South and Southeast Asia, c. 1200-1450 CE

1. South and
Southeast Asia,
c. 1200-1450 CE

2. Indian Ocean Trade
• led by Persian and Arab sailors
• used seasonal monsoon winds
• dhows
• triangular lateen sails

3. Indian Ocean Trade
• Calicut:
• center of the spice trade
• center of trade with East
Africa and Southwest Asia
• meeting point for Arab and
Chinese traders

4. Indian Ocean Trade
Malaysia and Indonesia (home of
the Moluccas, or Spice Islands)
exported:
• nutmeg
• cinnamon
• cloves
• cardamom

5. Indian Ocean Trade
India exported:
• textiles – cotton, silk, muslin,
calico, linen, wool
• woven carpets
• high carbon steel
• leather
• stonework
• pepper
• sugar

6. Indian Ocean Trade
African Swahili coast exported:
• slaves
• ivory
• gold

7. Indian Ocean Trade
China exported:
• silks
• porcelain
• lacquerware

8. Indian Ocean Trade
Southwest Asia exported:
• horses
• figs
• dates
• incense

9. India, c. 1200-1450 CE

10. India
• Geography:
o monsoons
o arid southern India had widespread irrigation
o stepwells

11. India
• Political disunity:
o north: upheaval
o south: greater stability

12. Indian Religious and Social Identities
Hinduism:
• polytheistic
• vibrant religious artwork
• social caste hierarchy
• loose interpretation of religious teachings due to many sacred texts
Brahma, the creator Vishnu, the protector Shiva, the destroyer

13. Indian Religious and Social Identities
Hindu temples constructed during the 1200s

14. Indian Religious and Social Identities
Islam:
• monotheistic
• ban on visual representation of religious subjects
• equality of all believers
• strict interpretation of the Quran
architecture from the
Islamic Mughal
dynasty (c. 1500s)

15. Northern India
Islamic invasions:
• 771 CE: Umayyad Caliphate
led Arab invasion of Sindh
• population remained largely
Hindu and Buddhist but the
region was controlled by the
Arab caliphs until 1258

16. Northern India
Islamic invasions:
• 1001 CE-1027 CE: Mahmud of Ghazi led
annual Turkish raids from Afghanistan to
Punjab to plunder hundreds of Hindu
temples and Buddhist shrines
• 1025 CE: destruction of Somnath Temple
in Gujarat; 50K killed

17. Northern India
Islamic invasions:
• 1193 CE: Buddhist center of Nalanda
was destroyed
• Buddhist monks fled to Southeast
Asia, Nepal, and Tibet

18. Northern India
Delhi Sultanate (1206-1526 CE)
• Muhammad of Ghur captured Delhi and
control of northern India but was
assassinated
• his successor, Qutb-ud-din established the
Delhi Sultanate

19. Northern India
Delhi Sultanate (1206-1526 CE)
• Islamic political and military elites in control of a
Hindu population
• Hindus were declared protected people who paid
jizya tax but were exempt from military service

20. Northern India
Delhi Sultanate (1206-1526 CE)
• spending of loot from plundered temples was an
economic stimulus and cities grew
• construction caused low caste employment
• Islam attracted low caste Hindus who sought higher
social positions but generally failed due to lack of
education and less respectable employment
• Islam attracted Buddhist converts due to widespread
corruption of Buddhist monks and frequent raids of
monasteries that left Buddhism disorganized
Malik Kafur
was a Hindu
slave-general
who converted
to Islam and
defended the
Delhi Sultanate
from Mongol
invasion.

