Sri Dharmaraja

Project: Sri Dharmaraja
Author: Lem Chuck Moth

Started date: June/01/2003
Last updated: December/30/2014
All right reserved.
Note:
Since this paper is still drafted, the readers would be advised to ignore any context errors. The content is not final and subjected to be reviewed.


INTRODUCTION
Becoming a Buddhist Center of Southeast Asia, Sri Dharmaraja retained the monopoly of the sea trade until the tenth century. After the dynastic crisis that drove the Sri Vijaya court to take the Angkorean throne, the site of Sri Dharmaraja became the war zone in dispute by three contenders who were closely connected to the Angkorean throne. With the support of the South Indian Chola, the Javanese court that drove off the Sri Vijaya from the peninsular, took its turn to control the sea Route business. By forming Ramanadesa, Anuruddha fought off the Javanese occupation down to Tenassarim and established his own authority. At the mean time, the Sri Vijayan court that took hold of Angkor never stopped laying claim to their lucrative sea base. Attempts were made through both diplomacy and military campaigns and the Sri Vijaya finally got it back when circumstances forced their rival the Chola, to bend down their pride and became their ally (The Construction of Angkor Wat: The resuscitation of the Cholan Legacy: The return of the Chola). Before joining the Angkorean court, the Chola wrested Sri Dharmaraja from the control of Ramandesa and turned it to the Sri Vijaya. The problem was however far to be over as Angkor was handed back to the Choladara family, internal crises popped up within their own family. Sri Dharmaraja became in disarray again during the split between Angkor and Champapura. Jayavarman VII had to send an expedition headed by the prince of Nan Vidyananda to quiet down the revolts and reestablished the Angkorean control of the Sri Vijaya. Back under Angkor, Sri Dharmaraja was facing with other problems. Chao Ju-Kua describes drastic measures, applied by the Sri Vijaya that had never been mentioned before.
This country, lying in the ocean and controlling the straits through which foreigners' sea and land traffic, in either direction must pass... If a merchant ship passes by without entering, their boats go forth to make a combined attack, and all are ready to die. This is the reason why this country is a great shipping center.
The tough measures reflect the intensity of rivalries becoming more imminent during the next millennium to come. Beside local contenders, evidences show that more Chinese as well as Arab enterprises had already started to establish their own trading bases on the Malay Peninsular. The competition was going to get worst after the Mongolian attack on Angkor and subsequently on Sri Dharmaraja 's sea venturing. The vast territory controlled by the Mongols allowed the Great Khan to reopen the Silk Route of Central Asia and never again, the sea route of the South China Sea was lucrative as it was in the past.

The Chronicle of Sri Dharmaraja
The chronicle of Sri Dharmaraja is by far the sole source of Medieval Sri Dharmaraja' s history. To start, the chronicle provides brief introduction of its early formation and its strong relationship with Haripanjaya during the early start of the Angkorean Empire. Its connection with later Angkorean court was when the chronicle mentions about the request from the king Sri Dharmasokaraja of the Middle Kingdom, to the ruler of Sri Dhammraja asking for relics of Buddha to enshrine in his own reliquaries. The chronicle mentions that altogether, 84,000 reliquaries of the Middle Country were without relics to enshrine. We had identified that the king Sri Dharmasokaraja of the Middle Kingdom was no other than Jayavarman VII of Yasodhara (). During the Mongolian incursion, the control of Sokhodaya is presented by the account of Sri Saynarang taking hold of Martapang. On the wrong premise that Sokhodaya was always part of the Siam court of Ayudhya, scholars mistakenly attributed that Sri Dharmaraja was then under the latter's control. The mistake is also due to the imperfection of the chronicle itself. As many other local chronicles of ancient time, Sri Dharamaraja's chronicle has its own shortfall. First the dating system is far to be consistent and to the worst extend unreliable, even though the chronology is correct. Worst yet, the historical accounts appear to be incomplete for all its account. For instance, the reference to all the rulers is not specific and halfway identifiable by a common title of Sri Dharmasokaraja. Nevertheless, the title indicates connection with previous Sri Vijayan lineage through the Asoka or Mauryan' s legacy (Notes: The Title of Dharmasokaraja). The reference as "the king" of a higher authority, but unfortunately is left in the dark, moreover indicates that Sri Dharmaraja' s rulers were subject to a higher court. From there, we are sure that the chronicle was extracted or was a subset of a bigger volume that is yet to be identified. The fact that, on some occasion in Khmer chronicle, the same title of Dharmasokaraja is used as a reference to a Khmer King of post-Angkorean era is a proof that Sri Dharmaraja still belonged to the Khmer court. Using the historical sources of Catomukh era to cover-up the missing parts of the chronicle, historical facts came out to light in an unexpected way. With proper referencing, the chronicle provides us with the missing links that shed light to the end of both the Angkorean and the Sri Vijayan Empire.

THE REESTABLISHMENT OF SRI DHARMARAJA
At the high of the Mongolian incursion, we had argued that Angkor fell into the spell of the Great Khan. Under attack from the northern Tai pact, a faction of the Angkorean court had moved into the southernmost part of Cambodia because Sri Dharmaraja was their last resource and their last escape ground from the Mongolian land's attack. However, the expansion of Sokhodaya down south induced serious setback to the last Angkorean court settling at Ayudhya. The fall of the Mongolian empire did not stop their ordeal as the new formed Siamese court of King U-Tong also was moving south to launch their own attack and to take control of Ayudhya from the Angkorean refugee court.

