living in hermitages and ashrams, the local people welcomed them. Thus merchants, monks and Hindu Brahmin priests travelled to faraway kingdoms like Cambodia and Indonesia in large numbers and India’s culture, religion and civilisation spread to different parts of Southeast Asia. The kings of the region wore Indian made silk 282 and brocade textiles during ceremonious occasions and donned jewels imported from India. Printed and woven textiles were eagerly sought after by the common people. Indian religion, political thought, literature, mythology, artistic motifs and style, were absorbed deeply into local culture as greater interaction with Indians who settled in the courts of South East Asia took place. Buddhism came to Southeast Asia from India in 3 rd century BCE when Buddhist monks were sent by king Ashok. In medieval times, from sixth to fourteenth century, there existed a great maritime empire based in the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra. Many Indian artisans came to work temporarily in the courts and were from Kalinga (modern day Orissa).They helped in building great temples and monuments. Many of the motifs on the walls of Borobudur and Angkor Wats resemble carvings of Konarak and other medieval temples of eastern India. Brahmins also played an important role in the Siamese court as experts in Astrology and in conducting ceremonies. They were not only experts in performing religious rites but were also knowledgeable in political affairs, art and architecture. They were invited by rulers to serve as advisors, administrators and priests. They were experts in Sanskrit. Sanskrit scripts are the first form of writing known to have reached Southeast Asia. Similar alphabets were adopted for local languages as well. The alphabets used today for Burmese, Thai, Laos and Cambodia derive originally from Indian prototype. A large number of ancient inscriptions which have been discovered are in Sanskrit. Sanskrit terminology was used in all legal aspects of court procedures and only the factual aspects were described in vernacular. The use of Indian framework of code of law was mentioned by these inscription. Codes of law and public administration especially the concept of “God King” was adopted by many kings of Southeast Asia. They considered themselves to be incarnation or a descendant of one of the Hindu deities. Later when Buddhism came, this view was modified. The kings of Cambodia, Jayavarman VII (the founder of Angkor) and his successors were addressed by the people as king of the mountain and they built their palaces and temples on hill peaks ( Bayon temples). Traders were also accompanied by Shudras (the lowest caste according to the Hindu caste hierarchy) who migrated in search of a better life from India and many settled in Bali. The caste system was modified when adopted by Southeast Asians as they had a class system of their own. They also did not adopt the Manusmriti which relegates women to an inferior place. The Indonesians still have matriarchal society in Sumatra (Minangkabau) where women are head of the family and inheritance is through the daughters’ lineage. Finally, the decline of India’s influence in Southeast Asia began from around 13 th century when conversions to Islam took place in many major countries like Malaysia and Indonesia. But within Indonesia, Bali practices Hinduism even today. The rise of India’s influence had taken place when the Khmer kings spread it to other regions and decline began with the coming of Islam. But even though it was a long time ago that India’s influence on Southeast Asia’s culture and civilization more or less halted, the impact can be seen and felt even today on its customs, culture, architectural designs. The syncretic culture of Southeast Asia is evident in Buddhism being practiced in Hindu temples in Cambodia, Muslim wedding rituals and dress in Malaysia which are based on Hindu rituals and attire, Garuda –the vehicle of Hindu God Vishnu, is the name of Indonesian Airlines, and Naga and Kuber which are prevalent in both Hindu and Buddhist cultures can be seen carved in many places. A Mahabharata Monument depicting Krishna and Arjun riding a chariot pulled by eleven horses is placed prominently in a park in central 283 Jakarta. Southeast Asia absorbed and retained its past Indian influence in a very distinctive manner over the centuries and today it has melded into the Southeast Asian culture. In Indonesia shadow play involving leather puppets with moveable arms and legs on a screen narrating scenes from Ramayana is very popular even today. It is also a popular art form in Orissa. There was reverse exchange of ideas and artistic techniques in the last century when Rabindranath Tagore travelled to Southeast Asia and brought the art of Batik from Indonesia to India and taught it to the students in Santiniketan. The influence of India can also be felt in the food and flavours of South East Asia. There are many spices in common between Indian and Southeast Asian foods. Nearly all the people of Southeast Asian region eat rice and curry like the people of Eastern India with many common ingredients. Indian herbal medicines also reached Southeast Asia from ancient times and are used even today in many countries. Closer links with the Southeast Asian region is thus a natural outcome for India and its ‘Act East policy’. 284 Chapter-XIII INDIA, CENTRAL ASIA AND WESTERN WORLD THROUGH AGES Introduction From prehistoric days, India had trade and cultural relations with West Asia, Rome, China and Southeast Asia. India sent its traders and missionaries to these regions and in some places these persons also settled. During the reign of Darius the Great of Persia, Greece and India had their earliest contact in about 510 BCE. After the discovery of the monsoon by Hippalus in first century CE, Roman vessels played directly across the Indian Ocean. The port of Palura on the eastern coast of India had an important role. The ships came here from Arikamedu, crossed the Bay of Bengal and went to the delta of the Irrawaddy, whence they proceeded to the Malay Peninsula. Demand for Eastern goods had the effect of stimulating Indian trading along the Malay Peninsula. It is not surprising that Roman coins, pottery, amphora and other trade goods have been found in the Malay Peninsula originating from coastal regions of eastern India. Indo-Roman contact declined during the third and fourth centuries CE, but India's relationship with Southeast Asia continued. In the spread of Indian culture, the sea played an important role. There was intensification of sea-borne commerce in the early centuries of Common Era. In the following few paragraphs we will examine the significance of interrelationship between the various countries of world with India in ancient days. India and Central and East Asia For several millennia India has interacted with the Central Asian region; Afghanistan, Central Asia and Xinjiang. Trade was the motivating factor throughout history and with trade came cultural interaction. Central Asia‘s location at the juncture of two great civilizations – India and China – was a favorable factor that promoted cultural interaction. Central Asia also played a role in enriching the cultures with which it came in contact. In the words of Academician Babajan Gafurov of Tajikistan ―It was not a mechanical transmission of cultural values from one people to another, it was a creative process in which cultural achievements were further refined before they were passed on‖. A vigorous interaction ensued between the people of the Indus Valley Civilization and those settled in the region since the Bronze Age. A major development in the life of the people many millennia ago was the horse. ―It was the horse‖, writes Ahmad Hasan Dani of Pakistan, ―brought by the Aryans that changed the whole perspective of life in South Asia including political, social, economic and cultural aspects‖. Subsequently, the horse became an integral part of an Emperor‘s fighting force- the cavalry. New research shows that the Indus Valley Civilization had trade and cultural contacts with Altyn Depe, an ancient civilization of Turkmenistan. A milestone in the development of contacts was the spread of Buddhism from India to Central Asia and thence to China. A Buddhist scholar from Kashmir, Vairochana, was the first missionary to 285 introduce Buddhism into Central Asia. In due course, Central Asia served as a transit route for Buddhism to China. According to Chinese sources, Buddhism came to China around 217 B.C. Indian emperor Ashoka in 203 B.C. and King Kanishka of the Kushan Empire of Central Asian origin whose empire included Kashmir are mainly credited for spreading the Buddhist tenets in the region. Indeed the spread of Buddhism was so wide and deep that it exercised a strong influence in the Central Asian region. Among his various achievements, Kanishka‘s most outstanding contribution was the convening of the Fourth Buddhist Council in Kashmir where open debates and discussion on various schools of thought on Buddhism took place. The open-mindedness of those days was reflected when the Council accepted and acknowledged that the diverse views expressed were all part of Buddhism. An outcome of these deliberations was that two major strands in Buddhism appeared; the Mahayana which stressed selfless service to the poor, tolerance etc. and Hinayan which emphasized only the monastic order. It was the Mahayana strand that had wider acceptability and became immensely popular in Central Asia. Buddhist monks were indefatigable missionaries who traversed the Central Asian region to propagate the ideals. In the process, several viharas or monasteries were built prominently along the towns and cities that sprang along the silk route. Buddhist texts were translated into local languages, including the Uyghur language. Under the cultural impact of Buddhism, the Gandhara School of Art was born. The School excelled in architecture and the numerous viharas are a testimony to this fact. Archeological finds across the region reveal the deep influence of Buddhism as well as the fine craftsmanship that existed in the ancient past. A twelve-meter long sleeping statute of Buddha in Tajikistan or the massive statues in Bamiyan in Central Afghanistan (destroyed by the Taliban in 2000) or the various historical sites discovered in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan (particularly the Swat Valley) are part of the priceless heritage of mankind. Hiuen Tsang, a famous Chinese pilgrim, came to India in 631 A.D. via the Central Asian route and stayed in Kashmir for fifteen years studying the scriptures and other Buddhist texts. While Buddhism was receding in the subcontinent, possibly due to lack of royal patronage and partly because Lord Buddha was accepted as part of the Hindu pantheon, it continued to flourish in Central Asia until the Arabs introduced Islam. Today Buddhism is practiced with fervor and devotion in Tibet and other areas. An equally significant development from the perspective of religious interaction was the spread of Sufism in the subcontinent. Sufism is a strand within Islam which emphasizes benevolence and tolerance. Although Islam was introduced in the subcontinent by the Arabs in the seventh century, its large scale spread is due to the Sufi saints who popularized the religion. Many Sufi saints along with their disciples came to India from Bukhara, Samarkand and other cities of Central Asia. In this regard a major contribution was made by Sayyid Ali Hamadani, who came to Kashmir from Kulyab 286 in Tajikistan along with his five hundred disciples in the late fourteenth century. Earlier it India, later it was the Sufi saints who spread the message of Islam. In Central Asia Buddhist and Islamic ideas together produced a new, partly syncretised school of thought which percolated back to India. The mystics, particularly the Sufis, represent the syncretic thought and ideas of a single cultural space. While Sufism has played a significant role in molding a tolerant attitude among the people of Central Asia, it continues to wield influence in north India, particularly Kashmir. The rich cultural interaction of the ancient past impacted in diverse ways. The economic dimension has been a constant feature of this engagement. As mentioned, even during the Harappan age trading actively was important. Takshashila (now in Pakistan) was strategically located on the river Indus and the city of Puruspura (near Peshawar in Pakistan) formed major centers of Indian land routes to Central Asia and beyond. Caravan routes and camel traffic continued to traverse the region even after the silk route became operational. The silk route provided a powerful stimulus to trade. Among the prized commodities in great demand were Chinese silk, Indian ivory, Syrian glass and Roman metal ware. In due course, many branches of the silk route emerged connecting China and India with Europe in diverse ways. The oases of Central Asian Bukhara and Samarkand were, however the centers from which the feeder roads branched out. A southern branch of the silk route passed through northern India, Kashmiri shawls and woolen and silk carpets were in great demand in Central Asia. Indian merchants also traversed long distances via Turkmenistan and the Caspian region (the Caspian region) to reach Kolkheti on the Black Sea (now in Georgia). Due to its enormous length, trade passed through many hands. But for the Central Asian segment, Indians were among the traders, along with Parthians and Soghdians. Among the prominent items exported from India were sugar, cotton cloth, namda (woolen carpets), shawls and dyes, while the major items of import were horses, sheep, gold, silver, precious stones, metals and fruits, particularly dried fruits. The expansion and diversification of the caravan trade and the silk route led to the emergence of a large Indian diasporas in the Central Asian region. Bukhara, a commercial hub on the silk route, had 200 caravanserais and Indians were allotted one such serai for their use. In 1832, Alexander Burnes noted that there are about 300 Hindus living in Bukhara. They are chiefly natives of Shikarpoor in Sindh (Pakistan) and their number has of late increased (Burnes 1834, p. 286).4 Besides trading activity, Indians were also engaged in money lending and exchanging. Apart from Bukhara, Indian settlers were found all along the towns and cities on the silk route. Incidentally, in the ancient period the ruling dynasty of Khotan (China) claimed Indian origin. A large number of Indians lived in Andijon, Fergana, Namangan as well as in small towns and villages of Central Asia. Near Tashkent, there were nearly forty Indians actively engaged in trading activity. Indian settlers also built viharas, and left behind texts, a valuable source of information. Many of the Indians were owners of land, horses, caravans and gardens. There were masons and 287 artisans from India who were brought by Timur to work in his capital city, Samarkand. India‘s trading activity with the region suffered a setback with the opening of sea commerce and the rise of British colonialism in the subcontinent. Nevertheless, it is estimated that in the second half of the nineteenth century, there were approximately eight thousand Indian settlers in the region. There were also Central Asians also living in the subcontinent, though their exact number is not known. They lived in separate quarters, or Mahallas. Many of them arrived during the Mughal period and were men of letters occupying high positions in the royal courts. There were artisans and craftsmen whose most visible contribution lay in architecture. A fine specimen of architectural skill is the Taj Mahal at Agra. It was the Central Asians living in Kashmir who introduced the art of tailoring and embroidery, which changed the economic life of Kashmir. Finely embroidered shawls from Kashmir were in great demand among the Central Asian nobility. An important period in the historical ties between Medieval India and Central Asia began with the invasion of Mahmud of Ghazni (998-1030) who was in search of Indian riches and led several expeditions to India with this objective. With the beginning of ―Delhi Sultanate‖ phase, the Muslim period of Indian history began. Members of the Khilji dynasty owed their origin to Turkmen tribes and military aristocracy comprised of Central Asian Turks at that time. They created a powerful organization, ―Forty‖, named so due to the number of its founder. In 1526, Babur, hailing from Fergana, laid the foundation of Mughal Empire in India. It was Bairam Khan from the Turkmen region who helped Humayun (son of Babur) to regain his lost empire. Bairam Khan, however, is known as the tutor and mentor of Akbar and his son Abdurrahim Khan was a first rate soldier. Akbar unified large parts of India. Known for his humanism, sense of fairness and justice, and encouragement to art and literature, Akbar occupies a place of high honor in Indian history. The decline of the Mughal Empire began in the eighteenth century due to the absence of worthy successors to the earlier rulers. The mighty Mughal Empire was crumbling and paving the way for British colonialism in the subcontinent. Cultural interaction reached new strengths during the period of the Muslim rule. In this regard, mention must be made of Al Beruni and Abdurazzak Samarkandi of Khorezm (now in Uzbekistan). The latter came to India in the fifteenth century. Their quest for knowledge led the two famous scholars to India. Al Beruni stayed in India for thirteen years, studied Sanskrit and importantly translated valuable treatise on mathematics and astronomy into Arabic. Al Beruni also penned his impressions about India in a book Tarrik-i-Hind (India), an outstanding source of information about eleventh century India for posterity. Mirza Ghalib and Iqbal wrote both in Farsi and Urdu and their poems written in Farsi were extremely popular in Central Asia. Indian medical studies and research were widely known and admired in Central Asia. Indian texts on medicine by Charak and Susrat were translated into Arabic and local languages. Often travelers to India carried back medicines with them. A famous physician from Herat Abu Mansur Mawafaq 288 confessed having adopted the Indian way of learning as they (the Indians) were more sharp sighted in medical sciences than any other people and were more accurate in their research. Other areas where cultural interaction was visible was in the field of painting, including miniatures. The Kyrgyz legendary epic Manas has made references to elephants. Music and musical instruments of the two regions have a striking similarity. Central Asia exerted influence on the art of gardening in India. When a mosque or a tomb was being constructed during the Mughal period, special care had to be taken to ensure that there was enough space for gardens. This vigorous and robust interaction waned with the expansion of British rule in the subcontinent and the Russian advance into Central Asia. In the early nineteenth century the British began collecting information about Central Asia and had even established a monitoring centre at Herat. The orientation of the two regions underwent radical change with the recognition of Afghan independence, the establishment of the Durand Line between Afghanistan and the British Empire and the incorporation of Central Asia in the Tsarist Empire. The Russians began to reorient Central Asia towards the North as Central Asian cotton was essential for the textile factories of Moscow and St. Petersburg. Tashkent became the hub of transport routes going northern. The British in turn constructed the port cities of Bombay, Madras and Calcutta, thus orienting Indian trade by sea routes. The silk route was already on the decline and Central and South Asia had started to drift apart. Adding to this distancing was the changing language education in both the regions. While the British introduced English, the Tsarist Empire promoted education in Russian. In the process Persian, a common language, the root of centuries-old cultural links was marginalized. As a perceptive observer noted ―More important was the fundamental change that they managed to mould into the minds of the people as a whole‖. During the Soviet period, India was among the few countries which was able to interact with Central Asian Republics. Indian films and music were extremely popular then and even now. There were exchanges of literary people, artists and people to people contacts. Impact of India on Life and Culture of Central AsiaIndian religion, social and cultural life and art had profoundly affected the life and culture of people of Central Asia. Religion: In the sphere of religion, Buddhism was very popular. Buddhism probably had taken its root in central Asia earlier than the period of the Kushana. Because of the famous Buddhist theologian Ghosaka, born in Tukharstan, attended the Buddhist council at Purusapura , convened by Kanishka. He was one of the distinguished Buddhist personalities there. During the reign of Kaniska, the Sarvastinvada sect of Buddhism was gaining ground in western Turkistan but in the other place Mahayana sect was popular. Numerous Buddhist stupas, shrines and monasteries were constructed and many images of Buddha and Bodhisattava were executed, after their Indian models. Kashgar, Yarkand, Khotan and Kuchi were significant centre of Buddhism. The ruler of Kuchi and other 289 countries in the central Asia were devout followed of Buddhism and they had adopted Indian names such as Haripuspa, Suvarnapusa etc. The counry was dotted with Buddhist monasteries where in thousand of monks lived. The monks were known as Sramana or Thera Vikshyu, there Buddhist organization were called Bikshyu Sangha. On the southern route to China, from west to east, Sarikote had ten monasteries with five hundred monks, Wusha had ten monasteries with hundred monks, Kashgar had many hundred monasteries and ten thousand monks and Khotan and over hundred monasteries with five thousand monks. The famous establishment of the Gomati Vihara was at Khotan. On the northern route to Chine fro west to east, Aqsu had about ten monasteries with nearly thousand monks. Knea was almost entirely a Buddhist city, it had royal palace looking like a monastery full of image of Buddha. Buddhism was flourished in the northern Chinese Turkistan, till about the eighteenth century. Beside the Buddhism, Brahminism was also followed by the people of Central Asia. Images of Siva Shakti, Ganesha, Kubera and Naryana have been found there. God Shiva is depicted there having four hands, three faces, seating cross legged and clothed in tight fitting vest and a tiger skin around the middle. Other Brahminical divinities that were revered and worship there were Brahma, Narayana, Indra, Ganesa , Kartikeya etc. Language and Literature In addition to the local dialects, people in central Asia were acquainted with Sanskrit and Prakrit languages. A large number of Buddhist texts, written in Sanskrit and Prakrit, as well as in local languages of central Asia, in Brahmi and Kharosthi script of Indian have been discovered there. Some of the phrases used in the prayers and worshipped by the people were almost identical with those found in Indian inscription of Kushana age. Numerous sacred texts of Buddhism were discovered in Khotan, Kucha, Gilgit and other places. A text of the Dhammapada in Pali language, another text of Udanavarga and the palm leaf manuscript from Turfan containing some portion of the drama of Sariputtaprakarana and other two drama of Asvaghosa have been discovered. Government According to ancient Khotanese tradition an Indian royal dynasties rule Khotan for fifty Six generation. Important states of Central Asia like Khotan, Baruka, Kusha, Agni Desa and Kao-Chang adopted many features of Indian monarchical government. The king adopted Indian royal; title such as Maharayasa, Rayatirayasa, Mahanuaya, Sachadhamastidasa etc. The Khotanese King used Deva with his name such as Maharaja Rajatiraja Deva Vijhita Singha. The divine element in royalty was in conception of royalty. The Ruler of Kushu and other states adopted Indian names like Vijita Simha, Haripusha, Suvarnapuisha etc. Many other people used such names like Bhima, Bangusena, Nadasena etc. The king adopted official designation such as Chara(spy), Dutyua or Dutta etc. About forty coins have been found in Khotan which bear Indian legend in Kharoshti script. This indicates the language and the script used in administration were Indian. 290 Social-Economic Life The patriarchal family system of India was followed there. The male head of the family commanded great reverence and exercise authority over the other members of the family. He led a pious and noble life. Slavery was common practice. The dresses of the people were influence by Indian costumes. They used words for clothes, such as woolen, hem, silk, leather etc. They adopted Indian names for profession such as silpigyan(Sculptor), suranakara(gold smith) etc. The central Asian also adopted Indian system of coinage. Art Indian architecture, sculpture and painting spread all over the region of netral Asia in the early century of Christian Era. The seals with the effigies of Kuvera and Trimukha found at Niya and the painted Ganesha discovered at Endere. The close architectural resemblance between the Turkistan stupa and the corresponding stupa extant in Kabul valley and the north-west frontier region of Pakistan and the wall painting of Indian Buddhist monk in yellow robes with names written in Brahmi, discovered in the Buddhist temples at Bazaklik in the northern part of Central Asia, bear testimony to the profound influence of Indian art on the art of Central Asia. The Greeco- Buddhist art of Gandhara flourishing in the north-western frontier of India, contributed most to shape the Buddhist art of Central Asia. On the southern slope of Tien-Shan mountains, caves of thousand Buddhas were excavated and doctored with mural paintings. These were executed in the period from the seventh to tenth A.D. Some of the states in Central Asia were flourishing Indian colonies. India and Arabia New Islamic political power rose in prominence in Arabia in 8th Century. Bagdad in Arabia was at this time the centre of Muslim world. Indian culture reached Arabia directly as well as through Persia. In the beginning, Indian literature was at first translated into Persian and later on translated from Persian to Arabic. A good example of this fables known as Kalila-wa-dimna, based on Indian works the Panchatantra. Similarly, the Charaka samhita, a treatise on Indian medical science, came to be known to the Arab world through Persian court. Arab interest in Indian literature and culture was aroused directly after the Arab conquest of Sind in the beginning of 8th Century A.D. This interest and intercourse between India and Arabia became more prominent during the reign of Al-Mansur (754-775 A.D.) and Harul-ul-Rashid(786-809 A.D), the Khlaifa of Muslim world with Baghdad as their capital. Indian embassies were sent to this Khalifa. They were accompanied by Indian scholar. The Arabs learnt Indian literature and science including Mathematics and Astronomy, from these Hindu scholar. The scholar who accompanied the embassies carried with them to Arabia, many works on Astronomy and Mathematics including the Brahamasphutasiddhanta and the Khanadakhadyaka of Brahmagupta. Before the translations of Ptolemey‘s Almegest, three Indian works on astronomy were translated with the help of these Indian scholars into Arabic, the most famous of them being Barhmagupta Siddhanat, given in Arabic 291 convenient name Sindhind, translated by Al-Fazari and Yaqub-Ibn-Tariq. Other two work from Hindu astronomy, translated into Arabic were Brahmagupta‘s Khanadakhadyaka and work of Aryabhatta. Digest and commentaries of the Siddhanta continued to be written until the 11th century in the Arab world. Hindu Mathematics left a far more lasting impression on the Arab science. The Indian scholar in Baghdad introduced in Arab the Hindu numerals, particularly the system of decimal- notation, based on the place value of the first nine numbers and use of zero. In the reign of Al- Mamun (813-870) the Arab mathematician Al-Khwarizm adopted Sanskrit numerals to Arabic orthography. An assessment on the Hindu influence on the mathematics can be made from the work of Al-Naswi(980-1040) on Indian arithmetic. Some mathematical and astronomical terms were borrowed into Arabic from Sanskrit. During the period of early Khalifas, contact with India was promoted and the Arab interest in Hindu sciences was aroused chiefly by the efforts of Barmak family, which provided ministers to the Abbasid Khalifa. The founder of the family was a Buddhist high priest of the monastery in Balkh. Though he was converted to Islam from Buddhism, he had great learning towards Indian culture. These Barmakid ministers invited Indian scholar to come Baghdad. They were employed to translate into Arabic Sanskrit works on Mathematics, Algebra, Astronomy, Medicine, Pharmacology, Toxicology and other literature. Many standard Hindu treaties on medicine, material medica and therapeutics were translated into Arabic by order of Khalifa Har-Ulul-Rashid. Such famous work such as Charaka samhita, the susruta, the nidana and the ashtanga of Banabhatta were translated in Arabic. When Indian physician name Mankh cured Har-Ulul-Rashid of chronic deases he was exceedingly delighted and appointed Mankh as the head of royal Hospital. Among the other Sanskrit work, translated into Arabic, were the ethical writings of Chanakya and the Hitopodesa, and works ranging logic to magic, catalogue by Iba-Nadim. Panchtantra was translated into Sassanid, old Persian and then from Persian version to Arabic by IbnUl-Muquaffa and named Kalila-wa-dimna. The fascinating and interesting story of Sindbad, the sailor which was later on incorporated into the Arabians night was partly of Indian origin. Part on the Indian Epic Mahabharata was translated into Arabic by Abu- Salih-Ibn, Shuayb and later by Abul-HasanAli-Jabali. Works dealing with the life and teachings of Buddha were translated from Pahelevi into Arabic and named as Kitab-ul-Budd, Kitab-Balawhar wa Budhasaga and Kitab-Budhasab Mufrad. Many Arabian scholars, Traveler and merchants had given an account of Indian of their period. Sulaiman, the merchant who visited India, wrote of Hindu customs like trial by Ordeal, the cremation of dead and during alive of widow. He praised Hindu proficiency in medicine, astronomy and philosophy. Abu- yed Husan-ul Sayrafi who visited India in 916 A.D showed interest in Hindu ascetics in his accounts. AL-Masud who also visited India in the 10th Century A.D given us a good 292 account on the religious beliefs and practices of India. Hindu religious ideas influenced Islam and it led to the growth and development of Islamic mysticism or Sufism. Titus has observed that India has contributed in thought, religios imageries pf expression and pious practices of Sufism. In fine art such as music , art and architecture Indian influenced the Islami world in many aspects. Cultural links between India and the Greco-Roman world Cyrus the Great (558-530 BC) built the first universal Empire, stretching from Greece to the Indus River. This was the famous Achaemenid Dynasty of Persia. An inscription at Naqsh-i- Rustam, the tomb of his able successor Darius-I (521-486 BC), near Persipolis, records Gadara (Gandhara) along with Hindush (Hindus, Sindh) in the long list of satrapies of the Persian Empire. By about 380 BC the Persian hold on Indian regions slackened and many small local kingdoms arose. In 327 BC Alexander the Great overran the Persian Empire and located small political entities within these territories. The next year, Alexander fought a difficult battle against the Indian monarch Porus near the modern Jhelum River. East of Porus' kingdom, near the Ganges River, was the powerful kingdom of Magadha, under the Nanda Dynasty. Plutarch (AD 46-120) was a Greek historian gives an interesting description of the situation: As for the Macedonian, however, their struggle with Porus blunted their courage and stayed their further advance into India. For having had all they could do to repulse an enemy who mustered only twenty thousand infantry and two thousand horse, they violently opposed Alexander when he insisted on crossing the river Ganges also, the width of which, as they learned, was thirty-two furlongs, its depth a hundred fathoms, while its banks on the further side were covered with multitudes of men-at arms and horsemen and elephants. Exhausted and frightened by the prospect of facing another giant Indian army at the Ganges River, his army mutinied at the Hydespas (modern Beas River), refusing to march further East. Alexander left behind Greek forces which established themselves in the city of Taxila, now in Pakistan. After the death of Alexander in 323 BC, Seleucus was nominated as the satrap of Babylon in 320 BC. Antigonus forced Seleucus to flee from Babylon, but, supported by Ptolemy, he was able to return in 312 BC. Seleucus' later conquest includes Persia and Media. He invaded what is now Punjab in northern India and Pakistan in 305 BC.Early allusion to the Greeks in India Long before the arrival of Alexender the Great on India's north-western border, there are references in early Indian literature calling the Greeks Yavanas. Panini, an ancient Sanskrit grammarian, was acquainted with the word yavana in his composition. Katyayanaa explains the term yavanani as the script of the Yavanas. Nothing much is known about Panini‘s life, not even the century he lived in. The scholarly mainstream favours 4th century BC. It is unlikely there would have been first-hand knowledge of Greeks in Gandhara before the conquests of Alexander the Great in the 330s BC, but it is likely that the name was known via the Old Persian word yauna, so that the occurrence of yavanani taken in isolation allows for as early as 520 BC, i.e. the time of Darius the Great's conquests in India. 293 Katyayana (3rd century BC) was Sanskrit grammarian, mathematician and Vedic priest who lived in ancient India. He explains the term yavananias the script of the Yavanas. He takes the same line as above that the Old Persian term yauna became Sanskrtised to name all Greeks. In fact, this word appears in the Mahabharata. Hellenization: The Cultural Legacy The start of the so-called Hellenistic Period is usually taken as 323 BC, the year of death of Alexander in Babylon. During the previous decade of invasion, he had conquered the whole Persian Empire, overthrowing King Darius. The conquered lands included Asia Minor, the Levant, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Media, Persia and parts of modern Afghanistan, Pakistan and parts of the steppes of central Asia, almost the entire earth known to the Greeks at that time. As Alexander marched deeper into the East, distance alone presented him with a serious problem: how was he to remain in touch with the Greek world left behind? A physical link was vital as his army drew supplies and reinforcement from Greece and, of course, Macedonia. He had to be sure he was never cut off. He thought of a unique plan. He went on planting military colonies and cities in strategic places. At those places Alexander left Greek mercenaries and Macedonian veterans who were no longer involved in active campaign. Besides keeping the supply routes open, those settlements served the purpose of dominating the countryside around them. Their military significance apart, Alexander's cities and colonies became powerful instruments in the spread of Hellenism throughout the East. Plutarch described Alexander's achievements: Having founded over 70 cities among barbarian peoples and having planted Greek magistracies in Asia, Alexander overcame its wild and savage way of life. Alexander had indeed opened the East to an enormous wave of immigration, and his successors continued his policy by inviting Greek colonists to settle in their realms. For seventy-five years after Alexander's death, Greek immigrants poured into the East. Alexander's settlement of Greek colonists and culture in the east resulted in a new Hellenistic culture, aspects of which were evident until the mid-15th century. The overall result of Alexander's settlements and those of his successors was the spread of Hellenism as far east as India. Throughout the Hellenistic period, Greeks and Easterners became familiar with and adapted themselves to each other's customs, religions, and ways of life. Although Greek culture did not entirely conquer the East, it gave the East a vehicle of expression that linked it to the West. Hellenism became a common bond among the East, peninsular Greece, and the western Mediterranean. This pre-existing cultural bond was later to prove quite valuable to Rome, itself strongly influenced by Hellenism in its efforts to impose a comparable political unity on the known world. Trade in the Hellenic World The Seleucid and Ptolemaic dynasties traded as far afield as India, Arabia, and sub- Saharan Africa. Overland trade with India and Arabia was conducted by caravan and was largely in the hands of 294 Easterners. The caravan trade never dealt in bulk items or essential commodities; only luxury goods could be transported in this very expensive fashion. Once the goods reached the Hellenistic monarchies, Greek merchants took a hand in the trade. Essential to the caravan trade from the Mediterranean to Afghanistan and India were the northern route to Dura on the Euphrates River and the southern route through Arabia. The desert of Arabia may seem at first unlikely and inhospitable terrain for a line of commerce, but to the east of it lay the plateau of Iran, from which trade routes stretched to the south and still farther cast to China. Commerce from the East arrived in Egypt and at the excellent harbors of Palestine and Syria. From these ports goods flowed to Greece, Italy and Spain. The backbone of this caravan trade was the camel - shaggy, ill-tempered, but durable. Over the caravan routes travelled luxury goods that were light, rare, and expensive. In time these luxury items became more of a necessity than a luxury. In part this development was the result of an increased volume of trade. In the prosperity of the period more people could afford to buy gold, silver, ivory, precious stones, spices, and a host of other easily transportable goods. Perhaps the most prominent goods in terms of volume were tea and silk. Indeed, the trade in silk gave the major route the name "Silk Road", for not only was this route prominent in antiquity, but it was used until early modern times. In return the Greeks and Macedonians sent east manufactured goods, especially metal weapons, cloth, wine, and olive oil. Although these caravan routes can trace their origins to earlier times, they became far more prominent in the Hellenistic period. Business customs developed and became standardized, so that merchants from different nationalities communicated in a way understandable to all of them. Innovative years on the borders of India There was a succession of more than thirty Hellenistic kings, often in conflict with each other, from 180 BC to around AD 10. This era is known as the Indo-Greek kingdom in the pages of history. The kingdom was founded when the Greco-Bactrian King Demetrius invaded India in 180 BC, ultimately creating an entity which seceded from the powerful Greco-Bactrian kingdom centred in Bactria (today's northern Afghanistan). Since the term "Indo-Greek Kingdom" loosely described a number of various dynastic polities, it had several capitals, but the city of Taxila in modern Pakistan was probably among the earliest seats of local Hellenic rulers, though cities like Pushkalavati and Sagala (apparently the largest of such residences) would house a number of dynasties in their times. During the two centuries of their rule, the Indo-Greek kings combined the Greek and Indian languages and symbols, as seen on their coins, and blended ancient Greek, Hindu and Buddhist religious practices, as seen in the archaeological remains of their cities and in the indications of their support of Buddhism. The Indo-Greek kings seem to have achieved a level of cultural syncretism with no equivalent in history, the consequences of which are still felt today, particularly through the 295 diffusion and influence of Greco-Buddhist art. According to Indian sources, Greek ("Yavana") troops seem to have assisted Chandragupta Maurya in toppling the Nanda Dynasty and founding the Mauryan Empire. By around 312 BC Chandragupta had established his rule in large parts of the north-western Indian territories as well. In 303 BC, Seleucus I led an army to the Indus, where he encountered Chandragupta. Chandragupta and Seleucus finally concluded an alliance. Seleucus gave him his daughter in marriage, ceded the territories of Arachosia (modern Kandahar), Herat, Kabul and Makran. He in turn received from Chandragupta 500 war elephant which he used decisively at the Battle of Ipsus. The peace treaty, and "an intermarriage agreement" (Epigamia), meaning either a dynastic marriage or an agreement for intermarriage between Indians and Greeks was a remarkable first feat in this campaign. Megasthenes, first Greek ambassador Megasthenes (350 – 290 BC) was a Greek ethnographer in the Hellenistic period, author of the work Indica. He was born in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey) and became an ambassador of Seleucus I to the court of Sandrocottus, who possibly was Chandragupta Maurya in Pataliputra (modern Patna in Bihar state), India. However the exact date of his embassy is uncertain. Scholars place it before 288 BC, the date of Chandragupta's death. At the start of the Indica, Megasthenes talks about the older Indians who knew about the prehistoric arrival of Dionysus and Hercules in India. This story was quite popular amongst the Greeks during the Alexandrian period. He describes geographical features of India, such as the Himalayas and the island of Sri Lanka. Especially important are his comments on the religions of the Indians. He mentions the devotees of Hercules (Shiva) and Dionysus (Krishna or Indra), but he does not write a word on Buddhists, something that gives ground to the theory that Buddhism was not widely spread in India before the reign of Asoka (269 BC to 232 BC). Indica served as an important source to many later writers such as Strabo and Arrian. The 1st century BC Greek historian Apollodorus, quoted by Strabo, affirms that the Bactrian Greeks, led by Demetrius I and Menander, conquered India and occupied a larger territory than the Macedonians under Alexander the Great, going beyond the Hyphasis (modern Beas River) towards the Himalayas. The Roman historian Justin also cited the Indo-Greek conquests, describing Demetrius as "King of the Indians" ("Regis Indorum"), and explaining that Eucratides in turn "put India under his rule" ("Indiam in potestatem redegit"). "India" only meant the upper Indus for Alexnder the Great. Since the appearance of Megasthenes, "India" meant to the Greeks most of the northern half of the Indian subcontinent. Greek and Indian sources tend to indicate that the Greeks campaigned as far as Pataliputra until they were forced to retreat following a coup in Bactria in 170 BC. Appearance of coins as the first landmark Based on available evidences, it appears that the notion of money was conceived by three different 296 civilizations independently and almost simultaneously. Coins were introduced as a means to trade things of daily usage in Asia Minor, India and China in 6th century BC. Most historians agree that the first coins of world were issued by Greeks living in Lydia and Ionia (located on the western coast of modern Turkey). These first coins were globules of Electrum, a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver. These were crude coins of definite weight stamped with punches issued by the local authorities in about 650 BC. Both, literary and archaeological evidence confirm that the Indians invented coinage somewhere between the 5th and 6th centuries BC. A hoard of coins discovered at Chaman Huzuri in AD 1933 contained 43 silver punch-marked coins (the earliest coins of India) mixed with Athenian (coins minted by Athens city of Greece) and Achaemenid (Persian) coins. The Bhir (Taxila in modern Pakistan) hoard discovered in AD 1924 contained 1055 punch-marked coins in very worn- out condition and two coins of Alexander in mint condition. This archaeological evidence clearly indicates that the coins were minted in India long before the 4th century BC- i.e. before Greeks advanced towards India. Panini wrote his Ashtadhyayi in the 4th or 5th century BC in which he mentioned Satamana, Nishkas, Sana, Vimastika, Karshapana and its various sub-divisions to be used in financial transactions. Thus, coins were known in ancient Indian literature from 500 BC. There is also a strong belief that silver as a metal which was not available in Vedic India (pre 600 BC). It became abundantly available by 500-600 BC. Most of the silver came from Afghanistan and Persia as a result of international trade. The first Greek coins to be minted in India, those of Menander I and Appolodotus I bear the mention "Saviour king" (Basileos Sothros), a title with high value in the Greek world. For instance, Ptolemy had been Soter (saviour) because he had helped save Rhodes from Demetrius the Besieger, and Antiochus I because he had saved Asia Minor from the Gauls. The title was also inscribed in Pali (the Kharoshthi script) as Tratarasa on the reverse of their coins. Menander and Apollodotus may indeed have been saviours to the Greek populations residing in India. Most of the coins of the Greek kings in India were bilingual, written in Greek on the front and in Pali on the back, a superb concession to another culture never before made in the Helenic world. From the reign of Apollodotus II, around 80 BC, Kharoshthi letters started to be used as mintmarks on coins in combination with Greek monograms and mintmarks. It suggested the participation of local technicians to the minting process. Incidentally, these bilingual coins of the Indo-Greeks were the key in the decipherment of the Kharoshthi script by James Prinsep (AD 1799 –1840). The coinage of the Indo-Greeks remained in fact influential for several centuries throughout the Indian subcontinent:  The Indo-Greek weight and size standard for silver drachms was adopted by the contemporary Buddhist kingdom of the Kunindas in Punjab, the first attempt by an Indian 297 kingdom to produce coins that could compare with those of the Indo-Greeks.  In central India, the Satavahanas (2nd century BC- 2nd century AD) adopted the practice of representing their kings in profile, within circular legends.  The direct successors of the Indo-Greeks in the northwest, the Indo-Scythians and IndoParthians continued displaying their kings within a legend in Greek, and on the obverse, Greek deities.  To the south, the Western Kshatrapas (1st-4th century AD) represented their kings in profile with circular legends in corrupted Greek.  The Kushans (1st-4th century AD) used the Greek language on their coinage until the first few years of the reign of Kanishka, whence they adopted the Bactrian language, written with the Greek script.  