21. Northern India
Delhi Sultanate (1206-1526 CE)
• Sufi mystics were effective Islamic missionaries
• emphasized a personal, emotional connection to Allah
• flexible attitudes towards Islamic teachings
• permitted continuation of non-Islamic rituals
• Muslim merchants and migrants were incorporated into the
caste system based on professions
dancing
Sufi
dervishes

22. Northern India
Delhi Sultanate (1206-1526 CE)
• no efficient state bureaucracy
• relied on subordinate Hindu kings to execute policies
• kings were irrelevant to average person
• guilds controlled trade
• local councils provided law and order
• religious sects and castes provided social identity
and belonging

23. Indian Religious and Social Identities
purdah = female seclusion sati = widow’s self-immolation on husband's
funeral pyre
• India remained patriarchal
• men practiced polygyny
• women could not own or
inherit property
• daughters were married off
with first menstruation
• high-ranked women rarely
left home and went out
escorted a male chaperone
• widows lived ascetic lives
and were excluded from
family festivals
• high-ranked widows
practiced sati

24. Indian Cultural Achievements
• Qutb Minar (“Victory Tower”)
• symbol of Islamic domination of India
• architectural blend of Hindu art and Islamic
geometric patterns

25. Indian Cultural Achievements
• Indian mathematics, including algebra and
geometry, were translated into Arabic and
carried to Baghdad, a center of learning
• Indian numerals were adopted as Arabic
numerals (1, 2, 3, …)

26. Indian Cultural Achievements
• The Arabic, Indian Hindi, and Persian Farsi
languages were combined into Urdu.

27. Northern India
Delhi Sultanate (1206-1526 CE)
• repelled Mongol invasions in 1221, 1299, and 1306-1307
limiting the ability to expand
• 1398 CE: Delhi fell to Timur the Lame (aka Tamerlane)
Timur’s victory
over the
Mamluk Sultan

28. Southern India
Chola (850-1267 CE)
• Chola kingdom was based on
Coromandel coast of India
• controlled Bay of Bengal trade
• sailed to South China Sea
• entered decline when driven
from Ceylon by Sinhalese

29. Southern India
Vijayanagar (mid-1300s-mid-1500s)
• Delhi Sultanate sent Islamic convert brothers
Harihara and Bukka to south India.
• They reconverted to Hinduism and established the
independent Vijayanagar kingdom.
stable for
Vijayanagara
war elephants

30. Indian Religious and Social Identities
• 1100s CE: Hindu bhakti movement
• emphasized love and devotion towards a specific
Hindu god of choice
• did not discriminate against women or lower castes
• Miri Bai
• Guru Kabir focused on personal faith and an
emotional connection to the divine
“Don't forget love;
it will bring all the madness you need
to unfurl yourself across
the universe.”
― Mīrābāī
To be born in a human body is rare,
Don’t throw away the reward of your past good deeds.
Life passes in an instant – the leaf doesn’t go back to the branch.
The ocean of rebirth sweeps up all beings hard,
Pulls them into its cold-running, fierce, implacable currents.
― Mīrābāī

31. Southeast Asia,
c. 1200-1450 CE

33. Southeast Asia
• Geography:
• five great rivers of SE Asia flow north to south
in valleys separated by mountains
• Mekong River flows 1,500 miles through
China, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam
• Red River (Northern Vietnam)
• Chao Phraya River (Thailand)
• Salween River (Myanmar)
• Irrawaddy River (Myanmar)

34. Southeast Asia
• Geography:
• river valleys were separated by heavily-
forested mountains

35. Southeast Asia
• Geography:
• warm, humid tropics
• seasonal monsoon rains
• SW – May to October
traffic from India
• NE – November to
March traffic to India
• Indian trade spread
Indian culture

36. Southeast Asia
• Geography:
• maritime trade
• infertile soil in Sumatra
and coastal Malaya
• wealth based on
location along India-
China trade
• Isthmus of Kra
• Strait of Malacca
• Sunda Strait

37. Southeast Asia
• Geography:
• agriculture around
• silt-rich river deltas
• plains of central Myanmar
• Tonle Sap Lake
• Java
• water control and soil conservation

38. Southeast Asia
• earliest states = native Malay and Indian kingdoms
Funan (c. 50-550 CE)
• Hindu kingdom
• included parts of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand
• wealthy agricultural state
• adopted Indian political, cultural, and religious traditions
• lynchpin of India-China trade through control of the
Isthmus of Kra
• charged fees for portage from the Bay of Bengal to South
China Sea
• collapsed following waves of Cham and Khmer
migration

39. Myanmar,
c. 1200-1450 CE

40. Myanmar
• first Indianized culture in SE Asia BUT
• rejected caste system
• gave women a high place in society
• god-king similar to Funan and Khmer

