Srivijaya and the Maritime Silk Road

c. 700 CE — Southeast Asia, Srivijaya

Today: Indonesia (Palembang, Sumatra)

Srivijaya controlled the Strait of Malacca, the narrow sea lane every ship between China and India had to pass through, and grew rich taxing that traffic for six centuries. It was a thalassocracy — a state built on water rather than territory — with a navy that could compel merchants into its harbors. It also became a center of Buddhist scholarship: Chinese monks bound for India stopped there for years to study Sanskrit. Its wealth came from a chokepoint, and when trade routes and rivals shifted, it faded so completely that its capital's location was lost until the 20th century.

Worth knowing: A Chinese monk travelling to India in 671 CE advised others to stop at Srivijaya first and study there for a year or two — an Indonesian island kingdom was, for a time, the place you went to prepare for university in India.

Pattern: Trade-route shift — The path or medium of exchange moves, and a place or power rises or declines because it sits on or off the new route.

Entry 97 of 240 in Precedent, a walk through the whole human story in order.