VIIᵉ siècle – XIᵉ siècle
Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
Srivijaya was a maritime empire centered in southeastern Sumatra that emerged during the second half of the seventh century. It expanded territorially and commercially, controlled principal export ports and the Strait of Malacca, and dominated regional spice commerce. Its rulers maintained sustained relations with South India and China while participating in Indian Ocean trade. Arabic accounts portray its sovereign as the leading ruler of the eastern seas. The excerpt also presents a possible connection between Srivijaya’s maritime network and long-distance expeditions toward East Africa, while stressing that the precise relationship remains uncertain.
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Le récit
Srivijaya emerged as a maritime power in the second half of the seventh century, with its first center in southeastern Sumatra. Over the following centuries, its territorial and commercial expansion continued across the eastern Indian Ocean. By the tenth century, Arabic and Persian geographers described its ruler as the “Maharaja” par excellence, presenting him as the most powerful sovereign of the eastern seas. This reputation reflected the empire’s central position in the maritime networks linking South Asia, Southeast Asia, China, and island ports.
The rulers of Srivijaya controlled the main export ports of the region and thereby secured a broad monopoly over the spice trade. Their command of the Strait of Malacca gave them a decisive strategic advantage, since maritime traffic had to pass through the strait and call at ports under their authority. Relations with the Cholas of South India and with China remained continuous and friendly until the first quarter of the eleventh century, while Buddhist institutions in Negapatam preserve evidence of Srivijaya’s close links with South India.
Srivijaya also entered the commercial space connecting Muslim and Chinese merchants. After the destruction of the Muslim merchant colony in China in 878 and the subsequent decline of direct Muslim-Chinese trade, Srivijaya’s rulers inserted themselves into this profitable exchange. Muslim ships traveling eastward and Chinese ships sailing southward met at Kalah in the Strait of Malacca, a port under Srivijaya’s suzerainty. The empire’s ships also reached the Indian Ocean, and Arabic reports associate Southeast Asian expeditions with attacks on Kanbalū, identified in the excerpt with Pemba.
The excerpt cautiously interprets the Wāk-Wāk expedition of 945–946 as a possible attempt to extend Srivijaya’s commercial network toward the sources of African commodities and to bypass Muslim commercial dominance. This interpretation remains hypothetical because the identity and location of the Wāk-Wāk are disputed, and the surviving evidence is limited. Later Indonesian voyages to African shores and Madagascar are acknowledged, but their relationship to Malagasy migrations between the tenth and twelfth centuries cannot be established with certainty.
VIIᵉ siècle – XIᵉ siècle
Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
Srivijaya was a maritime empire centered in southeastern Sumatra that emerged during the second half of the seventh century. It expanded territorially and commercially, controlled principal export ports and the Strait of Malacca, and dominated regional spice commerce. Its rulers maintained sustained relations with South India and China while participating in Indian Ocean trade. Arabic accounts portray its sovereign as the leading ruler of the eastern seas. The excerpt also presents a possible connection between Srivijaya’s maritime network and long-distance expeditions toward East Africa, while stressing that the precise relationship remains uncertain.
Poursuivre l’exploration
Le récit
Srivijaya emerged as a maritime power in the second half of the seventh century, with its first center in southeastern Sumatra. Over the following centuries, its territorial and commercial expansion continued across the eastern Indian Ocean. By the tenth century, Arabic and Persian geographers described its ruler as the “Maharaja” par excellence, presenting him as the most powerful sovereign of the eastern seas. This reputation reflected the empire’s central position in the maritime networks linking South Asia, Southeast Asia, China, and island ports.
The rulers of Srivijaya controlled the main export ports of the region and thereby secured a broad monopoly over the spice trade. Their command of the Strait of Malacca gave them a decisive strategic advantage, since maritime traffic had to pass through the strait and call at ports under their authority. Relations with the Cholas of South India and with China remained continuous and friendly until the first quarter of the eleventh century, while Buddhist institutions in Negapatam preserve evidence of Srivijaya’s close links with South India.
Srivijaya also entered the commercial space connecting Muslim and Chinese merchants. After the destruction of the Muslim merchant colony in China in 878 and the subsequent decline of direct Muslim-Chinese trade, Srivijaya’s rulers inserted themselves into this profitable exchange. Muslim ships traveling eastward and Chinese ships sailing southward met at Kalah in the Strait of Malacca, a port under Srivijaya’s suzerainty. The empire’s ships also reached the Indian Ocean, and Arabic reports associate Southeast Asian expeditions with attacks on Kanbalū, identified in the excerpt with Pemba.
The excerpt cautiously interprets the Wāk-Wāk expedition of 945–946 as a possible attempt to extend Srivijaya’s commercial network toward the sources of African commodities and to bypass Muslim commercial dominance. This interpretation remains hypothetical because the identity and location of the Wāk-Wāk are disputed, and the surviving evidence is limited. Later Indonesian voyages to African shores and Madagascar are acknowledged, but their relationship to Malagasy migrations between the tenth and twelfth centuries cannot be established with certainty.