The Guptas (4th-6th century AD), in turn imitating the Western Kshatrapas, also showed their rulers in profile, within a legend in corrupted Greek, in the coinage of their western territories. The latest use of the Greek script on coins corresponds to the rule of the Turkish Shahi of Kabul, around AD 850. Rise of Menander Menander (Milinda), originally a general of Demetrius, is probably the most successful Indo-Greek king, and the conqueror of the vastest territory. The finds of his coins are the most numerous and the most widespread of all the Indo-Greek kings. From at least the 1st century AD, the "Menander Mons", or "Mountains of Menander", came to designate the mountain chain at the extreme east of the Indian subcontinent, today's Naga Hills and Arakan, as indicated in the Ptolemy world map of the 1st century. Menander is also remembered in Buddhist literature (the Milinda Panha) as a convert to Buddhism: he became an arhat (Buddhist ascetic) whose relics were enshrined in a manner reminiscent of the Buddha. He also introduced a new coin type, with Athens Alkidemos ("Protector of the people") on the reverse, which was adopted by most of his successors in the East. Buddhism and the Indo-Greek in India It is necessary to deal with the coming of Buddhism in India as a turning point in the world of art and culture, philosophy and religion. More than all other religious faiths, the Greco-Indian approach to the new dawn across Asia and Europe was mainly due to the Buddhism during the centuries under discussion here. It is believed that Buddha never intended to set up a new religion and he never looked on his doctrine as distinct from the popular cults of the time. However questionable this view may be, his simpler followers raised his status almost to divinity during his lifetime, and after his death, worshipped him through his symbols-the stupa, recalling his parinirvana and the Bodhitree, 298 recalling his enlightenment. According to tradition, disciples and the neighbouring rulers divided his ashes, and the recipients built stupas over them. In the third century BC, Ashoka uncovered the ashes from their original resting places and dispersed those, creating stupas all over India. The carvings on the stupas of Bharhut and Sanchi, crafted in the second and third centuries BC, show crowds of adoring worshippers leaning down towards the symbol of the Buddha. Indeed, in all the Buddhist sculpture of the period, there is no show of the Buddha himself, but displayed by such emblems as a wheel, an empty throne, a pair of footprints or a pipal tree. Rise of the Gandhara art The Gandhara Schools of art and sculpture in the lower Kabul Valley and the upper Indus around Peshawar and Mathura, both of which flourished under the Kushan kings, vie for the honour of producing the first images of the Buddha. Most Indian authorities, however, believe that the Buddha image originated at Mathura, south of Delhi. Around the time of Menander's death in 140 BC, the Central Asian Kushans overran Bactria and ended Greek rule there. Around 80 BC, the Sakas, diverted by their Parthian cousins from Iran, moved into Gandhara and other parts of Pakistan and Western India. Eventually an Indo-Parthian dynasty succeeded in taking control of Gandhara. The Parthians continued to support Greek artistic traditions. The Kushan period is considered the golden period of Gandhara. Gandharan art flourished and produced some of the best pieces of Indian sculpture. The Gandhara civilization peaked during the reign of the great Kushan King Kanishka (AD 128–151). The cities of Taxila (Takshasila) at Sirsukh and Peshawar flourished. Peshawar became the capital of a great empire stretching from Bengal, the easternmost province of India to Central Asia. Kanishka was a great patron of the Buddhist faith; Buddhism spread farther from Central Asia to the Far East, where his empire met the Han Empire of China. Gandhara became a holy land of Buddhism and attracted Chinese pilgrims to see monuments associated with many Jataka tales. In Gandhara, Mahāyāna Buddhism flourished and Buddha was represented in human form. Under the Kushans new Buddhists stupas were built and old ones were enlarged. Huge statues of the Buddha were erected in monasteries and carved into the hillsides. Kanishka also built a great tower to a height of 400 feet at Peshawar. This tower was reported by Faxian (Fa-hsien), Songyun (Sungyun) and Xuanzang (Hsuan-tsang). This structure was destroyed and rebuilt many times until it was at last destroyed by Mahmud of Ghazni in the 11th century AD. The earliest Hellenistic statues of the Buddha portray him in a style reminiscent of a king. Demetrius may have been deified, and the first Hellenistic statues of the Buddha we know may be representations of the idealized Greek king, princely, yet friendly, protective and open to Indian culture. As they often incorporated more Buddhist elements, they became central to the Buddhist movement, and influenced the image of the Buddha in Greco-Buddhist art. 299 In Gandharan art, the Buddha is often shown under the protection of the Greek god Herakles, standing with his club (and later a diamond rod) resting over his arm. This unusual representation of Herakles is the same as the one on the back of Demetrius' coins, and it is exclusively associated to him (and his son Euthydemus II), seen only on the back of his coins. Deities from the Greek mythological pantheon also tend to be incorporated in Buddhist representations, displaying a strong blend. In particular, Herakles (of the type of the Demetrius coins, with club resting on the arm) has been used aplenty as the symbol of Vajrapani, the protector of the Buddha. Other Greek deities freely used in Greco-Buddhist art are view of Atlas, and the Greek wind god Boreas. Atlas in particular tends to be involved as a sustaining element in Buddhist architectural elements. Boreas became the Japanese wind god Fujin through the Greco-Buddhist Wardo. The mother deity Hariti was inspired by Tyche. Soon, the figure of the Buddha was incorporated within architectural designs, such as Corintian pillars and friezes. Scenes of the life of the Buddha are typically depicted in a Greek architectural environment, with protagonist wearing Greek clothes. Mathura art Mathura, 145 km south of Delhi, is by tradition the birthplace of Krishna, one of the two chief deities in Hindu religion. Mathura is also famous as one of the first two centres of production for images of the Buddha, the other being Gandhara. Human images of the Buddha began to appear at about the same time in both centres in the 1st Century AD but can be distinguished from one another as the Gandharan images are very clearly Greco-Roman in inspiration with the Buddha wearing wavy locks tucked up into a chignon and heavier toga-like robes. The Buddha figurines produced in Mathura more closely resemble some of the older Indian male fertility gods and have shorter, curlier hair and lighter, more translucent robes. Mathuran art and culture reached its zenith under the Kushan dynasty which had Mathura as one of their capitals, the other being Purushapura (Peshawar). The Mathura images are related to the earlier yaksa (male nature deity) figures, a likeness mostly evident in the colossal standing Buddha images of the early Kushan period. The sculptors worked for centuries in the speckled, red sandstone of the locality and the pieces carried far and wide. In these, and in the more representative seated Buddhas, the overall effect is one of enormous energy. The shoulders are broad, the chest swells, and the legs are firmly planted with feet spaced apart. Other characteristics are the shaven head; the usnisa (knob on the top of the head) indicated by a tiered spiral; a round smiling face; the right arm raised in abhaya-mudra (gesture of 300 reassurance); the left arm akimbo or resting on the thigh; the drapery closely moulding the body and arranged in folds over the left arm, leaving the right shoulder bare; and the presence of the lion throne rather than the lotus throne. Later, the hair began to be treated as a series of short flat spirals lying close to the head, the type that came to be the standard representation throughout the Buddhist world. The female figures at Mathura, carved in high relief on the pillars and gateways of both Buddhist and Jaina monuments, are truly sensuous in their appeal. These richly bejeweled ladies, ample of hip and slender of waist, standing suggestively, are reminiscent of the dancing girls of the Indua Valley. Their gay, impulsive sensuality in the backdrop of a resurgent doctrine of piety and renunciation is an example of the remarkable tolerance of the ancient Indian outlook on life, which did not find such display of art and culture improper. These delightful nude or semi-nude figures are shown in a variety of toilet scenes or in association with trees, indicating their continuance of the yaksī (female nature deity) tradition seen also at other Buddhist sites, such as Bharhut and Sanchi. As auspicious emblems of fertility and abundance they commanded a popular appeal that persisted with the rise of Buddhism. Infusion of literature All this did not remain confined in sculptures and statues alone. They seeped into the language as well in northern India during the Greek rule. A few common Greek words were adopted in Sanskrit, such as words related to writing and warfare. Greek was still in official use until the time of Kanishka (AD 120). The Greek script was used not only on coins, but also in manuscripts and stone inscriptions as late as the period of Islamic invasions in the 7th-8th century AD. Astronomy and astrology Vedanga Jyotisha is dated to around 135 BC. It is an Indian text on Jyotisha (astrology and astronomy), compiled by Lagadha. The text is the earliest groundwork in India to the Vedanga discipline of Jyotisha. The text describes rules for tracking the motions of the sun and the moon in horoscopic astrology and advanced astronomical knowledge. Next to this compilation, one of the earliest Indian writings on astronomy and astrology, titled the Yavanajataka or "The Saying of the Greeks", is a translation from Greek to Sanskrit made by "Yavanesvara" ("Lord of the Greeks") in 149–150 AD under the rule of the Western Kshatrapa King Rudrakarman I. The Yavanajataka contains instructions on calculating astrological charts (horoscopes) from the time and place of one's birth. Astrology flourished in the Hellenstic World (particularly Alexandria) and the Yavanajataka reflects astrological techniques developed in the Greek-speaking world. Various astronomical and mathematical methods, such as the calculation of the 'horoskopos' (the zodiac sign on the eastern horizon), were used in the service of astrology. Another set of treatises, the Paulisa Siddhanta and the Romaka Siddhantas, are attributed to later 301 Greco-Roman influence in India. The Paulisa Siddhanta has been tentatively identified with the works of Paulus Alexandrinus, who wrote a well-known astrological hand-book.Indian astronomy is widely acknowledged to be influenced by the Alexandrian school, and its technical nomenclature is essentially Greek: "The Yavanas are barbarians, yet the science of astronomy originated with them and for this they must be reverenced like gods", this is a comment in BrihatSamhita by the mathematician Varahamihira. Several other Indian texts show appreciation for the scientific knowledge of the Yavana Greeks. Spur on Indian and Greek thought and religion The impact of the Indo-Greeks on Indian thought and religion is unknown. Scholars believe that Mahayana Buddhism as a distinct movement began around the 1st century BC in the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, corresponding to the time and place of Indo-Greek flowering. Intense multi-cultural influences have indeed been suggested in the appearance of Mahayana. According to Richard Foltz, "Key formative influences on the early development of the Mahayana and Pure Land movements, which became so much part of East Asian civilization, are to be sought in Buddhism's earlier encounters along the Silk Road". As Mahayana Buddhism emerged, it received influences from popular Hindu devotional cults (bhakti), Persian and GrecoRoman theologies which filtered into India from the northwest. Many of the early Mahayana theories of reality and knowledge can be related to Greek philosophical schools of thought: Mahayana Buddhism has been described as "the form of Buddhism which (regardless of how Hinduized its later forms became) seems to have originated in the Greco-Buddhist communities of India, through a conflation of the Greek DemocriteanSophistic-Skeptical tradition with the rudimentary and unformulated empirical and sceptical elements already present in early Buddhism". However, this view can hardly explain the origin of the bodhisattva ideal, already delineated in the Aagamas, which also already contained a well developed theory of selflessness (anaatman) and emptiness (shunyaata), none of these essential Mahāyāna tenets being traceable to Greek roots. Thus, India‘s relation with the Hellenistic world was resulted in the emergence of a composite culture. The influence of Greek on coinage, art and literature as well as culture indeed noticed in the north-west part of India. The Greek were succumbed to the rising power of the Roman Empire. Very soon the Roman Empire subjugated the Greeks politically; however they were culturally subjugated by the Greeks. The Roman also captured the prosperous trade link between the east and west. Thus, in the last century of Pre Christian Era and early centuries of Christian era witnessed vigorous trade relations between the Roman and the oriental world. In the subsequent periods the Roman Empire shared much cultural exchange with India. The subsequent paragraphs will discuss the Indo-Roman trade and cultural relation in the early centuries of Christian Era. Indo-Roman Relation Roman trade with India through the overland caravan routes via Anatolia and Persia, though at a 302 relative trickle compared to later times, antedated the southern trade route via the Red Sea and monsoons which started around the beginning of the Common Era (CE) following the reign of Augustus and his conquest of Egypt in 30 BCE. The route so helped enhance trade between ancient states of India and Rome, that Roman politicians and historians are on record decrying the loss of silver and gold to buy silk to pamper Roman wives, and the southern route grew to eclipse and then totally supplant the overland trade route. So far as Indo-Roman trade is concerned during this period the scene was turned to south India instead of north-west India. Roman and Greek traders frequented the ancient Tamil and Sri Lanka, securing trade with the seafaring Tamil states of the Pandya, Chola and Chera dynasties and establishing trading settlement which secured trade with India by the Greeco-Roman World. As recorded by Strabo, Emperor Augustus of received at Antioch an ambassador from a South Indian King called Pandyan of Dramira. The country of the Pandyas, Pandi Mandala, was described as Pandyan Mediterranea in the Periplus and Modura Regia Pandyan by Ptolemy. The Seleucid dynasty controlled a developed network of trade with India which had previously existed under the influence of the Achaemenid Empire. The Greek Ptolemaic dynasty, controlling the western and northern end of other trade routes to soujthern Arabia and India, had begun to exploit trading opportunities with India prior to the Roman involvement but, according to the historian Strabo, the volume of commerce between India and Greece was not comparable to that of later Indian-Roman trade. The anonymous writer of Periplus of Erythrean Sea mentions a time when sea trade between India and Egypt did not involve direct sailings. The cargo under these situations was shipped to Aden. The Ptolemaic dynasty had developed trade with India using the Red Sea ports. With the establishment of Roman Egypt, the Romans took over and further developed the already existing trade using these ports. Prior to Roman expansion, India had established strong maritime trade with other countries. The dramatic increase in Indian ports, however, did not occur until the opening of the Red Sea by the Greeks and the Romans and the attainment of geographical knowledge concerning India‘s seasonal monsoons. In fact, the first two centuries of the Common Era indicate this increase in trade between western India and Rome. This expansion of trade was due to the comparative peace established by the Roman Empire during the time of Augustus (23 September 63 BC-19 August AD 14), which allowed for new explorations. Thus, archeologists, with evidence from artifacts and ancient literature, suggest that a significant commercial relationship existed between ancient western India and Rome. The west coast of India has been mentioned frequently in foreign literature, such as the Periplus of Erythrean Sea. The area was noted for its severe tidal currents, turbulent waves, and rocky seabeds. Although many ships have attempted to sail outside it in order to prevent shipwrecks, many 303 ships were still drawn inside the gulf. As a result of the difficulties, the entrance and departure of ships were dangerous for those who possessed little sea experience. The anchors of the ship would be caught by the waves and quickly cut off, which could overturn the ship or ultimately cause a wreck. Stone anchors have been observed near Bet Dwarka, an island situated in the Gulf of Kachchh, due to these frequent shipwrecks. More importantly, the number of discovered anchors and numerous artifacts suggest that Indo-Roman trade and commerce was significant during the early centuries of the Common Era. From Latin literature, Rome imported Indian tigers, rhinoceros, elephants, and serpents to use for circus shows - a method employed as entertainment to prevent riots in Rome. It has been noted in the Periplus of Erythrean Sea that Roman women also wore Indian pearls and used a supply of herbs, spices, pepper, lyceum, costus, sesame oil and sugar for food. Indigo was used as a color while cotton cloth was used as articles of clothing, Furthermore, India exported ebony for fashioned furniture in Rome. The Roman Empire also imported Indian lime, peach, and various other fruits for medicine. Western India, as a result, was the recipient of large amounts of Roman gold during this time. Since one must sail against the narrow gulfs of western India, special large boats were used and ship development was demanded. At the entrance of the gulf, large ships called trappaga and cotymba helped guide foreign vessels safely to the harbor. These ships were capable of relatively long coastal cruises, and several seals have depicted this type of ship. In each seal, parallel bands were suggested to represent the beams of the ship. In the center of the vessel is a single mast with a tripod base. Close trade relations as well as the development of ship building were supported by the discovery of several Roman coins. On these coins were depictions of two strongly constructed masted ships. Thus, these depictions of Indian ships, originating from both coins and literature (Pliny and Pluriplus), indicate India‘s development in seafaring due to the increase in Indo-Roman commerce. In addition, the silver Roman coins discovered in western India primarily come from the 1st, 2nd, and 5th centuries. These Roman coins also suggest that India possessed a stable sea borne trade with Rome during 1st and 2nd century AD. Land routes, during the time of Augustus, were also used for Indian embassies to reach Rome. There were strong Indo-Roman trade relations during the first two centuries of the Common Era. The 3rd century, however, was the demise of the Indo-Roman trade. The replacement of Greece by the Roman Empire as the administrator of the Mediterranean basin led to the strengthening of direct maritime trade with the east and the elimination of the taxes extracted previously by the middlemen of various land based trading routes. Strabo's mention of the vast increase in trade following the Roman annexation of Egypt indicates that monsoon was known and manipulated for trade in his time. 304 By the time of Augustus up to 120 ships were setting sail every year from Myos Hormos to India. So much gold was used for this trade, and apparently recycled by the Kushana Empire (Kushans) for their own coinage, that Pliny the Elder complained about the drain of specie to India. Trade on Exotic Animals There existed an exotic animal trade between India Ocean harbours and Mediterranean harbours. The evidence of this we can find in the mosaics and frescoes of the remains of Roman villas in Italy. For example Villa del Casale has mosaics depicting the capture of exotic animals in India, Indonesia and in Africa. The intercontinental trade of exotic animals was one of the sources of richness of the owners of the villa. In the mosaic there are also numerous other animals such as a Rhinoceros, an Indian Elephant (recognized from the ears) with his Indian conductor and the Indian Peafowl, along with other exotic birds. The animals were transported in cages and loaded in a ship arrived to Alexandria harbor, all that is represented in the mosaic. Roman ports The three main Roman ports involved with eastern trade were Arsinoe, Berenice and Myos Hormos. Arsinoe was one of the early trading centers but was soon overshadowed by the more easily accessible Myos Hormos and Berenice. The Ptolemaic dynasty exploited the strategic position of Alexandria to secure trade with India. The course of trade with the east then seems to have been first through the harbor of Arsinoe, the present day Suez. The goods from the East Africa trade were landed at one of the three main Roman ports, Arsinoe, Berenice or Myos Hormos. The Romans repaired and cleared out the silted up canal from the Nile to harbor center of Arsinoe on the Red Sea. This was one of the many efforts the Roman administration had to undertake to divert as much of the trade to the maritime routes as possible. Indian ports In India, the ports of Barbaricum (Modern, Karachi), Soungoura (central Bangladesh) Barygaza, Muziris in Kerala, Korkai, Kaveripattinam and Arikamedu on the southern tip of India were the main centers of this trade, along with Kodumanal, an inland city. The Periplus of Erythrean Sea describes Greco-Roman merchants selling in Barbaricum "thin clothing, figured linens, Topaz, coral, storax, frankincense, vessels of glass, silver and gold plate, and a little wine" in exchange for Seric skins, cotton cloth, Silk yarn, and Indigo. In Barygaza, they would buy wheat, rice, sesame oil, cotton and cloth. The Rome-India trade also saw several cultural exchanges which had lasting effect for both the civilizations and others involved in the trade. The Ethiopian kingdom of Aksumwas involved in the Indian Ocean trade network and was influenced by Roman culture and Indian 305 architecture. Traces of Indian influences are visible in Roman works of silver and ivory, or in Egyptian cotton and silk fabrics used for sale in Europe. The Indian presence in Alexandria may have influenced the culture but little is known about the manner of this influence. Clement of Alexandria mentions the Buddha in his writings and other Indian religions find mentions in other texts of the period. Christian and Jewish settlers from Rome continued to live in India long after the decline in bilateral trade. Large hoards of Roman coins have been found throughout India, and especially in the busy maritime trading centers of the south. The Tamilakkam kings reissued Roman coinage in their own name after defacing the coins in order to signify their sovereignty. Mentions of the traders are recorded in the Tamil Sangam literature of India. One such mention reads: "The beautiful warships of the Yavanas came to the prosperous and beautiful Muchiri (Muziris) breaking the white foams of Chulli, the big river, and returned with 'curry' (kari, the black pepper) paying for it in gold.(from poem no. 149 of 'Akananuru' of Sangam Literature)" Following the Roman Persian War, the areas under the Roman Byzantine Empire were captured by Khosrow-II of the Persian Sassanian Dynasty, but the Byzantine emperor Heraclius reconquered them (628). The Arabs, led by Amr-ibn-al-As, crossed into Egypt in late 639 or early 640 CE. This advance marked the beginning of the Islamic conquest of Egypt and the fall of ports such as Alexandria, used to secure trade with India by the Roman world since the Ptolemaic dynasty. The decline in trade saw the Ancient Tamil Country turn to South East Asia for international trade, where it influenced the native culture to a greater degree than the impressions made on Rome. However, knowledge of India and its trade was preserved in Byzantine books and it is likely that the court of the emperor still maintained some form of diplomatic relation to India up until at least the time of Constatine VII, seeking an ally against the rising influence of the Islamic states in the Middle East and Persia, appearing in a work on ceremonies called De Ceremonies. The Ottoman Turks conquered Constantinople in the 15th century (1453), marking the beginning of Turkish control over the most direct trade routes between Europe and Asia. The Ottomans initially cut off eastern trade with Europe, leading in turn to the attempt by Europeans to find a sea route around Africa, spurring the Age of Discovery, and the eventual rise of Mercantilism and Colonialism. Summary ฀ From prehistoric days, India had trade and cultural relations with West Asia, Rome, China and Southeast Asia. India sent its traders and missionaries to these regions and in some places these persons also settled. During the reign of Darius the Great of Persia, Greece and India had their earliest contact in about 510 BCE. ฀ For several millennia India has interacted with the Central Asian region; Afghanistan, Central Asia and Xinjiang. Trade was the motivating factor throughout history and with trade cum cultural interaction. ฀ It was not a mechanical transmission of cultural values from one people to another, it was a creative process in which cultural achievements were further refined before they were 306 ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ passed on. Indian religion, social and cultural life and art had profoundly affected the life and culture of people of Central Asia in the sphere of Art, Culture and Religion. Indian culture reached Arabia directly as well as through Persia. The start of the so-called Hellenistic Period is usually taken as 323 BC, the year of death of Alexander in Babylon. During the previous decade of invasion, he had conquered the whole Persian Empire, overthrowing King Darius. He opened large number of colonies on the route through which he reached India and Alexander had indeed opened the East to an enormous wave of immigration, and his successors continued his policy by inviting Greek colonists to settle in their realms. Alexander's settlement of Greek colonists and culture in the east resulted in a new Hellenistic culture, aspects of which were evident until the mid-15th century. India‘s links with West Asia, by land as well as sea routes, goes back to very ancient times. These ties between the two culture zones (the idea of nations had not yet developed) became particularly close with the rise and spread of Islamic civilization in West Asia. About the economic aspects of this relationship, we have from about mid-ninth century AD a number of accounts by Arab and other travellers, such as Sulaiman, the Merchant, Al- Masudi, Ibn Hauqal, Al Idrisi, etc, which attest to a flourishing commercial exchange between these areas. Evidence for a very active interaction in the cultural sphere, however, goes back to the eighth century and earlier. The Indians learnt many new things from the foreigners for examples minting of gold coins from the people of Greece and Rome. They learnt the art of making silk from China. They learnt how to grow betel from Indonesia. They established trade contact with the foreigners. The art and culture of the various countries got itself reflected over the Indian culture as well as get reflected in the other countries also. Exercise 1. Write short notes: Hellenisation, India in Central Asia, Puhar, Periplus of Erithrean Sea. 2. Trace the cultural contacts between India and Arab World. 3. Write a short note on Indo-Roman Trade. 4. Give an account of the spread of Indian culture in East Asia. 5. Assess the impact of Indian cultural influence in other parts of Asia. 6. Write an essay on the significance of Hellenistic influence in India. Suggested Readings ฀ Chakravarti, Ranabir: Merchants, Merchandise & Merchantmen, in: Prakash, Om (ed.): The Trading World of the Indian Ocean, 1500-1800 (History of Science, Philosophy and Culture in Indian Civilization, ed. by D.P. Chattopadhyaya, vol. III, 7), Pearson, Delhi, 2012, pp. 53- 116. ฀ Chaudhuri, Kirti N.: Trade and Civilisation in the Indian Ocean, CUP, Cambridge, 1985. ฀ Malekandathil, Pius: Maritime India: Trade, Religion and Polity in the Indian Ocean, Primus Books, Delhi, 2010. ฀ McPherson, Kenneth: The early Maritime Trade of the Indian Ocean, in: ib.: The Indian Ocean: A History of People and The Sea, OUP, 1993, pp. 16-75. 307 ฀ Christie, J.W., 1995, State formation In early Maritime Southeast Asia, BTLV ฀ Christie, J.W., 1999, The Banigrama in the Indian Ocean and the Java sea during the early Asian trade boom, Communarute‘s maritimes de l‘ocean indien, Brepols ฀ De Casparis, J.G., 1983, India and Maritime Southeast Asia: A lasting Relationship, Third Sri Lanka Endowment Fund Lecture. ฀ Hall, K.R., 1985, Maritime Trade and State development in early Southeast Asia, Honolulu.Walters, O.W., 1967, Early Indonesian Commerce, Ithaca. The Indians when they learned to navigate by water began to spread their cultural influence throughout Early South East Asia. The first civilizations that Indian ships encountered were villages along the Malaysian border. Malay villages existed close to the sea on creeks or estuaries. These people were good astronomers and made tools with hard, polished stone. They were great navigators, and had long narrow sailing crafts that were graceful in design. The Indians met them first because they could only go where the wind took them at first due to technological boundaries and from June to November a South-West wind blew constantly, leading the ships onto the Mayan Peninsula. South East Asian Villages Indians who were more developed than the village culture had a chance to spread their culture to these South East Asian villages that had complex patterns of relationships that had lasted for thousands of years. Due to wind factors, the Indian sailors were often stranded on the peninsula until the North East winds started blowing again from December to May. Eventually because of this Indian culture spread eastward as far as Vietnam. These Indian priestmissionaries and merchants provided leaders with an already tried and proven method for them to rule over normal people like wet rice fishermen and fishermen. Indianized States An Indianized state is evidenced first of all by a third century Chinese description. The state Funan in south Vietnam was on the trade route from India to China, being situated in the great delta of the Mekong River. Its capital Vyadhapura was a mud walled city that contained mainly pirates who would take advantage of ships moored along the mangrove creeks. It was of a relatively large size, supposedly populated by dark curly-haired people who exported jewelry of wrought silver and gold, pearls and sandalwood. Religiously the Indians could only gloss over the Animist religions that existed in South East Asian villages. For example, in Thailand where Buddhism is widespread there still exist many Animist traditions. Loosely organized states started to grow at the river mouths, who belonged to the relevant ruler as did tax revenues coming from there. Pirate alliances often would make victims out of passing merchant shipping. On the plainlands the rich soil would be used to grow rice. A stable social framework grew out of this that was ethical and hierarchical. The Ifugao 308 The Ifugao for example terraced large areas of mountains for rice growing, perhaps to run from malaria or perhaps because of a spiritual reason, (the terraces almost acted like pyramids to them). The terraces themselves if put back to back could extend for 12,000 miles. Terraces were built of excavated land next to a stone wall of 50 feet. The trench was filled with impervious clay, then sand and soil. Furthermore, the water supply system were made of bamboo pipes that led the water from the waterfalls of the hills to the rice fields. Families would need to cooperate when using this system of growing the seedbeds and transplanting the young plants. Joint responsibility was important as all should contribute in the group. For example, if a house ruined then neighbours would help build another or if someone was ill they would be taken care of by their neighbours. This led to close bonds throughout the entire village. This is in direct opposite to the thinking in the city where survival is always a personal affair. Worship of gods who were behind the forces that made rice growing possible were often worshipped in the Animist way. Mae Phra Phosop is a goddess rice mother who will be offended if you do not eat all the rice in your bowl for example and can stop rains needed for the next planting. Reference 1. A Short History of Asia, Colin Mason, Palgrave, London, 2005 https://worldhistory.us/asian-history/the-spread-of-indian-culture-in-early-south-eastasia.php 309 PART III SRIVIJAYA ITSELF 310 CHAPTER XiV Buddhism in the Srivijaya Empire Palembang, a major city of the Srivijaya Empire, became a well-known stop for Chinese Buddhist pilgrims on their way to India, the birthplace of Buddhism. More than one thousand Buddhist monks lived in the city, and Buddhist travelers were welcomed there to study Buddhist texts. A particularly popular form of Buddhism in the Srivijaya Empire was Vajrayana Buddhism, a mystical form of the religion that involved the cultivation of magical or supernatural powers through yantras, or special symbols. The Srivijaya Empire became a center for this form of Buddhism. One reason the version of Vajrayana Buddhism that developed in the Srivijaya Empire was so successful was that Srivijayan leaders combined Buddhist thought with indigenous beliefs about magic—another example of cultural syncretism. Vajrayana Buddhism originated in India but became popular in the Srivijaya empire during the same time period, indicating that trade connections between the two regions in the seventh century may have influenced each other’s religions. The influence of Buddhism also affected political structures in the Srivijaya Empire. Srivijayan rulers incorporated Buddhist philosophy into their public image. For example, an inscription detailing a speech from a park dedication in 684 CE depicts a Srivijayan king, Sri Jayanasa, as a bodhisattva, or someone who has already achieved buddhahood. By praying aloud during his speech that the park would provide a benefit to all living things, Sri Jayanasa showed that he was attempting to position himself as a religious authority as well as a political one. This dedication is the first time on record that a Srivijayan ruler also claimed the role of a religious figure. The 311 fact that the king felt associating himself with Buddhism would help his image indicated the importance of Buddhism in the Srivijaya Empire during the seventh century. 312 rivijayan bronze torso statue of Boddhisattva Padmapani (Avalokiteshvara), eighth century CE (Chaiya, Surat Thani, Southern Thailand). The statue demonstrates the Central Java art influence. In 1905 Prince Damrong Rajanubhab removed the statue from Wat Wiang, Chaiya, Surat Thani to Bangkok National Museum, Thailand. Srivijayan bronze torso statue of Boddhisattva Padmapani (Avalokiteshvara), eighth century CE (Chaiya, Surat Thani, Southern Thailand). The statue demonstrates the Central Java art influence. In 1905 Prince Damrong Rajanubhab removed the statue from Wat Wiang, Chaiya, Surat Thani to Bangkok National Museum, Thailand. Malay language Old Malay was the language of business and trade in the Srivijaya Empire. To successfully navigate the ports and marketplaces throughout the Malay Archipelago, a person had to be able to speak Old Malay. Establishing a standard means of communication made business transactions more efficient. Old Malay is an Indonesian language from the Austronesian family. Written inscriptions show that Old Malay contains loanwords from Sanskrit, an Indo-Aryan language used throughout South Asia. Persian and Arabic influences found in Old Malay suggest that the language adapted due to the influence of people the Srivijayans traded with. It is not clear that Old Malay was actually the ancestor of Classical Malay, but this is thought to be quite possible. Old Malay was influenced by the Sanskrit literary language of Classical India and a scriptural language of Hinduism and Buddhism. Sanskrit loanwords can be found in Old Malay vocabulary. Malay is a major language of the Austronesian language family. Over a period of two millennia, from a form that probably consisted of only 157 original words. Malay has undergone various stages of development that derived from different layers of foreign influences through international trade, religious expansion, colonisation and developments of new socio-political trends. The oldest form of Malay is descended from the Proto-MalayoPolynesian language spoken by the earliest Austronesian settlers in Southeast Asia. This form would later evolve into Old Malay when Indian cultures and religions began penetrating the region. Old Malay contained some terms that exist today, but are unintelligible to modern 313 3 speakers, while the modern language is already largely recognisable in written Classical Malay of 1303 CE. Malay evolved extensively into Classical Malay through the gradual influx of numerous Arabic and Persian vocabulary, when Islam made its way to the region. Initially, Classical Malay was a diverse group of dialects, reflecting the varied origins of the Malay kingdoms of Southeast Asia. One of these dialects that was developed in the literary tradition of Melaka in the 15th century, eventually became predominant. The strong influence of Melaka in international trade in the region resulted in Malay as a lingua franca in commerce and diplomacy, a status that it maintained throughout the age of the succeeding Malay sultanates, the European colonial era and the modern times. From 19th to 20th century, Malay evolved progressively through a significant grammatical improvements and lexical enrichment into a modern language with more than 800,000 phrases in various disciplines. The beginning of the common era saw the growing influence of Indian civilisation in the archipelago. With the penetration and proliferation of Dravidian vocabulary and the influence of major Indian religions, Ancient Malay evolved into the Old Malay language. The Dong Yen Chau inscription, believed to be from the 4th century CE, was discovered in the northwest of Tra Kieu, near the old Champa capital of Indrapura, modern day Vietnam; however, it is considered to be in the related Old Cham language rather than Old Malay by experts such as Graham Thurgood. The oldest uncontroversial specimen of Old Malay is the 7th century CE Sojomerto inscription from Central Java, Kedukan Bukit Inscription from South Sumatra and several other inscriptions dating from the 7th to 10th centuries discovered in Sumatra, Malay peninsula, western Java, other islands of the Sunda archipelago, and Luzon. All these Old Malay inscriptions used either scripts of Indian origin such as Pallava, Nagari or the Indian-influenced Old Sumatran characters. The Old Malay system is greatly influenced by Sanskrit scriptures in terms of phonemes, morphemes, vocabulary and the characteristics of scholarship, particularly when the words are closely related to Indian culture such as puja, kesatria, maharaja and raja, as well as on the Hindu-Buddhist religion such as dosa, pahala, neraka, syurga or surga (used in Indonesia-which was based on Malay), puasa, sami and biara, which lasts until today. 314 It is popularly claimed that the Old Malay of the Srivijayan inscriptions from South Sumatra is the ancestor of the Classical Malay. However, as noted by some linguists, the precise relationship between these two, whether ancestral or not, is problematical and remained uncertain. This is due to the existence of a number of morphological and syntactic peculiarities, and affixes which are familiar from the related Batak and Javanese languages but are not found even in the oldest manuscripts of Classical Malay. It may be the case that the language of the Srivijayan inscriptions is a close cousin rather than an ancestor of Classical Malay.[11] Moreover, although the earliest evidence of Classical Malay had been found in the Malay peninsula from 1303, Old Malay remained in use as a written language in Sumatra right up to the end of the 14th century, evidenced from Bukit Gombak inscription dated 1357 and Tanjung Tanah manuscript of Adityavarman era (1347–1375). ClASSICAL Malay The Terengganu Inscription Stone, written in year 1303. The period of Classical Malay started when Islam gained its foothold in the region and the elevation of its status to a state religion. As a result of Islamisation and growth in trade with the Muslim world, this era witnessed the penetration of Arabic and Persian vocabulary as well as the integration of major Islamic cultures with local Malay culture. Earliest instances of Arabic lexicons incorporated in the pre-classical Malay written in Kawi was found in the Minyetujoh inscription dated 1380 from Aceh. Pre-Classical Malay took on a more radical form as attested in 315 the 1303 CE Terengganu Inscription Stone and the 1468 CE Pengkalan Kempas Inscription from Malay peninsula. Both inscriptions not only serve as the evidence of Islam as a state religion, but also as the oldest surviving specimen of the dominant classical orthographic form, the Jawi script. Similar inscriptions containing various adopted Arabic terms with some of them still written the indianised scripts were also discovered in Sumatra and Borneo. The Pre-Classical Malay evolved and reached its refined form during the golden age of the Malay empire of Melaka and its successor Johor starting from the 15th century. As a bustling port city with a diverse population of 200,000 from different nations, the largest in Southeast Asia at that time, Melaka became a melting pot of different cultures and languages. More loan words from Arab, Persian, Tamil and Chinese were absorbed and the period witnessed the flowering of Malay literature as well as professional development in royal leadership and public administration. In contrast with Old Malay, the literary themes of Melaka had expanded beyond the decorative belles-lettres and theological works, evidenced with the inclusion of accountancy, maritime laws, credit notes and trade licenses in its literary tradition. Some prominent manuscripts of this category are Undang-Undang Melaka'), Undang-Undang Laut Melaka (Melakan Maritime Laws) Melaka ('Laws and Hukum of Kanun Pahang ('Laws of Pahang'). The literary tradition was further enriched with the translations of various foreign literary works such as Hikayat Muhammad Hanafiah and Hikayat Amir Hamzah, and the emergence of new intellectual writings in philosophy, tasawuf, tafsir, history and many others in Malay, represented by manuscripts like Sulalatus al-Salatin and Furu' Al-Masa'il. Melaka's success as a centre of commerce, religion, and literary output has made it an important point of cultural reference to the many influential Malay sultanates in the later centuries. This has resulted the growing importance of Classical Malay as the sole lingua franca of the region. Through inter-ethnic contact and trade, the Classical Malay spread beyond the traditional Malay speaking world[18] and resulted in a trade language that was called Bahasa Melayu pasar ("Bazaar Malay") or Bahasa Melayu rendah ("Low Malay") as opposed to Bahasa Melayu tinggi (High Malay) of Melaka-Johor. It is generally believed that Bazaar Malay was a pidgin, perhaps influenced by contact between Malay, Chinese and non-Malay natives traders. The most important development, however, has been that pidgin Malay creolised, creating several new languages such as the Ambonese Malay, Manado Malay, Makassar Malay and Betawi language. Apart from being the primary instrument in spreading Islam and commercial activities, 316 Malay also became a court and literary language for kingdoms beyond its traditional realm like Aceh, Banjar and Ternate and also used in diplomatic communications with the European colonial powers. This is evidenced from diplomatic letters from Sultan Abu Hayat II of Ternate to King John III of Portugal dated from 1521 to 1522, a letter from Sultan Alauddin Riayat Shah of Aceh to Captain Sir Henry Middleton of the East India Company dated 1602, and a golden letter from Sultan Iskandar Muda of Aceh to King James I of England dated 1615. Frontispiece of a copy of Sulalatus al-Salatin The early phase of European colonisation in Southeast Asia began with the arrival of the Portuguese in the 16th century and the Dutch in the 17th century. This period also marked the dawn of Christianization in the region with its stronghold in Ambon, Banda and Batavia. In facilitating early missionary works, religious books and manuscripts began to be translated into Malay of which the earliest was initiated by a pious Dutch trader, Albert Ruyll in 1611. The book titled Sovrat A B C and written in Latin alphabet not only means in introducing Latin alphabet but also the basic tenets of Calvinism that includes the Ten Commandments, the faith and some prayers. This work later followed by several Bibles translated into Malay. The era of Classical Malay also witnessed the growing interest among foreigners in learning the Malay language for the purpose of commerce, diplomatic missions and missionary activities. Therefore, 317 many books in the form of word-list or dictionary were written. The oldest of these was a Chinese-Malay word list compiled by the Ming officials of the Bureau of Translators during the heyday of Melaka Sultanate. The dictionary was known as Ma La Jia Guo Yi Yu (Words-list of Melaka Kingdom) and contains 482 entries categorised into 17 fields namely astronomy, geography, seasons and times, plants, birds and animals, houses and palaces, human behaviours and bodies, gold and jewelleries, social and history, colours, measurements and general words. In the 16th century, the word-list is believed still in use in China when a royal archive official Yang Lin reviewed the record in 1560 CE. In 1522, the first European-Malay word-list was compiled by an Italian explorer Antonio Pigafetta, who joined the Magellan's circumnavigation expedition. The Italian-Malay word-list by Pigafetta contains approximately 426 entries and became the main reference for the later Latin-Malay and French-Malay dictionaries. Pre Modern: 19th century was the period of strong Western political and commercial domination in Southeast Asia. The Dutch East India Company had effectively colonised the East Indies, the British Empire held several colonies and protectorates in Malay peninsula, Sarawak and North Borneo, the French possessed part of Indo-China, the Portuguese established their outposts in Timor, while the Spaniards and later the Americans gained control over 318 the Philippines, where the Malay language did not thrive. The Dutch and British colonists, realising the importance in understanding the local languages and cultures particularly Malay, began establishing various centres of linguistic, literature and cultural studies in universities like Leiden and London. Thousands of Malay manuscripts as well as other historical artefacts of Malay culture were collected and studied. The use of Latin script began to expand in the fields of administration and education whereby the influence of English and Dutch literatures and languages started to penetrate and spread gradually into the Malay language. At the same time, the technological development in printing method that enabled mass production at low prices increased the activities of authorship for general reading in the Malay language, a development that would later shifted away Malay literature from its traditional position in Malay courts.[38] In addition, the report writing style of journalism began to bloom in the arena of Malay writing. A notable writer of this time was Abdullah bin Abdul Kadir with his famous works Hikayat Abdullah, Kisah Pelayaran Abdullah ke Kelantan and Kisah Pelayaran Abdullah ke Mekah. Abdullah's authorship marks an early stage in the transition from the classical to modern literature, taking Malay literature out of its preoccupation with folk-stories and legends into accurate historical descriptions. Many other well known books were published such as two notable classical literary work, Sulalatus Salatin and Taj Al-Salatin. There were other famous religious books of the era which were not only published locally but also in countries like Egypt and Turkey. Among the earliest examples of Malay newspapers are Soerat Kabar Bahasa Malaijoe of Surabaya published in 1856, Bintang Timor of Padang published in 1965 and Jawi Peranakan of Singapore published in 1876. There was even a Malay newspaper published in Sri Lanka in 1869, known as Alamat Langkapuri. Earlier in 1821, the first Malay magazine was published in Melaka known as Bustan Arifin and in 1856, a Malay magazine titled Bintang Oetara was published in Amsterdam. In education, the Malay language of Melaka-Johor was regarded as the standard language and became the medium of instruction in schools during colonial era. Starting from 1821, Malaymedium Schools were established by the British colonial government in Penang, Melaka and Singapore. These were followed by many others in Malay states of the peninsular. This development generated the writings of text books for schools, in addition to the publication of 319 reference materials such as Malay dictionaries and grammar books. Apart from that, an important position was given towards the use of Malay in British administration, which requires every public servant in service to pass the special examination in Malay language as a condition for a confirmed post, as gazetted in Straits Government Gazette 1859. In Indonesia, the Dutch colonial government recognised the Melaka-Johor Malay used in Riau as High Malay and promoted it as a medium of communication between the Dutch and local population. The language was also taught in schools not only in Riau, but also East Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan and East Indonesia. Modern Malay (20th century) The flourishing of pre-modern Malay literature in 19th century led to the rise of intellectual movement among the locals and the emergence of new community of Malay linguists. The appreciation of language grew and various efforts were undertaken by the community to further enhance the usage of Malay as well as to improve its abilities in facing the challenging modern era. Among the efforts done was the planning of a corpus for Malay language, first initiated by Pakatan Belajar-Mengajar Pengetahuan Bahasa (Society for the Learning and Teaching of Linguistic Knowledge), established in 1888. The society that was renamed in 1935 as Pakatan Bahasa Melayu dan Persuratan Buku Diraja Johor (The Johor Royal Society of Malay language and Literary works), involved actively in arranging and compiling the guidelines for spelling, dictionaries, grammars, punctuations, letters, essays, terminologies and many others. The establishment of Sultan Idris Training College (SITC) in Tanjung Malim, Perak in 1922 intensified these efforts. In 1936, Za'ba, an outstanding Malay scholar and lecturer of SITC, produced a Malay grammar book series entitled Pelita Bahasa that modernised the structure of the Classical Malay language and became the basis for the Malay language that is in use today.[42] The most important change was in syntax, from the classical passive form to the modern active form. In the 20th century, other improvements were also carried out by other associations, organisations, governmental institutions and congresses in various part of the region. Writing has its unique place in the history of self-awareness and the nationalist struggle in Indonesia and Malaysia. Apart from being the main tools to spread knowledge and information, newspapers and journals like Al-Imam (1906), Panji Poestaka (1912), Lembaga Melayu (1914), Warta Malaya (1931), Poedjangga Baroe (1933) and Utusan Melayu (1939) 320 became the main thrust in championing and shaping the fight for nationalism. Writing, whether in the form of novels, short stories, or poems, all played distinct roles in galvanising the spirit of Indonesian National Awakening and Malay nationalism Malay language was proclaimed as the unifying language for the nation of Indonesia later. In 1945, the language which later renamed "Bahasa Indonesia", or Indonesian in 1928 became the national language as enshrined in the constitution of an independent Indonesia. Later in 1957, Malay language was elevated to the status of national language for the independent Federation of Malaya (later reconstituted as Malaysia in 1963). Then in 1959, Malay language also received the status of national language in Brunei, although it only ceased to become a British protectorate in 1984. When Singapore separated from Malaysia in 1965, Malay became the national language of the new republic and one of the four official languages. The emergence of these newly independent states paved the way for a broader and widespread use of Malay (or Indonesian) in government administration and education. Colleges and universities with Malay as their primary medium of instruction. The Indonesian language as the unifying language for Indonesia is relatively open to accommodate influences from other Indonesian ethnics' languages, most notably Javanese as the majority ethnic group in Indonesia, Dutch as the previous coloniser, and English as the international language. As a result, Indonesian has wider sources of loanwords, as compared to Malay used in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. It was suggested that the Indonesian language is an artificial language made official in 1928.