In the first part of Srivijaya: A primer, we learnt about the empire’s role in controlling trade between China and India and as a Buddhist centre of learning. In this segment we learn about the fall of this once-great maritime kingdom.
In the 11th century, the south Indian Tamil kingdom of Chola launched an attack on Srivijaya, systematically plundering the Srivijayan ports along the Straits of Malacca, and even captured the Srivijayan king in Palembang. The reasons for this change in relations between Srivijaya and the Cholas are unknown, although it is theorised that plunder made up an essential part of the Chola political economy. While it seemed that the Cholas only intended to plunder Srivijaya, they left a lasting presence on Kataha, the remains of which are still visible at the Bujang Valley archaeological museum.
The successful sack and plunder of Srivijaya had left it in a severely weakened state that marked the beginning of the end of Srivijaya. Having lost its wealth and prestige from the Chola attack, the port cities of the region started to initiate direct trade with China, shrugging off the exclusive influence Srivijaya once held over them. Towards the end of Srivijaya’s influence, the power centre of Srivijaya began to oscillate between Palembang and neighbouring Jambi, further fragmenting the once-great empire. Other factors included Javanese invasion westwards toward Sumatra in 1275, invading the Malayu kingdoms. Later towards the end of the 13th century, the Thai polities from the north came down the peninsula and conquered the last of the Srivijayan vassals.
Despite its influence and reach, Srivijaya flew very quickly into obscurity, and it was not until the last 90 years that the kingdom’s history was rediscovered, mainly through epigraphical sources. Palembang, determined as the centre of power for Srivijaya poses a special problem for archaeologists, for if the modern settlement followed the ancient settlement pattern, ancient Palembang would have been built over shallow water and any archaeological remains would be buried deep in the mud. As the 19th-century naturalist Alfred Wallace described it, Palembang is a populous city several miles long but only one house wide!
By way of a quick epilogue, the story of Srivijaya ends where the story of the Malacca Sultanate begins. The Sejarah Melayu, or Malay Annals, begins with a story about Raja Chulan – perhaps an allusion to the king (Raja) of the Cholas, whose sack of Srivijaya led to its ultimate downfall. The annals go on to relate the appearance of three princes at Bukit Seguntang in Palembang, one of whom eventually founds a city of Singapura in Temasek before establishing Malacca further north…
Books about Srivijaya (and also the books I referred to):
– Southeast Asia: From Prehistory to History by P. S. Bellwood and I. Glover (Eds)
– Early Kingdoms of the Indonesian Archipelago and the Malay Peninsula by P. M. Munoz
– Early History (The Encyclopedia of Malaysia) by Nik Hassan Shuhaimi Nik Abdul Rahman (Ed)
РSriwijaya: History, religion & language of an early Malay polity by G. Coed̬s and L. Damais
There were three princes? I only knew Sang Nila Buana as the one who gave the name Singapore to the simple island of Temasek…
Yes, according to the Malay Annals, there were three – Sang Utama was the youngest. The eldest, Sang Suparba was made raja of Minangkabau while the second Sang Maniaka was raja of Tanjong Pura (somewhere in Borneo, i believe)
You can read more at http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_93_2005-01-26.html
there’s only one prince left after all srivijaya kingdom fall, the name is PARAMESWARA, true according to the Malay Annals was knew “Sang Nila Utama” but about “sang suparba and sang maniaka” it’s only a myth, the myth of two person event more old then srivijaya kingdom.
the name was not really Sang Suparba but Sang siperba, a demigod which descend in “Bukit Siguntang” and search of the true king for human. that’s a part of the myth in our people.
from what i’ve read and analyzed, Sang Sapurba & Sang Nila Utama were both exist at the same time. They were refered by modern historians as Adityavarman (Sang Sapurba)as the last Sri Vijayan prince who went to the west part of Sumatera to open what now is called Minangkabau land (Kerajaan Pagaruyung) and Sang Nila Utama, the younger one, is called as Parameswara, with the remaining Sri Vijayans noblemen, records-keepers, knights and guards set sailed to the east where they roamed island to island around Riau archipelago to seek for a new land and finally he stopped at Melaka to rebuild the old kingdom.