The Sailendra and Srivijaya

 

     The Sailendra Empire was located in the Southeast Asia, close to the equator.  They were known for their agriculture, the advanced agriculture helped immensely with trade and economy. Due to the closeness to the equator they could grow many crops that the surrounding empires couldn’t.  Being close to the Strait of Suna and the Strait of Malacca helped with trade as well as the economy. They taxed all of the trade that went through the two straits, as well as the waters around Borneo and the island of Java. One of their biggest accomplishments was a Buddhist temple, Borobudur, left by the Sailendra kings. This reflected strong influence of Indian culture. It had nine terraced levels and resembles a step pyramid.

      They were conquered by the Srijaya in 600 AD. They used the same techniques of the Sailendra, some examples of this are that they taxed trade on all of their nearby waters, the straits.  Their capital was established on the island of Sumatra. Palembang became a center of  Chinese and Buddhist learning, here Chinese monks studied instead of traveling. This helped educate the next generation. The Srijaya fell in 1200 AD.