[45] By artificial it means that Indonesian was designed by academics rather than evolving naturally as most common languages have, to accommodate the political purpose of establishing an official unifying language of Indonesia.[45] By borrowing heavily from numerous other languages it expresses a natural linguistic evolution; in fact, it is as natural as the next language, as demonstrated in its exceptional capacity for absorbing foreign vocabulary. This disparate evolution of Indonesian language led to a need for an institution that can facilitate co-ordination and co-operation in linguistic development among countries with Malay language as their national language. The first instance of linguistic co-operation was in 1959 between Malaya and Indonesia, and this was further strengthened in 1972 when MBIM (a short form for Majlis Bahasa Indonesia-Malaysia – Language Council of Indonesia-Malaysia) was formed. MBIM later grew into MABBIM (Majlis 321 Bahasa Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia – Language Council of Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia) in 1985 with the inclusion of Brunei as a member and Singapore as a permanent observer. Other important institution is Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka established in 1956. It is a government body responsible for co-ordinating the use of the Malay language in Malaysia and Brunei. The dominant orthographic form of Modern Malay language that based on Roman or Latin script, the Malay alphabet, was first developed in the early 20th century. As the Malay-speaking countries were divided between two colonial administrations (the Dutch and the British), two major different spelling orthographies were developed in the Dutch East Indies and British Malaya respectively, influenced by the orthographies of their respective colonial tongues. In 1901, Van Ophuijsen Spelling System (1901–1947) became the standard orthography for Malay Language in Dutch East Indies. In the following year, the government of the Federated Malay States established an orthographic commission headed by Sir Richard James Wilkinson which later developed the "Wilkinson Spelling System" (1904–1933). These spelling systems would later succeeded by the Republican Spelling System (1947–1972) and the Za'ba Spelling System (1933–1942) respectively. During the Japanese Occupation of Malaya and Indonesia, there emerged a system which was supposed to uniformise the systems in the two countries. The system known as Fajar Asia (or 'the Dawn of Asia') appeared to use the Republican system of writing the vowels and the Malayan system of writing the consonants. This system only existed during the Occupation. In 1972, a declaration was made for a joint spelling system in both nations, known as Ejaan Rumi Baharu (New Rumi Spelling) in Malaysia and Sistem Ejaan Yang Disempurnakan (Perfected Spelling System) in Indonesia. With the introduction of this new common spelling system, all administrative documents, teaching and learning materials and all forms of written communication is based on a relatively uniform spelling system and this helps in effective and efficient communication, particularly in national administration and education. Despite the widespread and institutionalised use of Malay alphabet, Jawi script remains as one of the two official scripts in Brunei, and is used as an alternate script in Malaysia. Day-to-day usage of Jawi is maintained in more conservative Malay-populated areas such as Pattani in Thailand and Kelantan in Malaysia. The script is used for religious and Malay cultural administration in Terengganu, Kelantan, Kedah, Perlis and Johor. The influence of the script is still present in Sulu and Marawi in the Philippines while in Indonesia, Jawi script is still widely used in Riau 322 and Riau Island province, where road signs and government buildings signs are written in this script. The Võ Cạnh inscription is the oldest Sanskrit inscription ever found in Southeast Asia, discovered in 1885 in the village of Võ Cạnh, about 4 km from the city of Nha Trang, Vietnam.This inscription is in the form of a 2.5 m high stone stele, with three uneven sides inscribed with the inscription lines. The inscription mentions the name of King Sri Mara, which according to paleographic analysis was to whom it was erected by his descendants around 2nd or 3rd century CE.[3] There are still debates whether the inscription was a legacy of Lâm Ấp, Champa, or Funan. George Coedès mentioned the possibility of identifying Sri Mara with Fan Shih-man (c. 230 CE), which according to the Chinese chronicles was one of the rulers of Funan. Coedès considered the Võ Cạnh inscription as proof of the first wave of Indianization in Southeast Asia. Currently, the inscription is stored in the National Museum of Vietnamese History in the city of Hanoi, Vietnam. The Sanskrit text written on this inscription has been severely damaged. Of the three sides of the inscription stele, on the first side at least the first six lines are almost completely blurred, and so are the first eight lines on the second side.[6] On the third side, even only a few characters can still be read. The parts of the text that can still be read contain the following phrases:  "compassion for the creatures"  "the priests, of course, who have drunk the ambrosia of the hundred words of the king" "the ornament... by that which is the joy of the family of the daughter of the grandson of King Sri Mara... has been ordained" "those who are seated on the throne" "that which has to do with silver or gold" "material treasure" "all that is provided by me as one who is kind and useful" "my minister Vira" "the edict which bring the welfare of the creatures, by the better of the two karin, the going and coming of this world"         The mention of "the joy of the family of the daughter of the grandson of King Sri Mara .." may indicate the existence of a matrilineal system, which applies inheritance of assets to female relatives. The word karin can mean "ivory" or "tax", which here may mean the king was a generous person. 323 The use of certain Sanskrit terms in the inscription text, according to Jean Filliozat, shows the possibility that Valmiki's Ramayana epic was spread on the Indochina peninsula at the time this inscription was made. The Hindu religious terms used in the inscriptions is thought to date from prepuranic time. The historical origin of Vajrayana is unclear, except that it coincided with the spread of the mentalistic schools of Buddhism. It flourished from the 6th to the 11th century and exerted a lasting influence on the neighbouring countries of India. The rich visual arts of Vajrayana reach their culmination in the sacred mandala, a representation of the universe used as an aid for meditation. Buddhism: Vajrayana (Tantric or Esoteric) Buddhism Mystical practices and esoteric sects are found in all forms of Buddhism. The mystical tendency that Buddhism inherited from Indian religion became increasingly pronounced. Following the codification of the Theravada canon—which according to tradition emerged orally shortly after the Buddha’s demise. 324 Japanese art: Esoteric Buddhism The court in Heian-kyō was justifiably wary of Buddhism, at least in any powerfully institutionalized form. Attempts by the Nara court to use Buddhism as a complicit pacifier in the pursuit of state goals had run afoul; excessive expenses incurred in erecting massive temple complexes. Japanese architecture: Esoteric Buddhism The court in Heian-kyō was justifiably wary of Buddhism, at least in any powerfully institutionalized form. Attempts by the Nara court to use Buddhism as a complicit pacifier in the pursuit of state goals had run afoul; excessive expenses incurred in erecting massive… Vajrayana, (Sanskrit: “Thunderbolt Tantric Buddhism that developed Vehicle” or in India and “Diamond neighbouring Vehicle”) countries, notably form of Tibet. Vajrayana, in the history of Buddhism, marks the transition from Mahayana speculative thought to the enactment of Buddhist ideas in individual life. The term vajra (Sanskrit: “thunderbolt,” or “diamond”) is used to signify the absolutely real and indestructible in a human being, as opposed to the fictions an individual entertains about himself and his nature; yana is the spiritual pursuit of the ultimately valuable and indestructible. Other names for this form of Buddhism are Mantrayana (“Vehicle of the Mantra”), which refers to the use of the mantra to prevent the mind from going astray into the world of its fictions 325 and their attendant verbiage and to remain aware of reality as such; and Guhyamantrayana, in which the word guhya (“hidden”) refers not to concealment but to the intangibility of the process of becoming aware of reality. Philosophically speaking, Vajrayana embodies ideas of both the Yogachara discipline, which emphasizes the ultimacy of mind, and the Madhyamika philosophy, which undermines any attempt to posit a relativistic principle as the ultimate. Dealing with inner experiences, the Vajrayana texts use a highly symbolic language that aims at helping the followers of its disciplines to evoke within themselves experiences considered to be the most valuable available to human beings. Vajrayana thus attempts to recapture the enlightenment experience of the historical Buddha. Chakra, also spelled Cakra, Sanskrit Cakra, (“wheel”), any of a number of psychic-energy centres of the body, prominent in the occult physiological practices of certain forms of Hinduism and Tantric Buddhism. The chakras are conceived of as focal points where psychic forces and bodily functions merge with and interact with each other. Among the supposed 88,000 chakras in the human body, six major ones located roughly along the spinal cord and another one located just above the crown of the skull are of principal importance. Each of these seven major chakras (in Buddhism, four) is associated with a specific colour, shape, sense organ, natural element, deity, and mantra (monosyllabic prayer formula). The most important of these are the lowest chakra (mūlādhāra), located at the base of the spine, and the highest (sahasrāra), at the top of the head. The mūlādhāra encircles a mysterious divine potency (kuṇḍalinī) that the individual attempts, by Yogic techniques, to raise from chakra to chakra until it reaches the sahasrāra and self-illumination results. In the Tantric view, enlightenment arises from the realization that seemingly opposite principles are in truth one. The passive concepts shunyata (“emptiness”) and prajna (“wisdom”), for example, must be resolved with the active karuna (“compassion”) and upaya (“skillful means”). This fundamental polarity and its resolution are often expressed through symbols of sexuality (see yab-yum). 326 CHAPTER XV The Mysterious Malayu, Dharmasraya & the Candi Gumpung- a Buddhist temple, aligned with the temple Burobudur Melays is origin of Malay people: The Melayu Kingdom (also known as Malayu, Dharmasraya Kingdom or the Jambi Kingdom; was a classical Malay Buddhist kingdom located in Southeast Asia. Based on linguistic, archaeological, and historical evidence, the environment that produced the culture associated with the ‘Melayu’, or the Malays and Melayu ethnicity was never predetermined but was contested on both sides of the Straits of Melaka.1 The primary sources for much of the information on the kingdom are the New History of the Tang, and the memoirs of the Chinese Buddhist monk Yijing who visited in 671, and states was "absorbed" by Srivijaya by 692, but had "broken away" by the end of the eleventh century according to Chao Jukua. The exact location of the kingdom is the subject of studies among historians. One theory is that the kingdom was established around present-day Jambi on Sumatra, Indonesia, approximately 300 km north of Palembang. According to this theory, it was founded by ethnic groups in the Batanghari river area and gold traders from the Minangkabau hinterland. The origins of the word Melayu ('Malay') are disputed. One theory suggests that it is derived from the Javanese terms melayu or mlayu (to steadily accelerate or to run), to describe the strong current of a river in Sumatra that today bears the name Sungai Melayu ('Melayu river'). The name was later possibly adopted by the Melayu Kingdom, as it is common for people in the region to be known by the name of the river on which they settled. 327 The Topography of Sumatra shows the mountainous range of Barisan Mountains scattered from north to the south Sumatra hemisphere. Another theory hold that it originates from the Tamil words Malai and ur meaning "mountain" and "city, land", respectively. Could possibly referred to Barisan Mountains, the mountain range in Sumatra. An early literary appearance where the word "Malayadvipa" which means "mountainous island", is described in chapter 48, Vayu Purana as one of the provinces in the eastern sea that was full of gold and silver. Some scholars equate the term with Sumatra. but several Indian scholars believe the term may refer to the peninsula, while Sumatra is more correctly associated with Suvarnadvipa (an ancient name referred to Sumatra) which means "The Gold Land" and the Barisan Mountains which is the mountainous range scattered from north to the south Sumatra hemisphere. Then, the term "Maleu-Kolon" was used in Geographia by Ptolemy which is believed to have originated from the Sanskrit term malayakolam or malaikurram, referring to a geographical part of peninsula. In 7th century, the first use of the term for a nation or a kingdom was recorded by Yijing. The East Javanese Anjukladang inscription dated from 937 CE Medang Kingdom stated the Sima status is awarded to Anjukladang village and a jayastambha (victory monument), which later upgraded as a temple, was erected in recognition of their service on repelling the invading forces from Malayu. The temple mentioned here is probably the Candi Lor made of bricks which is now in ruins, located in Candirejo village in Nganjuk Regency.[ The mentioning of invading Malayu forces refer to the old name of Sumatran Malayu Kingdom, which probably refer to Srivijaya instead. This means by the 10th century, the Javanese identify their Sumatran-based enemy as "Malayu". An inscription on the south wall of the 11th century Brihadeeswarar Temple also made a reference to Malaiyur, a kingdom that had "a strong mountain for its rampart" in Chola invasion of Srivijaya to the Chola invaders during Rajendra Chola I's campaign. In the later Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368) and Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), the word Ma-La-Yu was mentioned often in Chinese historical texts - with changes in spelling due to the time span between the dynasties - to refer to a nation near the southern sea. Among the terms used was "Bok-la-yu", "Mok-la-yu, Ma-li-yu-er , Oo-lai-yu- traced from the written source of monk Xuanzang), and Wu-lai-yu. In the 328 chronicle of Yuan Dynasty, the word "Ma-li-yu-er" was mentioned in describing the Sukhothai's southward expansion against Malay. "..Animosity occurred between Siam and Ma-li-yu-er with both killing each other..." In response to the Sukhothai's move, a Chinese envoy arrived at the Ram Khamhaeng's court in 1295 bearing an imperial order: "Keep your promise and do no evil to Ma-li-yu-er".[26] This nation of "Ma-li-yuer" that appeared in the Chinese record possibly a similar nation that was mentioned by the famous Venetian traveller Marco Polo (1254–1324) who lived during the same period. In Travels of Marco Polo, he made a reference to a kingdom named "Malauir" in the Malay peninsula. The Khmer recorded the nation of Melayu, however, its progeny Srivijaya, was also called Melayu. The word bhūmi Mālayu (literally "Land of Malayu") is inscribed on the Padang Roco Inscription, dated 1286 CE, according to the inscription, bhūmi Mālayu is associated with the Dharmasraya kingdom. On the Amoghapasa inscription, dated 1347 CE, the word Malayapura (literally "city of Malaya" or "kingdom of Malaya") was proclaimed by Adityawarman, again referring to Dharmasraya. The word "Melayu" is also mentioned in the Malay annals referring to a river in Sumatra: "...Here now is the story of a city called Palembang in the land of Andelas. It was ruled by Demang Lebar Daun, a descendant of Raja Shulan, and its river was the Muara Tatang. In the upper reaches of the Muara Tatang was a river called Melayu, and on that river was a hill called Si-Guntang Mahameru..." On his route via Maritime Southeast Asia, Yijing visited Srivijaya twice where he stayed from 688 to 695, studying and translating the original texts in Sanskrit. Srivijaya appears to have been flourishing around the time of Yijing's visit, which he initially called "Bogha" during his first visit. At its greatest extent, the kingdom extended to Malayu, which seems to have been annexed or to have come spontaneously under the realm of Bogha prince.The whole country as well as the capital received the name "Sribogha" or Srivijaya. The change of the name Malayu to Sribogha is likely to have occurred before Yijing's time or during his stay there, for whenever he mentions Malayu by name, he added that "it is now changed to Sribogha". The following extract from Yijing's work, A Record of Buddhist Practices Sent Home from the Southern Sea, further describes his route via Bogha and Malayu: Wu Hing came to Bogha after a month's sail. The king received him very favourably and respected him as a guest from the land of the son of heaven of the Great Tang. He went on board the king's ship to the country of Malayu and arrived there after fifteen days sail. Thence he went to Ka Cha, again after fifteen days. At the end of winter he changed ship and sailed to the west. 329 Further for the determination of the location of Sribogha-Malayu, Yijing furnishes the following: In the country of Sribogha, we see the shadow of the dial-plate become neither long nor short (i.e "remain unchanged" or "no shadow") in the middle of the eighth month (Autumnal equinox), and at midday no shadow falls from a man who is standing on that day, so it is in the middle of spring (Vernal equinox). Thus it can be inferred that the country of Sribogha covered the place lying on the equator, and the whole county therefore must have covered the north east side of Sumatra, from the southern shore of Malacca, to the city of Palembang, extending at least five degrees, having the equatorial line at about the centre of the kingdom.[ According to Yijing, Hinayana Buddhism was predominantly adopted in Srivijaya, represented for the most part by the Mulasarvastivada school, however there were few Mahayanists in Malayu. Gold seems to have been abundant in the kingdom, where people used to offer the Buddha a lotus flower of gold and used golden jars. Moreover, people of the kingdom wear a type of long cloth and used fragrant oil. Further, Melayu had accessed to gold producing areas in the hinterland of Sumatra. This slowly increased the prestige of Melayu which traded various local goods, including gold, with foreigners. Connect with Srivijay Candi Gumpung, a Buddhist temple at Muaro Jambi of Melayu Kingdom, later integrated as one 330 of Srivijaya's important urban centre. Between 1079 and 1088, Chinese records show that Srivijaya sent ambassadors from Jambi and Palembang. In 1079 in particular, an ambassador from Jambi and Palembang each visited China. Jambi sent two more ambassadors to China in 1082 and 1088. This suggests that the centre of Srivijaya frequently shifted between the two major cities during that period. The Chola invasion of Srivijaya and as well as changing trade route weakened Palembang, allowing Jambi to take the leadership of Srivijaya from the 11th century on. In 1275, Kritanagara, of the Singhasari Kingdom, took advantage of Srivijaya's decline and sent a military expedition to establish Javanese control of Melayu. Embassies were sent to China in 1299 and 1301. Mahesa/Kebo/Lembu Anabrang was a General of Singhasari, who conquered Srivijaya and Melayu in 1288. Almost a century after taking over Palembang's role as the centre of an empire, Jambi and Srivijaya experienced decline in influence This was caused by a change of policy by the Song dynasty to no longer accept ambassadors from Srivijaya and Jambi's inability to cope with changing scenario. Instead of the Jambi controlling the trade through tributary system, traders were allowed to trade directly. According to George Coedes, by the beginning of the fourteenth century, Melayu "remained the only Sumatranese state of some political importance and it had become the refuge of Indian culture in opposition to the sultanates of the north that were already Islamized or in the process of becoming so”. In the year 1347, Gajah Mada the military leader of Majapahit installed Adityawarman as the king of Melayu to prevent the revival of Srivijaya. Adityawarman later conquered Tanah Datar to take control of the gold trade and founded a kingdom in Pagar Ruyung. In the year 1377, the Majapahit defeated Palembang and ended efforts to revive Srivijaya. The last prince of Srivijayan origin, Parameswara, fled to Temasik to seek refuge before moving farther north, where he founded what would become the Malacca Sultanate. Dharmasraya is the capital and also the name of the 11th century Malay Hindu kingdom based on the Batanghari river system in modern-day West Sumatra and Jambi, on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia.The kingdom itself could be identified by the name of its capital Dharmasraya or by the name Bhumi Malayu or Suvarnnabhumi according to Padang Roco inscription. The reference to the name Malayu signify that the kingdom is located on previously older Malayu kingdom area prior being absorbed into Srivijayan mandala c. late 7th century, thus suggesting that Dharmasraya was the successor of Malayu. Dharmasraya became an independent kingdom after the downfall of Srivijaya in 1025. After the invasion by Rajendra Chola I the king of the Chola Empire from Koromandel, authority of Sailendra dynasty over the islands of Sumatera and the Malay Peninsula weakened. Some time later came a new dynasty that took over the role of Sailendra Dynasty, called by the name of Mauli dynasty.[2] The Dharmasraya can be considered as the successor of Srivijaya. The oldest inscription bearing the name of Maharaja Mauli is the Grahi inscription dated 1183 discovered in Chaiya (Grahi) Malay Peninsula, Southern Thailand. The inscription bears the order of Maharaja Srimat Trailokyaraja Maulibhusana Warmadewa to the bhupati (regent) of Grahi named Mahasenapati Galanai to make a statue of Buddha weight 1 bhara 2 tula with the value of 10 gold tamlin. The artist name that responsible to create the statue is Mraten Sri Nano. The second inscription from Mauli dynasty appear approximately a hundred years later in 1286. The inscription in which the name Dharmasraya and the name of king is Srimat Tribhuwanaraja Mauli 331 Warmadewa appears dates from the 13th century,[3]:201 namely the Padang Roco inscription discovered around the headwaters of Batanghari river (now Dharmasraya Regency in West Sumatera), dated 1286. Muaro Jambi Regency is a regency of Jambi Province, Sumatra, Indonesia. From the 4th until the 13th century, it was the seat of the Hindu-Buddhist Melayu Kingdom. It has an area of 5,264 km² and had a population of 342,952 at the 2010 Census and 398,196 at the 2015 Census; the latest official estimate (as at mid 2019) was 436,453 At the time of the 2010 Census, the regency was divided into eight districts (kecamatan): Jambi Luar Kota (Jambi city's suburbs), Kumpeh, Kumpeh Ulu, Maro Sebo, Mestong, Sekernan, Sungai Bahar (Bahar River) and Sungai Gelam (Gelam River). Subsequently another three districts have been added by splitting away from existing districts - Bahar Selatan (South Bahar), Bahar Utara (North Bahar) and Taman Rajo. Archeology; Located within this regency, the Muaro Jambi Temple Compounds is one of the largest archaeological complex in Sumatra. The archaeological site is located some 22 km downstream from the modern capital, on the opposite bank, it has the ancient Hindu Candi and Menapo or brick-built temples and canals. Restoration of three main structures Candi Tinggi, Candi Gumpung and Candi Kedaton, the last with an unusual fill of small white river pebbles, has been completed. Muarajambi Temple Compound This scattering of ruined and partially restored temples is the most important Hindu-Buddhist site in Sumatra. The temples are believed to mark the location of the ancient city of Jambi, capital of the kingdom of Malayu 1000 years ago. Most of the candi (temples) date from the 9th to the 13th centuries, when Jambi’s power was at its peak. Grab a bicycle (per day 10,000Rp) at the entrance to explore the immensely peaceful forested site, marvelling at the temple stonework The forested site covers 12 sq km along the northern bank of the Batang Hari. The entrance is through an ornate archway in the village of Muara Jambi and most places of interest are within a few minutes’ walk. While you can wander to most of the temples on foot, to get to some of the more outlying western ruins it's best to get a bike. Much of the site still needs excavating and there is some debate as to whether visitors should be allowed to clamber all over the ruins and the restored temples. Eight temples have been identified so far, each at the centre of its own low-walled compound. Some are accompanied by perwara candi (smaller side temples) and three have been restored to something close to their original form. The site is dotted with numerous menapo (smaller brick mounds), thought to be the ruins of other buildings – possibly dwellings for priests and other high officials. The restored temple Candi Gumpung, straight ahead from the donation office, has a fiendish makara (demon head) guarding its steps. Excavation work here has yielded some important finds, including a peripih (stone box) containing sheets of gold inscribed with old Javanese characters, dating the temple back to the 9th century. A statue of Prajnyaparamita found here, and other stone carvings and ceramics, are among the highlights at the small site museum nearby. However, the best artefacts have been taken to Jakarta. Candi Tinggi, 200m southeast of Candi Gumpung, is the finest of the temples uncovered so far. It dates from the 9th century but is built around another, older temple. A path leads east from Candi Tinggi to Candi Astano, 1.5km away, passing the attractive Candi Kembar Batu, surrounded by palm trees, and lots of menapo along the way. 332 The temples on the western side of the site are yet to be restored. They remain pretty much as they were found – minus the jungle, which was cleared in the 1980s. The western sites are signposted from Candi Gumpung. First stop, after 900m, is Candi Gedong I, followed 150m further on by Candi Gedong II. They are independent temples despite what their names may suggest. The path continues west for another 1.5km to Candi Kedaton, the largest of the temples, which, apart from a staircase guarded by deity statuettes, comprises just the base foundation; it's a peaceful and evocative site. A further 900m northwest is Candi Koto Mahligai. For centuries the site lay abandoned and overgrown in the jungle on the banks of the Batang Hari. It was ‘rediscovered’ in 1920 by a British army expedition sent to explore the region. The dwellings of the ordinary Malayu people have been replaced by contemporary stilt houses of the Muara Jambi village residents. According to Chinese records, Malayu people once lived along the river in stilted houses or in raft huts moored to the bank. The Muarajambi Temple Compound Site is located in the Muarajambi Village, in the District of Maro Sebo, Muaro Jambi Regency, Jambi Province. From Jambi city, the site is less than 40 kilo-meters and can be reached by land transportation or through the river in one hour. The site is spread along 7.5 kilo-meters of the riverbanks of Batanghari River in which old canals or man-made rivers are positioned to connect the Batanghari River with the site. Through these ancient canals that circulate the site, people could reach the temple compounds. In the Muarajambi Temple Compound Site that covers an area of 2062 hectares, there were at least 82 ruins of ancient buildings made of brick construction. Seven of these ancient temples have been given intensive conservation treatment; meanwhile the remaining structures are covered with primary and secondary vegetation, and surrounded by the local community plantation of Sumatran endemic plants (planted by the local people known as Menapo). The seven temple compounds are the Gumpung, Tinggi I, Tinggi II, Kembar Batu, Astano, Gedong I and Gedong II, and the Kedaton Temple. In addition to that conservation treatment, several of the ancient canals and the old ponds that were previously covered with water vegetation have been cleared and are now restored to normal, such as the ancient canals in Jambi River and the Telago Rajo Pond. Based on archaeology research and historical sources, the Muarajambi Temple Compound Site was once the centre for worship and education of the Buddhist religion in the period of the Ancient Malay Kingdom in the 7th - 14th century AD. Justification of Outstanding Universal Value The Muarajambi Temple Compound Site has outstanding universal value as seen from the cultural heritage findings and the relatively intact and preserved environment that has been maintained by the local community. Having such values, the Muarajambi Temple Compound Site has the potential to be nominated as a Word Heritage under the criteria in the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the Word Heritage Convention, as follows: (ii) To exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design 333 The Muarajambi Temple Compound Site illustrates the exchange of culture and human values over a span of time within the period of the Hinduism - Buddhism culture in Indonesia and specifically in Jambi. The values of humanities are reflected in the building of the temples based on the philosophy of HinduismBuddhism. In terms of technology and architecture, the structures illustrate the skills and the knowledge in various fields starting from selecting the location, method of constructing the temple and land use adjusted to the geographical condition and environment of the temple compound. The Muarajambi region -that is located in the natural leavee of Batanghari River and is a floodprone area- has been realigned to become a viable area for worship rituals and for settlement at that time. The findings of man-made canals -that pass around the temple complex and the water reservoirs- are evidence that the people of the past have the local wisdom to conserve water, use the canals for transportation, obtain source of protein from the various fish cultivated in these canals connected to the Batanghari River. From the architectural point of view, it is apparent that the local community of that time around the Muarajambi temple compound already possessed the capacity to design and build structures from bricks following the Hinduism-Buddhism philosophy. The technology in producing brick blocks -starting from selecting the material, molding, heating, and applying construction techniques- is considered as unique knowledge and skills of the people in that age. (iii) To be a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared The Muarajambi Temple Compound Site is evidence of a civilization that was built in the age of the ancient Malay Kingdom around the 7th Century AD up to the 14th Century (in the Hinduism-Buddhism era in Jambi). (iv) Be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates significant stages in traditional human settlement, land use, or water management that represents cultural values or the interaction of a culture (or cultures), or the interaction of humans with nature, especially when it has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change; From the architectural stand point, the Muarajambi temple compound are typical structures built in the age 334 of the Hinduism-Buddhism era in Sumatera around the 7th Century AD up to the 14th Century AD. There were at least 82 ruins of ancient buildings that were discovered in this site. Seven of them have been exposed and have been given intensive conservation treatment, namely the Gumpung, Tinggi I, Tinggi II, Kembar Batu, Astano, Gedong I and Gedong II, and the Kedaton Temple. SIMPAMUTUNG I often get questioned by people from outside Jambi. “What can you actually find or see in Jambi?” “Temples!” is my short answer, which most of the time provokes people’s curiosity. Most people have heard of the temple complexes located on the island of Java. Apparently, a lot of people doesn’t know that in Sumatera, precisely in Jambi, there is one of the largest temple complexes in South East Asia. The complex, named Muara Jambi, has a total area of 12 square kilometers. Compared to Prambanan or Borobudur the Muara Jambi temple complex is much smaller and more dispersed. This makes it a bit challenging for visitors to see everything. 335 Tinggi 1 temple The Muara Jambi temple complex is a relic of the ancient Malay kingdom and the only relics of the Buddhist Hindu culture from the 7th Century-13th Century AD. In this area there are 82 ruins, eight of them have been excavated and have been the focus of intensive conservation efforts. These eight temples are listed below: 1. Gumpung temple 2. Tinggi I temple 3. Tiggi II temple 4. Kembar Batu temple 5. Astano temple 6. Gedong I temple 7. Gedong II temple 8. Kedaton temple 336 Kedaton and Astano temple Other archaeological relics found in this region include ancient canals that channeled water around the area between buildings and basically connecting everything together. There is a strong possibility that undiscovered temples remain. This shouldn’t surprise anyone given the number of earth mounds that you can find in the area surrounding the temple complex. The closest temples that you will immediately see once you enter the Muara Jambi complex are Gumpung temple and Tinggi temple. The distance between the temples is great. So great in fact that most people will only explore Gumpung temple and Tinggi temples. Luckily this area is very beautiful and has a lot of trees so the atmosphere is great for exploring and walking around. Muaro Jambi Complex Compared to when I first came to Muara Jambi Complex, as part of a study tour, there have been a number of improvements. Although some facilities are still inadequate and cleanliness definitely should be 337 improved, overall the place is well kept. You can find trash cans everywhere. Cars and motorbikes are not allowed in the area except in predetermined areas. As far as the eye can see we are treated to such a beautiful and view. There are colorful bikes, umbrellas and trolleys you can rent. The food vendors roll out their mats on the grass and greet the visitors. Feel free to stop and buy food or drink or just smile and pass by if you are not interested. It was suggested that Muaro Jambi Temple compound might be the initial location of Srivijaya kingdom. This is mainly because, Muaro Jambi has far richer temple concentration—in contrast to the scarcity of archaeological sites in South Sumatra. The start of the rise of the kingdom of Melayu can be dated to 1025 when India's Chola kingdom attacked and destroyed the capital of the Sumatran maritime empire of Srivijaya. This allowed a number of smaller Sumatran polities to expand their political and economic influence. During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries it seems that from its river estuarine basis along the Batang Hari, Melayu became the dominant economic power in Sumatra. The substantial archaeological remains at Muaro Jambi suggest that this may have been the site of the Melayu capital. The city's age of glory came to an end in 1278 when Java's Singhasari kingdom attacked the city, even succeeding in capturing members of the royal family. The site was rediscovered by Dutch explorers in the nineteenth century. It is now protected as a national monument. Design and decoration Candi Tinggi, one of the temple within Muaro Jambi temple compound. The temple complex of Candi Muaro Jambi is spread out over a large area along the banks of the Batang Hari River. Eight temple complexes have been excavated but many more mounds and sites remain to be explored within the conservation area, much of which is still covered by thick jungle. The three most significant intact temples are known as Candi Tinggi, Candi Kedaton and Candi Gumpung. The temples are built from red brick and unlike the temples of Java, feature very little ornamentation, carving or statuary. A few pieces of sculpture are housed in a small, on-site museum. The wooden dwellings that are believed to have housed the city's population have all disappeared without a trace. Only 7 temples have been restored, 3 338 have mentioned above and the others are Candi Tinggi I, Candi Kembarbatu, Candi Gedong I and Candi Gedong II.[2] Muara Jambi Temple Muara Jambi Temple is considered one of the richest archaeological sites on the island of Sumatra. The eight temple-like structures appear to be Buddhist, and were probably built around the 14th century. Archaeologists conclude that the site was the center of Old Jambi, the capital of ancient Malay kingdom which reigned supreme about ten centuries ago. The capital was sieged and destroyed in 1377 by armies from Burma. For centuries, the site had been lost and forgotten deep in the jungle, only to be rediscovered in 1920 by a British military expedition team. Muara Jambi temple complex covers an area of 12 km2, along the side of Batanghari river. There are eight main temples in the complex. All of them are located in the center area, fortified by walls. Three of them are already renovated. In 1982, a 32-centimeters tall female bronze statue was found at Koto Kandis, in the Muara Sabak sub district. It is believed to be the goddest Laksmi, holding a lotus bud in her left. In addition to the archaeological sites, many visitors find the riverside an ideal recreation and picnic spot. Site Map Discovered by a British soldier named SC Crooke in 1820, when it was assigned to map the river Batang Hari in Jambi Province Temple temple complex is situated on the banks of the river Batang approximately 22 kilometers east of Jambi city. Being in rural areas Muaro Jambi, District Muaro Sebo, Muara Jambi Regency, Jambi Province. The temple complex is the largest temple complex in Southeast Asia. Twenty times larger than the complex of Borobudur temple in Central Java and two times larger than the temple complex of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. The complex has a spacious 12 square kilometers (about 2062). Muaro temple complex in Jambi, reportedly it is an area of religious worship in the Buddhist kingdom of Srivijaya era. The complex is not far from the Batang Hari river basin. To get there, can travel overland or by river using fast boats. Inside the temple complex in Jambi Muaro have + / - 80 temples, nine large temple. The nine major temples are: Kotomahligai Temple, Temple Kedaton, temples and Gedong Gedong one two, Gumpung Temple, 339 Temple High, Telago Rajo, Twins Stone Temple and Temple Astano. Gedong One unique counted Muaro temple complex in Jambi. Not known exactly when this temple was built. Spacious yard around 500an square meters, consists of the main building and the gate. The shape is very different from the temple are generally in Java. The temple was made of natural stone, but of brick. In each of red brick, there is a sculptured reliefs. Some of these bricks are stored in museums. Around the temple complex there are many historical objects are priceless. Now the goods are stored in a museum city of Jambi. Such as: elephant lion statue, statues also Dwarapala. found in Gedong. Accidentally discovered in 2002 when restoration gate. Arca was called to function as gatekeepers, One statue again is ARCA Prajnaparamita, the goddess of fertility symbol. Unfortunately, some parts of this statue has not been discovered such as hand and head. Then there Prajnaparamitha statue, discovered in the Temple Gumpung. Unfortunately, until now his head has not been found. Statues of women, this is a sacred symbol of Buddhism. In this museum also saved cauldron of bronze weighing 160 pounds, height 60 inches, with a pot hole diameter of about one meter. Pot is suspected as one tool flow Buddhist Tantric rituals. One of the Temple Muaro Jambi In 1954, the archaeologist Indonesia under the auspices of the Ministry of Education and Culture, headed by R. Soekomo conclude there is a strong link between this site and the kingdom of Srivijaya. And many who believe that the temple complex Muaro Edinburgh is the capital of the ancient Malay kingdom of Srivijaya or past. Beginning in 2010, there are 11 temples have been restored and is still 82 temples are still buried in the ground called Menapo by people around the temple. Also found pottery, mostly from china Ages 9 to the 14th century. In much smaller amounts were also found pottery from Southeast Asia such as Thailand, Khmer (Cambodian), and Myanmar (Burma) which is made of porcelain or rock material .. Southeast Asian ceramics younger age around the 13th century and the addition of ceramic also found a small amount of glass beads and stones. Also found gold coins, gold rings and gold jewelry pieces. Including the artifacts found at the Site Muaro Jambi. Gold metallic objects are 340 shaped thin plates. And only a few bronze objects found our site Muaro Jambi. The buildings are ancient in Jambi Muaro very close together and many more other ancient objects, to convince the experts of ancient Muaro Sites linking Edinburgh with the ancient Malay kingdom (Sriwijaya). It is reasonable belief that no other site that has a density of ancient temple complex in addition to Muaro Jambi. Building Specifications Site Muaro Jambi: According to the data, the amount of land newly freed fraction, namely the Temple complex Astano 100 x 200 meters, Temple Height 125 x 200 m, and the Temple Gumpung 150 x 150 m, as well as the Twin Temple Stone 80 x 80 m. Land perch Gedong I and II of 100 x 300 m have also been released, including the Temple Kedaton 220 x 245 m, Temple Kotomahligai 100 x 100 m, Manapo High Temple 40 x 40 m, Manapo beehive 100 x 100 m, and Talago Rajo 100 x 150 m. With minimal funding of the physical changes that look not so obvious. However, every year there are activities, such as revitalization or normalization of the canal around the site Muaro Jambi. Activities that have been initiated, among others, making that area of the site Muaro Talut Jambi no landslides and to open up the canals and t the site conditions Jambi Muaro slow its development, is recognized Soeroso, in addition to taking care BP3 four provinces, so that budgeted funds are divided to four provinces, as well as issues of quality human resources from grimy impressed. Do not put people who are experts and love the field work. Jambi Muaro site located at an altitude of 14 meters above sea level and situated in a plain area which is an area of natural levee of the Batang Hari River (length about 800 km, a width of about 500 meters, with a depth of more than 5 meters). Around the building there is low soil trench around the yard of the temple.Attention to antiquiti contained in Muaro Jambi started in 1820 by Captain SC Crooke, an honorary officer of the British. Later by Adam in 1920. Looking at the remains in Muaro Jambi, he concludes, Muaro Edinburgh is a capital city with buildings made of brick / stone. "Allegations of Adam was approved by Schnitger who visited in 1936," he said. After a long investigation, in 1954 a team from the Department of Antiquities reviewing the site location and tracking back what has been reported by Schnitger. The new restoration was started in 1975 until now. According Soeroso, Jambi Muaro site restoration looks slow progress compared with other sites for enshrinement in Jambi Muaro site consists of brick, not stone like in Java. Reconstruct the temples of brick buildings is more difficult than the temples of stone because it is easily fragile. The site enshrinement Muaro Jambi is alleged to have existed since the mid-seventh century AD. This site is a religious site built community groups in the Mahayana Buddhists around the eighth century AD and continued until the XIV century. Continuity of religious buildings in this place in line with the continuity of the kingdom that ever existed in the Batang Hari River basin. When Batanghari under the control of the Kingdom of Malay, Jambi Muaro used as a Buddhist ceremony Malay community. When Batanghari under the control of the kingdom of Srivijaya, a Muaro Jambi Sriwijaya used by the community. There are hints that several buildings in Edinburgh Muaro undergone several stages of development. Bambang pointed out, building temples and temple Gumpung Astano. The temple buildings Gumpung 341 allegedly has undergone at least two stages of development. The first building was probably built in about the ninth century AD. Either in what year later the building was enlarged as it appears on the wall when done unloading. Recent data indicate, when the center-Dharmasraya Malay kingdom was in the area Rambahan (XIII century AD), Jambi Muaro still serves as a place of Buddhist religious ceremonies. Prajnaparamita statue found in the ruins east of Temple Gumpung is the proof. World heritage Soeroso explains, Jambi Muaro site currently has prioritized a world heritage. The proposal was listed in UNESCO, 3-4 years ago.Jambi Muaro site has also been used for religious ceremonies, Buddhist, aligned with the temple Burobudur. If a visit to the site Muaro Jambi, you will find a number of uniqueness of the existing temples. Some of the brick buildings clustered in a place surrounded by a wall fence, On the site Muaro Jambi also found the rest of the settlement, allegedly originating from VII-XIII centuries AD. From the site there are indicators pertanggalan sites, ie from short pertulisan found in the ruins of the Temple Gumpung, pertulisan on Bronze Gong in Chinese characters, fragments of statues of Buddha statues in the temple Gumpung Prajnaparamita, and shards of pottery. The building is located in the temple complex's Muaro Jambi high temple 342 343 Sources: 1. Compass, Temple Muaro Jambi, Complementary Cultural Heritage Tourism Village, Nusantara, Saturday, January 16, 2010, Page 24 2. Compass, tomb Immortality "Menopo" Muaro Jambi, Homeland, Saturday, January 16, 2010, p. 1, 11 3. Muara Jambi Preservation Society, Civilization Intersect Imprint Bank Batang Hari, a photographic exhibition, artifacts, documentary film and discussion sites Muara Jambi, Bentara Budaya, Jakarta 9-11 November 2006 Nine terracotta bricks and brick fragments, containing incised drawings of different types of buildings, were discovered at the large Muara Jambi temple complex in eastern Sumatra. Likely dating from between the second half of the ninth and the first half of the fourteenth centuries, these bricks contain the oldest graphic representations of Sumatran architecture. While two of these designs have been previously published, the brick images have not been thoroughly analyzed in order to determine what new light they shed on the domestic architecture and building traditions of early lowland Sumatran settlements. To address this lacuna, we analyze the bricks and their archaeological context in order to interpret when the images were made, who created the images, the purpose behind them, the types of architecture depicted on the bricks, and the reasons behind the diversity of building types represented. Having argued that the majority of bricks shows domestic architecture reflecting a variety of cultural influences, we conclude by suggesting that the presence of such images supports the scholarly view that Muara Jambi was a multiethnic trading community. Early Architectural Images from Muara Jambi on Sumatra, Indonesia Mai Lin Tjoa-Bonatz , David Neidel,Agus Widiatmokoet al, Asian Perspectives 48(1):32-55,2009 344 Muaro Jambi Temple Complex is one of the mainstays of Jambi Province's tourism which began to be introduced both at domestic and international market. The existence of forest tree species found in the Muaro Jambi temple complex is very important to be maintained. Botany exploration activities in the Muaro Jambi temple complex are very important to carry out in order to invent and identify the existing tree species. The data obtained will be useful in the conservation and preservation of tropical forest plants activities comprehensively. This research was carried out at Kotomahligai Temple in the water catchment area / along the river of Muaro Jambi Temple Complex, Muara Jambi Village, Muaro Sebo District, Muaro Jambi Regency also Silviklutur Laboratory and Herbarium of the Faculty of Forestry, Jambi University. The study was conducted for six months from April to October 2018. The purpose of this study was to determine the types of trees found in the Mahligai Temple area and water catchment area of the Muaro Jambi Temple Complex. This study uses a purposive sampling method. The research activities consist of exploration, herbarium specimens, literature studies, species identification. The results showed there were 17 families, including: Anacardiaceae, Burseraceae, Cucurbitaceae, Dilleniaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae, Hyper aceae, Lythraceae, Malvaceae, Meliaceae, Moraceae, Oxalidaceae, Phyllanthaceae, Rubiaceae, Salicaceae, Sapindaceae, Verbenaceae. The most abundant species were Peronema canescens Jack (Sungkai) (86 individual trees) and Lansium parasiticum (Duku) (38 indivisual trees). ________________________________________________________________________ Exploration of Tree Species in Muaro Jambi Temple Complex EKSPLORASI JENIS POHON DI KOMPLEKS CANDI MUARO JAMBI https://doi.org/10.29244/medkon.24.3.245-251 345 CHAPTER XVI Muara Jambi: Where Atisha Studied in Indonesia Elisabeth Inandiak In the year 671 CE, the Chinese pilgrim Yijing (I-Tsing) leaves the port of Canton on a Persian vessel to visit India and study Buddhism. Remembering Xuanzang (Hsüan-Tsang), the famous monk and translator who died some years before, gives him the courage to venture into this dangerous journey. But unlike his compatriot, Yijing does not travel on the famous continental Silk Road. The demand for Chinese silk is falling, due to Byzantium having successfully developed sericulture since the year 551. In addition, the continental Silk Road has become increasingly dangerous: from the early 7th century, Arab military campaigns block the overland road through Persia. Trade between China and Sindh (currently a province of Pakistan) is interrupted because of the incessant wars in Central Asia between the Arab Umayyad dynasty, the Chinese Tang Dynasty, the Tibetans and the Eastern Turks. Goods and Chinese pilgrims therefore have now to travel by sea through the Strait of Malacca, already one of the main lines of international trade.F Yijing will emerge as the first chronicler of this new sea route, which will also be that of Buddhism. In his travel account translated in English in 1896 by Junjiro Takakusu's under the title: A Record of the Buddhist Religion as Practiced in India and Malay Archipelago, A.D. 671–695, he reports that after twenty days at sea, Yijing stopped in a unknown fortified city located on an island that he calls “Fo-Che”: In the fortified city of Fo-Che, (lived) Buddhist monks numbering more than 1,000, whose minds are bent on learning and good practice. After nine years at Nalanda, a city that hosted the largest Mahayana Buddhist monastic university of its time, in the present state of Bihar in India, Yijing returns twice to this mysterious island kingdom of FoChe, which he also calls “San-fo-ts'i” or “Mo-lo-yeu.” Yijing writes, They (the monks in Fo-Che) investigate and study all the subjects that exist just as in Middle Kingdom (Madhya-desa, India). This indicates that subjects such as logic, grammar and philology, medicine, arts, as well as metaphysics and philosophy were taught in Fo-Che. According to his records, he copies there hundreds of Sanskrit manuscripts, before finally returning to China in 694. Where was this mysterious kingdom of Fo-Che? The puzzle will remain unsolved for more than twelve centuries. In 1918, the French epigraphist George Coedès finally identified Fo-Che or San-fo-ts’i as the kingdom of Srivijaya centered in Palembang, Sumatra. In the1980s, archeological excavations confirmed that the river port of Palembang was indeed the political and military capital of this powerful kingdom facing the Malacca strait, on the confluence of maritime trade between India, China and the Middle East. Despite the discovery of a colossal statue of Buddha on a hill in Palembang, there was however no evidence probative of a great center of Buddhist learning, which Yijing compared to Nalanda. In the 18th century, Dutch officials of the East India Company (VOC) had noted north of Palembang, in the heart of a lush forest and the hot haze of the equator, about thirty kilometers from the mouth of Batanghari, the longest river in Sumatra, a huge archaeological site covering both banks: Muara Jambi (often referred to by the present name of the regency in which it is located, Muaro Jambi). Excavations started from 1970 by the Indonesian government have established that this extraordinary site, which spreads over more than 2,000 hectares, encloses 84 red-brick “temple complexes” - locally called “menapo”- connected by an ingenious system of canals. Eight of these “temple complexes” have been excavated, with several statues and many pieces of Chinese pottery and ceramics from the 9th to the 12th centuries. But since very few 346 epigraphs attesting to any written transmission of knowledge have been found so far, archaeologists still do not dare to speak openly about a “university.” Yet they admit that these complexes were not temples, but study centers with two to six podiums each, once sheltered from the sun and rain by a tiled roof supported by wooden pillars. The student monks would be sitting cross-legged around the podium on the brick pavement. As a matter of fact, the entire design and layout of the Muara Jambi complex is very similar to those of Nalanda, where monks lived in a cluster of buildings that were fortified or walled in accordance with the vinaya, monastic rules. Hence, the “fortified city” mentioned by Yijing was most probably referring to the complex of Muara Jambi. Tinggi Temple Three and a half centuries later, another travel record corroborates that of Yijing: An Account on Meeting with Master Serlingpa Chokyi Dakpa. It is written in Tibetan in the first person by Atisha, a prominent Indian Buddhist master. Atisha was born in the Land of Zahor (nowadays near Dhaka, Bangladesh) in 980 as the son of King Kalyana, and was named Prince Chandragarbha. In his teenage years, Atisha left his kingdom and wandered through forests and mountains seeking knowledge from masters living in the wild or in the monastic universities of Nalanda and Odantapuri. At the age of 29, he received the Buddhist monk ordination and was given the name Dipamkara Jnana, “He Whose Deep Awareness Acts as a Lamp.” Song 132 of Atisha’s Tibetan biography (rNam-thar rgyas-pa, written around 1355) says, Atisha’s most important master was Serlingpa, also known as Dharmakirti, whose fame was widespread. Atisha had already heard about Serlinga’s teachings on compassion and Bodhicitta and he was sure that Serlingpa had been his most precious teacher for infinite lives. With 125 students and a group of merchants seeking gold, Atisha put to sea. So says Atisha’s account: Homage to Maitreya and Avalokiteshvara! I, bhikshu Dipamkarashrijana, travelled by ship for thirteen months and went to where Lama Serlingpa was. After five months had passed, the Son of God Indra sent great storms to stop me from continuing my mission of Bodhicitta. Also, he appeared in the form of a giant makara to stop me and sent lightning. At that time, I did an intensive meditation on Love and Compassion. As a result, the storm calmed down and six huge lightnings were seen stuck up in the sky unable to fall down. However, the makara managed to stop our way. At the same time, the violent wind caused our ship to become very unsteady, the way it happens to flags in violent wind; shaking, wavering, bobbing up in the air and sinking down in the ocean. The four masts in the four corners were laid down and the four big stones were downed to anchor the ship. But the atmosphere turned even more scaring; terrible sounds blared from all the four corners followed by lightning… After fourteen months on sea, Atisha crossed the Strait of Malacca. He landed on the famous "golden island," Suvarnadvipa as it is called in Sanskrit. George Coedès identified this isle as being that of Sumatra. Many historians and archaeologists subsequently confirm the thesis of the French epigraphist. The western regions of Sumatra were indeed known at the time to be very rich in gold. Today, the mouth of the Bantaghari River, Muara Sabak, is actually just a pier. The ocean is still far away, at least two hours by boat, but the land stops here, where the river divides into two branches. The two arms encircle an island that looks to the Malacca Straits, guarding the river’s entrance. This fluvial island hosts a national park with lots of crocodiles and mangroves. Just as in Atisha’s account: As soon as we crossed the ocean, I (Atisha) went straightaway to the golden stupa the Tibetan emperor had built once upon a time. It was there that the six disciples of Lama Serlingpa were engaged in samadhi. This stupa was located to the west of the forest of Suvarnadvipa, to the south of the joyful lotuses, to the north of the dangerous mires, and to the east of the Crocodile Kekeru. I stayed there for fourteen days, making inquiries about the life of Lama Serlingpa. 