Srivijaya and Kediri
In 1068, Virarajendra, the Chola king of Coromandel or Tamil Nadu, conquered Kedah from Srivijaya. Virarajendra's records from the seventh year of his reign mention that he conquered Kedah on behalf of a king who had come to ask for help and protection and who had handed it over to him. The possible date for this occurrence is 1068 C.E. As yet there is no knowledge of the Srivijaya king who asked for help and the details of this naval campaign. The Cholas continued a series of raids and conquests throughout what is now Indonesia and Malaysia for the next 20 years. Although the Chola invasion was ultimately unsuccessful, it gravely weakened the Srivijayan hegemony and enabled the formation of regional kingdoms, like Kediri, based on agriculture rather than trade. Later Kediri managed to control the spice trade routes to Maluku.
According to a Chinese source in the book of Chu-fan-chi written around 1200, Chou Ju-kua described that in the Southeast Asian archipelago there were two powerful and rich kingdoms: Srivijaya and Java (Kediri). In Java he found that people adhere two religions: Buddhism and Hinduism. The people of Java were brave and short tempered, daring to put up a fight. Their favourite pastimes were cockfighting and pigfighting. The currency was made from the mixture of copper, silver, and tin.
The book of Chu-fan-chi mentioned that Java was ruled by a maharaja, who ruled several colonies: Pai-hua-yuan (Pacitan), Ma-tung (Medang), Ta-pen (Tumapel, now Malang), Hi-ning (Dieng), Jung-ya-lu (Hujung Galuh, now Surabaya), Tung-ki (Jenggi, West Papua), Ta-kang (Sumba), Huang-ma-chu (Southwest Papua), Ma-li (Bali), Kulun (Gurun, identified as Gorong or Sorong in West Papua or an island in Nusa Tenggara), Tan-jung-wu-lo (Tanjungpura in Borneo), Ti-wu (Timor), Pingya-i (Banggai in Sulawesi), and Wu-nu-ku (Maluku).
Regarding Srivijaya, Chou-Ju-Kua reported that Kien-pi (Kampe, in northern Sumatra) with armed forced rebellion had liberated themselves from Srivijaya, and crowned their own king. The same fate befell some of Srivijaya's colonies on the Malay Peninsula that liberated themselves from Srivijaya domination. However Srivijaya was still the mightiest and wealthiest state in the western part of the archipelago. Srivijaya's colonies were: Pong-fong (Pahang), Tong-ya-nong (Trengganu), Ling-ya-ssi-kia (Langkasuka), Kilan-tan (Kelantan), Fo-lo-an, Ji-lo-t'ing (Jelutong), Ts'ien-mai (?), Pa-t'a (Batak), Tan-ma-ling (Tambralinga, Ligor or Nakhon Si Thammarat), Kia-lo-hi (Grahi, northern part of Malay peninsula), Pa-lin-fong (Palembang), Sin-t'o (Sunda), Lan-wu-li (Lamuri at Aceh), and Si-lan. According to this source, in the early 13th century Srivijaya still ruled Sumatra, the Malay peninsula, and western Java (Sunda). Regarding Sunda, the book details that the port of Sunda (Sunda Kelapa) was excellent and strategically located, and that the pepper from Sunda was among the best quality. The people worked in agriculture; their houses were built on wooden piles (rumah panggung). However the country was infested with robbers and thieves.
Read more about this topic: Kediri (historical Kingdom)