The Reestablishment of the Sri Vijaya
By providing us with information of the last court of Indrapathpuri (Angkor) taking refuge at Sri Dharmaraja during the stressful time, the chronicle of Sri Dharmaraja confirms our argument on the fate of the last Angkorean court during the hight of the Mongol's incursion.
There was another ruler named Dav Sri Dhamasokaraja, who was ruler of moan Indrapatapuri. His younger brothers were named dav Chandabhanu and Dav Bansara. Accompanied by his family, subjects, elephants and horses he fled an epidemic and wandered in the forests for eight or nine years. (CNSDB: Chapter IV: Nagara Sri Dharmaraja in legendary Time: Episode VI: The rediscovery of the city)
The passage mentioned about an epidemic that drove the Angkorean court of Indrapathpuri to look for refuge and wandered in the forest for a number of years (Notes: The Epidemic). The event obviously took place during the reign of Jayavarman VIII who after the fall of Pagan to the Mongols, decided to escape south. Leaving Angkor to his son-in-law, he brought all his family and subject to settle at Sri Dharmaraja. Far off from the reach of the Great Khan, this southern part of Angkor offered to the refugee court, at least safe refuge from the Mongol's persecution. It explains why Marco Polo did not mention about Angkor but of Lavo instead, because the political center of the Angkorean court had been moved already to Lavo. The relief was however for a short duration as the Mongol' s control over Champapura was also closing in. Through the support of his southern allies, the Great Khan final move into Angkor was a matter of time. Nevertheless, unexpected setback due to the resistance of the Three Shan Brothers was the only reason for the delay. During the high of Sokhodaya's expansion, Lavo was also taken and the Khmer refugee court had to move further south to Sri Dharmaraja. To no avail, Ramakamheang's son-in-law, Vareru, who took control of Martaban also tried to lay his hand over the displaced Angkorean court. The aggressiveness of Sokhodaya stopped only after it was warned off by the Great Khan (Sokhodaya: The decline of sokhodaya: The fall of Rama-kamheang). The new pact between the Mongols and the Kritanagara court of Java obviously gave hope for the Great Khan to invade himself the Sri Vijayan ream where the refugee court of Angkor was hiding. With no other available sources, we only could speculate that the refugee court from Angkor had to pull themselves out from Sri Dharmaraja and moved further north to the site of Ayudhya. They were soon joined by other court members of Angkor, fleeing the execution during the usurpation by king Srindravarman. It was the end of the Mongols' campaign over the south that gave the refugee court a lucky break. It started first with the conflict between the Great Khan and his long time ally Sokhodaya. In correlation to the warning of the Great Khan, evidences show that Sokhodaya ceased its cooperation with the Great Khan and started to work on its own account. The retaliation from the Chinese Emperor was then expected that resulted in the next obscure disappearance of Ramakamheang. The advent of Kritanagara rebellion and the defeat of the Mongolian fleet to restore order at Sri Dhramaraja obviously added more setbacks to the Great Khan's southern campaign. It freed Sri Dharmaraja for the fleeing Angkorean court to come out from its hiding place and once again took control of the Sri Vijaya. According to the same chronicle, the new king Dhamasokaraja started rebuilding his new kingdom by creating a tributary system that included twelve cities of the Malay Peninsular (Notes: The twelve cities of Sri Dharmaraja). Conforming to Buddhist tradition, the king Dhamasokaraja prepared for the inauguration of the reliquary on the Malay Peninsula that symbolized the foundation of the new Sri Dharmaraja Kingdom. During all this time, Sokhodaya already fell into a new Siamese court formed at Kampeang Pet. We shall see that during the inauguration, the Siam King U Thong had made his move to attack and wrested Sri Ayudhya from King Attitaraja in 1350. After the attack, the latter had to move farther south and established Sri Dhammaraja as a vassal state of the new Ayudhya under the Siam king U-tong (Ayudhya: The New Ayudhya: Ramathibdi). Many inscriptions found in Sumatra reveal a king named Adityavarman, son of Advayavarman (Ayudyavarman?) and sovereign of the land of gold (Suvannphumi?) (HI: The inscriptions: Inscriptions from Sumatra). The first Sanskrit inscription was erected in 1347, at Malayupura on the back of an image of Amoghapasa. It commemorates his reign under the crown title of "Udayadityavarman Praptapaparakramarajendra Maulimalivarmandeva", a title that remind as of the old time Sri Vijayan Monarch. It is important to note that all this time, the new line of kings who was taking hold of the Angkorean throne was from Ramanadesa. They re-established the last Varman Dynasty of the Angkorean tradition for a short time and were drown by the flood during the reign of king Senakaraja (The Break down of the Cakravatin Empire: The Last of the Angkorean Empire: The Impact of the Flood).

The Clash with the Javanese Court
After the cease-fire that left Ayudhya to King U-tong, Sri Dhammaraja became a vassal of the new Ayudhyan court and remained so during the reign of Ramasuen. After the flood that ended the lineage of king Senakraja, Angkor was abandoned. According to the Khmer Tradition, the king Attityaraja went out to saveguard the Emarald Buddha and the copies of Tribidaka.
At that time, there was a king of Sri Ayudhya named Attitaraja; knowing that the kingdom of Kamboja Indrapath Nagara was flooded, out of concern about the loss of the Emarald Buddha and the three sets of Tribidaka, leaded an army to the kingdom of Kamboja Nagara. He inquired about the Buddha image and the three sets of Tribidaka and found them. He brought the Emarald Buddha and the three sets of Tribidaka along with all their keepers to Ayudhya. (RPNK: King Atittaraja of Sri Ayudhya)
The King Attitaraja of the story line was the same king of of Sri Dharmaraja whom we had identified as no other than Adityavarman mentioned in the inscriptions of Sumatra. The fact that he ruled over all the Malay Peninsula, he could be no other than the king Dhamasokaraja of the Sri Dhamraja chronicle. It is important also to note that Ayudhya was mentioned here as a city of Sri Dharmaraja, ruled by king Attitaraja long before the formation of the Siam country by king U-Thong. The fourth inscription erected in 1375 confirms that Adityavarman's reign in Malayu lasted at least until the date of the erection. The fifth and the last of his inscriptions consecrated the dead king as Lokesvara. With no other detail information provided, we know nothing more about his reign at the Malay peninsular. The chronicle of Sri Dharmaraja is at first quiet about any skirmishes between the new court and its southern neighbor. It was perhaps because of Sri Dhammaraja, being then vassal of Ayudhya, was too risky for the Javanese court to make any attempts on the new settlement. Neverheless, we know later that the Javanese court was very much occupied with the southern seatrade than to worry about the establishment of Sri Dharmaraja. After the death of King Attitaraja, his younger brother Brahna Candabhanu took the throne. The inscription at Chaiya, on the former site of Grahi, identifies the new king as Dharmaraja Chandrabhanu, belonging to the Padmavamsa (family of Lotus) and king of Tambralinga. Moving deep into the South China Sea, the Sri Dhammaraja King would find himself clashing with the reigning Javanese King Hayum Vuruk who, by unusual coincidence, happened to be one among the strong Majapahit kings who succeeded through audacity in extending his suzerainty to the farthest limits. The chronicle starts mentioning about the Javanese court bringing its army to attack Sri Dharmaraja. After many fail attempts, the Javanese army at last succeeded in capturing the king. By using an old trick, the Javanese court managed to lure King Dharmaraja Chandrabhanu into submission.
Later, the Java sent a force up to reconnoiter at the mouth of the river, sending a royal letter stating that the ruler of Java had brought his daughter as present to the ruler of Nagara. The ruler then ordered his forces to descend, and the Java troop captured the ruler. (CNSDB: Episode VIII: Relation with Java)
The Sri Dharmaraja king was later released after an accord of which Java agreed to let Candabhanu rule over Sri Dharmaraja again as a tributary state of Java. He ruled about seven years then once again an epidemic broke out. As many people died, the royal families tried to flee by boats but, according to the Sri Dharmaraja chronicle, all were perished. It was the last of the Sri Vijayan kings, as remembered by the Sri Dharmaraja tradition (Notes: The end of Sri Dhamaraja-version A). There was however a conflicting information provided by the other version of the chronicle. The version B of the chronicle mentions that Candabhanu died amid the epidemic, but some family members survived (Notes: The end of Sri Dhamaraja-version B). The next emergence of Sri Vijayan kings trying to regroup themselves in the second half of the fourteenth century at Champapura confirms the validity of the last account (Nokor Champa and the Lao Kingdom of Lang-xang: Nokor Prah Kanta).