347 A number of descriptions in the account of his journey suggests that it is in Muara Jambi that Atisha met Serlingpa and study with his dearest master, such as the large number of monks who lived there and the excellence of Buddhist texts that were taught there: Then I (Atisha) saw the bhikshus coming from a far off distance in procession following their master. They were well dressed in their three robes. Each one was holding a water container and a staff. There were five hundred and thirty-five in number and looked as gracious as arahats. The master was attended by sixty-two sramaneras. In all there were a total of five hundred and seventy-two monks. As soon as I saw this, I felt as if I was seeing Buddha surrounded by arahats. Then we went to Lama’s residence, the Silver Parasol Palace, and took our seats... After we had settled there, the Lama in order to introduce to me the characteristics of ‘dependent origination’ began his teachings from the ‘Abhisamayalamkara’ in five sessions. Staying in the Silver Parasol Palace, I continued with my practices of listening, concentration and meditation. Lama Serlingpa guided me throughout this process of practice. In 1025, entrusted with the precious teachings of Serlingpa, Atisha sailed back to India, just before the Chola Kingdom from South India attacked Srivijaya. He settled at Vikramashila Monastery. In 1041, the king of West Tibet, Yeshey-wo (Ye-shes ‘od), invited him to reinstate all aspects of Buddha’s teachings – Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana – as complementary. Atisha stayed thirteen years in Tibet and died in Tibet in 1054. His most famous teaching is A Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment (Byang-chub lam-gyi sgron-ma, Skt. Bodhipathapradipa), which served later in Tibet as the basis for the lam-rim graded stages genre, a textual form that, like a butter lamp lighting up in the storm of life, summarizes the main points of all the teachings of the sutras in a progressive order. Atisha had many masters, but all his biographies report that, at the mere mention of Serlingpa, his eyes filled with tears. He said that all the goodness he had, he owed to his master of the Golden Island. Gumpung Temple One still wonders why Muara Jambi has sunk into oblivion after the 13th century. Some scholars mention the attack of the Hindu kingdom of the Cholas in southern India, which wanted to take control of the lucrative and strategic Straits of Malacca. But this assault, which would put an end to the power of Srivijaya, occurred in 1025. However, one of the most beautiful statues discovered in Muara Jambi is a Prajnaparamita dated from the 13th or 14th century. Other scholars suggest that the Mo-lo-yeu Kingdom recorded by Yijing and where Muara Jambi is located was a vassal, a competitor or "a matrix" of the Cholas, and as such was saved from the Cholas attack and boomed after the fall of Srivijaya. Unlike the large Indian monasteries of Bihar that were laid to ruins by Turkish and Afghan raids, Sumatra and the entire Indonesian archipelago did not experience Muslim invasions. The sack of Muara Jambi – if it ever happened – cannot be attributed to Islam, which is the dominant religion in the region today. On the very site of Muara Jambi stands a village whose inhabitants are all Muslims. Their homes are made of wood and built on stilts along the Batanghari River. Their orchards planted with cacao and durian trees extend on the ruins of the temples. Several young villagers occasionally work on excavations under the supervision of the archaeologists. They can identify each stone, each mound of red earth, every tree in the forest where their parents have small huts to watch the fall of the durians at night. They can point out several endemic species of trees from the Indian subcontinent that grow nowhere else in Sumatra, except in the forest of Muara Jambi. For instance, the kapung tree or kembang parang (Tib. metog dzambaka) whose white film-like petals inside the bark is used in India and Tibet as flower-offereings in tantric initiations. Archaeologists have not yet been able to unravel the mystery of these 84 mysterious temple complexes surrounded by walls and canals, many of which are still piles of ruins and earth mounds in the middle of the 348 orchards and cocoa plantations of the villagers, so they’ve adopted the local term “menapo” for them. “Napo” in the language of Muara Jambi means “deer” and “me” means “location.” During the annual floods of the Batanghari River, which submerges the village under more than a meter of water, the menapo is the high location where wild animals from the forest take refuge like on Noah's ark. The young villagers themselves are convinced that the 84 temple complexes were in fact faculties and that Muara Jambi was the first green university for Mahayana Buddhism in Indonesia. At the crossroads of India and China, its campus encompassed the rain forest which was used as an orchard, a library, a living pharmacy and a haven for meditation: "We understand that the essence of Buddhism is to put others before oneself,” say the young villagers. Dvarapala (photo by Gilles Massot) They have founded a community center and a green school, Saramuja, to excavate in their own way the ancient history of this forgotten site and transmit to the village children the local culture and the sense of respect for the environment. More recently, they’ve organized themselves into a larger community center, the Padmasana foundation to professionalize their research and share it more widely. Their symbol is the Dvarapala, the gate keeper of Hindu or Buddhist temples, which is traditionally presented in a fearsome appearance. But the statue of Dvarapala discovered in a temple of Muara Jambi, if properly armed with a small shield and a broken mace, is smiling and wearing a flower on his ear. Buddhist sexual ethics. As with any Buddhist teaching, we need to see how it fits into the basic structure of Buddhism, which is the four noble truths. Very briefly, Buddha spoke about true sufferings that we are all experiencing – this is the first noble truth. So, the true suffering of unhappiness and pain, the suffering of our ordinary happiness which never lasts and changes into unhappiness – like when we continue to eat our favorite food, the happiness that we first got from that turns into unhappiness as we get full. Then there is the all-pervasive suffering, which is the basis for experiencing these first two, which is our uncontrollably recurring rebirth, with a body and mind that is going to be the basis for this unhappiness or ordinary happiness. And, the true cause of all of that is our unawareness of cause and effect and of reality, and the disturbing emotions that are generated by that, and the karmic behavior that’s generated by those disturbing emotions – both destructive behavior as well as constructive behavior, as even our constructive behavior, when it is mixed with naivety about how we exist and how everything exists, continues to perpetuate our samsara. The third noble truth is it’s possible to achieve a true stopping of the suffering by getting rid of the true causes, so that they never recur again. And the fourth is the true pathway of mind – in other words, the true way of thinking, but also the true way of acting and speaking generated by that, which will enable us to achieve that true stopping. That’s the basic structure of the Buddhist teachings. So, when we speak about sexual ethics, we have to understand the place of sexual behavior in terms of true causes for suffering. And if we want to achieve a true stopping of suffering – specifically our continuing samsaric rebirth as the basis that will also include the suffering of unhappiness as well as the suffering of our ordinary happiness – then we are going to need to overcome what are the difficult aspects of our sexual behavior. Now, from a Buddhist point of view, when we speak about ethics and ethical self-discipline, it’s not a matter of having a set of laws and obeying them; that’s our Western concept either coming from the biblical religions or from civil law. The whole basis of ethics in Buddhism is structured according to discriminating awareness. In other words, the foundation for our ethical behavior is not obedience to laws, but rather it’s 349 discriminating between what is helpful and what’s harmful. So, no one is saying that we have to avoid certain type of behavior that will cause suffering and problems; it’s our choice. If you want to avoid suffering, get rid of it, then Buddha indicated these are the type of behaviors that we need to get rid of. Then it’s your choice. So, it’s not a matter of being a good or bad person or obeying rules, and there’s no concept of guilt; guilt is if you break a law. So, the whole discussion of sexual ethics, then, is centered around this whole aspect of discriminating awareness. And, if we are not able to avoid a certain type of problematic sexual behavior, then there are many, many factors which will affect the amount of suffering that behavior will produce for us. And so, what we try to do is to minimize the heaviness of that inappropriate sexual act. That involves discriminating between what will make the action have heavier consequences and what will make it have lighter consequences, and trying to make the consequences as light as possible. Now, we need to understand certain categories that are used to classify different types of behavior. There are uncommendable actions (kha-na ma-tho-ba). “Uncommendable” means you wouldn’t recommend it to anybody. They are not praiseworthy and they are going to produce some problems. Some are naturally uncommendable (rang-bzhin kha-na ma-tho-ba), so they would be uncommendable for anybody; and some are prohibited uncommendable (bcas-pa’i kha-na ma-tho-ba), they’re called, which Buddha recommended that for certain people, in certain situations, they avoid this. And these are basically ethically neutral actions, for example a monk or a nun eating after noon. Eating after noon is an ethically neutral action, but if you are a monk or a nun and you want to meditate with a clear mind at night and in the morning, then it is best to avoid eating after noon. Now, in contrast to these prohibited uncommendable actions which are ethically neutral, the naturally uncommendable ones are destructive. “Destructive” means that they will result in suffering – unless of course you purify it. Now, all sexual behavior is naturally uncommendable. That’s not something that we as Westerns like to hear. But why is all sexual behavior destructive is the important question. All sexual behavior is destructive because – according to the text and I’m sure that we can confirm this from our experience – it causes disturbing emotions to increase. And if we want to gain liberation from samsara, we have to overcome disturbing emotions. So if we want to gain liberation, we are eventually going to have to give up all types of behavior that will cause the disturbing emotions to increase. And so, if we look at the teachings of the Kalachakra Tantra, it explains that sexual behavior and the way to orgasm increases your desire and attachment. You want to have that orgasm. And when you have the orgasm and it’s finished, then you have anger because it’s gone, you don’t want it to be gone. And then after that, you sink into a state of naivety because you get completely dull. So, this is what is says in the text and probably if we examine ourselves honestly, that’s what happens. We know that according to the teachings not everyone has to be a monk or a nun in order to achieve liberation and enlightenment. We can also be a householder. So what does a householder mean? A householder means someone with a wife or a husband and children and a house. It doesn’t mean somebody that is sexually active. So, at some point, if we really want to achieve liberation, we’re going to have to stop all sexual behavior. Those are the facts. Now, most of us are certainly not ready to be at that stage where we give up all sexual behavior. But let’s not fool ourselves: Buddhism is not filled with romantic ideas of how wonderful sex is and giving happiness to somebody else. That is not what Buddhism says, sorry. Buddhism would classify that as incorrect consideration: considering suffering as happiness. Because with sexual behavior toward somebody else, we are trying to make that person happy, but that is the second type of suffering, the ordinary happiness that will go away, it won’t last, and will just cause their disturbing emotions to increase. 350 The point is I think it’s very important not to be naive of what sex is from the Buddhist point of view. If we are going to engage in sexual behavior – whatever type of behavior that might be – at least understand what on the deepest level is involved with it. And don’t idealize it; enjoy it for what it is, but don’t make a big deal out of it. Now, within that category of all sexual behavior, what’s naturally uncommendable, we have two divisions: what is called inappropriate sexual behavior (log-g.yem), and what is not inappropriate (log-g.yem ma-yinpa), which I guess we would call “appropriate sexual behavior.” So that means that the suffering generated by inappropriate sexual behavior is greater than the suffering generated by appropriate sexual behavior. Now mind you, nobody is denying that sexual behavior brings us ordinary happiness. Of course it does, but that’s a type of suffering. So, appropriate sexual behavior would be with your marriage partner in just standard penis-vagina sex. Anything else can only really be for a reason of attachment and desire. This first type of sex at least could be for making a child, so from that point of view, it is less heavy. So, what is inappropriate sexual behavior? When we have the list of the ten destructive actions, this is the sexual behavior that is listed in that list. Now, there’s a long history of the development of what actually constitutes inappropriate sexual behavior, and obviously there can be many problems in understanding how this has evolved over history, and why was it more and more elaborated? Was that just added by puritanical monks later on, in India – I mean all of it evolved in India – or were the later elaborations implicit in the earliest enumerations and the later commentators just drew out the meaning? The Tibetan masters will say it was all implicit there from the beginning. Nevertheless, it is quite interesting to see what has been specified and when and by whom, because it also gives us a little bit of clue of what is heavier and what is less heavy. If something has been emphasized from the very, very beginning, then we can be sure that this is the heaviest of the different types of inappropriate sexual behavior. Even this word “inappropriate” (log-pa) here – this is an extremely difficult word to translate. It’s the same word that we find in “distorted views”; it’s the word that in other contexts is translated as “distorted.” But we certainly can’t translate it as “distorted,” because in our languages that means “perverted,” and we’re certainly not talking about that. Sometimes in other contexts this word really just means “opposite,” and I think “opposite” is closest to the meaning here. It is opposite, in other words whatever is not the appropriate behavior. Or “contrary sexual behavior” – what’s contrary to the first one – is awkward. And, sometimes I’ve translated it as “unwise sexual behavior” and sometimes as “inappropriate.” None of them are good translations, but at the moment I am using “inappropriate,” although that may be an inappropriate choice of words. The meaning is “everything that is not appropriate.” Now, the vinaya texts deal with monastic discipline for monks and nuns, and in that, one of the vows for both monks and nuns is that a monk or a nun is not supposed to act as an in-between to arrange either a marriage or sexual liaison for certain people. For monks, it’s usually a long list of different types of women, and in some of the vinayas, it also lists a similar type of men. The type of women that are listed here are those who are married or they are under the guardianship of somebody, and there’s a long list: the father or the mother, or the sister or the brother, etc. “Under the guardianship” is explained as the girl is not allowed to make her own decisions – that everything is dictated by the guardian. Remember, we’re talking about ancient India, so no concept whatsoever of women’s lib or women’s rights here. That same list, then, is going to appear in the Theravada sutras as the type of person that would be an inappropriate partner to have sex with; it’s the same list. So we can see from very early on, from the very beginning, there is a very close relation between the sexual ethics for monks and nuns and the sexual ethics for lay people. 351 In the suttas themselves – the Theravada suttas, that’s in Pali – it explains that these are inappropriate partners, basically because having sex with any of them leads you to commit many other destructive actions. It can lead you to lying about it, and if the guardian or husband finds out, then you might even kill that person or you might have to steal in order to give them a bribe; or it could lead to having arguments within your own family. And like this, it can be too many different types of destructive actions. This is the whole list of them that is given in the Pali suttas. If we look in the later Pali literature, in the commentaries, it explains that if you have sex with a woman, whose guardian does not give permission, then only the man has a karmic transgression. The woman does not have a karmic transgression unless before or during the act she develops desire and attachment. This is parallel to one of the regulations having to do with monks and nuns. If a nun is raped, unless she develops desire and attachment during the rape, she does not lose her vows. So it is similar: if the woman is raped and does not develop any desire or attachment, she does not have any karmic transgression. What’s also added here, which I’ve never found in any other Buddhist text from any of the Buddhist traditions is, if the couple receives permission – if the woman receives permission from the guardian or the husband – then there is no karmic transgression for either the man or the woman. So if the parents say, “Well, it’s OK, my daughter is sexually active,” then that’s OK. But if the parents would be really very much against it, then that’s a karmic transgression. And you can see how that could be so, because you might have to lie about it. It could cause arguments and big problems if the parents find out. Remember, the whole issue here is how much suffering and problems does your sexual behavior produce? There’s nothing to do with being good or bad. But there’s no mention here as to whether the woman in this case wants to have sex or not. So, from our point of view, we would look at this and say, “Hey, what about these parents in Southeast Asia who are so poor and they give permission and sell their daughter into prostitution. Is that OK because the girl has permission from her parents?” It’s not specified in the texts whether it is dependent on whether the woman wants sex or not. So obviously this is a case, as I was explaining before, that just because it’s not mentioned, it doesn’t mean that it’s not implicit in the description. So again, one has to use one’s discriminating awareness here to analyze. Now, if we look in the vinayas of some of the other early traditions – there were eighteen Hinayana traditions, each of them has their own vinaya – we find a few more categories of inappropriate partners listed. You see, this is also a big issue here, the whole discussion of sexual ethics is only described from the point of view of a man. And so, does that mean, just because it’s not explained in terms of inappropriate partners for a woman, that there’s no sexual ethics for women? Obviously not. It would be implicit in the explanation that you would have to draw a parallel list with women. In some of these vinayas, they add a nun, with a vow not to have sex, and prisoners – a prisoner is somebody in jail that the king is keeping there, and for you to take that person out and have sex would be inappropriate; that prisoner belongs to the king. Now, one of these Hinayana traditions is the Sarvastivada. The Tibetan tradition is basically coming from that tradition, in terms of its vinaya and in terms of its discussion of Hinayana tenets, Vaibashika and Sautrantika – all of this is within Sarvastivada. And the vinaya that the Tibetans follow is Mulasarvastivada, which is a later tradition within Sarvastivada. In one of its very early texts, it also adds to the list of inappropriate partners helpless travelers. This refers to taking advantage of somebody traveling alone on the road, unprotected by anyone. It also adds students. 352 Here we have the use of another technical term: “celibate conduct” (tshangs-spyod), “brahmacharya” in Sanskrit. Literally, it means “clean or pure conduct.” Within inappropriate sexual behavior, there are two categories: non-celibate conduct (mi-tshangs-spyod) and, literally, “not non-celibate conduct” (mi-tshangsspyod ma-yin-pa). Let's call the latter “non-chaste” conduct. In traditional India, according to Hindu customs, students were required to keep celibacy while studying with a spiritual teacher. Non-celibate sexual conduct refers to having sex with someone else through any of the three orifices. That means through either a vagina, a mouth, or an anus. And so according to this definition, keeping celibacy doesn’t exclude masturbation, whereas keeping chastity includes it. But, since students keeping celibacy are not to have sex through any of the three orifices, they’re inappropriate sexual partners. A further addition to the list of inappropriate partners that we find in this early Sarvastivada text is an unpaid prostitute. So prostitutes are OK, according to this, so long as you pay them. So if we analyze and see what are they talking about here, what they’re talking about in terms of the sexual ethics is really just an extension of the ethics having to do with stealing. It’s taking what has not been given, what is not yours. It has absolutely nothing to do with whether you are married or not. So, the tradition here is not talking about adultery – being unfaithful to your wife or your husband; it’s having sex with somebody that’s not given to you, or that doesn’t want to. Marriage, as something sacred, is completely culturally specific. We find it in our Biblical religions, we find it in Hinduism, but it certainly is not in Buddhism. If we look at the sutras of The Close Placement of Close Mindfulness – in Pali the version is quite well known, The Satipatthana Sutra – it speaks in terms of your marriage partner: they can’t share the karmic consequences of your actions, they can’t share death and so on, and they just produce obstacles and problems. So it’s a fairly negative view toward marriage and marriage partners. And there is much advice in terms of how to lessen your attachment and desire for your marriage partner, with the famous meditations that appear throughout the Buddhist literature in terms of imagining what’s inside their stomach, and etc. So again, this is something that we as Westerns don’t really want to hear and don’t like to hear. But it is one of the bodhisattva vows not to pick and choose in the Dharma just the pieces that we like and ignore the pieces that we don’t like. But the point being not to glorify love and marriage and things like this the way that we do in our romantic notions in the West, or not to make it into something sacred and holy. And if we do have a partner, whether we’re married or not married, to have a realistic view of what’s involved. As anybody in a relationship knows, a relationship is difficult, not easy. So Buddhism is not saying, “Don’t have any relationships.” Buddhism is saying, “Have a realistic attitude about it; don’t be naive.” Now, as we look at the evolution of the abhidharma literature in Sarvastivada, then we find more and more things specified as the history unfolds. The first thing that appears in the commentary is one’s own wife can be inappropriate in terms of an inappropriate time for sex. But doesn’t specify what that means. The next commentary that appeared adds inappropriate place for having sex. And, the next commentary adds inappropriate orifice, but it doesn’t elaborate. So the first elaboration of all this we find is the Abhidharmakosha, which is Treasury of Abhidharma by Vasubandhu – this is studied by everybody in the Tibetan traditions, everybody in the Chinese traditions; everybody studies this. “Abhidharma” just means special themes of knowledge. So here there’s an elaboration of these things that were just added in the earlier Sarvastivada commentaries. So, inappropriate partner – it gives the same type of list that we had in the vinaya and earlier sutras: all these types of women who are either married or under a guardian. Even if it’s your own wife, an inappropriate part of the body is 353 either the anus or the mouth. We can only be motivated by desire; we are not going to have a child that way. And then, an inappropriate place, Vasubandhu elaborates. He says “visible to others” – that means out of doors, where anybody can see you; and by a stupa or by a temple, because of showing respect to others and respect to religious objects. Out of respect, you wouldn’t have sex in front of them. Inappropriate time would be when the woman is pregnant, or nursing a baby, or has one-day vows of not having sex. And in one Indian commentary to this text, it explains that having sex with a pregnant woman is inappropriate because it causes harm to the baby inside her womb, and with a woman who is nursing an infant, it decreases her ability to give milk. So, the consideration here is the harm that it produces to the third party, the baby. Now, the next text we find is the Abhidharmasamucchaya – that means A Compendium of Abhidharma, by Asanga – and this is a Mahayana text, Chittamatra specifically. All the Tibetans study it and all the Chinese study it as well, so they study these two major abhidharma texts. And here it just gives the list, it doesn’t elaborate. Similarly in the main Indian commentary – so it lists, without elaborating, inappropriate partner. It just says that, and that would undoubtedly refer to the standard list of women. Inappropriate part of the body, without elaborating; inappropriate place; inappropriate time – not elaborated. But it adds three more categories which we don’t find earlier. “Inappropriate measure” and that is not explained. It’s only in Tibet, with Gampopa, that you get an explanation of that, which is more than five times in a row. Second one is “inappropriate action applied,” and again, this is not elaborated, and it’s only later in Gampopa that he explains this as meaning beating the person – so sado-masochism – and having sex by force – so rape. The third thing that is added is – and now this is specified for men – all males or castrated males, eunuchs. So this is the first and actually only explicit mention of homosexuality in all the Indian texts that I consulted. Then we have two later Indian texts, one by the second Ashvaghosha and one by Atisha, and this is quite late in the Indian Buddhism. So Ashvaghosha says again “inappropriate place,” and he elaborates a little bit more: So where there are Dharma texts; where there’s a stupa; a Buddha statue; where bodhisattvas are living; in front of an abbot or your teacher or your parents. “Inappropriate time” – he adds, in addition to pregnancy and nursing and the one-day vow, it adds when the woman is menstruating, when she is sick, and when she has great mental sorrow. For instance, she might be in mourning that somebody died. So again, I think we can see that it would be hard to say that this was added as something just made up and new, but this would be implicit in the whole idea of trying to minimize the amount of problems and suffering that you cause. Then for inappropriate part of the body, in addition to the anus and mouth, for the first time Ashvaghosha adds more. He adds between the partner’s thighs, and with the hand, so masturbation. This is the first time that that’s mentioned here, and what’s interesting is that it seems again to be added as a parallel thing to what you find in the monks’ and nuns’ vinaya, because there what we find is that you have two different types of vows. One vow, if you break it, then it’s called a “defeat” (pham-pa) – you are no longer a monk or a nun. And this is having sex in one of the three orifices: vagina, anus and mouth. Well, for a monk or a nun, they would obviously include vagina any way, since they don’t have any sexual partners, but mouth and anus are included here as well. And there’s another vow, which is not between the thighs or with your hand, and that’s of lesser heaviness. If you break that it’s called a “remainder” (lhag-ma), which means you still have a remainder left of the vow as a basis for training in ethical discipline, but the vow is weakened This fits in with the division within inappropriate sexual behavior between non-celibate and non-chaste 354 conduct that we mentioned in reference to spiritual students in traditional India. Monks and nuns, of course, vow to avoid all sexual behavior, both inappropriate and so-called “appropriate.” Nevertheless within inappropriate sexual behavior, it’s less heavy for them to commit a celibate sexual act such as masturbation, than a non-celibate one by having vaginal, oral, or anal sex with someone. Ashvaghosha doesn’t mention specifically homosexuality. But if anus and mouth and hand and thighs are out, that doesn’t leave very much left for homosexual sexual behavior. Now again, one shouldn’t approach all of this in terms of being a lawyer, and trying to find a loophole to get around this to find someway, “Well, they didn’t say underneath your arm, so that’s OK.” So again one needs to use one’s discriminating awareness here. And then there’s also the list of safeguarded by others. Atisha has for “inappropriate place” the same list as Ashvaghosha, but just adds “in a place where people do pujas” as an inappropriate place. For “inappropriate time,” he adds to the list “during the day” and “against someone’s wishes.” And for “inappropriate part of the body,” it’s the same as Ashvaghosha, but he omits between the thighs and adds instead “with children,” and says, “The front or rear of a young boy or girl.” Now, this is clearly because of a misspelling in the text. The difference between Ashvaghosha and Atisha clearly arose because of a textural error. One letter in the word is the different in the word “thigh” and “children.” Children are included in the list of “inappropriate partners,” but here it’s thrown in with “inappropriate part of the body” so that’s clearly from a scribes mistake. And then the Tibetans took it literally and elaborated it as well. “Inappropriate partner” – he doesn’t mention males, but that would be included if you take anus, mouth and hand. And he adds animals. So that doesn’t mean that up until now it was OK to have sex with a donkey, but now it’s not OK. So you can see there’s a whole evolution here in India, and it becomes very interesting when it goes to Tibet. The earliest one we find is Gampopa, his Jewel Ornament of Liberation. It’s a Kagyu text. “Inappropriate partner” – the standard list of different types of women. “Inappropriate part of the body” – all he says is mouth and anus; he doesn’t say hand and thighs. “Inappropriate place” – he adds “where many people gather.” Then, “inappropriate time” – “when visible.” Now, “when visible,” this is interesting because then you see that there are two possible interpretations of “when visible.” Vasubandhu interprets it as being outside, out of doors, when you’re visible. Atisha took it to mean during the day, which of course is very different if you work all night and have a partner. And Tsongkhapa points out that Atisha misunderstood these words; when it refers to outdoors, it doesn’t refer to during the day. So, again we can see, there are some discrepancies here that come in and, very often, it comes from how do you understand the words? Gampopa omits when the person is sick, or has mental sorrow, or when they don’t want to have sex; he doesn’t mention it. But he elaborates on what you have in Abhidharmasamucchaya – the measure, he says, is more than five times in a row, which is difficult to really understand. Especially if our criterion here is increasing disturbing emotions, I mean somebody who would have five times in a row or four times – four times is OK, five times is not – how much obsession with sex do they have? One theory that I heard to explain this was that the consideration was the king with a harem of many wives – that was OK, by the way, you could have many wives because they all belonged to you – so not to insult the king who could have so many wives and so obviously could have sex many times in a night. Then it was stipulated like this. But that was just a guess by somebody. And he elaborates on “action applied,” so he talks about beating or with force, and includes all men and eunuchs. So, Gampopa omits having sex with your hand, so he omits masturbation, but includes homosexuality. Longchenpa, the early Nyingma master, in his text, only lists like the Pali Theravada the inappropriate women. So, in his lam-rim style text, Rest and Restoration in the Nature of the Mind – it’s been translated in English as Kindly Bent to Ease Us – only mentioned this list of ladies. 355 Now, Lam-rim chen-mo by Tsongkhapa, the early Gelugpa text, for “inappropriate partner” he has not only those protected by their mother, but also the mother. And so here’s the first mention, actually, of incest. And he includes in this list all men, both yourself and others, and men who are castrated. For “inappropriate part” of the body, he says just anything other than the vagina. And then he quotes Ashvaghosha and Atisha. And so, there is the first time that we have in the Tibetan text of the mention of masturbation. “Inappropriate place” – where seen by many people, this is how Tsongkhapa understands “visible.” He doesn’t understand it as necessarily out of doors and certainly not just during the day, but where you can be seen by many people, so in public. And he adds, as “inappropriate place,” on “hard or uneven ground.” So now he’s taking into consideration, is it going to harm the person who’s on the bottom? And, then in terms of inappropriate time, he includes pregnant, and he explains pregnant. What he explains it as meaning is the end of the term of pregnancy – that means the last three months of pregnancy. Now, this is a very similar phrase in Tibetan to the word for “full moon.” He’s talking about the “full-moon” of the pregnancy. And so some translators have mistranslated this, and this has then become widespread in the West, that what is inappropriate is to have sex during the full moon. Although there is a mention in the Kalachakra Tantra that there’s a certain energy that circulates in the body during the course of the lunar month, and at each day of the lunar month, that energy is centered in a different part of the body. And at the full moon it is centered at the place where it could go into the central channel, and therefore it recommends not having sex on that day, because then the energy would go out rather than being able to dissolve. But that’s clearly referring to those who are at the stage in practice where this would make a difference – which brings up another topic, but let me just finish what Tsongkhapa says before I say that. “Inappropriate time” – at the end of the pregnancy, nursing, one-day vows, sick, more than five times. So, he includes here both masturbation and homosexuality explicitly, but he leaves out when the woman doesn’t want to, and he leaves out beating and force. But he specifies that a prostitute is OK, so long you pay. If you take somebody else’s prostitute without paying, that’s taking what is not given. Let me just mention the last text before I go back to what I wanted to mention about tantra, and this is the later Nyingma text by Dza Paltrul, which is Words of My Precious Teacher. He also has inappropriate persons – others’ partners, or safeguarded, and he specifies children. For time, he understands it like Atisha had it, so during the day. And then the usual list one-day precepts, sick, mental sorrow, pregnant, menstruating, and nursing. The place is again the usual list of inappropriate places – by a stupa, etc.; and part of the body – mouth, anus and hand. So there’s is no specific mention of homosexuality, but as we discussed before, if mouth, anus and hand are out, that does leave very much left. Just to sum up, from this history and the survey, we can see that there are a lot of variants here of what would be inappropriate sexual behavior. So again, does that mean that these guys are adding things to it, was it implicit? For a while, I thought well maybe we could say that the sexual ethics was culturally specific – in other words, it was relative to the culture. So in our culture, adultery in terms of not being faithful to your wife or your husband – that would be inappropriate, even though it’s never mentioned here. And, the text was written from the point of view of men in ancient India, who got married at the age of ten or twelve, so there’s not the situation of a single person, a single adult, unless you were a monk or a nun. But when you discuss this with the Geshes, that can’t be the case, that it was culturally specific. Because if it were culturally specific, then the inappropriate sexual behavior would be in the category of prohibited uncommendable actions – that are only uncommendable for a certain group of people – but not for everybody. So, that is not a correct analysis, to say that we can use the criteria for what is culturally specific to determine what is appropriate and inappropriate. The only criterion which is valid would be that there’s a lot which is implicit in the original formulation, and all of that is being drawn out in the commentaries. And rather than leaving out some that we don’t particularly like, because we are attached to that form of sexual 356 behavior, probably we can add more – specifically being unfaithful to your wife or husband, prostitution, being forced into prostitution, consciously transmitting some sexually transmissible disease – AIDS or whatever. There are many things that could be expanded; that you could say is also implicit in the formulation. I had long discussions about this with Geshe Wangchen – he’s the tutor of the incarnation of Ling Rinpoche, who’s the senior teacher of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, so that means he is the most learned of all the Geshes in the Gelug tradition. What he said is that what we need to see is that – he used the analogy, it’s like if you have a fruit orchard, and you want to protect it, then you would put a fence that’s around it at a great distance – not just directly around the trees – because by setting a wide area of safety around it, then you make the trees inside more protected. So, by setting a very wide scope of inappropriate sexual behavior, then we make sure that if we can’t keep all of that, avoid all of that, then at least we are going to avoid the fruit trees in the middle, which is having sex with somebody else’s partner. Because that is mentioned in absolutely every text. Why is the "fruit orchard" in his analogy having sex with someone else’s partner? As it says in the Pali suttas, because that can lead to many other destructive actions: lying, killing, stealing, etc; masturbation is not going to easily lead to that. The whole idea here is that we don’t want to be just animals – that any time we have a sexual urge we just act it out. In other words, we allow ourselves to come under the control of sexual desire, regardless of anything. And, what we would want to do, if we are aiming for liberation from the disturbing emotions, is set some limits. Whatever limits we set – that’s very, very good, that’s very helpful. At least, we are beginning to exercise discriminating awareness. Now, if we are going to take the lay vow of avoiding inappropriate sexual behavior, it’s very clear how it is described in the Tibetan text. So, whether it’s Gampopa’s version, or Tsongkhapa’s version, or Dza Paltrul’s version – I haven’t found a Sakya version, but it must be similar – they are all similar. And just because Gampopa doesn’t mention explicitly masturbation, so if we like that, we’ll take the vows from the Kagyu and not from the Gelugpa – that’s not the way to do it. The point is if you take the vow, it’s the whole thing. We can’t give our own interpretation and just choose the pieces that we like and throw away the pieces we don’t like. There’s a specific bodhisattva vow against that. Also, I need to point out that there are two levels of lay vows: lay vows with celibacy and the general lay vows without celibacy. The general lay vow of avoiding inappropriate sexual behavior doesn’t exclude appropriate sexual behavior with your own partner of the opposite sex. But such behavior is also excluded for someone who takes the celibate lay vows, whereas a celibate layman (tshangs-spyod dge-bsnyen) adds having sex through any of the three orifices of anyone, including his partner, to the list of inappropriate sexual behavior that he avoids. Actually, if you want to be more precise, a celibate layman adds as inappropriate having vaginal sex with his partner – it’s already inappropriate for all laymen to have oral or anal sex with anyone, whether someone else’s partner or their own. Now, according to abhidharma, there are three types of vows. There’s a vow which would be specifically something that Buddha set – to avoid a certain type of destructive behavior, or uncommendable behavior. And there’s an anti-vow, in which you vow to always do a destructive action, like when you join the army, “I’m always going to kill.” And then, something which is in between, and this would be vowing to avoid some of these types of inappropriate sexual behavior, but not the whole package. This is how Geshe Wangchen explained it. You don’t have to take the whole vow. Don’t take the vow, but you could avoid, let’s say, having sex with someone else’s partner, but “I’m attached to masturbation, or oral sex,” or whatever it is that you like. So, you take one of these “in between category vows.” That is not as strong positive force as if you took the whole vow, but it’s much more positive force, than if you didn’t take any vow at all, and just avoided it sometimes. 