The Empire Without Stone

Srivijaya's power dominates for several centuries the maritime routes of Southeast Asia. Yet unlike great neighboring empires, Srivijaya leaves relatively few monumental stone structures. Its influence rests less on classical territorial conquest than on control of straits, ports, and commercial flows crossing the Indonesian archipelago.

Between the 7th and 13th centuries, Srivijaya controls an essential part of maritime exchanges connecting the Indian Ocean to the South China Sea. Its main political center is probably located around present-day Palembang, in Sumatra, in an environment dominated by rivers, mangroves, and maritime routes.

Unlike great continental empires, Srivijaya functions above all as a thalassocratic power. Its wealth depends on control of strategic straits, notably that of Malacca, through which spices, resins, ceramics, precious metals, and products from India or China transit. Srivijayan sovereigns levy taxes, secure maritime routes, and maintain a network of port alliances distributed throughout the archipelago.

This organization partly explains the empire's relative archaeological discretion. Much of the administrative and residential structures were probably built in wood in humid zones unfavorable to preservation. Material traces are therefore much more fragmentary than those of Angkor or Borobudur.

Inscriptions and Chinese accounts nevertheless show that Srivijaya also plays a major intellectual role in Asian Buddhism. Several Chinese monks stay there to study Sanskrit before continuing their journey to India. In the 11th century, attacks led by the Indian Chola kingdom progressively weaken the Srivijayan network, while new commercial centers emerge in the region.