The Abandon of Sri Dharmaraja
Unlike other contenders who were looking to cash-in on the maritime venture, Java already commanded a strong authority of the South China Sea. After the decline of Sri Vijaya and the fall of the Great Khan, Java had already established sole control of the straight of Malaka. At the same time that king U-tong extended his control from Ayudhya to Sri Dharmaraja, the Majapahit court had also started its own expansion into the Malay Peninsular. With the help of his minister, Gaja mada, Hayam Vuruk (Rajasanakara) extended his control over many islands of southern China Sea and over some territory of the ancient Malayu. Evidences show that Javanese interest in Sri Dhammaraja was not about making a new venture, but was in the process of eliminating potential rivalry from the Sri Vijaya. By doing so, the Javanese court had to face the Ming Dynasty who, in the process of setting his sea trade venture with the west already had a plan to bring the Sri Vijayan legacy back to its glory past.
In 1370, the emperor of China sent an ambassador to (the king of San-fo-tsi) to represent himself (by an ambassador to the court of China). The next year, the king named Ma-ha-la-thcha pa-la-pou, sent ambassadors bringing a letter written on a sheet of gold and brought along tribute.
In reply to the Chinese request, the ruler of Sri Dharmaraja was more than willing to cooperate with the Ming court.
In 1373, the king Ta-ma-cha-na-a-tcho sent ambassadors to bring tribute, with a special letter of felicitation. At the time, there were three kings in the country. In 1376, the king Ta-ma-cha-na-a-tcho died and his son, Ma-na-tcho Wou-li succeeded him.
When the Malay ambassadors reported that the heir was afraid to ascend the throne by his own authority, the Ming emperor sent the imperial brevet to recognize him as the legitimate king. Upon learning of the arrangement, the Javanese king was very much irritated. He sent expedition to intercept and assassinated the imperial envoi. The Chinese emperor then decided to stop interfering and left Sri Dharmaraja under the control of the Javanese court altogether. Sri Dharamaraja then became poorer and poorer and sent no more tribute to China. As a result, it ceased to exert its past importance in the sea trade and soon became known as the old port (Kieou-kiang). Evidences however show that during that time, the court of Candabhanu already left Sri Dharmaraja and moved to reestablish their venture at Champapura (Nokor Champa: Nokor Prah Kanta: The reign of Jaya Simhavarman). With Sri Vijaya out of the way, the Prajapahit court went back to their southern venture and left Sri Dharmaraja unattended. Perhaps under the Ming own initiative, more and more Chinese communities settled across the Malay Archipelago. Rising up into becoming strong contenders of the sea trade, their successful ventures stayed until modern days. The Javanese court was soon facing with serious challenge, as they were not in a position to control them any longer. They soon found out the hard way that these Chinese communities were too ambitious and were not in the intention of submitting to other controls than themselves. They raised a Cantonnian of Nan-hai, named Leang Tao-ming to become their leader and rose up to claim their independance. Being long time living on the sea, Tao-ming took control of Sri Dharmaraja with the support of many thousands men of Fou-kien and of Canton. In 1405, the Ming emperor sent a messenger who was from the same city as Leang Tao-ming was born, inviting the Chinese chief to be present at the imperial court. Tao-ming and his allied Icheng Po-ko followed the imperial order and brought tribute. The Ming also found out that Keou-kiang had already established his own secret society in a close network with Southern China. In 1406, the chief of Keou-kiang named Tchen-Tsou-yi sent his son along with Tao-ming and his nephew to the Chinese court. He was a Cantonese who came to look for wealth among his Chinese peers at the Old Port. The Ming soon found out that whatever he brought as tribute to the court was actually got from piracy. The ambassadors of other countries that brought the tribute to China were his victims. Hearing theirs complains, the Ming court decided to stop for good Tsou-yi and his associate's business. In 1407, the imperial envoy Tcheng-ho who came back from the west stopped by and convoked Tsou-yi for a meeting. Tsou-yi pretended to obey the convocation, but at the same time prepared to rob him. Tipped by another Chinese Che Tsin-king, Tcheng-ho caught Tsou-yi during the attack and executed him. After the latter's death, Tsin-king sent his son to bring tribute to the Ming. The emperor ordered to build an office to pacify Kieuo-kiang and named Tsin-king in control of the office. Tributes were sent in many occasions to the court of China. What he received in return as commission from the Emperor, he had to relegate part of it to Java.

THE NEW ANGKOREAN CONNECTION
The settlements of more Chinese aristocrats in Kieuo-kiang had adverse effects to the Chinese tribute system. Once they succeeded in establishing solid ground for themselves, they started to rebel against the Chinese control. After attempts to restore the tribute system at Kieuo-kiang failed, the Ming's big project came to an end. Unable to control the unruly Chinese mops, the Ming court changed its policy. In the process to lessen the control of the seatrade by the Chinese mobs, the Mings relinquished altogether their attempts to control the sea trade through the control of their Chinese colonies. They concentrated instead in building alliance with the southern nations.

The Reign of King Sri Dharmasokaraja (1373-1383)
The next account of Sri Dharmaraja provided full information about a partnership being built between the courts of Angkor and Champapura under the initiative of the Ming Emperor. It started with the advent of a prince from the royal house of the king Phnom Khale going out to establish his venture at Pejrapuri and reigned there under the title of Dharmasokaraja.
Originally, it is said, brah Bnomdahle Sri Mahesavastidradhirajaksatrya, an elder prince, grandson of the king, left his paternal grand-parents and established himself at Bejrapuri, taking with him 33,000 men, 500 war elephants, and 700 horses; 54,000 additional troops following him. (CNSDB: Chapter V: Medieval Nagara: The Northern Tradition: Episode X: Bejrapuri and Bnamdale)
The Siamese title of "Prah Bnom Khale" is synonymous to the Khmer title of "Lampangraja" as both got the same legacy from the ancient court of Lampang. Also known as Phnom Khale (Mount Khale), Lampang was founded as a sister city of Haripangjaya. After Subjugated by Mangrai, Haripangjaya became part of Lanna and received a new name as Muan Nakhon. The displaced court of Haripangjaya-Lampang appeared to retain its ancient legacy after first taking refuge at Phitsanulok and later settled in the Angkorean court. New development during the formation of Lan-xang exerted restriction on the Khmer court when Ayudhya took control over Angkor an placed one of their own people to rule the Khmer throne. Fa-Gnum' s exploits forced Ayudhya to render him homage and set free the Angkorean throne to the Khmer King Prah Suryavang. Judging from the next event, it appears that Ayudhya had ceeded the control of Sridharmraja to the Khmer court also. At the same time, the Khmer chronicle commemorates the ascending of king Dharmasokaraja on the Angkorean throne around 1373. During his short reign at Angkor, the Khmer Tradition stated that he was in a very good term with the Ming Dynasty. On the other hand, the Sri Dharmaraja chronicle has more elaborate information about the relationship of the new ruler with the Chinese court.
A Chinese sampan was blown in, and the people of Bejrapuri let its Chinese master bearing tribute to an audience with the king. He asked the king to give him Sampanwood which the king gave enough to fill his sampan and he took to the emperor of China. (CNSDB: Chapter V: Medieval Nagara: The Northern Tradition: Episode X: Bejrapuri and Bnamdale)
It is important to note that the Ming court was working on building big ships for a worldwide sea exploration and the supply of Sampanwood (teakwood) was critical to the project. In his record, Marco Paulo already confirmed that Sampan wood was plentiful on the site of the Malay Peninsula. Obviously, Sri Dharmaraja could have been one of the suppliers of Sampanwood and perhaps other resources for the Ming court as well. By then, it was already well known for its sea trade enterprise along with its ship building and repairing industry to catch the attention of the Yongle Emperor Zhu Di (1402-1424). Resuming his father's policy for a big scale of maritime exploration, the Chinese emperor Zhu Di was eager to establish a good relationship with the new ruler of Sri Dharmaraja.
The emperor of China was greatly pleased an impressed, and said "Sri Mahendradhirajaksatrya... has establish himself by the sea. We should send our daughter, nang candradevi Sri padarajaputridonsamudra, to be the queen of the elder prince and royal issue, the ruler of Bejrapuri. (CNSDB: Chapter V: Medieval Nagara: The Northern Tradition: Episode X: Bejrapuri and Bnamdale)
According to the chronicle, the Chinese princess was herself the daughter of a Champa king named Candramauli Sripadanarthasuravamsa who was sent to the Chinese Emperor as consort. The chronicle then mentions that the king had thirty sons and thirty daughters. Back to the Angkorean court, after the death of Prah Suryavang, a king ascended the Angkorean throne with the same title as Sri Dharmasokaraja. Apparently, he was the same Khmer king Sri Dharmasokaraja who came back to take the Angkorean throne in 1373 while the rightful heir, Cau Ponha Yat, was still too young. Among his many children were the next rulers of Sri Dharmarja named Brah Bnom Van and nang Sahtiandong. When they requested to have his own state, the king sent him to Nagara Ton Prah where he reigned under the title of Sri Dharmasokaraja also (Notes: Sri Dharmaraja as Nagara Ton Prah).