357 Now, about tantra. The point that I was saying about the sexual ethics is that it is uncommendable because it increases disturbing emotions. In the highest class of tantra, anuttarayoga, or in the Nyingma system, specifically I suppose it would be in maha-, anu- and atiyoga, but particularly anuyoga, you use desire as part of the path. However, there it’s using desire to destroy desire. That’s the phrase that’s used over and over and over again. How is that so? It’s because what you have in this type of practice is when you are extremely, extremely advanced, so you have mastered the generation stage: perfect visualization; perfect zhinay a stilled and settled state of mind, shamatha, perfect concentration; and of course bodhichitta and understanding of voidness, renunciation, all of that; and you have already gained control over the energy winds in the body and can visualize the channels and everything perfectly, so that there is no danger whatever of having an orgasm because you can control all these energies without being some beginner who tries to control the energies and just makes themselves sick because of not being qualified to do that, making prostate problems and all sorts of problems. At that point, one practices with a partner, but it is not at all sex, our ordinary concept of sex, it’s merely joining the two organs – nothing more than that – and that generates a certain blissful sensation, which then generates a blissful awareness associated with the energy winds in the central channel. That’s where you feel it. And it acts as a circumstance for being able to dissolve the other energy winds in the body into the central channel. And this is very specific. You already have been able to dissolve the other energy winds into the central channel, and this is specifically to dissolve the most difficult to dissolve energy, which is at the level of the skin, so that you can get to and access the clear light level of mind by having all these energies dissolved. And it’s these energies, these winds that carry the disturbing emotions, so this is how you can get rid of desire. So when you dissolve them, you get rid of the desire and other disturbing emotions as well as the conceptual level of mind. And, bringing in your understanding of voidness that you have already, you have that understanding of voidness together with that clear light mind – that blissful clear light mind – and with enough familiarity with that state of mind, and have it, you’ll be able to stay there forever and that’s enlightenment. So, we should not at all think that the sex that is involved with tantra and that’s symbolized or represented by the couple in union in these paintings, that this has anything to do with ordinary sex. In fact, it’s breaking one of the root tantric vows if you think that ordinary sex is a path to liberation and enlightenment. That’s why if you’re going to have sex, just have sex and be realistic about it. Don’t think it’s some great spiritual act, that if you have the perfect orgasm then that’s enlightenment. Also, there are tantric vows not to release – it’s usually called “jasmine” or “moon” liquid or something like that, which means not to have orgasm. For both men and women, so it’s not referring specifically to male ejaculation. And that’s referring to, again, when you are super advanced, the same as what we were speaking about before on the complete stage, and you’re able to bring all the energies into the central channel, you don’t want to have this orgasm which shoots all the energy externally, because that ends that situation or opportunity of bringing the winds into the central channel. So, we’re not talking about earlier stages of practice; it’s specifically at this stage of practice that that’s relevant. Now, one more thing that I wanted to explain. General principle here then to do with sexual ethics, then, is – if we’re not ready to become a monk or nun – to try to minimize any problematic aspect of our sexual behavior; in other words, any aspect that’s going to cause a greater problem. So, for this, there are the factors that are involved with making the karmic results full or complete, and then another list in terms of making it heavy. In general, there has to be a basis involved, if it’s somebody else’s partner, an unmistaken distinguishing – that you know it’s someone else’s partner. But in some texts, it says that if the 358 woman is someone else’s partner and she lies, she doesn’t tell you, that’s still a problem, because if somebody finds out, obviously there’ll be big trouble. In some commentaries, it says that is still a fault, even if you did not recognize correctly. Now although it’s not mentioned explicitly in the texts, it would also seem, regarding the basis involved in inappropriate sexual behavior, that for men, inappropriate sexual behavior with a man is less heavy than with a woman; and with yourself less heavy than with another man. Now I’m deducing this from the second of the remainder vows for monks, which is to avoid touching with lust a woman’s body or hair. For a monk to touch with lust a man’s body or hair is considered just similar to a remainder, but it’s not a complete remainder. It weakens the monk’s vows, but not as much as does touching a woman with lust. And, as we’ve also seen from the monks’ vows, having sex with yourself by using your hand is a remainder, whereas having sex through someone else’s orifices is a defeat and results in losing your vows. Then, there has to be the motivating intention, and one of the disturbing emotions needs to be involved, and the action has to be there – that the two organs meet – and the finale of it, I misunderstood what it meant. I thought that it meant orgasm, because the Tibetan word means either “bliss” or “pleasure,” so I understood it as “bliss of orgasm,” and it’s very difficult to ask a Tibetan monk what it actually means. Nevertheless, I did succeed in finding out – again, from the discussion of this in the vinaya – and it actually refers to just experiencing pleasure at the contact of the sexual organs. And so, if you’re raped, or something like that, and there’s no pleasure involved, it’s just painful, then the action is not completed. Where this point comes from, by the way, is from the vinaya texts explaining the monks’ vows. For a monk to commit a defeat in terms of transgressing the vow of not having any sexual behavior, he merely needs to experience pleasure after his organ enters any of the three orifices and, in the case of vaginal sex, when it touches the woman’s organ. A defeat doesn’t actually require the monk experiencing an orgasm or ejaculating semen. Similarly, for a monk to commit a remainder by masturbating, he merely needs to experience the pleasure of having the semen reach the base of his organ and, similar to a defeat, he doesn’t need to experience an orgasm or ejaculating the semen. Then there are factors affecting the strength of the ripening of the karma. The first is the nature of the action involved, and this is in terms the amount of harm caused to yourself or the other person in general by the nature of the act. Oral or anal sex is much heavier than masturbation, so there’s a distinction here. This also follows in analogy to the monks’ vows. As we’ve seen, having oral or anal sex constitutes a defeat, whereas masturbating constitutes only a remainder. Then, one of the most important ones is the strength of the disturbing emotion that’s involved – how strong your lust and desire is, or your anger. It could either be to hurt this person, like raping, or you’re not necessarily angry with the woman, but you want to hurt her husband, or stuff like that, so the strength of that anger; or the strength of your naivety, thinking that it’s OK to have sex with anyone. The third one is a distorted compelling drive that compels you into the action. That’s referring to thinking that there’s nothing detrimental about this type of inappropriate behavior; that’s perfectly OK and you are going to argue with anybody that says anything different. Then the actual action involved. The amount of suffering caused to the other person or to yourself when the action is done. So if you’re doing it with force, and rape or sado-masochism, that’s much worse; hurt the person by having sex on a hard, wet ground so they are going to get sick. Then the basis at which the action is aimed: that has to do with the amount of benefit we or others have received from this person in the past, present or future – so it’s heavier to have sex with your mother than it is with somebody else’s wife – or the good qualities of the being – so it’s heavier to have sex with a nun 359 than with a laywoman. The next one is the status of the other person, and that’s referring to if that person is sick or blind or mentally disabled or a child, then it’s much heavier. And then the level of consideration, this is the amount of respect that one would have toward this person or toward their partner. To have sex with your best friend’s wife or husband is much heavier than having sex with a stranger’s wife or husband. Then the supportive condition, whether or not we have a vow to avoid inappropriate sexual behavior; frequency, how often we do it; then the number of people involved – gang rape is much heavier than singular rape; the follow up, whether you repeat it in the future; and then the presence, or absence, of counterbalancing forces. So, it becomes heavier if we take joy in it, if we have no regret, if we have no intention to stop, if we have no sense of moral self-dignity, or care for how our actions reflect on others. If we’re supposed to be a great Dharma practitioner, but we go into a sex club or something like that, how does that reflect on our teachers? How does that reflect on our Buddhist practice, etc.? In summary, the main point here is not to act just blindly out of our disturbing emotions, but to have some sort of discriminating awareness, some sort of understanding in terms of our sexual behavior. Don’t fool ourselves – any sexual behavior is going to increase desire and that’s the opposite of trying to get free from desire – but be honest with yourself: “I’m not at that stage where I’m ready to work really for liberation. So I will try to exercise at least some limitations, some boundaries in terms of what I do.” And I think many of us do have certain boundaries or limits that we’ve set for ourselves; we’ll do certain things, but some things we won’t do. So this is very good. Have that be more decisive, and the sexual behavior that we do have, try to minimize the heaviness of it. Remember, the main thing is try to overcome being just compulsively under the influence of lust and desire. And if we follow that general guides, those general principles, then although we might not gain liberation just like that, at least we are going in the direction of minimizing our problems. 360 CHAPTER XVII A great Buddhist university in a Jambi Muslim village Chusnul Chotimah –2018 The island of Suvarnadvipa (Sanskrit for the Golden Island, now called Sumatra) was home to a great university, a vast center of knowledge at the crossroads of the Buddhist Sea Route, which attracted such great sages as the Chinese pilgrim Yijing (I-Tsing) from the seventh century and the Tibetan Buddhist Atisha from the eleventh century. Its location is now home to a Muslim village, which is seeking to understand and remember this history. Elizabeth Inandiak, a French writer and translator who has lived in Yogyakarta for many years, told the story at the CRCS-ICRS Wednesday Forum on October 3, 2018. The precise site discussed is Muara Jambi, now in the regency of Muaro Jambi, located about thirty kilometers from the mouth of the Batanghari, the longest river in Sumatra. Past civilizations were usually built around big rivers, Inandiak stated: while there is the Nile in Egypt, and the Indus and Ganges in India, it was the Batanghari in Sumatra. The temple site in Muara Jambi has an area of 12 square kilometers, with a length of more than 7 kilometers and an area of about 260 hectares and stretches in the direction of the river path, with 84 temple complexes each of which has a main temple surrounded by several places for teaching activities. “They may be called temples, but as villagers of Muara Jambi often say, they were faculties of once one of the largest Mahayana Buddhist universities in the world,” said Inandiak. The university of Muara Jambi witnessed the era of Srivijaya kingdom. The capital of the kingdom was Palembang, but the intellectual center was in Muara Jambi. (In Inandiak’s analogy: it is like Washington and Boston-Harvard in the U.S., and London and Oxford-Cambridge in England.) Archeologists still do not dare to call it ‘university’ due to still few epigraphs and written documents attesting its roles, but the hitherto found evidences suggest that those complexes were not just temples but also study centers. In fact, the entire design of the site is similar to that of India’s Nalanda, the largest Mahayana Buddhist monastic university of its time. Among the earliest accounts on Muara Jambi talked about by Inandiak were that of ITsing and Atisha. The decreasing significance of the famous continental Silk Road due to the decreasing demand of silk from China and the many wars waged in Central and South Asia made I-Tsing, who wanted to go to Nalanda, had to travel by sea through the Straits of Malacca. His travel account has been translated into English in 1896 by Junjiro Takasuku titled A Record of the Buddhist Religion as Practiced in India and Malay Archipelago, A.D. 671-695. In this account, I-Tsing told that he stopped in an island with a “fortified city” he called Fo-Che where more than a thousand Buddhist monks study all the subjects studied in Nalanda. What is Fo-Che? Many centuries later, the French epigraphist George Coedes came up arguing that Fo-Che or San-fo-ts’i was the kingdom of Srivijaya. Being “fortified” is a common design for Buddhist monasteries at the time and similar to Nalanda. I-Tsing did not mention a precise identification and mentioning of Muara Jambi, but his hints suggest a strong probability that it was Muara Jambi. Atisha’s journey in India, Sumatra and Tibet has been painted down on the wall of the apartment of Dalai Lama in Tibet. A few centuries later, Atisha, a royal-born from a kingdom in Bengal who chose to be a wanderer seeking knowledge from Buddhist masters including in Nalanda and in Srivijaya, told in his account in Tibetan that his most important master was Serlingpa or Dharmakirti. Following his descriptions in that account, it is most likely that he met Serlingpa at Muara Jambi. In his account, Atisha, named Dipamkara Jnana after monk ordination, spoke high about Serlingpa; when Serlingpa was teaching and surrounded by five 361 hundred and seventy-two monks, Atisha felt as if he was seeing Buddha surrounded by his disciples. After spending 12 years studying at Muara Jambi, Atisha went back at the same year when the Chola kingdom from South India invaded Srivijaya. In Tibet he served for thirteen years until his death leaving writing containing teachings from his past masters, more notably Serlingpa from Muara Jambi. One then has to ask: what made the university of Muara Jambi leave only its (ruined) temples? Some argue it was due to the attack from the Chola kingdom. But this occurred in the eleventh century while a beautiful statue of Prajnaparamita from Muara Jambi found is dated from the 14th century. Another argument says it was because of leprosy. A stronger probability is that it was because of a tsunami. The design of Muara Jambi temples surrounded by many canals indicate how its inhabitants were aware that floods often come from the Batanghari river and the area itself is prone to disaster. The local people call it in the local language of Muara Jambi “menapo”. “Napo” means “deer” whereas “me” means “location”. Muara Jambi, located in a high location, was for animals to take refuge during floods. Today, the site is conserved by the villagers of Muara Jambi, some of whom are building a community center for the site conservation and reenactment of the past (becoming a center of study again) called Padmasana Foundation. Inandiak has also published a book on Muara Jambi titled Dreams from the Golden Island (2018) co-published by Padmasana Foundation. From her talk, Inandiak invited us to reconnect ourselves to the past. Remnants or influences from the past still prevail and preserved by the locals who are Muslim-majority. They are of different religion but are proud of a great heritage residing in their village. Some Muslims give Buddhist names to their kids, such as Prajnaparamita. Salawat recitation by Muslims uses a gong—and a gong is also found in one of the twin temples (candi kembar) on the Muara Jambi site. These indicate the still existing connection to the past despite different worlds. Lastly, Inandiak urged archaeologists to work with Muara Jambi villagers, because they indeed know a lot about the site. “Sixty percent of information in my book is from the villagers,” Inandiak said. She is concerned very much with the archaeologists who look down to the villagers as if their knowledge is not legitimate and so she calls for a “public archaeology” in Muara Jambi: archaeologists must work together with the local community who have conserved the site and share their findings to them. _________________ The Search for the ‘Origins’ of Melayu, Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 November 2001,Leonard Y. Andaya https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-southeast-asianstudies/article/abs/search-for-the-origins-of-melayu/2E0FEFC254101853AD509F5A12FC5F57 362 CHAPTER XIII WHAT YOU DID NOT KNOW ABOUT THE SRIVJAYA KINGDOM The Hindu-Buddhist kingdom of Srivijaya was the first major Indonesian kingdom and the first major Indonesian commercial sea power . Ruled by Tamils and centered in Palembang, on the Musi River in present-day Sumatera Selatan Province, it was founded in Sumatra the end of the 6th century after Funan had been conquered and thrived from the 8th to 13th centuries.. At its height, it ruled Western Indonesia and controlled the strategic Molucca Straits—a choke point on the India-China trade route— and much of the trade in the area. Although historical records and archaeological evidence are scarce, it appears that by the seventh century A.D., the Indianized kingdom of Srivijaya, centered in the Palembang area of eastern Sumatra, established suzerainty over large areas of Sumatra, western Java, and much of the Malay Peninsula.[Sources: Library of Congress, noelbynature, southeastasianarchaeology.com, June 7, 2007] With a reach spanning from Sumatra and Java to as far north as the Thai peninsula and a reign of some 600 years, it’s remarkable that what is now known as the Srivijaya empire was only unearthed relatively recently. The first hint of a Sumatran-based polity was first alluded to by the eminent French scholar George Coedes 1918, based on inscriptions found in Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula. In this primer, we’ll talk about the Srivijayan empire, the extent of its influence and its eventual fall. The kingdom of Srivijaya, a name which translates to “shining victory”, was a Malay polity and a HinduBuddhist trading kingship ruled by the Maharajahs of Srivijaya. The empire was based around trade, with local kings (dhatus or community leaders) swearing allegiance to the central lord for mutual profit. Srivijaya’s area of influence included neighbouring Jambi, to the north the kingdoms of the Malay Peninsula: Chitu, Pan-pan, Langkasuka and Kataha, as well as eastwards in Java, where links with the Sailendra dynasty and Srivijaya are implied. The same Sailendra dynasty was responsible for the construction of the massive Buddhist stupa of Borobudur between 780 and 825 AD. Books: 1) “Southeast Asia: From Prehistory to History” by P. S. Bellwood and I. Glover (Eds) contains chapters on the classical cultures of Indonesia and the archaeology of the early maritime polities of Southeast Asia; 2) “Early Kingdoms of the Indonesian Archipelago and the Malay Peninsula by P. M. Munoz; 3) “Early History (The Encyclopedia of Malaysia) by Nik Hassan Shuhaimi Nik Abdul Rahman (Ed) has several chapters on Srivijaya; 4) “Sriwijaya: History, religion & language of an early Malay polity by G. Coedäs and L. Damais; 5) Wolters, O. W. Early Indonesian Commerce: A Study of the Origins of Srivijaya. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1967. 6) Wolters, O.W, The Fall of Srivijaya in Malay History. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1970. Mataram and Srivijaya Another kingdom—Mataram— arose as Srivijaya began to flourish in the early eighth century, in southcentral Java on the Kedu Politically, the two hegemonies were probably more alike than different. The rulers of both saw themselves and their courts ( kedatuan, keratuan, or kraton) as central to a land or realm ( bhumi), which, in turn, formed the core of a larger, borderless, but concentric and hierarchically organized arrangement of authority. In this greater mandala, an Indic-influenced representation of a sort of idealized, “galactic” order, a ruler emerged from constellations of local powers and ruled by virtue of neither 363 inheritance nor divine descent, but rather through a combination of charisma ( semangat), strategic family relationships, calculated manipulation of order and disorder, and the invocation of spiritual ideas and supernatural forces. [Source: Library of Congress*] The exercise of power was never absolute, and would-be rulers and (if they were to command loyalty) their supporters had to take seriously both the distribution of benefits (rather than merely the application of force or fear) and the provision of an “exemplary center” enhancing cultural and intellectual life. In Mataram, overlords and their courts do not, for example, appear to have controlled either irrigation systems or the system of weekly markets, which remained the purview of those who dominated local regions ( watak) and their populations. This sort of political arrangement was at once fragile and remarkably supple, depending on the ruler and a host of surrounding circumstances. * Very little is known about social realities in Srivijaya and Mataram, and most of what is written is based on conjecture. With the exception of the religious structures on Java, these societies were constructed of perishable materials that have not survived the centuries of destructive climate and insects. There are no remains of either palaces or ordinary houses, for example, and we must rely on rare finds of jewelry and other fine metalworking (such as the famous Wonosobo hoard, found near Prambanan in 1991), and on the stone reliefs on the Borobudur and a handful of other structures, to attempt to guess what these societies may have been like. (The vast majority of these remains are Javanese.) A striking characteristic of both Srivijaya and Mataram in this period is that neither—and none of their smaller rivals—appear to have developed settlements recognizable as urban from either Western or Asian traditions. On the whole, despite evidence of socioeconomic well- being and cultural sophistication, institutionally Srivijaya and Mataram remained essentially webs of clanship and patronage, chieftainships carried to their highest and most expansive level. * Srivijaya Culture Srivjaya was a Buddhist kingdom. The Srivijaya kings practiced Mahayana Buddhism which suggests its introduction from India. As a stronghold of Mahayana Buddhism, Srivijaya attracted pilgrims and scholars from other parts of Asia. These included the Chinese monk Yijing and the eleventh-century Buddhist scholar Atisha, who played a major role in the development of Tibetan Buddhism. In the 8th century Srivjaya introduced a mixture of Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism to Malaysia and Thailand. [Sources: Library of Congress, noelbynature, southeastasianarchaeology.com, June 7, 2007] Srivijaya was considered to be one of the major centres of learning for the Buddhist world. The Chinese pilgrim Yijing (635–713), who briefly visited Srivijaya in 671 and 687 and then lived there from 687 to 695, recommended it as a world-class center of Buddhist studies. Inscriptions from the 680s, written in Pallava script and the indigenous Old Malay language (forerunner of contemporary Bahasa Indonesia), identified the realm and its ruler by name and demanded the loyalty of allies by pronouncing elaborate threats and curses. [Library of Congress] Yijing, a Buddhist monk who travelled between China and India to copy sacred texts mentioned the high quality of Sanskrit education in Palembang, and recommended that anyone who wanted to go to the university at Nalanda (north India) should stay in Palembang for a year or two to learn “how to behave properly”. Srivijaya’s prominent role in the Buddhist world can be found in several inscriptions around Asia: an inscription in Nalanda dated 850-860 AD described how a temple was built in Nalanda at the 364 request of a king of Srivijaya. In the 11th century, a temple in Guangzhou in China received a donation from Srivijaya to help with the upkeep. The Wiang Sa inscription quoted above recounts how a Srivijayan king ordered the construction of three stupas in Chaiya, also in the Thai peninsula. Very little is known about social realities in Srivijaya and Mataram (570-927, a Hindu-Buddhist kingdom based in Java), and most of what is written is based on conjecture. With the exception of the religious structures on Java, these societies were constructed of perishable materials that have not survived the centuries of destructive climate and insects. There are no remains of either palaces or ordinary houses, for example, and we must rely on rare finds of jewelry and other fine metalworking (such as the famous Wonosobo hoard, found near Prambanan in 1991), and on the stone reliefs on the Borobudur and a handful of other structures, to attempt to guess what these societies may have been like. (The vast majority of these remains are Javanese.) A striking characteristic of both Srivijaya and Mataram in this period is that neither—and none of their smaller rivals—appear to have developed settlements recognizable as urban from either Western or Asian traditions. On the whole, despite evidence of socioeconomic well- being and cultural sophistication, institutionally Srivijaya and Mataram remained essentially webs of clanship and patronage, chieftainships carried to their highest and most expansive level. The chedi of temples produced during the Srivijaya period resemble Hindu-Buddhist stupas of central Java which have a ‘stacked” appearance. This style was copied in Thailand, including at temples in the great Thai kingdom of Sukothai (m 1238 until 1438). Early Trade in Indonesia Medieval Sumatra was known as the “Land of Gold.” The rulers were reportedly so rich they threw solid gold bar into a pool every night to show their wealth. Sumatra was a source of cloves, camphor, pepper, tortoiseshell, aloe wood, and sandalwood—some of which originated elsewhere. Arab mariners feared Sumatra because it was regarded as a home of cannibals. Sumatra is believed to be the site of Sinbad’s run in with cannibals. Sumatra was the first region of Indonesia to have contact with the outside world. The Chinese came to Sumatra in the 6th century. Arab traders went there in the 9th century and Marco Polo stopped by in 1292 on his voyage from China to Persia. Initially Arab Muslims and Chinese dominated trade. When the center of power shifted to the port towns during the 16th century Indian and Malay Muslims dominated trade. Traders from India, Arabia and Persia purchased Indonesian goods such as spices and Chinese goods. Early sultanates were called “harbor principalities.” Some became rich from controlling the trade of certain products or serving as way stations on trade routes. The Minangkabau, Acehnese and Batak— coastal people in Sumatra— dominated trade on the west coast of Sumatra. The Malays dominated trade in the Malacca Straits on the eastern side of Sumatra. Minangkabau culture was influenced by a series of 5th to 15th century Malay and Javanese kingdoms (the Melayu, Sri Vijaya, Majapahit and Malacca). Srivijaya Trade and Economic Power 365 Srivijaya was the first major Indonesian commercial sea power. Primarily a costal empire, it drew its riches and power from maritime trade and extended its power to the coasts of West Java and Malaysia and to Vhaiya in southern Thailand. It was able to control much of the trade in Southeast Asia in part because its location on the Strait of Melaka between the empires of the Middle east, India and China. Merchants from Arabia, Persia and India brought goods to Sriwijaya’s coastal cities in exchange for goods from China and local products. [Sources: Library of Congress, noelbynature, southeastasianarchaeology.com, June 7, 2007] At its zenith in the ninth and tenth centuries, Srivijaya extended its commercial sway from approximately the southern half of Sumatra and the Strait of Malacca to western Java and southern Kalimantan, and its influence as far away as locations on the Malay Peninsula, present-day southern Thailand, eastern Kalimantan, and southern Sulawesi. Its dominance probably arose out of policies of war and alliance applied, perhaps rather suddenly, by one local entity to a number of trading partners and competitors. The process is thought to have coincided with newly important direct sea trade with China in the sixth century, and by the second half of the seventh century Srivijaya had become a wealthy and culturally important Asian power. The important Strait of Melaka (Malacca) which facilitated trade between China and India. With its naval power, the empire managed to suppress piracy along the Malacca strait, making Srivjayan entrepots the port of choice for traders. Despite its apparent hegemony, the empire did not destroy the other non-Srivijayan competitors but used them as secondary sources of maritime trade. Srivijaya’s wide influence in the region was a mixture of diplomacy and conquest, but ultimately operated like a federation of port-city kingdoms. Besides the southern centre of power in Palembang, Arab, Chinese and Indian sources also imply that Srivijaya had a northern power centre, most probably Kataha, what is now known as Kedah on the western side of the Malay peninsula. Kedah is now known for remains of Indian architecture at the Bujang Valley. This was due to the invasion by the Chola kingdom from South India —“ an invasion which ultimately led to the fall of Srivijaya. Dominating the Malacca and Sunda straits, Srivijaya controlled the trade of the region and remained a formidable sea power until the thirteenth century. Serving as an entrepôt for Chinese, Indonesian, and Indian markets, the port of Palembang, accessible from the coast by way of a river, accumulated great wealth. Control over the burgeoning commerce moving through the Strait of Malacca. This it accomplished by mobilizing the policing capabilities of small communities of seafaring orang laut (Malay for sea people), providing facilities and protection in exchange for reasonable tax rates on maritime traders, and maintaining favorable relations with inland peoples who were the source of food and many of the trade goods on which commerce of the day was built. But Srivijaya also promoted itself as a commanding cultural center in which ideas from all over Buddhist Asia circulated and were redistributed as far as away Vietnam, Tibet, and Japan. Srivijaya declined in the 11th century because of forced changes in trade routes brought about by increased piracy in the Sunda and Malacca Straits. Palembang on the Musi River in Sumatra: Heart of ancient Srivijaya Palembang, the second largest town on Sumatra after Medan, was the celebrated seat of the Srivijaya kingdom for more than three centuries. The city was then known as the wealthy trade hub as well as the center for Buddhist learnings. Monks from China, India and Java used to congregate here to learn and teach the lessons of Buddha. In AD 671 the famous Chinese Buddhist monk, Yojing wrote that there were more 366 than 1.000 Buddhist monks in the city and advised Chinese monks to study Sanskrit in Palembang before proceeding to India. While the Srivijaya kings lived inland on shore, his subjects lived along the wide Musi river, manning the powerful fleet and busily trading in gold, spices, silks, ivories and ceramics with foreign merchants who sailed in from China, India and Java. In 1025, however, the king of Chola in South India sent a fleet to Sumatra, destroying the kingdom, marking the end of its golden era. Later, Chinese admiral Cheng Ho, emissary of the Chinese emperor visited Palembang in the 15th century. Palembang is also known in history as the origin of the Malays whose kings are believed to have descended to earth at Gunung Siguntang, north of Palembang.Today, not much can be seen from Srivijaya’s golden age, except for evidence of the area’s fine gold and silver songket weaving that persists until today, the fine lacquerware it produces for which Palembang is renowned, and its regal dances and opulent costumes. On Kemaro Island in the middle of the Musi river there is a large Buddhist temple and the grave of a Chinese princess, who was destined to wed a Srivijaya king. The island is today the center of the Cap Go Meh celebrations. During Cap Go Meh, Chinese communities from around the city squeeze into this small piece of land, together with those coming from Hongkong, Singapore and China. Ever since the 9th century Srivijaya was a thriving trading power and an epicenter for Buddhist learnings, Chinese merchants came to trade in Palembang and monks stayed here to study Sanskrit before proceeding to India. Over the centuries many Chinese settled in the area. Legend of the Srivijaya Princess and the Chinese Prince There are many legends connected to the Chinese princess (or maybe a prince) buried on Kemaro. According to one version, the island is evidence and symbol of the love and loyalty of Princess Siti Fatimah, daughter of the King of Srivijaya, towards a Chinese prince called Tan Bun An. In the 14th century, so the legend goes, Prince Tan Bun An arrived in Palembang to study. After living here for some time, he fell in love with princess Siti Fatimah. He came to the palace to ask the king for her hand in marriage. The king and queen gave their approval on one condition, that Tan Bun An must present a gift. Tan Bun An then sent a messenger back to China to ask his father for such a gift to be presented to the King of Srivijaya. When the messenger returned with pots of preserved vegetables and fruits, Tan Bun An was surprised and enraged because he had asked his father to send Chinese jars, ceramics and gold.In his anger he threw the ships cargo into the Musi River, unaware that his father had placed gold bars inside the fruits and vegetables. Ashamed after finding out his mistake, he tried to recover what he had thrown into the river. Tan Bun An, however, never returned as he drowned with the precious cargo. When Siti Fatimah heard about the tragedy, the Princess ran to the river and drowned herself to follow her lover, but not before leaving a message saying; "If you see a tree grow on a piece of land where I drown, it will be the tree of our true love ".At the place where the princess drowned, a piece of land appeared on the surface of the river. The locals believe that this new island is the couple’s tomb and therefore, they call it "Kamarau Island" which means that despite high tides in the Musi River, this island will always remain dry. 367 The local ethnic Chinese believe that their ancestor, Tan Bun An, lives on this island. As a result, the island is always crowded during Chinese New Year. Today, a magnificent Chinese temple, the Hok Cing Bio, stands here. Built in 1962, it attracts many devotees. On special occasions, especially on what the Hokkien call the ‘Cap Go Meh’ Celebrations, the island is packed with locals and visitors coming from Palembang and overseas. There is something magical about Kamaro island. Witnessing the crowds on this particular occasion is an attraction by itself. Srivijaya Civilization in Malaysia In the 7th century the powerful Shrivijaya kingdom in Sumatra spread to Malay peninsula and introduced a mixture of Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism. Srivijaya influence extended over the Malay Peninsula and much of Borneo from the 7th to the 14th centuries. Shrivijaya ruled a string of principalities as far north Chaiya in what is today southern Thailand with support from China When Srivijaya in Chaiya extended its sphere of influence, those cities became tributary states of Srivijaya. The Srivijaya kingdom in Malaysia was based in the the Bujang Valley or Lembah Bujang, a sprawling historical complex situated near Merbok, Kedah. It is regarded as the richest archaeological area in Malaysia. Over the years, numerous artefacts have been uncovered in the Bujang Valley - celadon, porcelain, stoneware, clay, pottery, fragments of glass, beads and Persian ceramics - evidences that Bujang Valley was once a centre of international and entrepot trade in the region. More than 50 ancient Hindu or Buddhist temples, called candi, have also been unearthed, adding to the spirituality of the place. The most well-preserved of these is located in Pengkalan Bayang Merbok, which is also where the Bujang Valley Archaeological Museum is located. This museum is the first archaeology museum built in Malaysia, under the Museum and Antiquity. Kedah also had a strong Tamil influence which have led to surmise at least some of the Srivijaya maharajas may have been Tamiles. A 7th-century Sanskrit drama, Kaumudhimahotsva, refers to Kedah as Kataha-nagari. The Agnipurana also mentions a territory known as Anda-Kataha with one of its boundaries delineated by a peak, which scholars believe is Gunung Jerai. Stories from the Katasaritasagaram describe the elegance of life in Kataha. The Buddhist kingdom of Ligor took control of Kedah shortly after. Its king Chandrabhanu used it as a base to attack Sri Lanka in the 11th century, an event noted in a stone inscription in Nagapattinum in Tamil Nadu and in the Sri Lankan chronicles, Mahavamsa. [Source: Wikipedia] Decline of Srivijaya Civilization in Malaysia At times, the Khmer kingdom, the Siamese kingdom, and even Cholas kingdom in India tried to exert control over the smaller Malay states. In 1025 and 1026 Gangga Negara was attacked by Rajendra Chola I, the Tamil emperor who is now thought to have laid Kota Gelanggi to waste. Kedah—known as Kedaram, Cheh-Cha (according to I-Ching) or Kataha, in ancient Pallava or Sanskrit—was in the direct route of the invasions and was ruled by the Cholas from 1025. The senior Chola's successor, Vira Rajendra Chola, had to put down a Kedah rebellion to overthrow other invaders. The coming of the Chola reduced the majesty of Srivijaya, which had exerted influence over Kedah, Pattani and as far as Ligor. [Source: Wikipedia] 368 The power of Srivijaya declined from the 12th century as the relationship between the capital and its vassals broke down. Wars with the Javanese caused it to request assistance from China, and wars with Indian states are also suspected. In the 11th century CE the centre of power shifted to Melayu, a port possibly located further up the Sumatran coast at near the Jambi River. The power of the Buddhist Maharajas was further undermined by the spread of Islam. Areas which were converted to Islam early, such as Aceh, broke away from Srivijaya’s control. By the late 13th century, the Siamese kings of Sukhothai had brought most of Malaya under their rule. In the 14th century, the Hindu Java-based Majapahit empire came into possession of the peninsula. By the fourteenth century, Srivijaya’s dominance had ended because it lost Chinese support and because it was continually in conflict with states seeking to dominate lucrative trade routes. In 1405 the Chinese admiral Cheng Ho arrived in Melaka with promises to the locals of protection from the Siamese encroaching from the north. With Chinese support, the power of Melaka extended to include most of the Malay Peninsula. Islam arrived in Melaka around this time and soon spread through Malaya. As for the other region of Malaysia, Borneo, evidence suggests that Borneo developed quite separately from the peninsula and was little affected by cultural and political developments there. The kingdom of Brunei was Borneo’s most prominent political force and remained so until nineteenth-century British colonization. Srivijaya Prince and the Founding of Malacca The founding of trading port of Malacca on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula is credited to the Srivijayan prince Sri Paramesvara, who fled his kingdom to avoid domination by rulers of the Majapahit kingdom. In 1402 by Parameswara fled Temasek (now Singapore). The Sejarah Melayu claims that Parameswara was a descendant of Alexander the Great and said he sailed to Temasek to escape persecution. There he came under the protection of Temagi, a Malay chief from Patani who was appointed by the king of Siam as regent of Temasek. Within a few days, Parameswara killed Temagi and appointed himself regent. Some five years later he had to leave Temasek, due to threats from Siam. During this period, a Javanese fleet from Majapahit attacked Temasek. [Source: Wikipedia] Parameswara headed north to found a new settlement. At Muar, Parameswara considered siting his new kingdom at either Biawak Busuk or at Kota Buruk. Finding that the Muar location was not suitable, he continued his journey northwards. Along the way, he reportedly visited Sening Ujong (former name of present-day Sungai Ujong) before reaching a fishing village at the mouth of the Bertam River (former name of the Melaka River), and founded what would become the Malacca Sultanate. Over time this developed into modern-day Malacca Town. According to the Malay Annals, here Parameswara saw a mouse deer outwitting a dog resting under a Malacca tree. Taking this as a good omen, he decided to establish a kingdom called Malacca. He built and improved facilities for trade. The Malacca Sultanate is commonly considered the first independent state in the peninsula. Srivijaya Civilization Thailand 369 The Wiang Sa Inscription (Thai Peninsula) dated 775 AD reads: “Victorious is the king of Srivijaya, whose Sri has its seat warmed by the rays emanating from neighbouring kings, and which was diligently created by Brahma, as if this God has in view only the duration of the famous Dharma.” Joe Cummings wrote in the Lonely Planet guide for Thailand:While much of northern and eastern Thailand was controlled by the Angkor-based Khmers, “southern Thailand – the upper Malay Peninsula – was under the control of the Srivijaya empire, the headquarters of which is believed to have been located in Palembang, Sumatra, between the 8th and 13th centuries. The regional centre for Srivijaya was Chaiya, near modern Surat Thani. Remains of Srivijaya art can still be seen in Chaiya and its environs.” Srivijaya was a maritime empire that lasted for 500. It ruled a string of principalities in what is today Southern Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. [Source: Joe Cummings, Lonely Planet guide for Thailand] Chaiya, near Present-day Surat Thani (685 kilometers south of Bangkok, jumping off area for Ko Samui), was a provincial capital of the Srivijaya Empire. Just north of Surat Thani city, Chaiya is the home of Wat Phra Boromathat, Thailand's most important monument from the Srivijaya period. Surrounded by walls and moats, this temple features a cloister with a large number of Buddhist images. At the center of the courtyard is an ancient Srivjaya-style stupa restored during the reign of King Rama V. Surat Thani is located on the Gulf of Thailand about equidistant between Bangkok and the Malaysian border. When Srivijaya in Chaiya extended its sphere of influence, those cities became tributary states of Srivijaya. Srivijaya ruled a string of principalities in what is today southern Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Chaiya contains several ruins from Srivijaya times, and was probably a regional capital of the kingdom. Some Thai historians even claim that it was the capital of the kingdom itself for some time, but this is generally disputed. After Srivijaya lost its influence, Nakhon Si Thammarat became the dominant kingdom of the area. During the rule of King Ramkhamhaeng the Great of Sukhothai leader, Thai influence first reached Nakhon Si Thammarat in the south. Fall of Srivijaya By the early eleventh century, Srivijaya had been weakened by decades of warfare with Java and a devastating defeat in 1025 at the hands of the Chola, a Tamil (south Indian) maritime power. Chola launched an attack on Srivijaya, systematically plundering the Srivijayan ports along the Straits of Malacca, and even captured the Srivijayan king in Palembang. The reasons for this change in relations between Srivijaya and the Cholas are unknown, although it is theorised that plunder made up an essential part of the Chola political economy. While it seemed that the Cholas only intended to plunder Srivijaya, they left a lasting presence on Kataha, the remains of which are still visible at the Bujang Valley archaeological museum. [Source: noelbynature, southeastasianarchaeology.com, June 11, 2007] The successful sack and plunder of Srivijaya had left it in a severely weakened state that marked the beginning of the end of Srivijaya. Having lost its wealth and prestige from the Chola attack, the port cities of the region started to initiate direct trade with China, shrugging off the exclusive influence Srivijaya once held over them. Towards the end of Srivijaya’s influence, the power centre of Srivijaya began to oscillate between Palembang and neighbouring Jambi, further fragmenting the once-great empire. Other factors included Javanese invasion westwards toward Sumatra in 1275, invading the Malayu kingdoms. Later towards the end of the 13th century, the Thai polities from the north came down the peninsula and conquered the last of the Srivijayan vassals. 