Water, Buddhism, and trade. These are the primary ingredients of the Srivijayan Empire, maritime trade, and religious center located in what is now Indonesia. The culture, social structure, and religion of this once-forgotten empire were not pieced together by historians until 100 years ago, yet still, some questions remain. Who was this once powerful civilization?
The Lost Empire
From around 650 to 1275, the Srivijayan empire was a central trading power that connected Africa, India, and the rest of Asia by sea. Despite its importance, the empire was almost completely forgotten by the sixteenth century. It was only in the 1920s that mentions of a trading power in Southeast Asia known under different names by different cultures were correlated to develop an understanding of the Srivijayan Empire. The leading figure in this was French historian George Cœdès.
The discovery of the Srivijayan Empire is an actual example of how even today, the work of historians continually illuminates our understanding of the past by piecing together information.
Srivijayan Empire Political Structure
To understand the nature of the Srivijayan Empire, one must understand two political concepts. These are Mandala and Thassalocracy. Although the name may be unfamiliar, a Thassalocracy means a maritime empire. Mandala is a more unusual concept in the modern world but was commonplace in premodern Asia. From its founding, Srivijaya expanded off of the island of Sumatra onto neighboring lands such as Java before itself becoming a vassal of the Chinese.
Thassalocracy
A Thassalocracy simply means a maritime empire. The Srivijayan Empire was quite literally built upon water. Its people lived in floating or stilt houses due to Sumatra's tremendous rain and flooding. It controlled the straits that connected sea travel between China and Japan to the east and India and Africa to the west. This control of islands and peninsulas separated by water made the empire a thalassocracy and a central hub for trade.
Land once controlled by the Srivijayan Empire would later be important to later maritime empires, such as the Dutch control of Java.
Thassalocracy: An empire that's land is separated by water.
Mandala
A Mandala is a system of government where power is defined by its center rather than its borders. This meant that a powerful city-state or kingdom did not directly rule over its entire empire but that smaller surrounding city-states were its vassals. As such, the Srivijayan Empire did not necessarily have clear and defended borders, instead projecting strength outwards from its capital of Palembang. Surrounding vassal states paid tribute in gold and military support but also received protection and the economic benefits of belonging to the Srivijayan trading empire.
Mandala: A system of government where a central power receives tribute and allegiance from outlaying semi-autonomous powers with no clearly defined outer border.
Another Element crucial to Mandalas was personality. The structure was not that one clearly defined state had a relationship to another state. Instead, one ruler pledged personal allegiance to another ruler. These allegiances may or may not continue through leadership changes. This contributed to the amorphous nature of mandala territories.
Srivijaya Empire Social Structure
The social structure of the Srivijaya Empire was rigid. Hereditary kings who ruled the empire sat at the top. Beneath them were the military and traders for which the empire was well known. Everyone else formed the base of society. This civilization was very close to social mobility.
Srivijaya Empire Culture
Srivijaya was a cosmopolitan center. Its trade brought it into contact with many different cultures. Religion was highly valued, especially supporting monks who taught the Buddhist religion. The combination of religious knowledge and trade made Srivijaya an attractive destination for foreigners.
Srivijaya Empire Religion
By the time the Srivijaya Empire was founded, Buddhism had spread from India to China. As the trade of goods also led to the trade of ideas, it is no surprise that the intermediary trading empire of Srivijaya was Buddhist. In particular, a strand of Buddhism called Vajrayana was practiced in the empire. But Buddhism was not just a background part of their culture, which was central to it. Wherever the Srivijayan empire traveled, they brought monks to spread the word.
Fig.2 - Srivijayan Buddha
Buddhist education provided by Srivijayan monks was crucial in the spread of Buddhism through South East Asia. Lands conquered by the empire were successfully converted to the religion. Attempts at bringing along Buddhism on their trading missions were more complex. Buddhist penetration into the Arab world and Africa met with little success.
Yijing
One of the most effective primary sources about Srivijaya is the writings of a Chinese Buddhist monk named Yijing. Traveling through Srivijaya in the late seventh century, Yijing stayed for months on his way to study Buddhism in India. While many accounts of trading partners note the empire's wealth and military strength, Yijing's writings inform on the social and spiritual life of Srivijaya.
Fig.3 - Yijing
Yijing notes that over 1,000 serious monks existed in Palembang. He notes the purity and authenticity of their religious practices, comparing them as equal to those of Indian monks living at the center of the Buddhist religion. Yijing recommends that any Chinese Buddhist seeking to study their religion stop first in Srivijaya to learn proper customs before proceeding to India. Srivijaya indeed became a pilgrimage destination for many Buddhists during its existence.
The port city of Palembang would also have been an excellent location to learn the Sanskrit language in which early Buddhist works were written.
Decline of Srivijaya
It was around 1025 that Srivijaya began to decline under assault from the nearby Chola empire. The Chola soon controlled the waters, and pirates harassed what Srivijayan trade remained. Unable to project power as powerfully as it had in the past, vassals abandoned Srivijaya. Records indicate a power struggle between the capital Palembang and the city of Jambi may have occurred.
By the 13th century, fortunes had reversed entirely, and Srivijaya was now ruled from Java, which had once been its vassal. The Javanese civilization of Singhasari and its successor Majapahit took over Srivijaya. Members of the royal family escaped to begin the Singapura kingdom in what is now Singapore and later the Sultanate of Malacca.
Srivijaya Empire - Key takeaways
- A maritime trading empire
- Connected the sea trade between India and Africa to the west and China and Japan to the east
- A Buddhist empire that made religion central to life
- Mandala system of government
- Existed from the seventh century until the thirteenth century
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