The Ming's Connection
In parallel to the chronicle of Sri Dhamaraja, the history of the Ming (1368-1643) has also an account on the reestablishment of Sri Dhammaraja with the Ming 's court (MALAKA: Ming Tche or history of the Ming). It starts with the introduction of the country itself as a country of the Man King.
Man-la-kia is situated at the south of Champa; with a fair wind one may arrive in eight days in the strait of Linga, and then it is today more in the west. It supposed to be the old country of Tun Sun, and the Kora Fusara of the Tang dynasty.
The word "Man-la-kia" might be a corruption of the "Man-la-tche", meaning the country of the Man king. It is consistent with the word "Minangkapaw", the Malay transcription of the Sanskrit word "Manangpura" (Man-ang-pura) that was an ancient reference to Sri Dharmaraja. Its reference as Tun-sun (Tian sun), meaning the descendant of the Tians in ancient Chinese text also supports the same legacy. The next passage obviously described the latest political development of the country.
There was no king in the country, and it was not called a kingdom, but it was belonged to Siam, to which it paid an annual tribute of forty taels of gold, and other things.
The passage agrees with the Siam Tradition that during the reign of Ramasuen, Ayudhya had extended its claim over the Malay Peninsula (Notes: The Ming Tche's account of Sri Dhammaraja). By then the previous ruler of the Angkorean court had already moved to Champapura. By launching a campaign against Annam, the Ming Emperor Hongwu gave the king Candabhanu of the Sri Vijaya court the opportunity to free Champapura for himself. According to the history of the Ming, the reign of the new Champa king named Ngo-ta Ngo-che started at 1360. It coincided with the commemoration of King Jaya Simhavarman as king of Nokor Kanta in Cham inscription (Nokor Champa and the Lao Kingdom of Lang-xang: Nokor Prah Kanta: The reign of Jaya Simhavarman). At the same time, the establishment of the Lao Kingdom Lang-xang at Luang Prah Bang by a Lao King named Fa Ngom during the reign of king Lampangraja at Angkor (Nokor Champa and the Lao Kingdom of Lang-xang: The establishment of Lan-xang: The attack on Siam Countries). The new alliance however still had to face stiff competition from Ayudhya. Already becoming a strong contender of the South China Sea, Ayudhya was not in the mood to let Sri Dharmaraja free without fighting. In supporting Fa-Ngom's campaign to reestablish Lan-xang, Angkor depleted itself of human resource and succumbed to the attack of Ayudhya. To free the Khmer court at Angkor, Suryavamsa had to rely on his son-in-law Fa Ngom to make extensive attack on northern Siam countries and later on Ayudhya. Their joint campaign did not only succeed in freeing Angkor but also restrained Ayudhya from making further interference into Sri Dharmaraja. Needless to say, it also allowed the Khmer court to restart its new sea trade business. It was when the Chinese source mentions about the contact of a Khmer ruler with the Ming court that agrees with the Sri Dhammaraja's account of the establishment of a member of King Khale's court at Bejrapuri. The contact with the Ming that resulted in the marriage of the Khmer ruler with the latter' s daughter sealed the relationship between the two courts.
In the tenth month of the year 1403, the Emperor sent the enumeh Yin Ching as envoy to this country, to bring presents of silk woofs with golden flowers, curtains adorned with gold, and other things.
The next passages of the history of the Ming indicate that the Chinese Emperor had stopped Ayudhya from laying claim to Sri Dhammaraja.
In the year 1419 the king came to (the Chinese) court with his wife, his son, and his ministers, in order to present thanks for the imperial favors. On going away he stated that Siam seemed inclined to attack his country, and the Emperor accordingly sent an order to Siam which that country obeyed.
The king in the passage was the son of the Khmer King Sri Dharasokaraja, presumably Brah Bnamvan, who took the reign after his father's death in 1414. The next king also went to render homage to the Chinese court.
In 1414, Sri Ma-ha-la succeeded after the death of his father, and came to the court with his wife, his son and his minister.
The Chinese word "Sri Ma-ha-la" is obviously a corruption of "Sri Ma-ha-la-sha", a transcription of Maharaja and a good match for the Khmer King Sri Raja (1433-1478). Nevertheless, the Chinese account might refer to one of his ancestors who took the Dharmaraja throne in 1414.

The Establishment of the Malay Tribute System
After the last of Sri Vijayan court left for Champapura, Sri Dharmaraja was virtually deserted. The new rulers coming from the Khmer court took the initiative to rebuild the country from the ground-up by mobilizing forest and cave people to become farmers. But when the sea route was open again by the Ming dynasty, the Khmer rulers saw the opportunities of a lucrative venture but found themselves lack of expertise in the business. They seek help from the Kheks who were descendants of the last Sri Vijaya court and were obviously up to the task. They were of Kambojan (Param-Kambojan to be exact) stock settling in the Malay Archipelago and blend themselves with the Malay people. According to the chronicle of Sri Dharmaraja, the new rulers Brah Phnom Van and Nang Sahtiandon were assigned the task of establishing the Malay Tribute system.
Brah Bnamvan and nan Sahtiandon arranged for nine boats for the Kheks, for them to go as rulers to each Malay moan. They appointed ce Uma to rule moan Nihana as raja Paramat, with ce Marapu as his wife. Ce Ravamsa was appointed to rule moan Cahnadeba as raja Ravan, with ce Lapu as his wife; ce Suma was appointed to rule moan Pahan as raja Paramesvara with Ce Suma as his wife. Ce Sri Sutra was appointed to rule moan [Pat-] tani as raja Ridhideva, with ce Sri Ge as his wife. Ce Asena was appointed to rule moan Saya as raja Sri Sultan, with Ce Sari as his wife; ce Saran was appointed to rule moan Badalun as raja Bahrayu, with ce Sri Talan as his wife. Ce Site Paravamsa was appointed to rule moan Draya as raja Bitiman, with ce Parah as his wife. Ce Savan was appointed to rule Lanu as raja Yura with ce Lagananan as his wife, ce Nava was appointed to rule moan Bru as raja Pasena, with ce Paru as his wife. They sent each year thirteen carloads of Cowry in friendship. The Khek vassals were ordered by Prah Bnamvan and nan Sahtiandon to send tribute in gold of 10 tamlun of gold for each moan. (CNSDB: Chapter V: Medieval Nagara: The Northern Tradition: Episode XII: Establishing Malay rulers)
It is interesting to note that the list included many Kheks that were already converted to Muslim; some of them, Sri Sultan in particular, had already adopted Mulsuman name. The delegation brought some of them up to become the next powerful rulers of Malaysia as many locations specified in the list became international seaports and markets of today, one of which was Malaka. One name stood out from the list of the rulers, credited by modern scholars in the development of Malaka was raja Paramesvara. As for the Khmer court, the collection of tributes became the next task of the Sri Dharmaraja ruler.
The Khek vassals were ordered by Prah Bnamvan and nan Sahtiandon to send tribute in gold of 10 tamlun of gold for each moan. (CNSDB: Chapter V: Medieval Nagara: The Northern Tradition: Episode XII: Establishing Malay rulers)
After the death of king Bnamvan, the tribute system was later delegated to another member of the khmer court named Sri Raja. Early in his career, the chronicle of Sri Dharmaraja indicates that he helped Prah Bnamvang in managing the Malay tribute system.
A short while after Prah Bnamvang and neang Sahtiadon had appointed Khek as rulers of each moan, Prah Bnamvang died. Cau Sri Raja came from moan Sah-ulau to arrange the cremation of Prah Bnamvang. (CNSDB: Chapter V: Medieval Nagara: The Northern Tradition: Episode XII: Establishing Malay Rulers)
After the death of Prah Bnamvang, Sri Raja reported the Sri Dharmaraja's state affair to the king.
Cau Sri Raja took the records naming the Kheks who had been appointed to govern each muang and those records [regulating] the villages of muang and rice field and the people of the Nagara Tong Prah and each monastery and the great reliquary, which was still unfinished, and went to present them to the king. (CNSDB: Chapter V: Medieval Nagara: The Northern Tradition: Episode XIII: The Revival of Nagara Sri Dharmaraja)
The King in the story line was no other than Cau Pohna Yat who was then the Cambodian king of Catomukh. After hearing the report, he anointed Sri Raja, to be the next ruler of Sri Dharmaraja.
(CNSDB: Chapter V: Medieval Nagara: The Northern Tradition: Episode XIII: The Revival of Nagara Sri Dharmaraja) His Majesty mercifully favored him, and gave him the title of "Bana Sri Dharrmasokaraja Surindrarajasuravangsadhipati siriyuhisthiara Abhayabiriyaparakramabahu cau Bana Nagara Dharmaraja Mahanagara. (CNSDB: Chapter V: Medieval Nagara: The Northern Tradition: Episode XIII: The Revival of Nagara Sri Dharmaraja)
Apparently, the Khmer inscriptions of Tenassarim were erected under his reign at Sri Dharmaraja. Eventually, Sri Raja came back to ascend the Catomukh throne after the reign of Prah Narayraja.