370 Despite its influence and reach,Srivijaya flew very quickly into obscurity, and it was not until the last 90 years that the kingdom’s history was rediscovered, mainly through epigraphical sources. Palembang, determined as the centre of power for Srivijaya poses a special problem for archaeologists, for if the modern settlement followed the ancient settlement pattern, ancient Palembang would have been built over shallow water and any archaeological remains would be buried deep in the mud. As the 19th-century naturalist Alfred Wallace described it, Palembang is a populous city several miles long but only one house wide! By way of a quick epilogue, the story of Srivijaya ends where the story of the Malacca Sultanate begins. The Sejarah Melayu, or Malay Annals, begins with a story about Raja Chulan —perhaps an allusion to the king (Raja) of the Cholas, whose sack of Srivijaya led to its ultimate downfall. The annals go on to relate the appearance of three princes at Bukit Seguntang in Palembang, one of whom eventually founds a city of Singapura in Temasek before establishing Malacca further north. As Srivijaya’s hegemony ebbed, a tide of Javanese paramountcy rose on the strength of a series of eastern Java kingdoms beginning with that of Airlangga (r. 1010–42), with its kraton at Kahuripan, not far from present-day Surabaya, Jawa Timur Province. A number of smaller realms followed, the best-known of which are Kediri (mid-eleventh to early thirteenth centuries) and Singhasari (thirteenth century), with their centers on the upper reaches of the Brantas River, on the west and east of the slopes of Mount Kawi (Gunung Kawi), respectively. In this region, continued population growth, political and military rivalries, and economic expansion produced important changes in Javanese society. Taken together, these changes laid the groundwork for what has often been identified as Java’s—and Indonesia’s— “golden age” in the fourteenth century. In Kediri, for example, there developed a multilayered bureaucracy and a professional army. The ruler extended control over transportation and irrigation and cultivated the arts in order to enhance his own reputation and that of the court as a brilliant and unifying cultural hub. The Old Javanese literary tradition of the kakawin (long narrative poem) rapidly developed, moving away from the Sanskrit models of the previous era and producing many key works in the classical canon. Kediri’s military and economic influence spread to parts of Kalimantan and Sulawesi. Image Sources: Text Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Times of London, Lonely Planet Guides, Library of Congress, Ministry of Tourism, Republic of Indonesia, Compton’s Encyclopedia, The Guardian, National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine, The New Yorker, Time, Newsweek, Reuters, AP, AFP, Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic Monthly, The Economist, Foreign Policy, Wikipedia, BBC, CNN, and various books, websites and other publications. © 2008 Jeffrey Hays Last updated June 2015 371 CHAPTER XIV The Fragility of Thalassocracy, Pericles to Heinlein Πολυκράτης γὰρ ἐστὶ πρῶτος τῶν ἡμεῖς ἵδμεν Ἑλλήνων ὃς θαλασσοκρατέειν ἐπενοήθη. For Polycrates was the first of the Greeks we know who intended to rule the sea. Herodotus, The Persian Wars, III:122, Volume II, translated by A.D. Godley, The Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press, 1921, 2006, p.150-151, translation modified; Polycrates, tyrant of Samos, ally of Aḥmose II of Egypt, d.522 BC. In large bodies, the circulation of power must be less vigorous at the extremities... This is the immutable condition, the eternal law of extensive and detached empire. Edmund Burke, 1774, Letters and Speeches on American Affairs, Everyman, London, 1908, pp.95-96. Thalassocracy means the rule (κρατεῖν, krateîn, to rule) of the sea (θάλασσα, thálassa, θάλαττα, thálatta, in Attic) -- the coinage for Greek is θάλασσοκρατία, thalassokratía, which is attested in Strabo -- as a verb we see it earlier in Herodotus, in the epigraph above. This does not mean rule by the sea, as "aristocracy" means the rule by the "best," which wouldn't make much sense, but rule by those who control the sea. The first modern systematic discussion of this, although not the use of the term, may have been by Alfred Thayer Mahan in his classic The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783 [1890, Little Brown and Company]. Mahan, however, does not discuss what is usually considered the first thalassocracy attested in its own records, that of Athens in the 5th Century BC. A thalassocracy is a state that uses its navy to project its power and to unite various possessions that are separated by water. Not all naval powers are thalassocracies. Indeed, the key to a state being a thalassocracy is if its power, even its political existence, would collapse completely with the annihilation of its navy. This is the noteworthy fragility of a thalassocracy -- a navy can be crippled or destroyed, sometimes even in a day, leaving the state dismembered and helpless. Mahan's book, by highlighting the importance of sea power, set off a tremendous naval arms race that lasted through World War I, but the competing Powers paid no more attention than Mahan to the fragility of the power they were seeking -- Mahan may have avoided analysis of the Athenian experience just because it ended in failure. Britain, Mahan's own prime exemplar of naval power, managed to lose its "Empire" despite victories in both World War I and World War II. They were Pyrrhic victories; and Britain, as the principal modern thalassocracy, proved to wield a power so fragile that even victory could not preserve it. In fact, Mahan was writing to encourage the United States, which had no particular need of a navy at the time, to build one anyway, as it did. 372 The first nation whose power depended principally on its ships may have been Crete, about which we known little, and then Phoenicia, about which we know a great deal. Phoenicia, however, was never politically unified, was often under foreign rule, did not effectively retain control of its colonies, and never used colonies as footholds of conquest. The greatest Phoenician colony, Carthage, itself came rather closer to a thalassocracy, retaining control of colonies in the Western Mediterranean and then, under Hamilcar Barca, undertaking the conquest and development of Spain as a Carthaginian imperial possession. By then a major thalassocracy had already come and gone. In general Greece exhibited the same characteristics as Phoenicia. Greek city states founded colonies but then retained little or no control over them. With Athens, we got something different. The power of Athens began with the League of Delos, a defensive confederation formed to oppose the Persian invasion of Greece in 480. All members made proportional contributions to the common defense, which were kept at the Temple of Apollo on the Island of Delos. Hence the name. With the Persians defeated, the League continued. But the status of Athens as the predominant member began to tell. Pericles wanted to move the Treasury of the League from Delos to Athens. He did this even though no other members of the League agreed. Athens then began spending the money for its own purposes, and the contributions of League members became in effect Tribute paid to Athens. The League became what historians now like to call the "Athenian Empire," although such terminology is pretty anachronistic and inappropriate. Nor is it apt. The "Empire" of Athens, with more or less unwilling participants, depended wholly on the ability of Athens to maintain naval supremacy in the Aegaean Sea. If that were lost or disrupted, Athens would be powerless. We see in the quote from Herodotus above, who would tell the story of Athenian naval supremacy, that in his judgement it was the Tyrant Polycrates of Samos, Πολυκράτης ὁ Σάμιος (c.538-522) who first tried to "rule the sea," θαλασσοκρατέειν. But this was in an alliance with King Aḥmose II (570-526) of Egypt, who apparently financed a fleet for Polycrates. With his ships, Polycrates began to dominate the Aegaean, and also to spend for monuments and engineering works on Samos (while frightening off Pythagoras, who went into exile, perhaps in 531). This apparently worried Aḥmose, who asked Polycrates to quiet down a bit; but the Persians went for the source of trouble by invading Egypt in 525, shortly after the death of Aḥmose. Polycrates was murdred by the Persians in 522, and then Samos was conquered in 517 -- unable to defend itself without its Egyptian subsidized fleet. This makes a key point in naval history. Navies are expensive. And Athens, with its own commercial wealth, its Laurion silver mine, and the tribute from the League of Delos, needed everything to keep up its naval establishment. The disruption of its naval power, and the Fall of Athens, is exactly what happened in the war with Sparta, the Peloponnesian War (430-404). Sparta had an invincible army, so the best that Athens could do was avoid it -- relatively easy in a land of peninsulas and islands. If some Spartans could be trapped on an island, as did happen (at Sphacteria, on Navarino Bay, in 425), then they could even be defeated and captured. This all worked fine until the Spartans began building their own navy -- something they could not have done, believing in virtuous poverty, and hostile to commercial culture, without being bankrolled by the Persians. Now Athenian "allies" had an easier time defecting, since they were no longer entirely at the mercy of Athens. The Spartans could now support even island friends. And, if Sparta could wipe out the Athenian fleet in a great battle, it would win the war in one day. The great battle came in 405 at Aegospotami. Destroying the Athenian 373 fleet, the Spartans proceeded at once to the siege of Athens, which surrendered in 404. The Athenian thalassocracy burst like a bubble. The next state heavily dependent on sea power was, indeed, Carthage. In the First Punic War (264-241) the Romans defeated Carthage and conquered Sicily, in great measure by destroying the Carthaginian fleet. No one would ever say this was done by finesse. The Romans simply filled their ships with soldiers, grappled the Carthaginian ships, dropped gangways, and overwhelmed the enemy with infantry. Carthage never regained naval supremacy -- the best moments for Carthage in the First Punic War were when storms destroyed Roman fleets. The response was Hamilcar's, to recreate Carthage as a land power in Spain. Hamilcar's son, Hannibal, then invaded Italy itself in the Second Punic War (218-202). The Romans, unable to defeat Hannibal in open battle, then used their own sea power to defeat him indirectly. Spain was conquered behind him. And then Africa itself was invaded. Hannibal had to abandon his army in Italy and return to defend Carthage itself. There he was finally defeated in battle. The Romans turned the Mediterranean into their own lake, the Mare Nostrum, "Our Sea." This control, except for some periods of piracy, endured until the Vandals captured Carthage in 439. They then, with exquisite irony, built a fleet that swept the Romans from the Western Mediterranean. When the Visigoths sacked Rome in 410, they came by land, but when the Vandals sacked Rome in 455, they arrived, and left, by boat. This supremacy survived until Belisarius arrived in 534. Their base was abruptly yanked from under the Vandals by the Roman fleet and army from Constantinople. This reestablished Roman maritime control until the 9th century. At that point two things went wrong. The Arabs, who had conquered the Mediterranean coast from Syria to Spain, and who had already arrived twice by boat to besiege Constantinople (674-677 & 717-718), began asserting naval dominance, resulting in the loss of Roman island possessions, like Crete (823) and Sicily (827-878). Islamic states never organized on the basis of naval supremacy or detached possessions, so there was no real Islamic thalassocracy. The closest may have been by Oman in the Arabian Sea, which projected naval and colonial power all the way to Zanzibar. Otherwise, it is noteworthy that the first possession over which that Caliphate lost control (in 756) was Spain -- the only large conquest separated from the others by water. For the Romans, meanwhile, the other naval challenge was the Vikings, or, as they were called in the East, the Varangians. They arrived at Constantinople, having come down the rivers of Russia, in 839. Several attacks and wars followed, until a Treaty in 988 and the subsequent conversion of Russia to Christianity. Things were improving a bit. A Roman fleet destroyed a fleet of Arab pirates off Provence in 941. This was probably the last great stroke of Roman seapower in the Western Mediterranean. Crete was recovered in 961 and Cyprus in 964. The real end of Roman sea power, however, can be precisely dated. It happened in 1082 when the Emperor Alexius Comnenus signed a commercial agreement with Venice. In short order, the Italian cities, Venice, Pisa, and Genoa in particular, became the great commercial and naval powers of the Mediterranean. Venice countenanced no revival of Roman naval power. 374 Looking back on the Roman experience, what it looks like is that Rome had a great deal of power apart from its maritime possessions and navy. The Roman Empire, however, was wrapped around the Mediterranean Sea -- as Socrates said, like frogs around a pond. Or like a geode with a hollow in the middle. This meant that naval power was necessary for complete mastery of the area, should there be any other naval power present. Loss of naval predominance might not be fatal, as it was for Athens, but it would be a serious blow to Roman power. Where naval supremacy was lost, as to the Vandals, or in the 9th century, the state was doomed to retreat to a continental redoubt. The Chinese experience is interesting in comparison. The contemporary of the early Roman Empire, the Han Dynasty, broke up (220 AD) and was partially conquered by barbarians, just like Rome. China, however, recovered and was reunited by the Sui Dynasty (590), not long after Justinian partially retrieved the Western Empire. China, however, was not wrapped around an empty Sea. China was also culturally, ethnically, and religiously rather more homogeneous. In the Mediterranean world, every little peninsula had a different nationality, different language, and, before Christianity, a different religion. The sort of separatism, manifesting itself in religious dissent, that made Egypt and Syria welcoming of the Arab Conquest, was much more of a danger for Rome than for China. The Roman Empire, even in its Mediaeval incarnation, thus shrank and ultimately collapsed, while China was reconstituted time after time. The disunity of Europe and the Mediterranean world may actually have made for greater cultural and technological innovation. China was historically more conservative. The disunity, however, looks dictated by the geography, and especially by the seas that both separated and connected the lands. The Italian cities were thalassocracies, but their power remained very limited and could not effectively project itself in continental struggles. They had no effective continental redoubts to speak of. Venice retreated before the Ottomans, and Genoa was successively occupied by France. The rising Great Powers had resources beyond what any Italian city could ever claim. The new Great Powers, however, became tied to naval power with the acquisition of colonial empires. Spain derived much of its power from the silver mines of Mexico and Peru. Every year, Spanish finances hung on the treasure fleet sailing from Vera Cruz to Cadiz. Spain itself, however, did not put its own revenues to use in the development of modern commercial culture and banking. The Netherlands, revolting against Spain (1568-1648), was able to do that. In the 17th century, the new Maritime Powers -- the Netherlands, Britain, and France -- surpassed Spain and Portugal in wealth and power. This had little to do with colonial possessions or even sea power. The European Balance of Power was determined on land, and even all the American silver of Spain could not keep it competitive with the cultural and institutional advantages of its rivals. Britain, as an island, realized how important its navy was, but a purely naval strategy did not begin to tell until well into the 18th century. British predominance at sea was definitely established in the Seven Years War (1756-1763), when France lost the principal assents of its colonial empire, particularly Canada. This quickly gives us the picture of Britain as the paradigmatic modern thalassocracy. There are already features of this picture, however, that are singularly revealing of both its power and its fragility. The particular power of the British colonial empire was the degree to which British possessions were settled by immigrants and grew into powers in their own right. America was the first in this direction, but then the fate of America reveals a fundamental 375 flaw in the tendency. The American colonies, the originally British ones (not, as it happened, Canada), revolted against Britain. With the help of France and other enemies of Britain, the American Revolution (1776-1783) was successful. This is usually regarded as the end of the "First" British Empire. Just as importantly, it was a grave shock to a British thalassocracy. America ended up, although settled and created from Britain itself, more like the unwilling "allies" of Athens in the League of Delos. As it happened, British naval dominance was retrieved at the end of the war by victory at the Battle of the Saints in 1782, with which Mahan's original book ends. It did not restore the American colonies. The subsequent French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Eras repeated the experience of the Seven Years War. At the Congress of Vienna, Britain had its pick of strategic colonial possessions, like Malta and South Africa. Subsequently, British dominion rapidly emerged in what were to be the principal classic possessions of the British Empire in the 19th century: India, Canada, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. To most at the time, and many since, these possessions, and the Royal Navy that united and/or protected them, were the source of the great power of Britain. Marxists even came to think that British Imperialism was the means by which Britain had derailed history and fended off the revolution of the proletariat against capitalism. But Britain was not wealthy because of its empire; and the way in which the empire might have enabled Britain to contend on more equal terms with the rising superpowers of the 20th century was undermined by a characteristic of thalassocracy that had already been revealed in the American Revolution. Britain was powerful mainly because of (1) commercial culture, though which Britain had risen with the Netherlands, (2) banking, which Britain took over from Amsterdam, creating modern governmental finance through the Bank of England in 1694, and (3) the Industrial Revolution. British colonial possessions often began simply by securing (or building) a safe trading station. Cities like Bombay, Singapore, and Hong Kong began in this way. Whether this grew into something more depended on the local conditions, usually whether the hinterland was politically organized enough to control the area and whether this organization was hostile or receptive to British trade and the security of British traders. Thus, African possessions, with small and poorly organized native states in the background, grew into large colonies, while the British presence in China remained confined to a few small outright possessions together with trading privileges, usually extorted by force, from China itself. India fell somewhere in between, as many of the small successor states of the Moghuls were successively acquired, while many other states (the "Princely States") were domesticated with subordinating treaties and close supervision. Imperialist and Marxist opinion was that, since India was a very large and rich place, this is what made Britain rich. There are more and less sophisticated versions of this view. One would be that Britain simply took the wealth of India and transferred it to Britain. Since there weren't exactly cotton mills and battleships in India, this view doesn't hold up too well. Such things were created in Britain, not in India. Nevertheless, even today such a perspective, a sort of Cargo Cult version of economics, is the subtext of many political debates about "natural resources." Marxism itself (as opposed to what Robert Hughes calls recent "lumpen" Marxism, which is of the Cargo Cult sort, what I would call "English Department Marxism") was more sophisticated: Lenin said that Britain needed India as a place to sell production that the British proletariat was too poor to buy, and as an outlet for the "excess capital" that had to be invested somewhere but for which no use could be found in Britain. Unfortunately, as a theory of how the British proletariat became 376 unnaturally content with capitalism, this wasn't very good, since it did not mean, with overproduction sent to India, that the wealth of the British proletariat would increase. The British proletariat would be just as impoverished as before. Also, if British production was being sold to India rather than to domestic consumers, where did Indians get the money to buy it? India, after all, was being "exploited," which should mean that it would become poorer, not richer. Soaking up production from Britain would make it richer. If Lenin's theory of imperialism is going to make any sense, it would have to be that wealth from India is used to enrich and so pacify the proletariat -- but that would not have been consistent with Marxist principles about overproduction and excess capital. There is also the little problem of the matter of fact about where British production and investment actually went. As examined elsewhere, it happens that most British production and investment was either absorbed domestically or exported to (1) other capitalist countries or (2) British immigrant consumers in places like Australia. The largest British trade and investment partner was thus the United States, which had nothing to do with the British Empire and, before World War I, conducted a foreign policy that was often hostile to Britain (strongly encouraged by Anglophobe Irish immigrants). Britain, therefore, was not rich because of India; and this became painfully evident after Indian independence in 1947, when India failed to develop much economically (with Nehru applying Stalinist economic planning) all the way up through the 1980's and Britain, after the folly of Labour post-war nationalizations and regulation, went on to become richer than ever (although eventually falling behind its own exploited Chinese colony, Hong Kong, in per capita income). More importantly, however, Britain had by then long fallen behind the United States, which covered a continental sized state with immigrant settlement, grew into the largest economy in the world, and saved Britain (and France) from European enemies (i.e. Germany) in World War I and World War II. The American paradigm was, of course, derived from Britain herself. The American colonies of 1776 had simply continued doing, on a larger and larger scale, what they were already doing then. The "Second" British Empire, of the 19th century, continued this kind of thing itself, and also had other continental sized areas, Canada and Australia, to do it in. Why was Britain then not able to keep up? 377 One problem was simply that other British immigrant colonies never got anywhere near as big as the United States. Even as recently as 2000, the population of the United States was 283 million, the United Kingdom, 59 million, Canada, 31 million, Australia, 19 million, and New Zealand, 4 million. Much of Canada and Australia was simply not as inviting as most of the United States. The other British selfgoverning "Dominion," South Africa (43 million in 2000), largely consisted of culturally and economically unassimilated Africans. The successful immigrant states, from the United States on, were areas of predominantly thin paleolithic or neolithic tribal settlement. Where British settlement was attempted in areas of larger, more organized, and more advanced (usually iron age) populations, as in South Africa or Rhodesia, a demographic and cultural predominance of immigrants was not achieved. Nothing of the sort could even be attempted in India, where the entire population of Britain could have been lost among the natives -- whose own memories were easily of the firearms and Empire of the Moghuls. A large population, of course, does not translate directly into wealth or power, or India and China never would have been poor or weak. What counts is a population that is culturally entrepreneurial and industrious. Immigrants to the United States were preferentially of such populations. With such people, production increases, which means that 283 million Americans are going to vastly outproduce 113 million Britons, Canadians, Australians, and New Zealanders. Indeed, the Gross Domestic Product of the United States in 2000, adjusted for purchasing power, was 9.8 trillion dollars, while that of the others combined was 2.5 trillion -- 25.8% (with China just at a trillion and India less than half that). The day of reckoning for the difference came in World War I, when Britain simply ran out of money for the war -- something that had been unthinkable at least since the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1713). [note] More than just relative size, however, was the problem peculiar to a thalassocracy. British possessions were never politically integrated into the home country and saw themselves increasingly as distinct --politically, economically, and culturally -- from the Mother Country. The lesson that Britain took from the American Revolution was not that colonies should be given political power commensurate with their importance in a central government, but that they should be allowed enough self-rule to keep them happy. This gradually became complete self-rule for the Dominions, and finally virtual independence, confirmed with the Statute of Westminster in 1931. This division not only sometimes created conflicting political purposes but also introduced commercial diseconomies, since territories with self-rule began even in the 19th century to prefer protective tariffs. With the Depression, even Britain abandoned free trade. Since protective tariffs are a negative sum game, i.e. total value decreases rather than increases, the British Commonwealth ended up as an economic organization much worse off than the United States, which contained within itself what was in effect a colossal free trade zone. The physical detachment of British possessions from Britain created a centrifugal tendency towards distinct identity and interest that was fatal to British thalassocracy all the way from the American Revolution to World War II. Unlike Athens, Britain did not need to rely on "allies" forcefully incorporated into its system. Unlike Rome, Britain did not need to create a super-identity overlaying older historically and culturally distinct communities that it had conquered (though something of the sort was tried in India and other purely imperial acquisitions). No, in America and elsewhere, it had its worst problems with English speaking immigrants who became divided in identity and interest from the Mother Country. When Britain lost its predominance at sea, in World War I and World War II, albeit to a fraternal ally, the United States, the British "Empire" was a bubble that burst as decisively as did that of Athens -- although leaving a symbolic and sentimental structure, the British Commonwealth, behind. The symbolic and sentimental, however, 378 does not translate into geopolitical force, and Britain lapsed into the second rank of Powers. A key year in that respect was 1967, when Britain withdrew from all its traditional strategic commitments East of Suez. It was on the verge of retiring the aircraft carriers that gave the Royal Navy any remote strike capability when Argentina invaded the Falklands in 1982. If the Argentines had just waited a couple of years, Britain would have had grave difficulty mounting an effective naval response. Meanwhile, the Age of the Superpowers had arrived, initially meaning the United States and the Soviet Union. The power of the Soviet Union, although credibly based on a continental mass and a large population, turned out to be largely founded on bluff. The regime actively suppressed the commercial culture and economic institutions that could have made it a real competitor with the United States and the European democracies. While the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the European Community was trying, through economic integration, to achieve equality with the United States -- a project extended in the 90's into an actual "European Union." But it is handicapped by a controlling and bureaucratic mentality, with socialist purposes, that sometimes rises nearly to Sovietizing levels. China, although allowing hardly a spark of democracy, nevertheless seems rather more aware of what it needs to do economically. Ideological objections to the United States, as a "neo-colonialist" or "neo-imperialist" power, still rest on the Cargo Cult or Marxist misconceptions already mentioned. The United States uses its sea power in one of the ways that Britain did, to secure the seas for shipping and to promote the political stability that is favorable to trade. Objections to this, if not mere envy, will usually dismiss trade as either unnecessary or a positive evil. The poverty of the countries presumptively "exploited" by the United States is attributed, if not by standard Marxist analysis to alienated labor, etc., then most commonly by the Cargo Cult explanation to the notion that in international trade countries are denied the true value (the Mediaeval "just price") of their own "natural resources." Hence, African countries are poor because they don't get paid enough for the materials they mine and export. Unfortunately for these views, there has been an international oil cartel for many years now, OPEC (the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries), whose entire purpose is to drive up oil prices through price fixing and other monopoly practices that are usually regarded as diabolical when used by private businesses in any country. OPEC has been relatively ineffective for two reasons: (1) The natural working of supply and demand, which determines free market prices, tends to overcome price fixing, since OPEC members are tempted to cheat on each other, and OPEC has no enforcement powers to prevent this. (2) Even the monopoly rents sought by OPEC members, like Spanish silver, do not translate into genuine economic development in their countries, something that requires the entrepreneurial population and legal and financial institutions that those with oil wealth tend to regard as unnecessary or undesirable. Thus, even the wealthiest of the oil states, like Saudi Arabia, have high unemployment [note] and the sort of restless and ideologized malcontents, with not much to do, who figure that they are just not getting paid "enough" for what is rightfully theirs. Even worse, we find the phenomenon of someone like the millionaire Osama ben Laden, who apparently would like to force everyone to live in Mediaeval ascetic poverty, while using his wealth to destroy, with some of its own weapons, the religious enemy manifest in the power of the West. The dynamic of world history, consequently, has left behind the last thalassocracy. But this may not be the end of the phenomenon. It is hard to imagine that human colonization will not someday extend out into the solar system, although so far it is has been surprisingly delayed well beyond the introduction of space travel. When such colonization does develop, the conditions characteristic of thalassocracy will return. Communication, indeed, will be no problem between extraterrestrial human colonies, but travel will 379 be another matter. Getting to Mars by spaceship for some time to come will be not unlike getting to Australia by sailing ship. It took Columbus a month to get across the Atlantic, but that is not enough to get anywhere in the solar system beyond the Moon. Indeed, technological innovations can make such travel easier. Mars may be weeks rather than months away with ion engines. But all this does is move outward the boundary of what is conveniently accessible. Even communication will become problematic in one sense, because the limitation of the velocity of light will render convenient dialogue impossible. Out at Jupiter or Saturn, the round trip for a message to Earth will be measured, not in seconds or even minutes, but in hours. Distance and awkwardness, at least, of communication will render remote colonies, once they become populous and self-sustaining, liable to the same dynamic of distinct identity and interest, not to mention the same limitations of military control, that inevitably fragmented the British thalassocracy. An exploration of this theme in science fiction, with a human colony as close as the Moon, can be found in Robert Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress [1966], where the Moon in 2076 successfully revolts against the Earth. As the Earth itself seems to be moving towards ever more centralized political control, even in the democracies, with devices of police state control expanding, it may prove to be the greatest hope for human freedom and flourishing that there will be Americas and Australias of the future beyond effective political control on all the thousands of hunks of rock in the Solar System, if not beyond. Light speed or instantaneous transportation might overcome that barrier, but, again, all it will do is push out the boundary. The stars, if not the asteroids, will always be there, with refuge for any future Mayflower. The fragility of a thalassocracy thus, as it happens, may be the very best thing about it. Copyright (c) 2003, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2020 Kelley L. Ross, Ph.D. All Rights Reserved World War I also revealed the fragility of thalassocracy in another way. The British Navy was fully aware that while Germany would not lose the war even with a devastating naval defeat, it could win the war with a devastating victory. The Battle of Jutland in 1916 was something that could easily have been the British Aegospotami. If the British Grand Fleet were crippled or destroyed, the German Navy could have cut off Britian from food and arms imports, stranded the British Army in France, and devastated British cities. This being the case, German actions show extreme ignorance and foolishness. It it is as though the Germans hadn't quite thought through what their Navy was for, or what the strategic situation was. Except for Jutland, from which the German fleet only tried to escape, there was no other general fleet action in the War, even though the Germans had nothing to lose (except face, and a few thousand men -- no more lives than were thrown away every few days in the trenches) and everything to gain. After Jutland, the Germans even knew from direct experience that their ships were very well built, tough, and could take tremendous punishment (British 15-inch shells) without sinking -- while three British battlecruisers had simply blown up and sunk with all hands. This didn't make any difference. When the War was obviously lost in 1918, the Kaiser finally instructed the High Seas Fleet to sail out in a final, desperate attack. It was way too late. The British fleet by then was not only larger by its own construction, but was reinforced with American battleships. But the attack never happened because the German sailors mutinied. They were not going to throw away their lives in a lost cause. 380 By the way, although the British thought they had a pretty good idea why their ships had sunk so catastrophically, there is no certainty that they had found all the problems. A new class of battlecruisers was designed with the "lessons of Jutland" in mind. Of the new ships, only the great Hood was completed. As it happened, the Hood, like its Jutland predecessors, blew up and sank with all hands when hit by the German battleship Bismarck in 1941. Exactly why the Hood sank is still a mystery, though now it has become possible to locate sunken ships in the deep ocean (like the Bismarck itself) and minutely examine the wrecks. The thought seems to be now that, although the British battlecruisers could have had better protection, the catastrophic explosions on the ships meant that the magazines, which had the best protection, had detonated. This occurred not because of construction failures, but because of discipline failures. Crews left open the blast doors between the turrets and the magazines so that ordinance could be brought up faster and the guns could be worked faster. When German shells penetrated the turrets (from insufficient protection), the blast went right down to the magazines. The best evidence for this is that the same catastrophe nearly happened on the battlecruiser Lion, which was the flagship of Admiral Beatty. A turret was hit by a German shell, which set off a fire that eventually cooked off the amunition in the turret. The blast killed the whole crew. However, one man, badly burned and dying, Royal Marine Major Francis Harvey, nevertheless had been able to close the blast doors and flood the magazine. The ship was saved, as was the life of Admiral Beatty himself. We don't know, and may never know, if the indiscipline in the turrets, apparently encouraged by Beatty, was the kind of thing later responsible for the loss of the Hood. I notice that The Economist Pocket World in Figures 2003 doesn't even give an unemployment figure for Saudi Arabia [p.194]. It does, however, list Saudi Arabia with one of the lowest "labor force participation" figures in the world. Only 32.9% of the Saudi population is even in the labor force. This contrasts with 50.1% in the United Kingdom, 51.4% in the United States, 53.8% in Japan, and 60.0% in China. The Los Angeles Times of 16 May 2003 [p.A11] does give unemployment figures for the Kingdom: Officially, unemployment is about 8%. Private economists put the figure closer to 13%, and some Saudi political scientists have said it may be about 25%, if one considers the large number of young adults still living at home with their parents. The last figure may include "discouraged" workers, who have dropped out of the workforce, since they can't find work. This contributes to the low labor force participation number. The 8% unemployment figure would be better than France and Germany, but 13% is really a Depression level -- 25% would be a Great Depression level of unemployment.https://www.friesian.com/thalasso.htm 381 CHAPTER XX The Untold Legacy of Rajendra Chola I In 1025, Rajendra Chola I, the Chola king from Tamil Nadu in South India, launched naval raids on the city-state of Srivijaya in maritime Southeast Asia,[1] Rajendra's overseas expedition against Srivijaya was a unique event in India's history and its otherwise peaceful relations with the states of Southeast Asia. Several places in present day Malaysia and Indonesia were invaded by Rajendra Chola I of the Chola dynasty. The Chola invasion furthered the expansion of Tamil merchant associations such as the Manigramam, Ayyavole and Ainnurruvar into Southeast Asia. The Chola invasion led to the fall of the Sailendra Dynasty of Srivijaya and the Chola invasion also coincides with return voyage of the great Buddhist scholar Atiśa from Sumatra to India and Tibet in 1025.[8] The expedition of Rajendra Chola I is mentioned in the corrupted form as Raja Chulan in the medieval Malay chronicle known as Malay Annals. Background : Throughout most of their shared history, ancient India and Indonesia enjoyed friendly and peaceful relations, therefore this Indian invasion is a unique event in Asian history. In the 9th and 10th centuries, Srivijaya maintained close relations with the Pala Empire in Bengal, and an 860 Nalanda inscription records that Maharaja Balaputra of Srivijaya dedicated a monastery at the Nalanda Mahavihara in Pala territory. The relation between Srivijaya and the Chola dynasty of southern India was friendly during the reign of Raja Raja Chola I. In 1006 CE a Srivijayan Maharaja from Sailendra dynasty — king Maravijayattungavarman — constructed the Chudamani Vihara in the port town of Nagapattinam.[14] However, during the reign of Rajendra Chola I the relations deteriorated as the Cholas attacked Srivijayan cities.[15] The Cholas are known to have benefitted from both piracy and foreign trade. Sometimes Chola seafaring led to outright plunder and conquest as far as Southeast Asia.[16] While Srivijaya that controlled two major naval choke points; Malacca and Sunda Strait; at that time was a major trading empire that possess formidable naval forces. Malacca strait's northwest opening was controlled from Kedah on Peninsula side and from Pannai on the Sumatran side, while Malayu (Jambi) and Palembang controlled its southeast opening and also Sunda Strait. They practiced naval trade monopoly that forced any trade vessels that passed through their waters to call on their ports or otherwise being plundered. 382 The reasons of this naval expedition are unclear with Nilakanta Sastri suggesting that the attack was probably caused by Srivijayan attempt to throw obstacles in the way of the Chola trade with the East (especially China), or more probably, a simple desire on the part of Rajendra to extend his digvijaya to the countries across the sea so well known to his subject at home, and therefore add luster to his crown.[17] Another theory suggests that the reasons for the invasion was probably motivated by geopolitics and diplomatic relations. King Suryavarman I of the Khmer Empire requested aid from Rajendra Chola I of the Chola dynasty against Tambralinga kingdom. After learning of Suryavarman's alliance with Rajendra Chola, the Tambralinga kingdom requested aid from the Srivijaya king Sangrama Vijayatungavarman. This eventually led to the Chola Empire coming into conflict with the Srivijaya Empire. This alliance somewhat also had religious nuance, since both Chola and Khmer are Shivaist Hindu,while Tambralinga and Srivijaya are Mahayana Buddhist. A Siamese painting depicting the Chola raid on Kedah. INVASION: The Chola raid against Srivijaya was a swift campaign that left Srivijaya unprepared. To sail from India to the Indonesian Archipelago, vessels from India sailed eastward across the Bay of Bengal and called at the ports of Lamuri in Aceh or Kedah in Malay peninsula before entering Strait of Malacca. But the Chola armada sailed directly to the Sumatran west coast. The port of Barus in the west coast of North Sumatra at that time belonged to Tamil trading guilds and served as a port to replenish after crossing the Indian Ocean. The Chola armada then continued to sail along Sumatra's west coast southward and sailed into Strait of Sunda.[1] The Srivijaya navy guarded Kedah and surrounding areas on the northwest opening of the Malacca strait completely unaware that the Chola invasion was coming from the Sunda Strait in the south. The first Srivijayan city being raided was Palembang, the capital of Srivijaya empire. The unexpected attack led to the Cholas sacking the city and plundering the Kadatuan royal palace and monasteries. Thanjavur inscription states that 383 Rajendra captured King Sangrama Vijayottunggavarman of Srivijaya and took a large heap of treasures including the Vidhyadara Torana, the jeweled 'war gate' of Srivijaya adorned with great splendor. After plundering the royal palace of Palembang, the Cholas launched successive attacks on other Srivijayan ports including Malayu, Tumasik, Pannai and Kedah. The Chola invasion did not result in administration over defeated cities as the armies moved fast and plundered the Srivijayan cities. The Chola armada seems to have taken advantage of the Southeast Asian monsoon for moving from one port to another swiftly. The tactic of a fast-moving unexpected attack was probably the secret of Cholan success, since it did not allow the Srivijayan mandala to prepare the defences, reorganize themselves, provide assistance or to retaliate. The war ended with a victory for the Cholas and major losses for the Srivijaya Empire ending the Srivijaya maritime monopoly in the region. With the Maharaja Sang Rama Vijaya Tungga Varman imprisoned and most of its cities destroyed, the leaderless Srivijaya mandala entered a period of chaos and confusion. The invasion marked the end of the Sailendra dynasty. According to the 15th-century Malay Annals, Rajendra Chola I after the successful naval raid in 1025 married Onang Kiu, the daughter of Sang Rama Vijaya Tungga Varman.[23][24] This invasion forced Srivijaya to make peace with Javanese kingdom of Kahuripan. The peace deal was brokered by the exiled daughter of Sang Rama Vijaya Tungga Varman, a Srivijayan princess who managed to escape the destruction of Palembang and came to the court of King Airlangga in East Java. She also became the queen consort of Airlangga named Dharmaprasadottungadevi and in 1035, Airlangga constructed a Buddhist monastery named Srivijayasrama dedicated to his queen consort. Despite the devastation, Srivijaya mandala still survived as the Chola invasion ultimately failed to install direct administration over Srivijaya, since the invasion was short and only meant to plunder. Nevertheless, this invasion gravely weakened the Srivijayan hegemony and enabled the formation of regional kingdoms like Kahuripan and its successor, Kediri in Java based on agriculture rather than coastal and long-distance trade. Sri Deva was enthroned as the new king and the trading activities resumed. He sent an embassy to the court of China in 1028 CE. Although the invasion was not followed by direct Cholan occupation and the region was unchanged geographically, there were huge consequences in trade. Tamil traders encroached on the Srivijayan realm traditionally controlled by Malay traders and the Tamil guilds' influence increased on the Malay Peninsula and north coast of Sumatra 384 With the growing presence of Tamil guilds in the region, relations improved between Srivijaya and the Cholas. Chola nobles were accepted in Srivijaya court and in 1067 CE, a Chola prince named Divakara or Devakala was sent as a Srivijayan ambassador to the Imperial Court of China. The prince who was the nephew of Rajendra Chola later was enthroned in 1070 CE as Kulothunga Chola I. Later during the Kedah rebellion, Srivijaya asked the Cholas for help. In 1068 CE, Virarajendra Chola launched a naval raid to help Srivijaya reclaim Kedah. Virarajendra reinstated the Kedah king at the request the Srivijayan Maharaja and Kedah accepted the Srivijayan sovereignty. The region of Tamil Nadu or Tamilakam, in the southeast of modern India, shows evidence of having had continuous human habitation from 15,000 BCE to 10,000 BCE. Throughout its history, spanning the early Upper Paleolithic age to modern times, this region has coexisted with various external cultures. The three ancient Tamil dynasties namely Chera, Chola, and Pandya were of ancient origins. Together they ruled over this land with a unique culture and language, contributing to the growth of some of the oldest extant literature in the world. These three dynasties were in constant struggle with each other vying for hegemony over the land. Invasion by the Kalabhras during the 3rd century disturbed the traditional order of the land, displacing the three ruling kingdoms. These occupiers were overthrown by the resurgence of the Pandyas and the Pallavas, who restored the traditional kingdoms. The Cholas who re-emerged from obscurity in the 9th century by defeating the Pallavas and the Pandyas rose to become a great power and extended their empire over the entire southern peninsula.] At its height the Chola empire spanned almost 3,600,000 km² (1,389,968 sq mi) straddling the Bay of Bengal.The Chola navy held sway over the Sri Vijaya kingdom in Southeast Asia. Rapid changes in the political situation of the rest of India occurred due to incursions of Muslim armies from the northwest and the decline of the three ancient dynasties during the 14th century, the Tamil country became part of the Vijayanagara Empire. Under this empire, the Telugu speaking Nayak governors ruled before the European trading companies appeared during the 17th century eventually assuming greater sway over the indigenous rulers of the land. The Madras Presidency, comprising most of southern India, was created in the 18th century and was ruled directly by the British. After the independence of India, after the Telugu and Malayalam parts of Madras state were separated from Tamilakam state in 1956, it was renamed as Tamil 385 of Nadu in 1969 by the state government. Ancient Tamil Nadu contained three monarchical states, headed by kings called Vendhar and several tribal chieftaincies, headed by the chiefs called by the general denomination Vel or Velir. Still lower at the local level there were clan chiefs called kizhar or mannar. During the 3rd century BCE, the Deccan was part of the Maurya Empire, and from the middle of the 1st century BCE to 2nd century CE the same area was ruled by the Satavahana dynasty. The Tamil area had an independent existence outside the control of these northern empires. The Tamil kings and chiefs were always in conflict with each other mostly over the property. The royal courts were mostly places of social gathering rather than places of dispensation of authority; they were centres for distribution of resources. Tamil literature Tolkappiyam sheds some light on early religion. Gradually the rulers came under the influence of Vedic beliefs, which encouraged performance of sacrifices to enhance the status of the ruler. Buddhism, Jainism and Ajivika co- existed with early Shaivite, Vaishnavism and Shaktism during the first five centuries. The names of the three dynasties, Cholas, Pandyas, and Cheras, are mentioned in the Pillars of Ashoka (inscribed 273–232 BCE) inscriptions, among the kingdoms, which though not subject to Ashoka, were on friendly terms with him. The king of Kalinga, Kharavela, who ruled around 150 BCE, mentioned in the famous Hathigumpha inscription of the confederacy of the Tamil kingdoms that had existed for over 100 years. Karikala Chola was the most famous early Chola. He is mentioned in a number of poems in the Sangam poetry. In later times Karikala was the subject of many legends found in the Cilappatikaram and in inscriptions and literary works of the 11th and 12th centuries. They attribute to him the conquest of the whole of India up to the Himalayas and the construction of the flood banks of the river Kaveri with the aid of his feudatories. These legends, however, are conspicuous by their absence in the Sangam poetry. Kocengannan was another famous early Chola king who has been extolled in a number of poems of the Sangam period. He was even made a Saiva saint during the medieval period. Pandyas ruled initially from Korkai, a seaport on the southernmost tip of the Indian peninsula, and in later times moved to Madurai. Pandyas are also mentioned in Sangam Literature, as well as by Greek and Roman sources during this period. Megasthenes in his Indika mentions the Pandyan kingdom.[30] The Pandyas controlled the present districts of Madurai, Tirunelveli, and parts of south Kerala. They had trading contacts with Greece and Rome. With the other kingdoms of 386 Tamilakam, they maintained trading contacts and marital relationships with Tamil merchants from Eelam. Various Pandya kings find mention in a number of poems in the Sangam literature. Among them, Nedunjeliyan, 'the victor of Talaiyalanganam' deserves a special mention. Besides several short poems found in the Akananuru and the Purananuru collections, there major works—Mathuraikkanci and the Netunalvatai (in the are two collection of Pattupattu) that give a glimpse into the society and commercial activities in the Pandyan kingdom during the Sangam age. The early Pandyas went into obscurity at the end of the 3rd century CE during the incursion of the Kalabhras. The kingdom of the Cheras comprised the modern Western Tamil Nadu and Kerala, along the western or Malabar Coast of southern India. Their proximity to the sea favoured trade with Africa. Chera rulers dated to the first few centuries AD. It records the names of the kings, the princes, and the court poets who extolled them. The internal chronology of this literature is still far from settled, and at present, a connected account of the history of the period cannot be derived. Uthiyan Cheralathan, Nedum Cheralathan and Senguttuvan Chera are some of the rulers referred to in the Sangam poems. Senguttuvan Chera, the most celebrated Chera king, is famous for the legends surrounding Kannagi, the heroine of the Tamil epic Silapathikaram. These early kingdoms sponsored the growth of some of the oldest extant literature in Tamil. The classical Tamil literature, referred to as Sangam literature is attributed to the period between 500 BCE and 300 CE. The poems of Sangam literature, which deal with emotional and material topics, were categorised and collected into various anthologies during the medieval period. These Sangam poems paint the picture of a fertile land and of a people who were organised into various occupational groups. The governance of the land was through hereditary monarchies, although the sphere of the state's activities and the extent of the ruler's powers were limited through the adherence to the established order (dharma). The people were loyal to their kings and roving bards and musicians and danseuse gathered at the royal courts of the generous kings. The arts of music and dancing were highly developed and popular. Musical instruments of various types find mention in the Sangam poems. The amalgamation of the southern and the northern styles of dancing started during this period and is reflected fully in the epic Cilappatikaram. Internal and external trade was well organised and active. Evidence from both archaeology and literature speaks of a flourishing foreign trade with the Yavanas (Greeks). The port city of Puhar on the east coast and Muziris on the west coast of south India were emporia of foreign 387 trade, where huge ships moored, offloading precious merchandise.[39] This trade started to decline after the 2nd century CE and the direct contact between the Roman empire and the ancient Tamil country was replaced by trade with the Arabs and the Auxumites of East Africa. Internal trade was also brisk and goods were sold and bartered. Agriculture was the main profession of a vast majority of the populace. Dark Age: After the close of the Sangam era, from about 300 to about 600 CE, there is an almost total lack of information regarding occurrences in the Tamil land. Some time about 300 CE, the whole region was upset by the appearance of the Kalabhras. These people are described in later literature as 'evil rulers' who overthrew the established Tamil kings and got a stranglehold of the country. information about their origin and details about their reign is scarce. They did not leave many artifacts or monuments. The only source of information on them is the scattered mentions in Buddhist and Jain literature. Historians speculate that these people followed Buddhist or Jain faiths and were antagonistic towards the Hindu religions (viz. the Astika schools) adhered by the majority of inhabitants of the Tamil region during the early centuries CE . As a result, Hindu scholars and authors who followed their decline in the 7th and 8th century may have expunged any mention of them in their texts and generally tended to paint their rule in a negative light. It is perhaps due to this reason, the period of their rule is known as a 'Dark Age'—an interregnum. Some of the ruling families migrated northwards and found enclaves for themselves away from the Kalabhras. Jainism and Buddhism, took deep roots in the society, giving birth to a large body of ethical poetry.Writing became very widespread and vatteluttu evolved from the Tamil-Brahmi became a mature script for writing Tamil. While several anthologies were compiled by collecting bardic poems of earlier centuries, some of the epic poems such as the Cilappatikaram and didactic works such as the Tirukkural were also written during this period.[46] The patronage of the Jain and Buddhist scholars by the Kalabhra kings influenced the nature of the literature of the period, and most of the works that can be attributed to this period were written by the Jain and Buddhist authors. In the field of dance and music, the elite started patronising new polished styles, partly influenced by northern ideas, in the place of the folk styles. A few of the earliest rock-cut temples belong to this period. Brick temples (known as kottam, devakulam, and palli) dedicated to various deities are referred to in literary works. Kalabhras were displaced around the 7th century by the revival of Pallava and Pandya power. 