Srivijaya Maritime Trade Empire

Timeline

1. c. 650–900Southeastern Sumatra · SumatraSrivijaya's power expanded from eastern Sumatra, holding the strategic Malacca and Sunda Straits, taxing passing merchant ships and providing port services, becoming an intermediary hub for trade among China, India, Arabia, and the islands of Southeast Asia, with influence reaching Java, the Malay Peninsula, and Kalimantan.
2. c. 900–1025Palembang · South SumatraIn the 9th to 10th centuries Srivijaya reached the peak of its hegemony, with Mahayana Buddhism as the state religion; eminent monks such as Yijing resided there to propagate the dharma; the court sent envoys to Tang and Song China, and Palembang became one of Southeast Asia's most important centers of Buddhist learning and entrepôt trade.
3. 1041–1050Sumatra and the Strait of Malacca · Strait of MalaccaAfter the Chola expedition of 1025 sacked the Srivijaya capital, the empire was gravely weakened; by the 1040s–1050s central control weakened, emerging polities in Java and the Malay Peninsula divided control of the sea lanes, and although Srivijaya still participated in trade it had lost its sole dominance, with vassal states growing increasingly centrifugal.