THE END OF THE KHMER CONTROL
Neither the Khmer nor the Sri Dharmaraja sources provide clear picture of Sri Dharmaraja's relationship with its northern neighbor Ayudhya. The Ming tche, on the other hand, has accounts about the ambition of Ayudhya in regard to its southern neighbor. Following their ancestors' s policy, the Ayudhyan kings continued to assert the Sri Dharmaraja court to send tributes to Ayudhya. The Mings' s interference appeared to stop the aggression of Ayudhya for the time being. A change of circumstances however would once again favored the Ayudhyan king to assert the old claim. After recovering his court from an internal crisis, King Boromraja III of Ayudhya incurred himself in the internal affair of Cambodia and at the end, got the control of Sri Dharmaraja from the Khmer King Sri Raja.

The Clash with Ayudhya
In studying Sri Dharmaraja artifacts, scholars were amazed to see some inscriptions of Tenasserim were inscribed in Khmer Language. The finding appears to conflict the general assumption that Tenasserim had never been part of the Khmer Empire. Following the claim that Sri Dharmaraja was always under Siam starting from the reign of King U-Tong, the inscriptions were thought at first to be erected by the Ayudhyan court. Many scholars were inclined to believe that Siamese rulers erected these inscriptions under the prestige and influence of the Khmer Culture. In further study, they had come to the conclusion that the inscriptions show Cambodian connection in style and content more than the language itself (The Khmer Inscription of Tenasserim: A reinterpretation, by Michhael Vickary). They then concluded that the inscriptions were erected by Khmer princes brought to Ayudhya during the political unrest of the Khmer court by the Siam king Borommaraja III (Siam Society: Document epigraphiques provenant de Tenasserim, by George Coedes). Still, they had no ideas that Tenasarem along with Sri Dharmaraja was actually belonged to the Khmer throne of Catomukh. More evidences confirm the control of the Malay Peninsular by the new Khmer court since the reign of king Lampangraja. We shall see that the two Khmer princes who were brought to Ayudhya were actually King Sri Raja and king Suryauday, uncle and nephew, who were rivals for Catomukh throne. By then, Sri Raja had already been crowned as the Khmer King of both the Catomukh and the Sri Dharmaraja court. The Ming tche's account on Sri Dharmaraja confirmed the event by stressing out the escalating of conflict between Ayudhya and the Khmer court that led Sri Raja to look for the Ming court for support.
In the year 1431 three envoys arrived, who said that Siam was planning an attack on their country, but the king want to come himself, but was afraid on being detained by them; that he wish to sent a report, but had nobody who could write it; and that he had ordered them therefore to avail themselves of a tribute-vessel from Su-men-ta-la, to go and bring this communication.
The report conveyed to the Ming court that Siam was doing what they could to block the correspondence between Sri Dhammaraja and the Ming court.
The Emperor sent them back to their country in the ships of Cheng Ho, to whom a decree was given to the king of Siam, ordering him to live in good harmony with his neighbors.
The Mings had to set-up a special envoy using ships of Cheng Ho to send them back home. Despite the Ming's warning, the skirmish continued. When Ayudhya was incurring its internal crisis twenty years later, Sri Raja took the opportunity to end Ayudhya's incursion once for all. His campaign however ended with defeat and when he went back to Cambodia, he also faced with a serious dilemma of his own. The break-up of the Catomukh's court during his absence would put him later in subordination to the next political intervention of the Ayudhyan court. Failing to reunite back the Khmer court, Sri Raja lost the fight and became prisoner of the Siam king (Nokor Catamukh: The intervention of Ayudhya: Sri Dharmaraja). As expected, we shall see that the Khmer's control and legacy of Sri Dharmaraja also ended. The chronicle of Sri Dharmaraja, as usual, is not explicit about identifying the higher authority, the king who now controlled Sri Dharmasokaraja. What was happening next is unclear as the next story is about Sri Dharmasokaraja handed over the control of Sri Dharmaraja to the king. Considering that Sri Raja became a prisoner of the Ayudhyan King, it is clear that the "King" in this passage and subsequently in the rest of the chronicle was not of Cambodian authority any more. Even thought stripped of all powers from the Cambodian court, Sri raja was holding still, trough his immediate family's members, a valuable asset concerning the trade's tribute system at Sri Dharmaraja. As his future already looked grim, Sri Raja who according the Khmer tradition, died shortly after arriving at Ayudhya, saw no other solution than to request the protection for his son who was also taken prisoner to Ayudhya. In exchange, he promised to hand-over the maritime ventures of Sri Dharmaraja to king of Ayudhya. As we shall see, the latter was more than happy to grant the wishes to his former enemy.