388 Even with the exit of the Kalabhras, the Jain and Buddhist influence still remained in Tamil Nadu. The early Pandya and the Pallava kings were followers of these faiths. The Hindu reaction to this apparent decline of their religion was growing and reached its peak during the later part of the 7th century. There was a widespread Hindu revival during which a huge body of Saiva and Vaishnava literature was created. Many Saiva Nayanmars and Vaishnava Alvars provided a great stimulus to the growth of popular devotional literature. Karaikkal Ammaiyar who lived in the 6th century CE was the earliest of these Nayanmars. The celebrated Saiva hymnists Sundaramurthi, Thirugnana Sambanthar and Thirunavukkarasar were of this period. Vaishnava Alvars such as Poigai Alvar, Bhoothathalvar and Peyalvar produced devotional hymns for their faith and their songs were collected later into the four thousand poems of Naalayira Divyap Prabhandham. Age of Empires 600-1300 BC: The medieval period of the history of the Tamil country saw the rise and fall of many kingdoms, some of whom went on to the extent of empires, exerting influences both in India and overseas. The Cholas who were very active during the Sangam age were entirely absent during the first few centuries. The period started with the rivalry between the Pandyas and the Pallavas, which in turn caused the revival of the Cholas. The Cholas went on to becoming a great power. Their decline saw the brief resurgence of the Pandyas. This period was also that of the re-invigorated Hinduism during which temple building and religious literature were at their best. The Hindu sects Saivism and Vaishnavism became dominant, replacing the prevalence of Jainism and Buddhism of the previous era. Saivism was patronised more by the Chola kings and became more or less a state religion. Some of the earliest temples that are still standing were built during this period by the Pallavas. The rock-cut temples in Mamallapuram and the majestic Kailasanatha and Vaikuntaperumal temples of Kanchipuram stand testament to the Pallava art. The Cholas, utilising their prodigious wealth earned through their extensive conquests, built long-lasting stone temples including the great Brihadisvara temple of Thanjavur and exquisite bronze sculptures. Temples dedicated to Siva and Vishnu received liberal donations of money, jewels, animals, and land, and thereby became powerful economic institutions. Tamil script replaced the vatteluttu script throughout Tamil Nadu for writing Tamil. Religious literature flourished during the period. The Tamil epic, Kamban's Ramavatharam, was written in the 13th century. A contemporary of Kamban was the famous poet Auvaiyar who found great 389 happiness in writing for young children. The secular literature was mostly court poetry devoted to the eulogy of the rulers. The religious poems of the previous period and the classical literature of the Sangam period were collected and systematised into several anthologies. Sanskrit was patronised by the priestly groups for religious rituals and other ceremonial purposes. Nambi Andar Nambi, who was a contemporary of Rajaraja Chola I, collected and arranged the books on Saivism into eleven books called Tirumurais. The hagiology of Saivism was standardised in Periyapuranam by Sekkilar, who lived during the reign of Kulothunga Chola II (1133–1150 CE). Jayamkondar's Kalingattupparani, a semi-historical account on the two invasions of Kalinga by Kulothunga Chola I was an early example of a biographical work. Cholas Around 850, out of obscurity rose Vijayalaya, made use of an opportunity arising out of a conflict between Pandyas and Pallavas, captured Thanjavur from Mutharaiyar dynasty and eventually established the imperial line of the medieval Cholas. Vijayalaya revived the Chola dynasty and his son Aditya I helped establish their independence. He invaded Pallava kingdom in 903 and killed the Pallava king Aparajita in battle, ending the Pallava reign. The Chola kingdom under Parantaka I expanded to cover the entire Pandya country. However, towards the end of his reign, he suffered several reverses by the Rashtrakutas who had extended their territories well into the Chola kingdom. The Cholas went into a temporary decline during the next few years due to weak kings, palace intrigues and succession disputes. Despite a number of attempts, the Pandya country could not be completely subdued and the Rashtrakutas were still a powerful enemy in the north. However, the Chola revival began with the accession of Rajaraja Chola I in 985. Cholas rose as a notable military, economic and cultural power in Asia under Rajaraja and his son Rajendra Chola I. The Chola territories stretched from the islands of Maldives in the south to as far north as the banks of the river Ganges in Bengal. Rajaraja Chola conquered peninsular South India, annexed parts of Sri Lanka and occupied the islands of Maldives. Rajendra Chola extended the Chola conquests to the Malayan archipelago by defeating the Srivijaya kingdom.[65] He defeated Mahipala, the king of Bihar and Bengal, and to commemorate his victory he built a new capital called Gangaikonda Cholapuram (the town of Cholas who conquered the Ganges). At its peak, the Chola Empire extended from the island of Sri Lanka in the south to the Godavari basin in the north. The kingdoms along the east coast of India up to the river Ganges acknowledged 390 Chola suzerainty. Chola navies invaded and conquered Srivijaya in the Malayan archipelago. Chola armies exacted tribute from Thailand and the Khmer kingdom of Cambodia. During the reign of Rajaraja and Rajendra, the administration of the Chola empire matured considerably. The empire was divided into a number of self-governing local government units, and the officials were selected through a system of popular elections. Marital and political alliances between the Eastern Chalukya kings based around Vengi located on the south banks of the river Godavari began during the reign of Rajaraja following his invasion of Vengi. Virarajendra Chola's son Athirajendra Chola was assassinated in a civil disturbance in 1070 and Kulothunga Chola I ascended the Chola throne starting the Chalukya Chola dynasty. Kulothunga was a son of the Vengi king Rajaraja Narendra. The Chalukya Chola dynasty saw very capable rulers in Kulothunga Chola I and Vikrama Chola, however, the 391 Throughout this period, the Cholas were constantly troubled by the ever-resilient Sinhalas trying to overthrow the Chola occupation of Lanka, Pandya princes trying to win independence for their traditional territories, and by the growing ambitions of the Chalukyas in the western Deccan. The history of this period was one of constant warfare between the Cholas and of these antagonists. A balance of power existed between the Chalukyas and the Cholas and there was a tacit acceptance of the Tungabhadra river as the boundary between the two empires. However, the bone of contention between these two powers was the growing Chola influence in the Vengi kingdom. The Cholas and Chalukyas fought many battles and both kingdoms were exhausted by the endless battles and a stalemate existed. The eventual decline of the Chola power practically started during this period. The Cholas lost control of the island of Lanka and were driven out by the revival of Sinhala power. Around 1118 they also lost the control of Vengi to Western Chalukya king Vikramaditya VI and Gangavadi (southern Mysore districts) to the growing power of Hoysala Vishnuvardhana, a Chalukya feudatory. In the Pandya territories, the lack of a controlling central administration caused a number of claimants to the Pandya throne to cause a civil war in which the Sinhalas and the Cholas were involved by proxy. During the last century of the Chola existence, a permanent Hoysala army was stationed in Kanchipuram to protect them from the growing influence of the Pandyas. Rajendra Chola III was the last Chola king. The Kadava chieftain Kopperunchinga I even captured Rajendra and held him prisoner. At the close of Rajendra's reign (1279), the Pandyan empire was at the height of prosperity and had completely absorbed the Chola kingdom. The Cholas also found a place in the very famous novel by Kalki title Ponniyin Selvan which portrays the whole Chola history with Rajaraja Cholan ( Ponniyin Selvan, Arul Mozhi Varman, Vallavarayan Vanthiyaththevan, Karikalar, Nandhini, Kundhavi) as the characters of the novel. Chennaitian: Chola murals - The Brihadisvara temple paintings 392 The Chola dynasty was a Tamil dynasty of southern India, one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the world's history. The earliest datable references to the Chola are in inscriptions from the 3rd century BCE left by Ashoka, of the Maurya Empire (Ashoka Major Rock Edict No.13). As one of the Three Crowned Kings of Tamilakam, along with the Chera and Pandya, the dynasty continued to govern over varying territory until the 13th century CE. Despite these ancient origins, the period when it is appropriate to speak of a "Chola Empire" only begins with the medieval Cholas in the mid-9th century CE. Vijayalaya 848–891(?) Aditya I-891–907 Parantaka I-907–950 Gandaraditya-950–957 Arinjaya-956–957 Sundara (Parantaka II)-957–970 Aditya II-(co-regent) Uttama-970–985 Rajaraja I-985–1014 Rajendra I-1012–1044 Rajadhiraja-1044–1054 Rajendra II-1054–1063 Virarajendra-1063–1070 Athirajendra-1070–1070 Later Cholas Kulothunga 1070–1120 IVikrama 1118–1135 Kulothunga 1133–1150 II Rajaraja II 1146–1173 Rajadhiraja 1166–1178 II Kulothunga 1178–1218 III Rajaraja III 1216–1256 III 1246–1279 Rajendra 393 Chola Empire The genealogy of the Chola empire as found in the Tamil literature and in the many inscriptions left by the later Chola kings contains a number of kings recorded for whom there is no verifiable historic evidence. There are as many versions of this lineage as there are sources for them. The main source is the Sangam literature – particularly, religious literature such as Periapuranam, semi-biographical poems of the later Chola period such as the temple and cave inscription and left by medieval Cholas. Irrespective of the source, no list of the kings has a high level of historic fact and, while they generally are similar to each other, no two lists are exactly the same. Modern historians[who?] consider these lists not as historically reliable sources but as comprehensive conglomerations of various Hindu deities and Puranic characters attributed to local chieftains and invented ancestry of dynasty attempting to re-establish their legitimacy and supremacy in a land they were trying to conquer. Prehistorical Cholas A number of typical hero and demi-gods found their place in the ancestry claimed by the later Cholas in the long typical genealogies incorporated into the copper-plate charters and stone inscription of the tenth and eleventh centuries. The earliest version of this is found in the kilbil Plates which gives fifteen names before Chola including the genuinely historical ones of Karikala, Perunarkilli and Kocengannan. The Thiruvalangadu Plate swells this list to forty-four, and the Kanya Plate runs up to fifty-two. The Cholas were looked upon as descended from the sun. These myths speak of a Chola king, supposed contemporary of the sage Agastya, whose devotion brought the river Kavery into existence. There is also the story of the king Manu Needhi Cholan who sentenced his son to death for having accidentally killed a calf. He was called thus because he followed the rules of Manu; his real name is not mentioned and is thought to be Ellalan according to Maha vamsam who was also attributed with a similar story. King Shivi who rescued a dove from a hunter by giving his own flesh to the hungry and poor hunter was also part of the early Chola legends. King Shivi was also called Sembiyan, a popular title assumed by a number of Chola kings. 394 Cholas of the Sangam period The early Chola kings of the Sangam period and the life of people contributed much to the cultural wealth of the Tamil country. The Sangam literature is full of legends about the mythical Chola kings. Genealogy from Chola inscriptions The genealogy of the Chola family conveyed by the Thiruvalangadu copperplate grant consists of names that corroborate the historic authenticity of legends.The heartland of the Cholas was the fertile valley of the Kaveri River, but they ruled a significantly larger area at the height of their power from the later half of the 9th century till the beginning of the 13th century. The whole country south of the Tungabhadra was united and held as one state for a period of three centuries and more between 907 and 1215 AD. Under Rajaraja Chola I and his successors Rajendra Chola I, Rajadhiraja Chola, Virarajendra Chola, and Kulothunga Chola I, the dynasty became a military, economic and cultural power in South Asia and South-East Asia. The power of the new empire was proclaimed to the eastern world by the expedition to the Ganges which Rajendra Chola I undertook and by naval raids on cities of the city-state of Srivijaya, as well as by the repeated embassies to China.he Chola fleet represented the zenith of ancient Indian sea power. During the period 1010–1153, the Chola territories stretched from the islands of the Maldives in the south to as far north as the banks of the Godavari River in Andhra Pradesh. Rajaraja Chola conquered peninsular South India, annexed parts of which is now Sri Lanka and occupied the islands of the Maldives. Rajendra Chola sent a victorious expedition to North India that touched the river Ganges and defeated the Pala ruler of Pataliputra, Mahipala. He also successfully invaded cities of Srivijaya of Malaysia and Indonesia.[9] The Chola dynasty went into decline at the beginning of the 13th century with the rise of the Pandyan dynasty, which ultimately caused their downfall. The Cholas left a lasting legacy. Their patronage of Tamil literature and their zeal in the building of temples has resulted in some great works of Tamil literature and architecture. The Chola kings were avid builders and envisioned the temples in their kingdoms not only as places of worship but also as centres of economic activity. They pioneered a centralised form of government and 395 established a disciplined bureaucracy. The Chola school of art spread to Southeast Asia and influenced the architecture and art of Southeast Asia. Origins: The Cholas are also known as the Choda. The antiquity of the name is evident from the mentions in ancient Tamil literature and in inscriptions. During the past 150 years, historians have gleaned significant knowledge on the subject from a variety of sources such as ancient Tamil Sangam literature, oral traditions, religious texts, temple and copperplate inscriptions. The main source for the available information of the early Cholas is the early Tamil literature of the Sangam Period. Mentions in the early Sangam literature (c. 150 CE)[b] indicate that the earliest kings of the dynasty antedated 100 CE. There are also brief notices on the Chola country and its towns, ports and commerce furnished by the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (Periplus Maris Erythraei), and in the slightly later work of the geographer Ptolemy. Mahavamsa, a Buddhist text written down during the 5th century CE, recounts a number of conflicts between the inhabitants of Ceylon and Cholas in the 1st century BCE.[17] Cholas are mentioned in the Pillars of Ashoka (inscribed 273 BCE–232 BCE) inscriptions, where they are mentioned among the kingdoms which, though not subject to Ashoka, were on friendly terms with him.[c] A commonly held view is that Chola is, like Chera and Pandya, the name of the ruling family or clan of immemorial antiquity. The annotator Parimelazhagar said: "The charity of people with ancient lineage (such as the Cholas, the Pandyas and the Cheras) are forever generous in spite of their reduced means". The imperial Cholas described themselves as Koliyar-ko, meaning king of Koliyar in Tamil. Gandaraditya Chola, considered the author of some of the hymns of the Tirumurai, calls himself as “Ko-cholan valan kaveri naadan Koliyar-ko kandan”, that is, “Gandan, the King Cholan, the lord of the fertile kaveri country and the lord of Koliyar”. Vikrama Chola, the son of Kulothunga Chola and a later Chola king, is described as Koliyar kula Pati or “head of the family of Cholas” in one of his Tamil inscriptions in Kolar district in Karnataka. The koliyar were one of the artisan communities during the period of the Cholas. Some historians like Vijaya Ramasamy, consider the koliyar to be weavers. The history of the Cholas falls into four periods: the Early Cholas of the Sangam literature, the interregnum between the fall of the Sangam Cholas and the rise of the Imperial medieval 396 Cholas under Vijayalaya (c. 848), the dynasty of Vijayalaya, and finally the Later Chola dynasty of Kulothunga Chola I from the third quarter of the 11th century. Early Cholas The earliest Chola kings for whom there is tangible evidence are mentioned in the Sangam literature. Scholars generally agree that this literature belongs to the second or first few centuries of the common era. The internal chronology of this literature is still far from settled, and at present a connected account of the history of the period cannot be derived. It records the names of the kings and the princes, and of the poets who extolled them.[28] The Sangam literature also records legends about mythical Chola kings.[29] These myths speak of the Chola king Kantaman, a supposed contemporary of the sage Agastya, whose devotion brought the river Kaveri into existence. Two names are prominent among those Chola kings known to have existed who feature in Sangam literature: Karikala Chola and Kocengannan. The Mahavamsa mentions that an ethnic Tamil adventurer, a Chola prince known as Ellalan, invaded the island Sri Lanka and conquered it around 235 BCE with the help of a Mysore army. Interregnum South India in BC 300, showing the Chera, Pandya and Chola countries. There is not much information about the transition period of around three centuries from the end of the Sangam age (c. 300) to that in which the Pandyas and Pallavas dominated the Tamil country. An obscure dynasty, the Kalabhras invaded Tamil country, displaced the existing kingdoms and ruled during that time. The Cholas continued to rule over a diminished territory in the neighbourhood of Uraiyur, but only in a minor capacity. In spite of their reduced powers, the Pandayas and Pallavas accepted Chola princesses in marriage, possibly out of regard for their reputation. Numerous Pallava inscriptions of this period mention their having fought rulers of the Chola country. Despite this loss in influence and power, it is unlikely that the Cholas lost total grip of the territory around Uraiyur, their old capital, as Vijayalaya, when he rose to prominence hailed from that area. 397 Around the 7th century, a Chola kingdom flourished in present-day Andhra Pradesh. These Telugu Cholas traced their descent to the early Sangam Cholas. However, it is not known if they had any relation to the early Cholas. It is possible that a branch of the Tamil Cholas migrated north during the time of the Pallavas to establish a kingdom of their own, away from the dominating influences of the Pandyas and Pallavas. The Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang, who spent several months in Kanchipuram during 639–640 writes about the "kingdom of Culi-ya", in an apparent reference to these Telugu Cholas. Imperial Cholas Vijayalaya was the founder of the Imperial Chola dynasty which was the beginning of one of the most splendid empires in Indian history. Vijayalaya, possibly a feudatory of the Pallava dynasty, took an opportunity arising out of a conflict between the Pandya dynasty and Pallava dynasty in c. 850, captured Thanjavur from Muttarayar, and established the imperial line of the medieval Chola Dynasty. Thanjavur became the capital of the Imperial Chola Dynasty.[ The Chola dynasty was at the peak of its influence and power during the medieval period.[55] Through their leadership and vision, Chola kings expanded their territory and influence. The second Chola King, Aditya I, caused the demise of the Pallava dynasty and defeated the Pandyan dynasty of Madurai in 885, occupied large parts of the Kannada country, and had marital ties with the Western Ganga dynasty. In 925, his son Parantaka I conquered Sri Lanka (known as Ilangai). Parantaka I also defeated the Rashtrakuta dynasty under Krishna II in the battle of Vallala. Rajaraja Chola I and Rajendra Chola I were the greatest rulers of the Chola dynasty, extending it beyond the traditional limits of a Tamil kingdom. At its peak, the Chola Empire stretched from the island of Sri Lanka in the south to the Godavari-Krishna river basin in the north, up to the Konkan coast in Bhatkal, the entire Malabar Coast (the Chea country) in addition to Lakshadweep, and Maldives. Rajaraja Chola I was a ruler with inexhaustible energy, and he applied himself to the task of governance with the same zeal that he had shown in waging wars. He integrated his empire into a tight administrative grid under royal control, and at the same time strengthened local self-government. Therefore, he conducted a land survey in 1000 CE to effectively marshall the resources of his empire. 398 Rajendra Chola I conquered Odisha and his armies continued to march further north and defeated the forces of the Pala Dynasty of Bengal and reached the Ganges river in north India. Rajendra Chola I built a new capital called Gangaikonda Cholapuram to celebrate his victories in northern India. Rajendra Chola I successfully invaded the Srivijaya kingdom in Southeast Asia which led to the decline of the empire there. This expedition had such a great impression to the Malay people of the medieval period that his name was mentioned in the corrupted form as Raja Chulan in the medieval Malay chronicle Sejarah Melayu. He also completed the conquest of the island of Sri Lanka and took the Sinhala king Mahinda V as a prisoner, in addition to his conquests of Rattapadi (territories of the Rashtrakutas, Chalukya country, Talakkad, and Kolar, where the Kolaramma temple still has his portrait statue) in Kannada country. Rajendra's territories included the area falling on the Ganges-Hooghly-Damodar basin, as well as Sri Lanka and Maldives. The kingdoms along the east coast of India up to the river Ganges acknowledged Chola suzerainty.T hree diplomatic missions were sent to China in 1016, 1033, and 1077. Reconstructed Chola ships 200-600 AD 399 Airavateswara temple, Darasuram in Thanjavur District. 400 Overseas conquests During the reign of Rajaraja Chola I and his successors Rajendra Chola I, Virarajendra Chola and Kulothunga Chola I the Chola armies invaded Sri Lanka, the Maldives and parts of Southeast Asia like Malaysia, Indonesia and Southern Thailand of the Srivijaya Empire in the 11th century. Rajaraja Chola I launched several naval campaigns that resulted in the capture of Sri Lanka, Maldives and the Malabar Coast. In 1025, Rajendra Chola launched naval raids on ports of Srivijaya and against the Burmese kingdom of Pegu. A Chola inscription states that he captured or plundered 14 places, which have been identified with Palembang, Tambralinga and Kedah among others. Tambralinga or Kadaram in Tamil: : According to the inscription no.24 found at Hua-wieng temple in Chaiya near to Nakhon Si Thammarat, the ruler of Tambralinga named Chandrabhanu Sridhamaraja was the king of Patama vamsa (lotus dynasty. He began to reign in 1230, he had the Phrae Boromadhatu (chedi in Nakhon Si Thammaraj, from Sanskrit dhatu - element, component, or relic + garbha - storehouse or repository) reparation and celebration in the same year. Chandrabhanu Sridhamaraja brought Tambralinga reached the pinnacle of its power in the mid-thirteenth century. From the Sri Lankan and Tamil materials, this Chandrabhanu was a Savakan king from Tambralinga who had invaded Sri Lanka in 1247. His navy launched an assault on the southern part of the island but was defeated by the Sri Lankan king. However Chandrabhanu was able to establish an independent regime in the north of the island over the Jaffna kingdom, but in 1258 he was attacked and subjugated by the south Indian Emperor Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan. He was compelled to pay a tribute to the Pandyan Dynasty of precious jewels and elephants. In 1262 Chandrabhanu launched another attack on the south of the island, his army strengthened this time by the addition of Tamil and Sinhalese forces, only to be defeated when Pandya sided with the Sri Lankan side; this time Jatarvarman Sundara Pandyan's brother Jatavarman Veera Pandyan intervened and Chandrabhanu himself was killed in the fighting. Chandrabhanu’s son Savakanmaindan inherited the throne and submitted to Veera Pandyan's rule, received rewards and retained control over the northern kingdom. His regime too had disappeared following Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I's ascension to the Pandyan empire's throne and another invasion of the island by the army of the 401 Pandyan Dynasty in the late 1270s. Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I installed his minister in charge of the invasion, Kulasekara Cinkaiariyan, an Aryachakravarti as the new king of Jaffna. In at least two senses, the rapid expansion of Tambralinga is exceptional in the history of Southeast Asia. In the first place, Candrabhanu’s invasion of Sri Lanka and occupation of the Jaffna kingdom marks the only time that a Southeast Asian power has launched an overseas military expedition beyond the immediate Southeast Asian region. In the second place, in the historiography of Southeast Asia the southern Thailand has generally played a secondary role to that of places like Java, the Malacca Strait region (Srivijaya in the seventh~eighth century, Melaka in the fifteenth century), Cambodia, Champa, Vietnam, and Burma. Tambralinga’s sudden appearance on centre-stage in the thirteenth century was thus highly unusual. By the end of the fourteenth century, Tambralinga had been submerged by the Sumatran Melayu Kingdom which had the backing of Java. Finally, in 1365 Majapahit Kingdom of Java recognized Nakorn Sri Dharmaraja as Dharmanagari written in Nagarakretagama. Despite its rapid rise to prominence in the thirteenth century, that is, by the following century Danmaling, or Tambralinga, the former member state of Sanfoshih – Javaka, had become a part of Siam. Kedah: A second invasion was led by Virarajendra Chola, who conquered Kedah in Malaysia of Srivijaya in the late 11th century. also known by its honorific Darul Aman or "Abode of Peace is a state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area of over 9,000 km², and it consists of the mainland and the Langkawi islands. The mainland has a relatively flat terrain, which is used to grow rice, while Langkawi is an archipelago, most of which are uninhabited islands. Kedah was previously known as Kadaram (Tamil: கடாரம் ; kadāram) by the ancient and medieval Tamils. To the north, Kedah borders the state of Perlis and shares an international boundary with the Songkhla and Yala provinces of Thailand. It borders the states of Perak to the south and Penang to the southwest. The state's capital is Alor Setar and the royal seat is in Anak Bukit. Other major towns include Sungai Petani, and Kulim on the mainland, and Kuah on Langkawi. 402 Chola invasion ultimately failed to install direct administration over Srivijaya, since the invasion was short and only meant to plunder the wealth of Srivijaya. However, this invasion gravely weakened the Srivijayan hegemony and enabled the formation of regional kingdoms. Although the invasion was not followed by direct Cholan occupation and the region was unchanged geographically, there were huge consequences in trade. Tamil traders encroached on the Srivijayan realm traditionally controlled by Malay traders and the Tamil guilds' influence increased on the Malay Peninsula and north coast of Sumatra. Chola invasion of Srivijaya In 1025, Rajendra Chola I or Raja Ranganathan, the Chola king from Tamil Nadu in South India, launched naval raids on the city-state of Srivijaya in maritime Southeast Asia, and conquered Kadaram (modern Kedah) from Srivijaya and occupied it for some time. Rajendra's overseas expedition against Srivijaya was a unique event in India's history and its otherwise peaceful relations with the states of Southeast Asia. Several places in present day Malaysia and Indonesia were invaded by Rajendra Chola I of the Chola dynasty. The Chola invasion furthered the expansion of Tamil merchant associations such as the Manigramam, Ayyavole and Ainnurruvar into Southeast Asia. ( See Chapetr … on Tamil M erchants of Ancient India) The Chola invasion led to the fall of the Sailendra Dynasty of Srivijaya and the Chola invasion also coincides with return voyage of the great Buddhist scholar Atiśa from Sumatra to India and Tibet in 1025. The expedition of Rajendra Chola I is mentioned in the corrupted form as Raja Chulan in the medieval Malay chronicle Sejarah Melaya, and Malay princes have names ending 403 with Cholan or Chulan, such as Raja Chulan of Perak. history, ancient India and Indonesia enjoyed friendly and peaceful relations, therefore this Indian invasion is a unique event in Asian history. In the 9th and 10th centuries, Srivijaya maintained close relations with the Pala Empire in Bengal, and an 860 Nalanda inscription records that Maharaja Balaputra of Srivijaya dedicated a monastery at the Nalanda Mahavihara in Pala territory. The relation between Srivijaya and the Chola dynasty of southern India was friendly during the reign of Raja Raja Chola I. In 1006 CE a Srivijayan Maharaja from Sailendra dynasty — king Maravijayattungavarman — constructed the Chudamani Vihara in the port town of Nagapattinam.[14] However, during the reign of Rajendra Chola I the relations deteriorated as the Cholas attacked Srivijayan cities. The Cholas are known to have benefitted from both piracy and foreign trade. Sometimes Chola seafaring led to outright plunder and conquest as far as Southeast Asia.[16] While Srivijaya that controlled two major naval choke points; Malacca and Sunda Strait; at that time was a major trading empire that possess formidable naval forces. Malacca strait's northwest opening was 404 controlled from Kedah on Peninsula side and from Pannai on the Sumatran side, while Malayu (Jambi) and Palembang controlled its southeast opening and also Sunda Strait. They practiced naval trade monopoly that forced any trade vessels that passed through their waters to call on their ports or otherwise being plundered. The reasons of this naval expedition are unclear with Nilakanta Sastri suggesting that the attack was probably caused by Srivijayan attempt to throw obstacles in the way of the Chola trade with the East (especially China), or more probably, a simple desire on the part of Rajendra to extend his digvijaya to the countries across the sea so well known to his subject at home, and therefore add luster to his crown.[17] Another theory suggests that the reasons for the invasion was probably motivated by geopolitics and diplomatic relations. King Suryavarman I of the Khmer Empire requested aid from Rajendra Chola I of the Chola dynasty against Tambralinga kingdom.[18] After learning of Suryavarman's alliance with Rajendra Chola, the Tambralinga kingdom requested aid from the Srivijaya king Sangrama Vijayatungavarman. This eventually led to the Chola Empire coming into conflict with the Srivijaya Empire. This alliance somewhat also had religious nuance, since both Chola and Khmer empire are Hindu Shivaist, while Tambralinga and Srivijaya are Mahayana Buddhist. Invasion A Siamese painting depicting the Chola raid on Kedah. The Chola raid against Srivijaya was a swift campaign that left Srivijaya unprepared. To sail from India to the Indonesian Archipelago, vessels from India sailed eastward across the Bay of 405 Bengal and called at the ports of Lamuri in Aceh or Kedah in Malay peninsula before entering Strait of Malacca. But the Chola armada sailed directly to the Sumatran west coast. The port of Barus in the west coast of North Sumatra at that time belonged to Tamil trading guilds and served as a port to replenish after crossing the Indian Ocean. The Chola armada then continued to sail along Sumatra's west coast southward and sailed into Strait of Sunda. The Srivijaya navy guarded Kedah and surrounding areas on the northwest opening of the Malacca strait completely unaware that the Chola invasion was coming from the Sunda Strait in the south. The first Srivijayan city being raided was Palembang, the capital of Srivijaya empire. The unexpected attack led to the Cholas sacking the city and plundering the Kadatuan royal palace and monasteries. Thanjavur inscription states that Rajendra captured King Sangrama Vijayottunggavarman of Srivijaya and took a large heap of treasures including the Vidhyadara Torana, the jeweled 'war gate' of Srivijaya adorned with great splendor. After plundering the royal palace of Palembang, the Cholas launched successive attacks on other Srivijayan ports including Malayu, Tumasik, Pannai and Kedah. The Chola invasion did not result in administration over defeated cities as the armies moved fast and plundered the Srivijayan cities. The Chola armada seems to have taken advantage of the Southeast Asian monsoon for moving from one port to another swiftly. The tactic of a fast-moving unexpected attack was probably the secret of Cholan success, since it did not allow the Srivijayan mandala to prepare the defences, reorganize themselves, provide assistance or to retaliate. The war ended with a victory for the Cholas and major losses for the Srivijaya Empire ending the Srivijaya maritime monopoly in the region. Aftermath With the Maharaja Sangrama Vijayottunggavarman imprisoned and most of its cities destroyed, the leaderless Srivijaya mandala entered a period of chaos and confusion. The invasion marked the end of the Sailendra dynasty. According to the 15th-century Malay annals Sejarah Melayu, Rajendra Chola I after the successful naval raid in 1025 married Onang Kiu, the daughter of Vijayottunggavarman.[23][24] This invasion forced Srivijaya to make peace with Javanese kingdom of Kahuripan. The peace deal was brokered by the exiled daughter of Vijayottunggavarman, a Srivijayan princess who managed to escape the destruction of 406 Palembang and came to the court of King Airlangga in East Java. She also became the queen consort of Airlangga named Dharmaprasadottungadevi and in 1035, Airlangga constructed a Buddhist monastery named Srivijayasrama dedicated to his queen consort. Despite the devastation, Srivijaya mandala still survived as the Chola invasion ultimately failed to install direct administration over Srivijaya, since the invasion was short and only meant to plunder. Nevertheless, this invasion gravely weakened the Srivijayan hegemony and enabled the formation of regional kingdoms like Kahuripan and its successor, Kediri in Java based on agriculture rather than coastal and long-distance trade. Sri Deva was enthroned as the new king and the trading activities resumed. He sent an embassy to the court of China in 1028 CE. Although the invasion was not followed by direct Cholan occupation and the region was unchanged geographically, there were huge consequences in trade. Tamil traders encroached on the Srivijayan realm traditionally controlled by Malay traders and the Tamil guilds' influence increased on the Malay Peninsula and north coast of Sumatra. With the growing presence of Tamil guilds in the region, relations improved between Srivijaya and the Cholas. Chola nobles were accepted in Srivijaya court and in 1067 CE, a Chola prince named Divakara or Devakala was sent as a Srivijayan ambassador to the Imperial Court of China. The prince who was the nephew of Rajendra Chola later was enthroned in 1070 CE as Kulothunga Chola I. Later during the Kedah rebellion, Srivijaya asked the Cholas for help. In 1068 CE, Virarajendra Chola launched a naval raid to help Srivijaya reclaim Kedah.[25] Virarajendra reinstated the Kedah king at the request of the Srivijayan Maharaja and Kedah accepted the Srivijayan sovereignty. In continuation of the decline, also marked by the resurgence of the Pandyan dynasty as the most powerful rulers in South India, a lack of a controlling central administration in its erstwhilePandyan territories prompted a number of claimants to the Pandya throne to cause a civil war in which the Sinhalas and the Cholas were involved by proxy. Details of the Pandyan civil war and the role played by the Cholas and Sinhalas, are present in the Mahavamsa as well as the Pallavarayanpettai Inscriptions. 407 Overseas conquests During the reign of Rajaraja Chola I and his successors Rajendra Chola I, Virarajendra Chola and Kulothunga Chola I the Chola armies invaded Sri Lanka, the Maldives and parts of Southeast Asia like Malaysia, Indonesia and Southern Thailand of the Srivijaya Empire in the 11th century. Rajaraja Chola I launched several naval campaigns that resulted in the capture of Sri Lanka, Maldives and the Malabar Coast. In 1025, Rajendra Chola launched naval raids on ports of Srivijaya and against the Burmese kingdom of Pegu. A Chola inscription states that he captured or plundered 14 places, which have been identified with Palembang, Tambralinga and Kedah among others. A second invasion was led by Virarajendra Chola, who conquered Kedah in Malaysia of Srivijaya in the late 11th century. Chola invasion ultimately failed to install direct administration over Srivijaya, since the invasion was short and only meant to plunder the wealth of Srivijaya. However, this invasion gravely weakened the Srivijayan hegemony and enabled the formation of regional kingdoms. Although the invasion was not followed by direct Cholan occupation and the region was unchanged geographically, there were huge consequences in trade. Tamil traders encroached on the Srivijayan realm traditionally controlled by Malay traders and the Tamil guilds' influence increased on the Malay Peninsula and north coast of Sumatra. Decline The Cholas, under Rajaraja Chola III and later, his successor Rajendra Chola III, were quite weak and therefore, experienced continuous trouble. One feudatory, the Kadava chieftain Kopperunchinga I, even held Rajaraja Chola III as hostage for sometime. At the close of the 12th century, the growing influence of the Hoysalas replaced the declining Chalukyas as the main player in the Kannada country, but they too faced constant trouble from the Seunas and the Kalachuris, who were occupying Chalukya capital because those empires were their new rivals. So naturally, the Hoysalas found it convenient to have friendly relations with the Cholas from the time of Kulothunga Chola III, who had defeated Hoysala Veera Ballala II, who had subsequent marital relations with the Chola monarch. This continued during the time of Rajaraja Chola III the son and successor of Kulothunga Chola III. The Hoysalas played a divisive role in the politics of the Tamil country during this period. They thoroughly exploited the lack of unity among the Tamil kingdoms and alternately supported one 408 Tamil kingdom against the other thereby preventing both the Cholas and Pandyas from rising to their full potential. During the period of Rajaraja III, the Hoysalas sided with the Cholas and defeated the Kadava chieftain Kopperunjinga and the Pandyas and established a presence in the Tamil country. Rajendra Chola III who succeeded Rajaraja III was a much better ruler who took bold steps to revive the Chola fortunes. He led successful expeditions to the north as attested by his epigraphs found as far as Cuddappah. He also defeated two Pandya princes one of whom was Maravarman Sundara Pandya II and briefly made the Pandyas submit to the Chola overlordship. The Hoysalas, under Vira Someswara, were quick to intervene and this time they sided with the Pandyas and repulsed the Cholas in order to counter the latter's revival.[90] The Pandyas in the south had risen to the rank of a great power who ultimately banished the Hoysalas from Malanadu or Kannada country, who were allies of the Cholas from Tamil country and the demise of the Cholas themselves ultimately was caused by the Pandyas in 1279. The Pandyas first steadily gained control of the Tamil country as well as territories in Sri Lanka, southern Chera country, Telugu country under Maravarman Sundara Pandiyan II and his able successor Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan before inflicting several defeats on the joint forces of the Cholas under Rajaraja Chola III, and the Hoysalas under Someshwara, his son Ramanatha[83] The Pandyans gradually became major players in the Tamil country from 1215 and intelligently consolidated their position in Madurai-Rameswaram-Ilam-southern Chera country and Kanyakumari belt, and had been steadily increasing their territories in the Kaveri belt between Dindigul-Tiruchy-KarurSatyamangalam as well as in the Kaveri Delta i.e., Thanjavur- Mayuram-ChidambaramVriddhachalam-Kanchi, finally marching all the way up to Arcot— Tirumalai-NelloreVisayawadai-Vengi-Kalingam belt by 1250. TERRITORY: According to Tamil tradition, the Chola country comprised the region that includes the modern-day Tiruchirapalli District, Tiruvarur District, Nagapattinam District, Ariyalur District, Perambalur district, Pudukkottai district, Thanjavur District in Tamil Nadu and Karaikal District. The river Kaveri and its tributaries dominate this landscape of generally flat country that gradually slopes towards the sea, unbroken by major hills or valleys. The river, which is also known as the Ponni (Golden) river, had a special place in the culture of Cholas. The annual floods in the Kaveri marked an occasion for celebration, known as Adiperukku, in which the whole nation took part. Kaveripoompattinam on the coast near the Kaveri delta was a major port town. Ptolemy knew of this, which he called Khaberis, and the 409 other port town of Nagappattinam as the most important centres of Cholas. These two towns became hubs of trade and commerce and attracted many religious faiths, including Buddhism.[k] Roman ships found their way into these ports. Roman coins dating from the early centuries of the common era have been found near the Kaveri delta. The other major towns were Thanjavur, Uraiyur and Kudanthai, now known as Kumbakonam. After Rajendra Chola moved his capital to Gangaikonda Cholapuram, Thanjavur lost its importance. Government In the age of the Cholas, the whole of South India was for the first time brought under a single government. The Cholas' system of government was monarchical, as in the Sangam age which was a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and governing power of the monarch may vary from purely symbolic (crowned republic), to restricted (constitutional monarchy), to fully autocratic (absolute monarchy), combining executive, legislative and judicial power. However, there was little in common between the local chiefdoms of the earlier period and the imperial-like states of Rajaraja Chola and his successors. Aside from the early capital at Thanjavur and the later on at Gangaikonda Cholapuram, Kanchipuram and Madurai were considered to be regional capitals in which occasional courts were held. The king was the supreme leader and a benevolent authoritarian. His administrative role consisted of issuing oral commands to responsible officers when representations were made to him. Due to the lack of a legislature or a legislative system in the modern sense, the fairness of king's orders dependent on his morality and belief in Dharma. The Chola kings built temples and endowed them with great wealth. The temples acted not only as places of worship but also as centres of economic activity, benefiting the community as a whole. Some of the output of villages throughout the kingdom was given to temples that reinvested some of the wealth accumulated as loans to the settlements.. The Chola Dynasty was divided into several provinces called Mandalams which were further divided into Valanadus and these Valanadus were sub-divided into units called Kottams or Kutrams. According to Kathleen Gough, during the Chola period the Vellalar were the "dominant secular aristocratic caste ... providing the courtiers, most of the army officers, the lower ranks of the kingdom's bureaucracy, and the upper layer of the peasantry". Vellalar is a generic Tamil term 410 used primarily by various castes who traditionally pursued agriculture as a profession in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and northeastern parts of Sri Lanka. Some of the communities that identify themselves as a Vellalar are the numerically strong Arunattu Vellalar, Chozhia Vellalar, Karkarthar Vellalar, Kongu Vellalar, Thuluva Vellalar and Sri Lankan Vellalar. Despite being a relatively lowly group, they were dominant communities in Tamil agrarian societies for 600 years until the decline of the Chola empire in the 13th century, with their chieftains able to practise state-level political authority after winning the support and legitimisation of Brahmins and other higher-ranked communities with grants of land and honours Before the reign of Rajaraja Chola I huge parts of the Chola territory were ruled by hereditary lords and local princes who were in a loose alliance with the Chola rulers. Thereafter, until the reign of Vikrama Chola in 1133 CE when the Chola power was at its peak, these hereditary lords and local princes virtually vanished from the Chola records and were either replaced or turned into dependent officials. Through these dependent officials the administration was improved and the Chola kings were able to exercise a closer control over the different parts of the empire. There was an expansion of the administrative structure, particularly from the reign of Rajaraja Chola I onwards. The government at this time had a large land revenue department, consisting of several tiers, which was largely concerned with maintaining accounts. The assessment and collection of revenue were undertaken by corporate bodies such as the ur, nadu, sabha, nagaram and sometimes by local chieftains who passed the revenue to the centre. During the reign of Rajaraja Chola I, the state initiated a massive project of land survey and assessment and there was a reorganisation of the empire into units known as valanadus. The order of the King was first communicated by the executive officer to the local authorities. Afterwards the records of the transaction was drawn up and attested by a number of witnesses who were either local magnates or government officers. At local government level, every village was a self-governing unit. A number of villages constituted a larger entity known as a Kurram, Nadu or Kottam, depending on the area. A number of Kurrams constituted a valanadu. These structures underwent constant change and refinement throughout the Chola period. Justice was mostly a local matter in the Chola Empire; minor disputes were settled at the village level. Punishment for minor crimes were in the form of fines or a direction for the offender to 411 donate to some charitable endowment. Even crimes such as manslaughter or murder were punished with fines. Crimes of the state, such as treason, were heard and decided by the king himself; the typical punishment in these cases was either execution or confiscation of property. Military The Chola dynasty had a robust military, of which the king was the supreme commander. It had four elements, comprising the cavalry, the elephant corps, several divisions of infantry and a navy. There were regiments of bowmen and swordsmen while the swordsmen were the most permanent and dependable troops. The Chola army was spread all over the country and was stationed in local garrisons or military camps known as Kodagams. The elephants played a major role in the army and the dynasty had numerous war elephants. These carried houses or huge Howdahs on their backs, full of soldiers who shot arrows at long range and who fought with spears at close quarters. The Chola rulers built several palaces and fortifications to protect their cities. The fortifications were mostly made up of bricks but other materials like stone, wood and mud were also used. According to the ancient Tamil text Silappadikaram, the Tamil kings defended their forts with catapults that threw stones, huge cauldrons of boiling water or molten lead, and hooks, chains and traps. The soldiers of the Chola dynasty used weapons such as swords, bows, javelins, spears and 412 shields which were made up of steel. Particularly the famous Wootz steel, which has a long history in south India dating back to the period before the Christian era, seems also be used to produce weapons. The army consisted of people from different castes but the warriors of the Kaikolar and Vellalar castes played a prominent role. The Chola navy was the zenith of ancient India sea power. It played a vital role in the expansion of the empire, including the conquest of the Ceylon islands and naval raids on Srivijaya. The navy grew both in size and status during the medieval Cholas reign. The Chola admirals commanded much respect and prestige. The navy commanders also acted as diplomats in some instances. From 900 to 1100, the navy had grown from a small backwater entity to that of a potent power projection and diplomatic symbol in all of Asia, but was gradually reduced in significance when the Cholas fought land battles subjugating the Chalukyas of the Andhra- Kannada area in South India. Silambam: A martial art called Silambam was patronised by the Chola rulers. Ancient and medieval Tamil texts mention different forms of martial traditions but the ultimate expression of the loyalty of the warrior to his commander was a form of martial suicide called Navakandam. The medieval Kalingathu Parani text, which celebrates the victory of Kulothunga Chola I and his general in the battle for Kalinga, describes the practice in detail. Oral folklore traces Silambam 413 back several thousand years to the siddhar (enlightened sage) Agastya. While on his way to Vellimalai, Agastya discussed Hindu philosophy with an old man he met, said to be the god Murugan in disguise. The old man taught him of kundalini yoga and how to focus prana through the body's nadi (channels). Agastya practiced this method of meditation and eventually compiled three texts on palm leaves based on the god's teachings. One of these texts was the Kampu Sutra (Staff Classic) which was said to record advanced fighting theories in verse. These poems and the art they described were allegedly passed on to other Siddha of the Agastmuni akhara (Agastya school) and eventually formed the basis of Silambam, siddha medicine, and also influenced the southern style of kalaripayattu. Silambam became more common in Southeast Asia than its native India where it was banned by the British rulers. Silambam name has made its historical first time appearance in the world eyes as the committee of United Nations Assembly recommends Silambam Asia for United Nations status for representing Asia Continent. Occasion held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, United States on January 21, 2019 whereby China-Taipei government representatives arised border conflicts in ancient recording pertaining Silambam and requesting organisation of Silambam Asia to resolve prior to internal committee clearance request. On January 30, 2019 concluded substantive work as the Committee recommended Silambam Asia for Special Status in the United Nations Economy Land revenue and trade tax were the main source of income.