Srivijaya Empire , maritime and commercial kingdom that prospered between the 7th and 13th centuries, mainly in what is now Indonesia . The kingdom originated in Palembang on the island Sumatra and soon expanded its influence and controlled the Straits of Malacca . Srivijaya's power rested on controlling international maritime trade. It established trade relations not only with the states of the Malay Archipelago, but also to China and India .
Read more about this topic Indonesia:The Malay Kingdom of Srivijaya-Palembang The kingdom of Srivijaya is first mentioned in the writings of the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim I-ching, who visited it after a journey in 671 ... Srivijaya was also a religious center in the region. It stopped at Mahayana Buddhism and soon became a stopping point for Chinese Buddhist pilgrims on their way to India. The kings of Srivijaya even founded monasteries in Negapattam (today Nagappattinam ) in Southeast India.
Srivijaya continued to grow; Up until the year 1000, it controlled most of Java but soon lost it Chola , an Indian maritime and trading kingdom that used Srivijaya as an obstacle on the sea route between South and East Asia look . 1025 Chola conquered Palembang, captured the king, carried away his treasures and also attacked other parts of the kingdom. By the end of the 12th century Srivijaya had been reduced to a small kingdom and its dominant role in Sumatra was played by Malayu (based in Jambi ), a vassal of Java. A Javanese Kingdom, Majapahit , soon dominated Indonesia's political scene.