The Hand-over of the Malay Tribute System to Ayudhya
The chronicle of Sri Dharmaraja indicates that Sri Dharmasokaraja (Sri Raja) requested also protection for some of his close relatives, currently taking control of Sri Dharmaraja from the King who was no other than King of Ayudhya. By doing so, Sri Raja handed over all of his maritime ventures to Ayudhya.
Bana Sri Dharmasokaraja begged leave to present 3 men, 3 women, and 100 men in the retinue of the three men and three women. He asked that the king accept the children and grandchildren of these 3 men and 3 women as his agents for the collector of the suay [tribute]; and he pledged these three men and three women to be servants forever after. (CNSDB: Chapter V: Medieval Nagara: The Northern Tradition: Episode XIV: Reconstruction of the great reliquary and donation of labor services)
The three men and the three women who were appointed to take care of the Tribute System in Sri Dharmaraja were actually close relatives of Sri Raja.
Nay U [was the] younger brother of Bana Sri Dharmasokaraja; his wife was nan Keo. Nay Ku and nay U were nephew and grandson of Bana Sri Dharmasokaraja. Nay Ku's wife was named nan Cam, and nay U's wife was named nan Gambejra. (CNSDB: Episode XIV: Reconstruction of the great reliquary and donation of labor services)
This was obviously in connection with the last agreement between Sri Raja becoming prisoner of Ayudhya, as mentioned in Khmer Tradition. The Siam King kept his word and raised Prah Sodhanaraja, the son of Sri Raja as one of his sons. After Sri Raja died, continues the chronicle, the Siam king requested what was promised to him.
(CNSDB: Chapter V: Medieval Nagara: The Northern Tradition: Episode XIV: Reconstruction of the great reliquary and donation of labor services) When Bana Sri Dharmasokaraja died, the king had nay U, nay Ku, and nay Yu come to pay their respects to him, and requested of them the suay in silver tamlun, pad and salun, payable to the royal treasury. (CNSDB: Episode XIV: Reconstruction of the great reliquary and donation of labor services)
It was the first time that Ayudhya had direct control of Sri Dharmaraja. The three men and women requested from the king to work in team and promised to pay tribute. The king was please of their proposition and sent them to take control of Sri Dharmaraja and pay the tribute (Suay) annually to the royal treasury. The Ayudhyan Tribute System appeared to work at the beginning, but after a while it became in disarray. The three men went to report to the Ayudhyan king and the reorganization of the Tribute System was under way.
The King showed his mercy upon neay U, and assigned him hmon Sitcomraja as a royal commissioner, conferring on him the title hmon Sutcaimen; and hmon Can as [another] royal commissioner, conferring on him the title hmon Sencaiju. ( CNSDB: Chapter V: Medieval Nagara: The Northern Tradition: Episode XV: Reorganization of the tax system)
They went back to Sri Dharmaraja, this time with a special delegated power from the King, to restore the tribute system back in order. The chronicle is not specific enough about what was the outcome of the drastic measure that supposedly work better for Ayudhya, but the Ming tche account provides us with a different picture (MALAKA: Ming Che: P.467). What was happening next was the complete break away of Sri Dharmaraja from the control of Ayudhya and the formation of Malaka with the support of the Ming Dynasty. In future references, we shall see local Khek rulers were seeking more of more Chinese protection.
In the year 1445 envoys arrived, who asked that the king Sri Pa-mi-si-wa-r-tiu-pa-sha might obtain a commission for ruling the country.
The Khek ruler Sri Paramesvara requested the Ming court the commission to become the sole ruler of Malaka. He was perhaps the same as Sultan Wu-ru-fu-na-sha who, according the next passage, received from the Ming's court investiture to become king of Malaka.
In the year 1456 Sultan Wu-ru-fu-na-sha, sent as tribute, horses and product of the country, and asked to be invested as king. The Emperor issued a decree by which an officer was sent there for the purpose, but some time afterwards the same king sent tribute again.
Judging from his title, Sultan Wu-ru-fu-na-sha must to be already converted to Muslim and so were the next successors of him.
In the year 1459 this king's son Su-tan Wang-a-sha sent envoys to bring tribute, on which the Emperor ordered some officers to go and invest him as king.
The arrangement would obviously diminish the control of Ayudhya over Sri Dharmaraja for good.

The Foundation of Malaka
The alliance with China allowed the Khek rulers of the house of Paramesvara to stand against Ayudhya. However the ordeal of Sri Dharmaraja was not over. The next authority of the sea trade was not local and, as we shall see, was the first European interference in the region. According to Ming Tche account, it was the Frans who came to invade Malaka.
Afterwards the Frans (Portuguese) came with soldiers and conquered the country; the king Sultan Mamat ran away, and sent envoys to inform the imperial government of this disaster.
The Mings sent envoy to rally neighboring nations to help Malaka against the Portugueses. The Emperor's plea, in vain, fell into deaf ears and Malaka was ran down in 1511 by the new European power (Nokor Champa and the Lao Kingdom of Lang-xang: The Impact of the Cinecization: The last of the Ming's intervention). Another account compiled by Alphonse of Albuquerque himself who, as we shall see, was responsible for the Portuguese conquest of Malaka, provides another look about the birth and fall of Malaka. The Portuguese Alfonse d'Albuquerque was next to establish a commanding trade of the South China Sea. He was one of the first European adventurers who came to make his fortune at Southeast Asia. Unlike his peers, he came with a well equipped military crew and made business through military conquest. It was a debut of European venture that was going the change the whole regional politic and commercial dynamic in Southeast Asia. Thank to his records, we could compile and bring to light the early history of the European intervention in Southeast Asia. His commentaries on the birth of Malaka, for instance, described Malaka as a kingdom surrounded by already established communities(MALAKA: Commentary d' Albuquerque).
The kingdom of Malaka is bordered on one side [at the northwest] by the kingdom of Queda [Kedah] and, at another side [at the east], by the Kingdom of Pam [Pahan].
It is recognizable that one of the cities was Sri Dharmaraja with a long past history of the Sri Vijayan Empire. We had also seen that Paramesava who founded Malaka in 1420, was himself not a shadowy figure, but a well-established Khek ruler of the Sri Dharmaraja's tribute system of Sri Raja. It was at the time that the chronicle of Dharmaraja refers Brah Bnamvan and nan Sahtiandon of Sri Dharmaraja to organize the Malay tribute system. Among the list of Khek rulers, Paramesvara was anointed as governor of Panhang. The next story of the new Malaka' s foundation starts with the king of Palembang named Paramesvara contesting the king of Java named Baratamure. They settled their dispute by having Paramesvara marrying the daughter of Baratamurel and paid tribute to the latter. After the wedding, Paramesvara broke his allegiance to Baratamurel and suffered serious retaliation from Java. He escaped to Singapura with some thousands men and managed to kill its ruler who gave him hospitality. The ruler of Patani who was the brother of the slain Singapura's ruler brought his army to attack Paramesvara who escaped to live among fishermen. The fishermen of nearby location, who were also half-time pirates, seeing that Paramesvara was capable, invited him to be their leader. Paramesvara and his men built the city that grew later to become an important trade center that he named Malaka. After his death, his son named Sekendar Sah [Xaquendarxa] became the ruler. He married a daughter of the ruler of Pasai who just been converted to Muslim and became Muslim himself. Xaquendarxa died shortly after and his elder son named Modafaixa succeeded him. As his ancestors, Modafaixa was an ardent Muslim. As soon as he took the throne, he conquered many countries that included Champa, Pam (Pahang) and Dandargiri. After the conquest, he tried to convert their rulers to Islam by force. To keep them happy in their new faith, he married them with three daughters of his brother, Rajaput. After his death, his son named Marsusa succeeded him. In regard to Islam, he carried on the same policy of his father and continued on expanding his faith to neighboring countries. His relentless mind however drove him to a high state of paranoia. Afraid of being usurped by his uncle Rajaput, he killed him by his own Keris. Facing the retaliation from the latter' s relative, Marsusa prepared for the worst. The rulers of Pam and Dandagiri who were related to Rajaput by their mother side, soon carried on their revenge. Marsusa then subdued his rivals and took theirs countries as vassal. To punish them further he imposed double taxes on them. However, he soon restrained himself and changed his policy in regard to his new dependencies. Under the watchful eye of Siam and other European venturers, Marsusa came to realize that he need to make peace with his own peers. He gave two of his daughters in marriage to the two rulers and he himself married one daughter of the ruler of Pam. That would supposedly resolve their conflict and seal their alliance. After his death, his son Alaodim succeeded his father.

THE SEA TRADE
The fall of Angkor constituted a new era of the sea trade business between the West and the East. Under the Angkorean control, Arab merchants whose ventures with China were done in the past through the intermediary of the Sri Vijaya were forced to observe the local regulation. At the same time, Buddhism flourished in both India and China making the pact between the three Buddhist continents even stronger. Under Buddhism, the Sri Vijaya became not only a power player in the sea trade business, but also a cultural center of Southeast Asia. With a good relationship set between India and China, Angkor monitored the sea trade for the benefits of all parties. Unfortunately, more Tartaric incursion occurred inducing instability into India and at the same time brought down Buddhism to a steady decline.