[130] The Chola rulers issued their coins in gold, silver and copper. The Chola economy was based on three tiers—at the local level, agricultural settlements formed the foundation to commercial towns nagaram, which acted as 414 redistribution centres for externally produced items bound for consumption in the local economy and as sources of products made by nagaram artisans for the international trade. At the top of this economic pyramid were the elite merchant groups (samayam) who organised and dominated the regions international maritime trade. One of the main articles which were exported to foreign countries were cotton cloth. Uraiyur, the capital of the early Chola rulers, was a famous centre for cotton textiles which were praised by Tamil poets. The Chola rulers actively encouraged the weaving industry and derived revenue from it. During this period the weavers started to organise themselves into guilds. The weavers had their own residential sector in all towns. The most important weaving communities in early medieval times were the Saliyar and Kaikolar. During the Chola period silk weaving attained a high degree and Kanchipuram became one of the main centres for silk. Metal crafts reached its zenith during the 10th to 11th centuries because the Chola rulers like Chembian Maadevi extended their patronage to metal craftsmen.[140] Wootz steel was a major export item. The farmers occupied one of the highest positions in society.[142] These were the Vellalar community who formed the nobility or the landed aristocracy of the country and who were economically a powerful group Agriculture was the principal occupation for many people. Besides the landowners, there were others dependent on agriculture.[144] The Vellalar community was the dominant secular aristocratic caste under the Chola rulers, providing the courtiers, most of the army officers, the lower ranks of the bureaucracy and the upper layer of the peasantry. In almost all villages the distinction between persons paying the land-tax (iraikudigal) and those who did not was clearly established. There was a class of hired day-labourers who assisted in agricultural operations on the estates of other people and received a daily wage. All cultivable land was held in one of the three broad classes of tenure which can be distinguished as peasant proprietorship called vellan-vagai, service tenure and eleemosynary tenure resulting from charitable gifts. The vellan-vagai was the ordinary ryotwari village of modern times, having direct relations with the government and paying a land-tax liable to revision from time to time. The vellan-vagai villages fell into two broad classes- one directly remitting a variable annual revenue to the state and the other paying dues of a more or less fixed character to the public institutions like temples 415 to which they were assigned.The prosperity of an agricultural country depends to a large extent on the facilities provided for irrigation. Apart from sinking wells and excavating tanks, the Chola rulers threw mighty stone dams across the Kaveri and other rivers, and cut out channels to distribute water over large tracts of land. Rajendra Chola I dug near his capital an artificial lake, which was filled with water from the Kolerun and the Vellar rivers. There existed a brisk internal trade in several articles carried on by the organised mercantile corporations in various parts of the country. The metal industries and the jewellers art had reached a high degree of excellence. The manufacture of sea-salt was carried on under government supervision and control. Trade was carried on by merchants organised in guilds. The guilds described sometimes by the terms nanadesis were a powerful autonomous corporation of merchants which visited different countries in the course of their trade. They had their own mercenary army for the protection of their merchandise. There were also local organisations of merchants called "nagaram" in big centres of trade like Kanchipuram and Mamallapuram. Hospitals Hospitals were maintained by the Chola kings, whose government gave lands for that purpose. The Tirumukkudal inscription shows that a hospital was named after Vira Chola. Many diseases were cured by the doctors of the hospital, which was under the control of a chief physician who was paid annually 80 Kalams of paddy, 8 Kasus and a grant of land. Apart from the doctors, other remunerated staff included a nurse, barber (who performed minor operations) and a waterman. The Chola queen Kundavai also established a hospital at Tanjavur and gave land for the perpetual maintenance of it. Society During the Chola period several guilds, communities and castes emerged. The guild was one of the most significant institutions of south India and merchants organised themselves into guilds. The best known of these were the Manigramam and Ayyavole guilds though other guilds such as Anjuvannam and Valanjiyar were also in existence.The farmers occupied one of the highest positions in society. These were the Vellalar community who formed the nobility or the landed aristocracy of the country and who were economically a powerful group. The Vellalar community was the dominant secular aristocratic caste under the Chola rulers, providing the courtiers, most of the army officers, the lower ranks of the bureaucracy and the upper layer of the 416 peasantry. The Vellalar were also sent to northern Sri Lanka by the Chola rulers as settlers. The Ulavar community were working in the field which was associated with agriculture and the peasants were known as Kalamar. The Kaikolar community were weavers and merchants but they also maintained armies. During the Chola period they had predominant trading and military roles. During the reign of the Imperial Chola rulers (10th-13th century) there were major changes in the temple administration and land ownership. There was more involvement of non-Brahmin elements in the temple administration. This can be attributed to the shift in money power. Skilled classes like the weavers and the merchant-class had become prosperous. Land ownership was no longer a privilege of the Brahmins (priest caste) and the Vellalar land owners. There is little information on the size and the density of the population during the Chola reign. The stability in the core Chola region enabled the people to lead a productive and contented life. However, there were reports of widespread famine caused by natural calamities. The quality of the inscriptions of the regime indicates a high level of literacy and education. The text in these inscriptions was written by court poets and engraved by talented artisans. Education in the contemporary sense was not considered important; there is circumstantial evidence to suggest that some village councils organised schools to teach the basics of reading and writing to children, although there is no evidence of systematic educational system for the masses. Vocational education was through hereditary training in which the father passed on his skills to his sons. Tamil was the medium of education for the masses; Religious monasteries (matha or gatika) were centres of learning and received government support. Foreign trade The relationship between the Chinese and Cholas dates back to second century BC. Ancient Chinese scholar Ban Gu had told that China had sent its ambassador to the court of the Cholas.[1] Ban Gu in his work the Book of Han (Ch'ien Han Shu) had written that he had seen many unprecedented objects which are unseen at China, at the city of kuvangtche. Berend, an acoustics expert, annotates that the city named by Ban Gu is analogous with the ancient Chola city kanchi (the present day's city of Kancheepuram at Tamil Nadu, India). This proves the relationship of Kanchi with China. 417 Coins: Arrays of ancient Chinese coins have been found in recent years at the place which is considered to be the homeland of the Cholas (i.e. the present Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Pudukkottai districts of Tamil Nadu, India), which confirms the trade and the commercial relationship which existed between the Cholas and the Chinese. Place Number of Olayakkunnam 323 Thaalikkottai Other details coins 1822 These coins belong to 142-126 BC. This village is situated in Pattukkottai taluk in Pudukkottai district of Tamil Nadu, India This village is situated in Mannargudi taluk in Tiruvarur district of Tamil Nadu, India International Relations:The later Cholas too continued to maintain a healthy relationship with the Chinese. During the reign of Rajendra Chola I (i.e. 1016–1033 AD) and Kulothunga Chola I (i.e. in 1077 AD), commercial and political diplomats were sent to China. The Cholas excelled in foreign trade and maritime activity, extending their influence overseas to China and Southeast Asia.. Towards the end of the 9th century, southern India had developed extensive maritime and commercial activity.[162] The south Indian guilds played a major role in interregional and overseas trade. The best known of these were the Manigramam and Ayyavole guilds who followed the conquering Chola armies.[152] The encouragement by the Chola court furthered the expansion of Tamil merchant associations such as the Ayyavole and Manigramam guilds into Southeast Asia and China. The Cholas, being in possession of parts of both the west and the east coasts of peninsular India, were at the forefront of these ventures. The Tang dynasty of China, the Srivijaya empire under the Sailendras, and the Abbasid Kalifat at Baghdad were the main trading partners. 418 Some credit for the emergence of a world market must also go to the dynasty. It played a significant role in linking the markets of China to the rest of the world. The market structure and economic policies of the Chola dynasty were more conducive to a large-scale, cross-regional market trade than those enacted by the Chinese Song Dynasty. A Chola record gives their rationale for engagement in foreign trade: "Make the merchants of distant foreign countries who import elephants and good horses attach to yourself by providing them with villages and decent dwellings in the city, by affording them daily audience, presents and allowing them profits. Then those articles will never go to your enemies. Song dynasty reports record that an embassy from Chulian (Chola) reached the Chinese court in 1077, and that the king of the Chulian at the time, Kulothunga I, was called Ti-hua-kia-lo. This embassy was a trading venture and was highly profitable to the visitors, who returned with copper coins in exchange for articles of tribute, including glass and spices.[170] Probably, the motive behind Rajendra's expedition to Srivijaya was the protection of the merchants' interests. Canals and water tanks There was tremendous agrarian expansion during the rule of the imperial Chola Dynasty (c. 9001270 AD) all over Tamil Nadu and particularly in the Kaveri Basin. Most of the canals of the Kaveri River belongs to this period e.g., Uyyakondan canal, Rajendran vaykkal, Sembian Mahadegvi vaykkal. There was a well-developed and highly efficient system of water management from the village level upwards. The increase in the royal patronage and also the number of devadana and bramadeya lands which increased the role of the temples and village assemblies in the field. Committees like eri-variyam (tank-committee) and totta-variam (garden committees) were active as also the temples with their vast resources in land, men and money. The water tanks that came up during the Chola period are too many to be listed here. But a few most outstanding may be briefly mentioned. Rajendra Chola built a huge tank named Solagangam in his capital city Gangaikonda Solapuram and was described as the liquid pillar of victory. About 16 miles long, it was provided with sluices and canals for irrigating the lands in the neighbouring areas. Another very large lake of this period, which even today seems an important source of irrigation was the Viranameri near Kattumannarkoil in South Arcot district founded by Parantaka Chola. Other famous lakes of this period are Madurantakam, Sundracholapereri, Kundavai-Pereri (after a Chola queen). 419 Under the Cholas, the Tamil country reached new heights of excellence in art, religion, music and literature. In all of these spheres, the Chola period marked the 420 culmination of movements that had begun in an earlier age under the Pallavas. Monumental architecture in the form of majestic temples and sculpture in stone and bronze reached a finesse never before achieved in India. The Chola conquest of Kadaram (Kedah) and Srivijaya, and their continued commercial contacts with the Chinese Empire, enabled them to influence the local cultures. Examples of the Hindu cultural influence found today throughout the Southeast Asia owe much to the legacy of the Cholas. For example, the great temple complex at Prambanan in Indonesia exhibit a number of similarities with the South Indian architecture. According to the Malay chronicle Sejarah Melayu, the rulers of the Malacca sultanate claimed to be descendants of the kings of the Chola Empire. Chola rule is remembered in Malaysia today as many princes there have names ending with Cholan or Chulan, one such being Raja Chulan, the Raja of Perak. Art and architecture The Cholas continued the temple-building traditions of the Pallava dynasty and contributed significantly to the Dravidian temple design.[ They built a number of Shiva temples along the banks of the river Kaveri. The template for these and future temples was formulated by Aditya I and Parantaka. The Chola temple architecture has been appreciated for its magnificence as well as delicate workmanship, ostensibly following the rich traditions of the past bequeathed to them by the Pallava Dynasty. Architectural historian James Fergusson says that "the Chola artists conceived like giants and finished like jewelers".A new development in Chola art that characterised the Dravidian architecture in later times was the addition of a huge gateway called gopuram to the enclosure of the temple, which had gradually taken its form and attained maturity under the Pandya Dynasty. The Chola school of art also spread to Southeast Asia and influenced the architecture and art of Southeast Asia. Temple building received great impetus from the conquests and the genius of Rajaraja Chola and his son Rajendra Chola I. The maturity and grandeur to which the Chola architecture had evolved found expression in the two temples of Thanjavur and Gangaikondacholapuram. The magnificent Shiva temple of Thanjavur, completed around 1009, is a fitting memorial to the 421 material achievements of the time of Rajaraja. The largest and tallest of all Indian temples of its time, it is at the apex of South Indian architecture. The temple of Gangaikondacholisvaram at Gangaikondacholapuram, the creation of Rajendra Chola, was intended to excel its predecessor. Completed around 1030, only two decades after the temple at Thanjavur and in the same style, the greater elaboration in its appearance attests the more affluent state of the Chola Empire under Rajendra. The Brihadisvara Temple, the temple of Gangaikondacholisvaram and the Airavatesvara Temple at Darasuram were declared as World Heritage Sites by the UNESCO and are referred to as the Great living Chola temples. The Chola period is also remarkable for its sculptures and bronzes. Among the existing specimens in museums around the world and in the temples of South India may be seen many fine figures of Shiva in various forms, such as Vishnu and his consort Lakshmi, and the Shaivite saints. Though conforming generally to the iconographic conventions established by long tradition, the sculptors worked with great freedom in the 11th and the 12th centuries to achieve a classic grace and grandeur. The best example of this can be seen in the form of Nataraja the divine dancer. 422 Religion In general, Cholas were followers of Hinduism. They were not swayed by the rise of Buddhism and Jainism as were the kings of the Pallava and Pandya dynasties. Kocengannan, an Early Chola, was celebrated in both Sangam literature and in the Shaivite canon as a Hindu saint.[33] While the Cholas did build their largest and most important temple dedicated to Shiva, it can be by no means concluded that either they were followers of Shaivism only or that they were not favourably disposed to other faiths. This is borne out by the fact that the second Chola king, Aditya I (871–903 CE), built temples for Shiva and also for Vishnu. Inscriptions of 890 refer to his contributions to the construction of the Ranganatha Temple at Srirangapatnam in the country of the Western Gangas, who were both his feudatories and had connections by marriage with him. He also pronounced that the great temples of Shiva and the Ranganatha temple were to be the Kuladhanam of the Chola emperors. Parantaka II was a devotee of the reclining Vishnu (Vadivu Azhagiya Nambi) at Anbil, on the banks of the Kaveri river on the outskirts of Tiruchy, to whom he gave numerous gifts and embellishments. He also prayed before him before his embarking on war to regain the territories in and around Kanchi and Arcot from the waning Rashtrakutas and while leading expeditions against both Madurai and Ilam (Sri Lanka). Parantaka I and Parantaka Chola II endowed and built temples for Shiva and Vishnu. Rajaraja Chola I patronised Buddhists and provided for the construction of the Chudamani Vihara, a Buddhist monastery in Nagapattinam, at the request of Sri Chulamanivarman, the Srivijaya Sailendra king. During the period of the Later Cholas, there are alleged to have been instances of intolerance towards Vaishnavites, especially towards their acharya, Ramanuja. A Chola sovereign called Krimikanta Chola is said to have persecuted Ramanuja. Some scholars identify Kulothunga Chola II with Krimikanta Chola or worm-necked Chola, so called as he is said to have suffered from cancer of the throat or neck. The latter finds mention in the vaishnava Guruparampara and is said to have been a strong opponent of the vaishnavas. The work Parpannamritam (17th century) refers to the Chola king called Krimikanta who is said to have removed the Govindaraja idol from the Chidambaram Nataraja temple.] However, according to "Koil Olugu" (temple records) of the Srirangam temple, Kulottunga Chola II was the son of Krimikanta Chola. The 423 former, unlike his father, is said to have been a repentant son who supported vaishnavism.[230][231] Ramanuja is said to have made Kulottunga II as a disciple of his nephew, Dasarathi. The king then granted the management of the Ranganathaswamy temple to Dasarathi and his descendants as per the wish of Ramanuja. Historian Nilakanta Sastri identifies Krimikanta Chola with Adhirajendra Chola or Virarajendra Chola with whom the main line (Vijayalaya line) ended. There is an inscription from 1160 AD which states that the custodians of Shiva temples who had social intercourses with Vaishnavites would forfeit their property. However, this is more of a direction to the Shaivite community by its religious heads than any kind of dictat by a Chola emperor. While Chola kings built their largest temples for Shiva and even while emperors like Rajaraja Chola I held titles like Sivapadasekharan, in none of their inscriptions did the Chola emperors proclaim that their clan only and solely followed Shaivism or that Shaivism was the state religion during their rule. 424 Rajendra Chola I was one of the greatest emperors of the Chola dynasty. He expanded the Chola Empire from where his father Rajaraja Chola had left. Apart from reaching northwards to River Ganges and moving overseas to Maldives and Sri Lanka, he also invaded the Southeast Asian territories of Srivijaya in Malaysia, Indonesia and southern Thailand. He continued to maintain and improve commercial relations with China, started off by his father. He assumed the title ‘Gangaikonda Chola’ (The Chola who took the Ganges) after defeating the Gangas, Chalukyas, Cheras, Palas, Pandyas, Kalinga and other rulers. Besides, he was also known by various other titles, such as Mudigonda Chola, Virarajendra, and Pandita Chola, apart from inheriting the title of ‘Mummudi Chola’ (The Chola with three crowns) from his father. He established a new capital Gangaikonda Cholapuram, where he constructed a Shiva temple, resembling the Brihadeeswara Temple built by his father Rajaraja Chola at the previous capital Thanjavur. He built a vast empire and a strong military and naval force. His rule came to be known as the ‘Golden Age of Cholas’. He was succeeded by his son Rajadhiraja Chola, who was then followed by his other two sons – Rajendra Chola II and Virarajendra Chola Childhood & Early Life Rajendra Chola I was born on the occasion of South Indian festival of Thiruvathira in the Tamil month of Margalzhi Thingal, to Raja Raja Chola I and his queen, Vaanathi or Thiripuvana Madeviyar. He was declared the crown prince by his father in 1012, though he started assisting him in his conquests from 1002 and led campaigns against the Western Chalukyas, Vengi and Kalinga. Accession & Reign In 1014, he officially ascended the throne and four years later in 1018, he made his eldest son, Rajadhiraja Chola I, as the yuvaraja (co-regent). His early expeditions on behalf of his father included conquest of Rashtrakuta country and areas surrounding northwestern Karnataka, Pandharpur, and southern Maharashtra till Kolhapur. His control over Ceylon was challenged by Sinhala king Mahinda’s son Kassapa, following which a war was fought between the two, with the Cholas turning victorious and resuming power till the reign of Kulothunga Chola III. In 1018, he raided the territories of the Pandyas and Cheras and seized precious stones. Since his father had previously conquered these territories, it is unclear whether Rajendra added any further territories or not. 425 He defeated the forces of Vijayaditya, who was installed as the Vengi king by the Western Chalukyas after forcing Rajaraja Narendra into exile, and helped Rajaraja in regaining his throne. After suppressing the Western and the Eastern Chalukyas, he moved northwards through Kalinga to River Ganges and reached the Pala kingdom of Bengal, where he defeated Mahipala and acquired elephants, women and treasure. His other conquests included battles against Dharmapala, the ruler of the Kamboja Pala Dynasty in Dandabhukti, Govindachandra of the Chandra Dynasty in present-Bangladesh, and Bastar in modern-Chhattisgarh. The territories of the Ganges country were initially included in the empire, but were later made subordinates with annual tributes. While the northern kingdoms enjoyed autonomy, the Tamilian territories were under absolute Chola power. He took upon the title ‘Gangaikonda Chola’ post his victories over the Palas, Chalukyas, Kalinga, Gangas, Pandyas, Cheras, etc. and moved his capital from Thanjavur to Gangaikondacholapuram, where he built a Shiva temple. He carried out successful invasion expeditions to Tambralinga kingdom in southern Thailand and Langkasuka kingdom in Malaysia, following which he supported Tamil merchants trading in Southeast Asia. The Cholas were believed to have maintained good relations with the Chinese kingdoms, with the earliest mission sent from Chola king Rajaraja to the Song Dynasty in 1015, with subsequent visits in 1033 and 1077. The extensive trade between the Cholas and Chinese could have triggered disputes from Srivijaya kingdom, with the Cholas, as it was situated in-between the trade routes. A second expedition to Sri Lanka in 1041 included wars against Vikramabahu, Jagaitpala, Sinhalese, and the expelled Pandyas, all of whom were defeated, allowing Rajendra to bring the Ceylonese territory under the Chola Empire. Till the end of his reign, he was constantly at campaigns and conflicts to protect his huge empire from invasions and hold it together. Eventually, he let his sons suppress revolts caused by the Pandyas and Cheras and in Sri Lanka. Major Battles He led the famous campaign against the Western Chalukyas and succeeded in invading Kollipakkai or modern-Kulpak in the north of Hyderabad. 426 While his father was successful in capturing the northern part of Sri Lanka, he went ahead in annexing the entire island in 1017, defeating the Sinhala king, Mahinda V and imprisoning him in the Chola Country, where he died in captivity.He fought the Western Chalukya king, Jayasimha II, in the Battle of Maski, in 1021, who attempted to control the Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi by supporting Vijayaditya VII and sending his nephew, Rajaraja Narendra, into exile. In 1025, he invaded Sangrama Vijayatungavarman’s Srivijaya kingdom, imprisoning him and capturing its capital Kadaram, Pannai (present-Sumatra), Kedah and Malaiyur. Achievements He got a large artificial lake, measuring 16 miles long and 3 miles wide, constructed at his capital Gangaikondacholapuram, which is, till date, one of the largest manmade lakes in India. Being a devout and religious ruler, he got most of the brick-structured temples in his empire converted into stone shrines. Personal Life & Legacy He was believed to have had several queens, some of them being Mukkokilan, Arindhavan Madevi, Tribuvana or Vananan Mahadeviar, Panchavan Mahadevi, and Viramadevi, who committed sati upon his death in 1044.He was succeeded by three of his sons – Rajadhiraja Chola, Rajendra Chola II and Virarajendra Chola.He had two daughters – Pranaar Arul Mozhi Nangai and Ammanga Devi, who was married to Eastern Chalukya king Rajaraja Narendra and bore the first Chalukya Chola emperor, Kulothunga Chola I. 427 A number of medieval inscriptions written in Tamil language and script that have been found in Southeast Asia and China, mainly in Sumatra and peninsular Thailand. These texts arose directly from trade links between south India and certain parts of Southeast Asia and China, which involved the residence in those regions of Tamil-speaking Indians. Several of these overseas Tamil inscriptions mention well-known medieval Indian merchant associations."[1] A good number of Tamil inscriptions, as well as Hindu and Buddhist icons emanating from South India, have been found in Southeast Asia (and even in parts of south China). On the Malay Peninsula, inscriptions have been found at Takuapa, not far from the Vishnuite statues of Khao Phra Narai in Southern Thailand. It is a short inscription indicating that an artificial lake named Avani-naranam was dug by Nangur-Udaiyan, which is the name of an individual who possessed a military fief at Nangur, being famous for his abilities as a warrior, and that the lake was placed under the protection of the members of the Manikkiramam (which according to K. A. Nilakanta Sastri, was a merchant guild) living in the military camp. Since Avani-narayana is a surname of the Pallava King Nandivarman III who reigned from 826 to 849, we can deduce the approximate date of this inscription. 428 In the capital of Tabralinga there is a sanctuary in which there is a bronze image of Ganesa bearing a Tamil inscription Majapisedesa in modern characters. In ancient Kedah there is an important and unmistakably Hindu settlement which has been known for about a century now from the discoveries reported by Col. Low and has recently been subjected to a fairly exhaustive investigation by Dr. Quaritch Wales. Dr. Wales investigated no fewer than thirty sites round about Kedah. The results attained show that this site was in continuous occupation by people who came under strong South Indian influences, Buddhist and Hindu, for centuries.[5] An inscribed stone bar, rectangular in shape, bears the ye-dharmma formula[nb 1] in South Indian characters of the 4th century AD, thus proclaiming the Buddhist character of the shrine near the find-spot (site I) of which only the basement survives. It is inscribed on three faces in Pallava script, or Vatteluttu rounded writing of the 6th century AD, possibly earlier. An inscription in the Tamil language, the Lobu Tua Inscription dated 1088 AD, has been found on the western coast of Sumatra island at Lobu Tua, North Sumatra province, Indonesia. It was erected by a Tamil merchant guild, the Ayyavole 500 (“the 500 of the thousand directions”) which enjoyed the patronage of the Chola rulers. The inscription mentions the guild as “having met at the velapuram in Varocu”. “Varocu” is Barus, an ancient port located not far from Lobu Tua, which had played a major role in the camphor and benzoin trade since the 9th century. These valuable products were in high demand in China, India and the Middle East and came from the forests in the northern Sumatra hinterland. From there, they were brought to Barus and exported. Tamil were among the foreign merchants who would come to Barus and buy the camphor and benzoin from local traders. In 1017 and 1025, the Chola kings had sent fleets to raid ports controlled by Sriwijaya in the Malacca Straits. After these successful attacks, the Chola seem to have been in a position to intervene in the region for the rest of the 11th century. This allowed for an increased presence of Tamil merchant guilds in Sumatra. Inscriptions: In the ancient city of Tanjore (Thanjavur - ancient name) in Tamil Nadu are inscriptions dating from 1030. which contain a list of the ports in the Malacca Strait raided by a fleet sent by King Rajendra Chola I. A large stone makara found in Jambi province in Sumatra, dated 1064 AD, bears testimony to the reemergence of a significant power in Jambi, with a 429 strong link to Java, in the 11th century. The following are the places that Rajendran claims to have raided:             Sriwijaya (Palembang) Malaiyur (the Malayu of the 7th century, i.e. Jambi) (referring to the ancient Melayu Kingdom. Known as Jambi today.) Mayuradingan (the Je-lo-ting of the Chinese on the Malay Peninsula) Ilangosagam (Langkasuka) Mappapalam, (Papphaal, placed by the Sinhalese chronicle Mahavamsa on the coast of Pegu in Burma) Mevilimbangan (identified with Karmaranga or Kamalanka on the isthmus of Ligor in Southern Thailand) Valaippanaduru (Pandurang, in Champa) Talaittakkolam (Takkola of Ptolemy and the Milindapandha, On the isthmus of Kra) Madalingam (Tambralinga, Chinese Tan-ma-ling, of which the center was at Ligor in Southern Thailand) Ilamuridesam (Lamuri of the Arabs, Lambri of Marco Polo at northern Sumatra) Kadaram (Kedah) Mavimbangam (Identified as being the Philippines). In 1025, Rajendra Chola I or Raja Ranganathan, the Chola king from Tamil Nadu in South India, launched naval raids on the city-state of Srivijaya in maritime Southeast Asia,[1] and conquered Kadaram (modern Kedah) from Srivijaya and occupied it for some time. Rajendra's overseas expedition against Srivijaya was a unique event in India's history and its otherwise peaceful relations with the states of Southeast and Indonesia were invaded by Rajendra Asia. Several Chola I of places in present day Malaysia the Chola dynasty.[2][3] The Chola invasion furthered the expansion of Tamil merchant associations such as the Manigramam, Ayyavole and Ainnurruvar into Southeast Asia. The Chola invasion led to the fall of the Sailendra Dynasty of Srivijaya and the Chola invasion also coincides with return voyage of the great Buddhist scholar Atiśa from Sumatra to India and Tibet in 1025.[8] The expedition of Rajendra Chola I is mentioned in the corrupted form as Raja Chulan in the medieval Malay chronicle Sejarah Melaya, and Malay princes have names ending with Cholan or Chulan, such as Raja Chulan of Perak. Throughout most of their shared history, ancient India and Indonesia enjoyed friendly and peaceful relations, therefore this Indian invasion is a unique event in Asian history. In the 9th and 10th centuries, Srivijaya maintained close relations with the Pala Empire in Bengal, and an 430 860 Nalanda inscription records that Maharaja Balaputra of Srivijaya dedicated a monastery at the Nalanda Mahavihara in Pala territory. The relation between Srivijaya and the Chola dynasty of southern India was friendly during the reign of Raja Raja Chola I. In 1006 CE a Srivijayan Maharaja from Sailendra dynasty — king Maravijayattungavarman — constructed the Chudamani Vihara in the port town of Nagapattinam. However, during the reign of Rajendra Chola I the relations deteriorated as the Cholas attacked Srivijayan cities. The Cholas are known to have benefitted from both piracy and foreign trade. Sometimes Chola seafaring led to outright plunder and conquest as far as Southeast Asia. While Srivijaya that controlled two major naval choke points; Malacca and Sunda Strait; at that time was a major trading empire that possess formidable naval forces. Malacca strait's northwest opening was controlled from Kedah on Peninsula side and from Pannai on the Sumatran side, while Malayu (Jambi) and Palembang controlled its southeast opening and also Sunda Strait. They practiced naval trade monopoly that forced any trade vessels that passed through their waters to call on their ports or otherwise being plundered. The reasons of this naval expedition are unclear with Nilakanta Sastri suggesting that the attack was probably caused by Srivijayan attempt to throw obstacles in the way of the Chola trade with the East (especially China), or more probably, a simple desire on the part of Rajendra to extend his digvijaya to the countries across the sea so well known to his subject at home, and therefore add luster to his crown. Another theory suggests that the reasons for the invasion was probably motivated by geopolitics and diplomatic relations. King Suryavarman I of the Khmer Empire requested aid from Rajendra Chola I of the Chola dynasty against Tambralinga kingdom. After learning of Suryavarman's alliance with Rajendra Chola, the Tambralinga kingdom requested aid from the Srivijaya king Sangrama Vijayatungavarman. This eventually led to the Chola Empire coming into conflict with the Srivijaya Empire. This alliance somewhat also had religious nuance, since both Chola and Khmer empire are Hindu Shivaist, while Tambralinga and Srivijaya are Mahayana Buddhist. 431 The Chola raid against Srivijaya was a swift campaign that left Srivijaya unprepared. To sail from India to the Indonesian Archipelago, vessels from India sailed eastward across the Bay of Bengal and called at the ports of Lamuri in Aceh or Kedah in Malay peninsula before entering Strait of Malacca. But the Chola armada sailed directly to the Sumatran west coast. The port of Barus in the west coast of North Sumatra at that time belonged to Tamil trading guilds and served as a port to replenish after crossing the Indian Ocean. The Chola armada then continued to sail along Sumatra's west coast southward and sailed into Strait of Sunda. The Srivijaya navy guarded Kedah and surrounding areas on the northwest opening of the Malacca strait completely unaware that the Chola invasion was coming from the Sunda Strait in the south. The first Srivijayan city being raided was Palembang, the capital of Srivijaya empire. The unexpected attack led to the Cholas sacking the city and plundering the Kadatuan royal palace and monasteries. Thanjavur inscription states that Rajendra captured King Sangrama Vijayottunggavarman of Srivijaya and took a large heap of treasures including the Vidhyadara Torana, the jeweled 'war gate' of Srivijaya adorned with great splendor. After plundering the royal palace of Palembang, the Cholas launched successive attacks on other Srivijayan ports including Malayu, Tumasik, Pannai and Kedah. The Chola invasion did not result in administration over defeated cities as the armies moved fast and plundered the Srivijayan cities. The Chola armada seems to have taken advantage of the Southeast Asian monsoon for moving from one port to another swiftly. The tactic of a fast-moving unexpected attack was probably the secret of Cholan success, since it did not allow the 432 Srivijayan mandala to prepare the defences, reorganize themselves, provide assistance or to retaliate.The war ended with a victory for the Cholas and major losses for the Srivijaya Empire ending the Srivijaya maritime monopoly in the region. Repurcussions: With the Maharaja Sangrama Vijayottunggavarman imprisoned and most of its cities destroyed, the leaderless Srivijaya mandala entered a period of chaos and confusion. The invasion marked the end of the Sailendra dynasty. According to the 15th-century Malay annals Sejarah Melayu, Rajendra Chola I after the successful naval raid in 1025 married Onang Kiu, the daughter of Vijayottunggavarman. This invasion forced Srivijaya to make peace with Javanese kingdom of Kahuripan. The peace deal was brokered by the exiled daughter of Vijayottunggavarman, a Srivijayan princess who managed to escape the destruction of Palembang and came to the court of King Airlangga in East Java. She also became the queen consort of Airlangga named Dharmaprasadottungadevi and in 1035, Airlangga constructed a Buddhist monastery named Srivijayasrama dedicated to his queen consort. Despite the devastation, Srivijaya mandala still survived as the Chola invasion ultimately failed to install direct administration over Srivijaya, since the invasion was short and only meant to plunder. Nevertheless, this invasion gravely weakened the Srivijayan hegemony and enabled the formation of regional kingdoms like Kahuripan and its successor, Kediri in Java based on agriculture rather than coastal and long-distance trade. Sri Deva was enthroned as the new king and the trading activities resumed. He sent an embassy to the court of China in 1028 CE. Although the invasion was not followed by direct Cholan occupation and the region was unchanged geographically, there were huge consequences in trade. Tamil traders encroached on the Srivijayan realm traditionally controlled by Malay traders and the Tamil guilds' influence increased on the Malay Peninsula and north coast of Sumatra. ( See my paper on Ancient Tamil Traders academia.edu) With the growing presence of Tamil guilds in the region, relations improved between Srivijaya and the Cholas. Chola nobles were accepted in Srivijaya court and in 1067 CE, a Chola prince named Divakara or Devakala was sent as a Srivijayan ambassador to the Imperial Court of China. The prince who was the nephew of Rajendra Chola later was enthroned in 1070 CE Kulothunga Chola I. Later during the Kedah rebellion, Srivijaya asked the Cholas for help. In 433 as 1068 CE, Virarajendra Chola launched a naval raid to help Srivijaya reclaim Kedah, Virarajendra reinstated the Kedah king at the request of the Srivijayan Maharaja and Kedah accepted the Srivijayan sovereignty. Artist fantasy art of ganesh from Srivijaya times sitting on a bed of skulls by DARKGRIMREAPE 434 ABOUT THE AUTHOR- S RISHTIDOKRAS An Architect by choice and design, she completed a BACHELOR OF ARCHITECTURE Degree from the now famous Institute of Design Education and Architectural Studies, Nagpur,India. Her distinguished design and architectural experience has taken her to Mumbai, Pondicherry and Hyderabad. She has also visited Dubai, Australia and Seattle, USA as a visiting architect. Srishti has worked for Vivek Varma Architects , Mumbai ,Uday Dighe and Associates , Mumbai, Ashok Mokha Architects Nagpur ,and Shama Dalvi in Auroville.Currently working in the REVIT domain in BASE 4 corporation at Nagpur, the main work center of Base4,USA. She has been a part of the design map of the Nagpur Metro; Google corporate office Hyderabad, residential houses in the city of Pondicherry –AUROVILLE, India and Nagpur, India. Restaurant Designs for Kettle and Brew Beverages Pvt Ltd, PUNE,India She has attended the bamboo and earth construction workshop , Auroville • Attended construction workshop organizedby Indian Institute of Engineers • Participated in N.A.S.A. 2015 • Held 1st position in Product Design/Competition “ Light em up ” at Regional Level • Shortlisted for S.A. Deshpande Trophy/organized by Indian Institute of Architects , Nagpur Visiting Architectural scholar at Melbourne, Sydney , Australia and Seattle, Deira Dubai and New Jersey USA Srishti has published 46 research and allied papers and 5 books on CREATIVITY & ARCHITECTURE. She also contributed a chapter on REVIT software for the book Human Resources in Project Management. Her particular area of interest is INTERIORS DESIGN. Some of the Collected works of Srishti: 1. The GREAT WALL of CHINA an Architectural Foray 2. Architecture of Hotels 3. The Vastu-Purusha-Mandala in Temple Architecture 4. Prambanan, a Hindu temple in Indonesia-general architectural and morphological analysis 5. HINDU TEMPLE ARCHITECTURE of BHARAT-SOME MUSINGS 6. Autodesk Revit for Project Management 7. VERTICAL GARDENS - an Architectural Perspective.pdf 8. Theme Park and Architecture 9. Philosophy and Architecture 10. AYODHYA in ITS ARCHITECTURE Myth and Reality 11. The Nagara Architecture of Khajuraho 12. Hotel Design- Architectural Breviary 13. Hindu Temple Architecture 14. Lanka 15. Cambodia and Angkor Vat 16. reativity and Architecture 435 436 ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ms. Kinjal Shah A brilliant student, Kinjal has assisted the authors on various assignments especially dealing with JAINISM. A practicing Jain, she possesses a deep knowledge of the concept and practice of Jainism. In this book she transcribes this knowledge in unraveling the Mysteries of Buddhism associated with the remarkable structure in focus.Soon going to join a prestigious Law School. 437 ABOUT THE AUTHOR DR UDAY DOKRAS About the Author The author has worked for 30 years in the human resources arena in India and abroad. He was Group Vice -President of MZI Group in New Delhi and has anchored Human Relations in Go Air and Hotel Holiday Inn;was General Manager-Health Human Resources at the Lata Mangeshkar Hospital amd Medical college. Is currently Consultant to Gorewada International Zoo,Nagpur and visiting Faculty at the Central Institute of Business Management and Research, Nagpur. In Sweden he anchored HR in Stadbolaget RENIA, SSSB and advisor to a multi millionaire. He has studied in Nagpur, India where he obtained degrees of Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Arts(Managerial Economics) and Bachelor of Laws. He has done his Graduate Studies in labour laws from Canada at the Queen's University, Kingston; a MBA from USA, and Doctorate from Stockholm University, Sweden. Apart from that he has done a Management Training Program in Singapore. A scholar of the Swedish Institute, he has been an Edvard Cassel Fund and Wineroth Fund Awardee.A scholar for the Swedish Institute for 5 years. In 1984 he was involved with the Comparative Labour Law Project of the University of California, Los Angeles, U.S.A. He was also visiting lecturer there. In 1985 he was invited by the President of Seychelles to do a study of the efficacy of the labour laws of Seychelles. 438 Author of a book on a Swedish human resource law, his brief life sketch is part of the English study text book of 7 th Class Students in Sweden -“Studying English. SPOTLIGHT 7”- and 8th Class students in Iceland - “SPOTLIGHT 8- Lausnir.” RESEARCH PAPERS-320 + in Researchgate and academia.edu & scribd Followers(readers) 65,000 consolidated as on 26 th September,2020. Authors-DR Uday DOKRAS Dr. Uday Dokras B.Sc., B.A. (Managerial Economics), LL.B., Nagpur University, India Certificat'e en Droit, Queen’s University. Ontario, Canada, MBA, CALSTATE,Los-Angeles, USA, Ph.D. Stockholm University, Sweden, Management and Efficacy Consultant, India 439 Reviews of the Book PROJECT HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT The authors highlight the benefits of paying attention to human resources and offer success and failure factors guideline for a variety of potential practitioners and students in global project marketplace. Ms.Ylva Arnold, Head HR- Norstedts Publishers, Stockholm SWEDEN 440 From 2018 the Newspaper Times of India March 24, 441 Iceland Sweden both countries use the English Text SPOTLIGHT-one of the lessons in which is about Dr Uday Dokras 442 Prof. S.Deshpande,President of the Indian Instituye of Architects, New Delhi INDIA releasing the book of Dr Dokras HINDU TEMPLES on the web in CARONA gimes( May 2010) 443 444 445 446 Some of my books 447 448 449 450 Unravelling the SCIENTIFIC BORUBUDUR Dr Uday Dokras-Srishti Dokras - Kinjal Shah Indo Nordic Author’s Collective Indo Nordic Gem research Institute 451 53 BOOKS BY DR UDAY DOKRAS Published by The Indo Swedish Author’s Collective Stockholm The Indo Swedish Author’s Collective Finland Dr. Uday Dokras Tamil People as Traders and Voyagers 452 The Cambodian Trilogy I.HINDU CAMBODIA II.HYDROLOGY of ANGKOR ANGKOR is known as a Hydraulic city- full or canals and river and waterways. It is this water system they say that brought the downfall of this intrinsic kingdom. But is that TRUE? III.ENTER…… THE KINGDOM THAT VANISHEDAngkor 453 Building Materials of the Hindu Temple In depth study of how Building Materials of the Hindu Temple was used in India,Indonesia and Cambodia and India The Art & Architecture of THE GOLDEN TEMPLE COMPLEX, AMRITSAR Mathematics in Temple Designs 454 Jain ART Book on Jain Art and Iconography Jain Temples- Part I -Complete Compendium-Book I A to Z of the architecture, Design,Cosmology,Philosophy of Jain temples in Jain Temples II DEVELOPMENT OF THE ARCHITECTURE OF JAIN TEMPLES AND THE ACTUAL PHOTOGRAPHS(ORIGINAL) OF 3JAIN TEMPLES of Nagpur DWARKA- CELESTIAL MYSTERIES of the Lost CITY of KRISHNA 455 TIRUPATI TEMPLE Book part I TIRUPATI TemplePart II Vahanas- the vehicles of Hindu Gods Vahanas- the vehicles of Hindu Gods. Animals in Hinduism. demi Gods SATYANARAYAN PUJA-The Complete Compendium Satyanarayan Puja or 9 Graha Puja( a puja of 9 planets) has been performed by most Hindus not only now but for 1,000’s of years. 456 MAHALAXMI Puja Hindu Goddess MAHALAXMI Puja ARCHITECTURE OF PALESTINE Palestine my Love Palestine my Love is about the culture arts and crafts of palestine so we recognize it as a entity that is fighting for recognition of not only its legitimacy but also its cultural heritage QUINTET (5) BOOKS ON MANDALA Unravelling the MAZE of the MANDALA BOOK I First part of a two book treatise on MANDALAS. This introductory phase 457 introduces mandalas Maze of MANDALA BOOK II Advanced Mandala routine for those who want to know more about MANDALAS Mandala BOOK III on Nakshatra BOOK IV MANDALA & ARCHITECTURE The Use of Mandalas in Building Temples and Modern Buildings Book V on Mandala of the Oriental Kingdoms 458 Islamic Architectureal Arts of of Imam Ali's 2 Shrines Hindu Gods in Scandinavia Did the Hindu Gods originate or live in Scandinavia once? Find out Book on Divinity and Architecture What is divinity? How has man tried to harness architecture to create magic in space Virat Hridaya Padma-sthalam CHIDAMBARAM Temple -Celestial Mysteries This book is about a mysterious and revered tempe built by the Chola Kings of South India 2000 years ago 459 T2- Temple Tech. A Book How are Hindu temples built and the technology that follows this craft. From A to Z Complete Guide. Rendezvous with Sri RAM Portfolio of Temple Art by Srishti Dokras, Architect Special section on Hindu Foods by Karan Dokras, Product Guru Best Foot Forward The story of Footwear through the ages up to COVID times Hindu Temple Panorama-Celestial Mysteries 460 A to Z of Temples. A total Panoramic View of design and architecture of Hindu temples in 350 page... DUOLOGY (2) on JAINISM Ativir ATIVIR means Very Brave and is the name given to Lord Mahavir the 24 th Saint(TIRTHANKAR) Contains rare translations of the Dialogue of the Mahavir with his disciples called GHANDHARVAVAD Vardhaman-वर्धमान IThis book is about Jainism- written by a non- THE TRILOGY(3) on DEVRAJA The God kIngs of Khemer Book I DEVRAJ- The God Kings of Indo ChinaCambodia. This is the first Book of a Trilogy that traces the growth of Hinduism in South East Asia. 461 BOOK I I DEVRAJA- The Great Civilizations of South East Asia -HINDU Era How Hinduism reached Cambodia and how the Hindu Kings called Devraj Built these magnificent structures Devraja BOOK II I Devraja and Raj Dharma God King and Kingly Religion The HINDU Era of Great Civilizations of Khemer Book 2 of a Trilogy that traces the advent of Hinduism on South East Asian and Indo-Chinese Vayu- Man's taming of the winds Man's conquest of nature spans a million years. How was wind tamed by him. Here is the full story... more VIMANA Ancient Conquests of Wind Ancient flying machines of Gods and Men(?) Were they true. Did they really exist. 7000 years ago? 462 LIGHT HOUSES In words and pictures BOOK Architecture of the Lighthouse of AlexandriaBOOK Indo Swedish Author's Collective, 2020 The lighthouse was built on an island off the coast of Alexandria called Pharos. Its name, legend Cosmology of lotus Indo Nordic Author's Collective, 2020 The Lotus is the king of the flower world but few know it as a part of creation. Find out the Cosmology. Celestial Mysteries of the Borobudur Temple 463 Borobudur remains a mystery even today. The largest Buddhist Stupa in the world has many unanswered... Win with this new DIET Hindu tempel of India , Cambodia and Indonesia Hindu Temples dot India, Cambodia and Indonesia DISRUPTION-Book Book Architecture Creativity Creativity and Architecture are linked and go hand in hand. This Book is a culmination of 16 publications that have been put together as a book Project HR Management Indo Swedish Author's Collective 464 PROJECT HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT/'Dr UDAY DOKRAS The project sphere has not been valued appropriately Human Resource Engineering in Theme Parks. by Dr. Uday Dokras and Mansse Bhandari As theme parks evolve into facilitating for greater thrill seeking audience,the role of human res... more Health Human Resource Management Management of Health care workers in hospitals and the human resource practices to be followed in hospitals. WIN DIET Lose fat-Diet and Exercise Book ONLY BODY SHAPING GUIDE YOU NEED The Act on Co-determination at Work – an Efficacy study 465 Thesis of the Author for the degree of Doctor of Law Stockholm University, SWEDEN 1990 Author’s earlier book SCIENTIFIC BOROBUDUR 466 U.DOKRAS-S. DOKRAS-K. SHAH Empire of the Winds 467 THE MYSTERIOUS SRIVIJAYA EMPIRE Dr UDAY DOKRAS Architect SRISHTI DOKRAS Ms. KINJAL SHAH 468