History of Malaysia

     Indian influence in the region dates back to at least the 3rd century BC. The Malay Peninsula was known to ancient Indians as Suvarnadvipa or the "Golden Peninsula". It was shown on Ptolemy'smap as the "Golden Khersonese". He referred to the Straits of Melaka as Sinus Sabaricus. Indian traders came to the archipelago for abundant forest and marine products, and to trade with merchants from China. The Chinese and Indians established trading ports and towns in the area in the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE— as many as 30, according to Chinese sources. Their influence on the local culture was strong. In the early centuries of the first millennium, the people of the Malay Peninsula adopted the Indian religions of Hinduism and Buddhism, as well as the use of the Sanskritwriting system. Both Hinduism and Buddhism were well established in the Malay Peninsula by the beginning of the 1st century.

    There were numerous Malay kingdoms in the 2nd and 3rd century CE—as many as 30 according to Chinese sources. Kedah—known as Kedaram or Kataha, in ancient Pallava—was in the direct route of invasions of Indian traders and kings. Rajendra Chola, Tamil Emperor who is now thought to have laid Kota Gelanggi to waste, put Kedah to heel in 1025 but his successor, Vir Rajendra Chola, had to put down a Kedah rebellion to overthrow the invaders.

    Among the earliest kingdoms known to have been based in what is now Malaysia is the ancient empire of Langkasuka, located in the northern Malay Peninsula around Tasik Chini. It was closely tied to Funan in Cambodia, which also ruled part of northern Malaysia until the 6th century. Chinese chronicles of the 5th century CE speak of a great port in the south called Guantoli, which is thought to have been in the Straits of Malacca. In the 7th century, a new port called Shilifoshi is mentioned, and this is believed to be a Chinese rendering of Srivijaya.

    Between the 7th and the 13th century, much of Peninsular Malaysia was under the Srivijaya empire. The site of Srivijaya's centre is thought be at a river mouth in eastern Sumatra, possibly near Palembang. For 700 years the Maharajahs of Srivijaya ruled a loose-knit maritime empire that controlled the coasts of Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula, and Borneo. Sometimes they also ruled parts of Java, but Javanese states resisted Srivijayan hegemony. Srivijaya was based on trade, welcoming annual trading fleets from China and India, and further afield, including Japanese, Persians and Arabs. Its greatest enemies were the Siamese in the north.

    In 1025 and 1026 Gangga Negara was attacked by Rajendra Chola I, the Tamil emperor who is now thought to have laid Kota Gelanggi to waste. Kedah—known as Kedaram, Cheh-Cha (according to I-Ching) or Kataha, in ancient Pallava or Sanskrit—was in the direct route of the invasions and was ruled by the Cholas from 1025. The senior Chola's successor, Vira Rajendra Chola, had to put down a Kedah rebellion to overthrow other invaders. The coming of the Chola reduced the majesty of Srivijaya, which had exerted influence over Kedah, Pattani and as far as Ligor.

     Pattinapalai, a Tamil poem of the second century CE, describes goods from Kedaram heaped in the broad streets of the Chola capital. A 7th-century Sanskrit drama, Kaumudhimahotsva, refers to Kedah as Kataha-nagari. The Agnipurana also mentions a territory known as Anda-Kataha with one of its boundaries delineated by a peak, which scholars believe is Gunung Jerai. Stories from the Katasaritasagaram describe the elegance of life in Kataha. The Buddhist kingdom of Ligor took control of Kedah shortly after. Its king Chandrabhanu used it as a base to attack Sri Lanka in the 11th century, an event noted in a stone inscription in Nagapattinum in Tamil Nadu and in the Sri Lankan chronicles, Mahavamsa.

    The power of Srivijaya declined from the 10th century CE. Never a centralised state, it was apparently weakened by a series of wars with the Javanese, which disrupted trade. In the 11th century CE a rival power centre arose at Melayu, a port possibly located further up the Sumatran coast at what is now the Indonesian Jambi province.The power of the Hindu Maharajahs was further undermined by the spread of Islam. Areas which were converted to Islam early, such as Aceh, broke away from Srivijaya’s control. By the late 13th century, the Siamese kings of Sukhothai had brought most of Malaya under their rule. Not long after around 14th century, the Javanese Majapahit empire made the Malay peninsula one of their vassals. But the great wealth of the Srivijayan sphere, with its rich resources of aromatic timber, sea products, gold, tin, spices, wax and resins – all highly prized 14th century.