41. Myanmar
Kingdom of Pagan (849-1300)
• two main ethnic groups:
• Burmans – dominant political power
• Mons – dominant cultural and trade power
• Anawrahta (1044-1077 CE)
• converted to and propagated Theravada
Buddhism which became the dominant
faith in all of SE Asia (except Vietnam)
• 3,000-4,000 pagodas, temples, and
monasteries built in Pagan
• 1200s: kingdom weakened by Mongols; may
or may not have been invaded

42. Cambodia,
c. 1200-1450 CE

43. Cambodia
Khmer Empire (802-1432 CE)
• migrated from ancestral home in SW China
or NE India following Mekong River
• Jayavarman II (802-850 CE) united various
Khmer tribes into a single state
• assimilated Indian culture
• adopted Hindu god-king cult
• chakravartin = ruler of the universe
• king was a manifestation of Shiva
• intermarriage of Brahmin priests and
Kshatriya nobles formed social elites

44. Cambodia
Khmer Empire
(802-1432 CE)
• land-oriented wealthy
agricultural state
• Tonle Sap Lake
• sophisticated irrigation network
of canals, dams, and dikes
• drainage reduced negative
effects of seasonal monsoons
• enormous barays could store 30
million cubic meters of water
• square paddy fields yielded 3-4
rice harvests per year

45. Cambodia
Khmer Empire
(802-1432 CE)
• JayavarmanVII (1181-1219)
• constructed capital city
of Angkor Thom
• built with help of Indian
advisors
• reflected Hindu
cosmology
• temple at center meant
to represent sacred
Mount Meru, the home of
Shiva
• symbolized divine union
between king and god

46. Cambodia
Khmer Empire (802-1432 CE)
• Suryavarman II (1113-1150)
• constructed Angkor Wat dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu, but later kings were committed to
Buddhism
Angkor Wat, 12th century Hindu (later Buddhist) temple,
Cambodia

47. Aerial view, Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia, 1116-1150
(photo: shankar s., CC BY 2.0)

48. Angkor Wat. Siem Reap, Cambodia, 1116-1150
(photo: Benjamin Jakabek, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

49. Churning of the Ocean of Milk (detail), Angkor Wat, Siem Reap,
Cambodia, 1116-1150 (photo: John Brennan, CC BY-ND 2.0)

50. Aerial view, Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia, 1116-1150
(photo: Peter Garnhum, CC BY-NC 2.0)

51. Cambodia
Khmer Empire (802-1432 CE)
• Collapse
• financial burden of state-support for 300,000
priests and monks and many shrines, temples,
roads, hospitals, and shelters for religious
pilgrims
• spread of Theravada Buddhism that rejected
divine kingship
• Thais migration and capture of Angkor in 1431

52. SouthernVietnam,
c. 1200-1450 CE

53. SouthernVietnam
Champa (192-1720 CE)
• Hindu kingdom
• southern Vietnam
• mid-1100s-late-1400s: invaded
by Khmers, Mongols, and
Vietnamese
• 1720 CE: final remnants of
Cham state absorbed by
Vietnam

54. Indonesia,
c. 1200-1450 CE

55. Indonesia
• more influenced by India, Arabia,
Persia, and China than mainland
SE Asia
• Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam

56. Indonesia
Srivijaya (670-1290 CE)
• island-based maritime trade state
• suppressed piracy and controlled
Southeast Asian waters with
powerful navy
• capital at Palembang on Sumatra
• Strait of Malacca and Isthmus of Kra
• taxed passing ship traffic in India-
China trade
• adopted Indian political, cultural,
and religious traditions
• center of Mahayana Buddhist
learning
• 1025 CE: Chola invasion from SE
India

57. Indonesia
Saliendra (750-850 CE)
• based on Java
• agricultural state
• Sailendra (king of the mountain)
• built palaces, temples, and monuments including
Borobudur (824 CE)
• nine terraces represent Siddhartha Gautama’s
nine previous lives before become the Buddha
• nearly 2,000 bas-relief sculptures

