JAKARTA/DA NANG/ANURADHAPURA/ZAMBOANGA CITY: Inside the National Museum of Indonesia, inscribed on a stone slab is a chilling message from the 7th century.
Its carved lines are worn out, but epigraphist Andriyati Rahayu can make out the warning in ancient Malay. “Whoever disobeys the king will be cursed and killed,” she translates.
Fragments such as this inscription offer insight into the Srivijaya empire, a seafaring power that dominated trade in much of Southeast Asia more than a millennium ago.
From its base in Sumatra, Srivijaya controlled the Straits of Malacca and the Sunda Strait, vital sea routes linking India and China, and built its influence on the movement of goods, ideas and people.
Yet, much of Srivijaya’s story remains elusive. Since 1918, when modern scholars first identified it as a kingdom, its history has been assembled only from scattered inscriptions, trade artefacts and references preserved beyond its shores.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/cna-insider/asia-sea-kingdoms-mark-empire-indonesia-vietnam-ancient-history-5923636
