ABSTRACT

The cycle of dynastic changes and the rapid shifts of power alternating mostly between central and eastern Java must have caused considerable chaos and untold hardships to the hapless peasantry. Besides the indigenous accounts, considerable information on the early history of Sumatra and Java is found in Indian and Chinese sources. Chinese sources in regard to the archipelago are not as numerous as for mainland Southeast Asia. Perhaps the oldest among the more durable of the Indonesian kingdoms was Srivijaya, whose capital was Palembang in southeastern Sumatra. The Sailendras were matrimonially related to the old Sanjaya family in north-central Java as well as to the Srivijaya ruling house in Sumatra. The revival of political power in Java was helped by at least two factors: the defeat of Srivijaya in 1026 by Rajendra Chola of southern India, and the leadership of Prince Airlangga, son of a Balinese prince and a Mataram princess.