SRIWIJAYA KINGDOM

Sriwijaya was a powerful kingdom  based in the island of Sumatra, which influenced much of Southeast Asia. Sriwijaya was an important center for Buddhist expansion in 8th to 12th centuries. The evidence of its existence dates from   inscription in which the name Sriwijaya appears also dates from the 7th century, namely the Kedukan Bukit Inscription, another inscription is found that kedukan bukit,talang tuo, telaga batu, and kota kapur. The empire of Srivijaya was founded by Dapunta Hyang Çri Yacanaca (Dapunta Hyang Sri Jayanasa).The empire was organised 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 centres. The areas upstream of the Musi River were rich in various commodities valuable to Chinese traders.

Under the leadership of Jayanasa, the kingdom of Malayu became the first kingdom to be integrated into the Srivijayan Empire. Malayu, also known as Jambi, was rich in gold and was held in high esteem. Srivijaya recognized that the submission of Malayu would increase their own prestige. The Srivijayan was benefited from the lucrative maritime trade between China and India, and also trading Indonesian archipelago product such as Maluku spices. The necessity to maintain their trade monopoly has led them to launch naval military expeditions against rival ports in Southeast Asia, and absorb them within Srivijayan mandala. The port of Malayu in Jambi, Kota Kapur in Bangka island, Tarumanagara and port of Sunda in West Java, Kalingga in Central Java, and port of Kedah and Chaiya in Malay peninsula are among regional ports that being absorbed within Srivijayan sphere of 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. Dominating the Malacca and Sunda straits. The main urban centres were at Palembang (especially the Karanganyar site near Bukit Seguntang area), Muara Jambi and Kedah.

Since the 7th century, the Old Malay language has been used in Nusantara (Malay-Indonesian archipelago). The trade contact carried by some ethnics at the time was the main vehicle to spread Malay language, since it was the communication device amongst the traders. By then, Malay language become lingua franca and was spoken widely by most people in the archipelago. 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.

            The decline of Srivijaya was contributed by foreign piracy and raids that disrupted the trade and security in the region. Attracted to the wealth of Srivijaya, in 1025 Rajendra Chola, the Chola king from Coromandel in South India, launched naval raids on ports of Srivijaya and conquered Kadaram (modern Kedah) from Srivijaya and occupied it for some time.

The most important legacy of Srivijayan empire was probably their language. For centuries, Srivijaya through their expansion, economic power and military prowess was responsible for the widespread of Old Malay language throughout the Malay-Indonesian archipelago. It was the working language of traders, used in various ports and marketplaces in the region.[57] The language of Srivijayan was probably had paved the way for the prominence of present day Malay and Indonesian language, to be the official language of Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore and as the unifying language of modern Indonesia.