58. Borobudur, Indonesia (photo: Claire André, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

59. Borobudur, Indonesia (photo: Claire André, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

60. Borobudur, Indonesia (photo: Wilson Loo Kok Wee, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

61. Borobudur, Indonesia (photo: Gildardo Sánchez, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

62. From the Gandavyuha Sutra, Borobudur, Indonesia
(photo: Photo Dharma, CC BY 2.0)

63. Borobudur Temple | © saesheera/Pixabay

64. Borobudur Temple © Pandu Adnyana/WikiCommons

65. Borobudur Temple © Pandu Adnyana/WikiCommons

66. Indonesia
Singosari (1222-1292 CE)
• 1222: Ken Angrok founded
Singosari dynasty in eastern Java
• access to spices and sandalwood
• agricultural surpluses
• Kertanagara (1268-1292 CE)
promoted Hindu-Buddhist
syncretic faith and subjugated
Srivijaya
Prambanan Hindu temple, Java

67. Indonesia
Majapahit (1293-1520 CE)
• based on Java
• followed Indian political, cultural,
and religious traditions
• last great Hindu kingdom and
greatest empire of SE Asia
• island-based maritime trade state

68. Indonesia
Majapahit (1293-1520 CE)
• 1292: Kertanagara mutilated a Mongol ambassador
• Mongols invaded with 1,000 ships and 20,000 men
• a local rival to Kertanagara revolted, killed him, and
seized power
• Kertanagara’s legitimate heir, Vijaya, fled to the
village of Majapahit, regained power, and repelled
the Mongols

69. Indonesia
Majapahit (1293-1520 CE)
• prime minister Gajah Mada (1331-1364) and king
Rajasanagara (1350-1389) united Indonesia through
direct conquest
• literary works under royal patronage:
• Nagarkertagama by poet Prapanca
• Arjunavivaha and Purushadasanta by Tantular
• regional supremacy gradually lost to Thai and Melaka
trade rivals

70. Thailand,
c. 1200-1450 CE

71. Thailand
Sukhothai Kingdom
• 1253: Mongol invasion drove Thais from
ancient homeland in SW China; settled in
northern Khmer Empire
• 1287: Mongol destruction of kingdom of Pagan

72. Thailand
Sukhothai Kingdom
• Rama Khamheng (1283-1317)
• established the Sukhothai Kingdom
• absorbed Khmer culture and political
structures, including concept of god-
king and Theravada Buddhism

73. Thailand
Sukhothai Kingdom
• Ramadhipati (1350-1369)
• established new capital of Ayuthaya
in agricultural heartland of SE Asia
• blended Thai and Indian legal
traditions
• practiced polygamy
• severe penalties for bribery and
corruption of government officials

74. Thailand
Sukhothai Kingdom
• Trailok (1448-1488)
• centralized government and created
most stable state in SE Asia
• society reorganized based on sakdi na
(field power)
• social position and laws based on
landholdings
• lowest commoners held 10 acres;
officials held as much as 4,000 acres;
heir to the throne held 40,000 acres
• slavery flourished with slaves and
prisoners of war cultivating lands

75. Malaya,
c. 1200-1450 CE

76. Malaya
Melaka
• Islam only spread to SE Asia after it had taken
root in India
• 1200s: European demand for Asian goods
increased during the Crusades
• Islam spread peacefully to Sumatra, Java, and
Malay Peninsula through Indian Muslims
• many SE Asian merchants converted to Islam
for better terms of trade
• also spread through Sufi mystics who did not
insist on abandonment of Hindu-Buddhist
cultural heritage

77. Malaya
Melaka
• 1402: Paramesvara, a prince from Sumatra,
established the port of Melaka at the Strait of
Malacca
• generated trade-based wealth
• principal rivals were Thailand and Majapahit

78. Malaya
Melaka
• head of state was an Islamic sultan but
followed practices indistinguishable
from the Hindu god-king beliefs found
elsewhere in SE Asia
• a center of Islamic learning attracting
scholars from across the Muslim world
• encouraged all the use port facilities
regardless of race and religion
• 1511 CE: factional disputes and
corruption left Malacca weakened prior
to Portuguese arrival and capture
Portuguese drawing of Malacca (c. 1550–1563)