Sriwijaya: The Maritime Empire of Sumatra

Seven centuries before Singapore, another port ruled the crossroads of Asia. From Palembang on the Musi River, the Buddhist thalassocracy of Sriwijaya taxed the silk-and-spice sea road between China and India, sent embassies to emperors, and trained monks like Atisha who carried its learning to Tibet. Drawing on Chinese chronicles and the Kedukan Bukit inscription, this is the story of Indonesia's first great empire — and how it vanished so completely that historians only rediscovered it in the 20th century.