The Impact of Tartaric Expansion
After its first millennium of glory had passed, Buddhism entered its declining phase. During the high of the conflict, the dynastic crisis brought the sea trade to a stand still. A peace accord with the Chola allowed the Sri Vijaya to restore their maritime business. Nevertheless, the damage had already been done. Never again, the Sri Vijaya had the opportunity of a full potential sea trade business. During the battle between the two powerhouses, fewer and fewer ships would pass through the straight of Mallaka. In their extended control over northern China, evidences show that the Song dynasty had opened up the Silk Road again. The task was however proved to be of self-destruction. Being brought down by the Kin, the northern Song ceased to exist and the Southern Song was going to experience the same fate. The open-up of the Silk Road allowed the tartaric legacy of Central Asia to reemerge. After subduing the Kin, the Mongols finished off the Song Dynasty and made their ways to tackle Angkor. To avoid suffering the same fate, the Ming closed down the Silk Road after winning over the Mongols. To keep the Tartarization out from incursing into Chinese territory, the Ming Emperor ordered the Great Wall to be reconstructed. He then launched an ambitious project to rebuild the southern sea-trade without consulting local authorities who were in control of the South China sea since the deep past. Deceived by the Chinese mops, the Ming tried to pacify the sea-route by giving the locals more shares of their controls. Nevertheless, the change of policy came a little too late. As we shall see, the Chinese settlement had already transformed the southern searoute into a replica of the Silk Road. Complication arose when other contenders also moved in and started challenging the Ming' s authority. When the Ming decided to scrap their southern venture, Southeast Asia became the battleground of too many factions fighting to establish supremacy through the narrow straigth. After the fall of the Chola, India was once again exposed to the western development. This time it was the apocalypse in the making that made its way through India in its destination toward Angkor. Under Roman Catholicism, Europe became united to become the new superpower of the west and used its new strength to curb the Muslim world. Evidences show that the Roman Catholic Church cooperated with the early Khans to crush Muslim in Middle East in the effort to restore back Jerusalem and the later Khans to expand Catholicism to the east. As dictated in the Yin-yang cosmology, the fall of the Mongols allowed the Muslim world to regroup and by filling up the vacuum left by the Mongols, extended itself east. Following the same path of their ancestors, factions of the Ottoman leadership infiltrated themselves into Central Asia and northern India, crushing along the last of Hindu and Buddhist communities to make way for Islam. The Tartaric Sharia Law was adopted to the fullest because of its efficiency in waging holy war and stabilizing conquered territory into adopting the new religion. It is important to note that the Sharia Law predated Islam and was common to all Middle Eastern practices in the deep past under Zoroastrianism. Common practices in the custom of Judaism and Muslim, such as Circumcision and the prohibition of pork consumption in the Meru Culture. Other irrational measures such as the cult of the ancestors that required live sacrification or killing, however existed in both western and eastern practices of Vishnuite tradition. At the same time, the capital punishment by stone throwing and by cruscification were prohibited in the Sivaite and to the most extend in Buddhist schools of the east. From there we conclude that the Sharia Law was originated from the bad practices induced by religious authorities of the demonic god Rashu' s temples. It was through this Phoenician channel that new Middle Eastern developments had made their way into Southeast Asia. As we had argued. Angkor had also been subjected during its late stage, to this South Indian bad practices and as prophesized (in the Ezekial Account), became next the victim of the attack by Gog and Magog. After Angkor, the Sri Vijaya was next to be the most affected by the apocalypse. Under the incursion of both Siam and the new Javanese court of Krtanagara, it was completely disintegrated and scattered into petty communities. To survive the aggression, many converted themselves (voluntarily or involuntarily) to Islam and became members of Southeast Asian Muslim communities that were formed through influx of new caliphate elutes from Middle East. Needless to say, the Javanese court of Krtanagara was next to suffer the same fate, after the conquest by Alphonse of Albuquerque.

The Muslim' s Conquest
In the modern history of Malaysia, the birth of Malaka was considered by most scholars as an iconic event of the new era of the South China Sea-trade. Based on western sources of mostly Arab, scholars compiled the new history of Malaysia from historical data that are totally disconnected from the past. Through commercial contacts, Arab merchants knew little about the past and provided sketchy records of the new seaports where commercial activities were taken place. It started with Paramesvara who, in fighting off the Javanese and the Siamese control, built Malaka from a small village of fishermen to become a big maritime enterprise. Malaka was then a new venture and without a strong support of the Ming dynasty, its future was very much unsecured. The arrival of Muslim aristocrats from Middle East changed gradually the situation. By marrying into the ruling houses of the Malay Archipelago, Muslim aristocrats took no time to convert Malaysian population into the new faith. Using the same policy of offering daughters to willing participants, Muslim rulers continued to convert the rest of southern states, one after the other. In Champapura, the aggression of Annam forced the Champa court to look for support from the Muslim World. The king who was by then still a Hindu, sent one of his daughters to Alaodim for marriage. She was perhaps the same princess who, according to Indonesian source, was responsible in expanding Muslim in a big scale into Champapura (Nokor Champa and the Lao Kingdom of Lang-xang: Nokor Prah Kanta: The spread of Muslim). Becoming very rich and powerful, Alaodim was actually the only hope for the Cham King to save his dominion from Annam, Nevertheless, his support was not without a catch. Following his father past conviction, Alaodim was also in the process of converting the rest of his acquaintance to Muslim. He then planned a pilgrimage trip to Mekka but died of poison before making the trip. People say that it was the instigation of the kings of Pam and of Dandargiri who were still devoted to Hindu and were not disposed to be converted in any time soon. Apparently it was the only way for the two rulers to keep their Hindu faith, as Alaodim tried to force them into joining him in the pilgrimage trip to Mekka and subsequently converted them to Muslim. When he died, his queen consort that was the daughter of the Champa's king wanted her son to inherit the throne. She had the support of both the King of Champa and of Pam, but the Bendara of Malaka did not agree upon. He wanted instead his nephew named Mahamet, son of Alaodim with the daughter of the previous Bendara, to rule Malaka. After ascending the throne, the new sultan Mahamet refuted all together his vassalage to the Kings of Siam and to Java. He stopped sending taxes to either one of them and declared himself vassal of the king of China instead. The king of Siam sent a fleet of 100 ships to attack him but was intercepted by Mahamet's own fleet and was completely destroyed. From that time on (1489) there was no more Siam' s attempt to take control of Malaka again and left its tributary system to the mercy of southern royal houses. The Javanese Sultant Mahamet was then in a position to have it all and would not let the opportunity to pass by. To capitalize on the auspex situation, he worked on strengthening his personal power. He killed his brother, the Sultant Celeimao, out of contempt and the scare of being usurped. He also killed other court members who were his own relatives without adequate motif. Wane as he was, he made joke of his father about his plan to make a pilgrimage trip to Mecca. Saying that there was no need to make a trip of pilgrimage because Malaka was actually the real Mecca. It was this act of betrayal against Muslim tradition that, as believed by other Muslim communities, caused Malaka to be destroyed (Notes: The fall of Malaka). Further study proved that it was actually the Muslim expansionist drive that was the real cause of the next bad omen of the Muslim World in Southeast Asia. Standing in their ways, was the court of Majapahit of eastern Java whose devotion to Hinduism was still strong. Nevertheless, Muslim infiltration lessened the Majapahit court' s support from the population. Members of the court who resisted the conversion had to retract themselves into the Hindu stronghold of Bali for protection. Once the local resistance was out of the way, Java became then the most populous Muslim State of the world. Through Muslim networking system, Java took on the monopoly game and joined in the constant fighting with the Christian world. European enterprise, in their ways to trade with China and Japan could no longer penetrate into the regional sea-trade and started to equip their vessels with guns and canons for protection. While the Muslim occupation of Southeast Asia started a new phase of colonization, Western adventurers who saw the spice trade falling into the sole control of the Muslim channel, started to build up their own colonies.

