The Obituary
From its base at Palembang on Sumatra, Srivijaya commanded the sea lanes between India and China for some seven centuries, levying tolls and building a thalassocracy that spread Mahayana Buddhism across maritime Southeast Asia. It was a hub of scholarship drawing monks from across Asia. A raid by the South Indian Chola fleet in 1025 weakened its grip, and rising rivals chipped away at its trade. The Javanese Majapahit empire delivered the final blows, sacking the capital in 1377. Srivijaya faded entirely until 20th-century scholars reconstructed it from inscriptions.
Worth remembering
- It controlled the Strait of Malacca, the chokepoint of trade between India and China.
- The Chinese monk Yijing studied Buddhism there in the 7th century, finding a thriving center of learning.
Sources
- Srivijaya was a Buddhist maritime empire based at Palembang from the 7th century Wikipedia
- Srivijaya declined and its capital was attacked by Majapahit in 1377 World History Encyclopedia
A graveyard tradition: leave a stone to show you came, and remembered.