Srivijaya

Srivijaya (also written Sri Vijaya, Indonesian: Sriwijaya, Thai: ศรีวิชัย or Ṣ̄rī wichạy, RTGS: Siwichai) was a powerful ancient thalassocratic Malay empire based on the island of Sumatra, modern day Indonesia, which influenced much of Southeast Asia. The earliest solid proof of its existence dates from the 7th century; a Chinese monk, I-Tsing, wrote that he visited Srivijaya in 671 for 6 months. The first inscription in which the name Srivijaya appears also dates from the 7th century, namely the Kedukan Bukit Inscription around Palembang in Sumatra, dated 16 June 682. The kingdom ceased to exist in the 13th century due to various factors, including the expansion of the Javanese Majapahit empire. Srivijaya was an important center for Buddhist expansion in the 8th to 12th centuries. In Sanskrit, sri (श्री) means "fortunate", "prosperous", or "happy" and vijaya (विजय) means "victorious" or "excellence".

After Srivijaya fell, it was largely forgotten and historians had not even considered that a large united kingdom could have been present in Southeast Asia. The existence of Srivijaya was only formally suspected in 1918, when French historian George Coedès of the École française d'Extrême-Orient postulated its existence. The aerial photograph taken in 1984 revealed the remnants of man-made ancient canals, moats, ponds, and artificial islands in Karanganyar site in Palembang suggested the location as Srivijaya urban center. Several artifacts such as fragments of inscription, Buddhist statues, beads, pottery and Chinese ceramics were found, confirming that the area was once a dense human habitation. By 1993, Pierre-Yves Manguin had proven that the centre of Srivijaya was along the Musi River between Bukit Seguntang and Sabokingking (situated in what is now Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia).