Map of ancient Melayu Kingdom.
Melayu Kingdom (also known as
Malayu,
Dharmasraya Kingdom or
the
Jambi Kingdom) was a classical Southeast Asian
kingdom that existed between the 7th and the 13th century of the
common era.
It was established around present-day
Jambi
on Sumatra
, Indonesia
, approximately 200 km north of Palembang
. It was founded by society in
Batanghari river and the gold trader from
Minangkabau hinterland. Around 688 CE,
emperor
Jayanasa integrated Jambi into the
Srivijayan empire.
Origin
According to
Yijing , the early Melayu
(written as
Ma-La-Yu in Chinese text 末羅瑜國) was an
independent kingdom. In the late 7th century, the monk
Yijing recorded that the second time he
returned back to
Ma-La-Yu, it was captured by
Srivijaya. Further, Melayu had accessed to gold
producing areas in the hinterland of Sumatra. This slowly increased
the prestige of Melayu which traded various local goods, including
gold, with foreign traders. The word Melayu was inscribed (year
1286) on the Padang Rocore statue at the river mouth of Muara
Jambi.
According to the Encyclopedia of Malaysia,
ancient Indian texts in Ramayana and
Vayu Purana (3rd century BCE), the
Sanskrit word 'Malayadvipa' (literally 'Malay Island') was
mentioned, referring to Sumatra. The
Khmer recorded the nation of Melayu, however,
its progeny of
Srivijaya was also called
Melayu.
Chinese sources
In the
later Mongol Yuan
dynasty and
Ming dynasty, the word Ma-La-Yu was
mentioned often (in the history of China) to refer to a nation from
southern sea with different spelling due to the change of
dynasty.
- (Chinese: 木剌由) - Bok-la-yu, Mok-la-yu
- (Chinese: 麻里予兒) - Ma-li-yu-er
- (Chinese: 巫来由) - Oo-lai-yu (traced from the written source of
monk Xuan Zang)
- (Chinese: 無来由) - Wu-lai-yu
Partly extract from the original Chronicle of Mongol Yuan (in
Chinese):
Chronicle of Mongol Yuan
(in English: Animosity occurred between Siam
and Ma-la-yu with both killing each other...)
Marco Polo
From the book
Travels of Marco
Polo, the word "Malauir" was mentioned to refer to an area
somewhere in the southern part of the
Malay peninsula.
[342263]
Sejarah Melayu
The word Melayu is also mentioned in the
Sejarah Melayu.
[342264]
Center of Srivijaya
1079 and 1088, Chinese record shows that Srivijaya sent ambassadors
from Jambi and Palembang. In 1079 in particular, an ambassador from
Jambi and Palembang each visited China. Jambi sent two more
ambassadors to China in 1082 and 1088. This suggests that the
center of Srivijaya frequently shifted between the two major cities
during that period. The Chola expedition and as well as changing
trade route weakened Palembang, allowing Jambi to take the
leadership of Srivijaya from the 11th century on.
Demise
Almost a century after taking over Palembang's role as the center
of an empire, Jambi and Srivijaya experienced decline in influence.
This was caused by a change of policy by the Song dynasty to no
longer accept ambassadors from Srivijaya and Jambi's inability to
cope with changing scenario. Instead of the Jambi controlling the
trade through tributary system, traders were allowed to trade
directly instead.
Melayu's last prince Parameswara
Mahesa/Kebo/Lembu Anabrang was a General of
Singhasari, he conquered Srivijaya and Melayu in
1288. In the year 1347,
Gajah Mada the
military leader of Majapahit installed
Adityawarman as the king of Melayu to prevent
the revival of Srivijaya. Adityawarman later conquered
Tanah Datar to take control of the gold trade
and founded a kingdom in
Pagar Ruyung.
In the year 1377, the Majapahit defeated Palembang and ended effort
to revive Srivijaya. The last prince of Srivijayan origin,
Parameswara, fled to
Temasik to seek refuge before moving farther north,
where he founded what would become the
Malacca Sultanate.
References
- Buddhist Monks Pilgrimage of Tang Dynasty
- Sabri Zain. The origins of the word 'Melayu'. A History of the
Malay Peninsula.
- John Miksic. Wider contacts in protohistoric times. The
Encyclopedia of Malaysia
- Page 165. Early Kingdoms of the Indonesian Archipelago and the
Malay Peninsula. Paul Michel Munoz.
- Page 165. Early Kingdoms of the Indonesian Archipelago and the
Malay Peninsula. Paul Michel Munoz.
- Page 165. Early Kingdoms of the Indonesian Archipelago and the
Malay Peninsula. Paul Michel Munoz.
- Page 167. Early Kingdoms of the Indonesian Archipelago and the
Malay Peninsula. Paul Michel Munoz.
- Page 168. Early Kingdoms of the Indonesian Archipelago and the
Malay Peninsula. Paul Michel Munoz.
- Page 169. Early Kingdoms of the Indonesian Archipelago and the
Malay Peninsula. Paul Michel Munoz.
See also
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