Early Portuguese Ventures
Alphonse of Albuquerque came to Southeast Asia to find out that Muslim had already taking hold of Java and the rest of the Malay Archipelago. Following the disappearance of the Majapahit court, Indonesia and the Malay Peninsular were run by local sultans mostly of Middle Eastern origin. Their resistance were tough, but Albuquerque had all the means to subdue them with the state of the art armament first time seen the east. As the Muslim resistance was quickly subdued, his early ventures were particularly thriving. His first exploit was the conquest of Malaka founded by Paramesvara in 1511 (Sri Dharmaraja: The birth of Malaka: Paramesava and the foundation of Malaka). Perhaps because of the devastation of Muslim communities of Malaka was so complete that Alphonse of Albuquerque's exploit against the Island was often considered as his personal drive against Muslim (Notes: The Attack by Alfonse d'Albuquerque). Since then there was a general perception of the overall Portuguese intervention in Southeast Asia to be more of religious motivation than a commercially driven campaign.
It is understood that the Portuguese came to the East not only to seek their fortunes, but also to spread the Catholic religion and crusade against Islam. In 1554 the first catholic priests arrived in Burma. They were two Dominican friars, Gasper de Cruz and Bomferrus, who came as chaplains to the seaport Portuguese. (BMar2: The Coming of the European P. 50)
From the 16th century onwards, East Timor became a Portuguese colony and the fact that Christian communities thrived in the islands seams to support the crusader' s theory. East Timor was left from the early occupation of the Portuguese religious endeavor made possible by Alphonse of Albuquerque. The change of event in Spain however forced him to abandon his once lucrative venture at Malaka. He left behind unemployed Portuguese recruits to take refuge at the southern tip of the Indonesian Islands known later as Timor. Out of the mainstream of the sea trade, these islands were important neither to Lisborn nor to other European contenders. Portugal generally neglected the colony that became the refuge of Lisbon 's unwanted citizens who came to join the Portuguese communities that were formed after Alphonse of Albuquerque left Malaka. They were political prisoners and criminals who without any other opportunities turned themselves into servicemen specialized in modern weapons and artillery. They later became part of a large distribution center of mercenaries for hire through out Southeast Asia. The rest of the island of Timor, and the other islands that were later to become Indonesia, were on the other hand colonized by the Dutch between the 17th and 19th centuries. They were known at the time as the Dutch East Indies. The next arrival of the British colonists however changed the whole situation. With its solid base set in India, the British India acted as a local superpower. It was not before long that the rest of Portuguese venturers realized of their odd situation in Southeast Asia. They then did what they had done best in the past, which was to go further ahead of their competition. While British India was concentrating to extend their base from India into Southeast Asia, the Portuguese went ahead to make intercourse with China and Japan. As having been done at Malaka, they were looking for a stable base for their next commercial ventures with the most populated countries of the world. Macao that was formed on a group of small Chinese southern islands had proved itself to suit their purpose. Unlike Malaka that was already been formed by Paramesvara and had to be conquered, Macao was not developed as a major settlement until the Portuguese arrived in the 16th century. The islands were virtually unpopulated before that. It was perfect for their settlement that later transformed itself as a Portugal colony. Having established themselves at Goa in 1510 and Malacca in 1511, the first Portuguese venturists arrived on the China coast in 1513, They came aboard a hired junk sailing from Malaka and landed on Lintin Island in the Zhujiang (Pearl River) estuary. As soon as they arrived, they erected a stone marker claiming the island for the king of Portugal. It is important to note that the Portuguese had already clashed with the Ming during the conquest of Malaka by Alphonse of Albuquerque in 1511. When Portuguese fleets arrived in the vicinity of Haojingao in 1517 and 1518, Chinese officials immediately reacted to the violations of China's sovereignty. Portuguese adventurers were forcibly expelled from along the coast of Guangdong in 1521. That would not deter the persistence of the Portuguese traders who, along the Chinese line, learned to fit themselves into the Chinese politic. Following a shipwreck in 1536, they were allowed to take temporary shelters at Haojingao. The permanent settlement of the Portuguese traders in Macao started later on 1553 when they were able to establish on-shore-trading depots, despite the Chinese policy of no foreign settlement in Chinese land.
Reference:
  1. ISSA: The Indianized States of Southeast Asia, by G. Coedes
  2. CKHI: The Chonicle of Khmer heroes Part I, by Sot Eng
  3. CNSDA: The Christal Sands: the chronicles of Nagara Sri Dharmaraja: Version A, Translated by David K. Wyatt
  4. CNSDB: The Christal Sands: the chronicles of Nagara Sri Dharmaraja: Version B: Chapter IV, Translated by David K. Wyatt
  5. MALAKA: Malaka, Le Malay et Malayur, by Gabriel Ferrand
  6. VIJAYA: L'Empire Sumatranais de Sri Vijaya, by Gabriel Ferrand
  7. HI: History of Indonesia Early and Medieval, by B. R. Chatterji
Notes:
  1. Chronology
    1347: First Sanskrit inscription at Malayupura by Adityavarman; 1350: King U-tong wrested Ayudhya from King Attitaraja; 1375: Second inscription of Adityavarma; 1368-1398: The Hongwu Emperor ruled China; 1373-1383: The reign of Prah Dharmasokaraja at Catomukh; 1402-1424: The Yongle Emperor ruled China; 1431: Envoy of Sri Raja to the Ming court reporting Ayudhya's threat; 1433-1478: The reign of Sri Raja at Catomukh; 1442-1486: The reign of the Lao king Trilokaracha; 1471: Le Loi liberated Annam and attacked Champapura; 1511: Malaka fell to the Frans;
  2. The Title of Dharmsokaraja
    The title of "Sri Mate Sri Man Dhamaraja" was a customary title of the Sri Dhammaraja ruler before it was replaced by the title of "Sri Dharmasokaraja" when members of the Mauyan court started to move in and joined in the establishment of Buddhism.
  3. The twelve cities of Sri Dharmaraja
    In the early thirteenth century, Chao Ju-kua attributed no less than fifteen states to the dependency of Sri Dharmaraja (Chao Ju-kua, Hirth and RockHill).
    Peng-feng, Teng-ya-nung, Ling-ya-ssu-chia, Chi-lan-tan, Fo-lo-an, Jih-lo-ting, Chien-mai-pa-ta, Tan-ma-ling, Chia-lo-shi, Pa-lin-feng, Sin-to, Chien-pi, Lan-wu-li, Si-lan.
    The list obviously includes all twelve cities of the new tributary system mentioned in the Sri Dharmaraja Chronicle. The list covers all the Malay Peninsula south of the Bay of Bandon and all of western Indonesia.
  4. The end of Sri Dhamaraja-version A
    The two versions of the Sri Dhammaraja chronicle, while had some slight differences up to this point, would have significant deviation during the last phase of the Sri Vijaya Kings. The version A ended the line of King Chandabhanu right at the epidemic broke-out.
    Bana Candrabhanu had been ruler for about seven years when an epidemic broke-out throughout the muang and many died. Bana Candrabhanu and bana Bansasurah consulted with mahathera Saccanudeba, and with their families took the boats to flee the epidemic. The fever pursued the boats, and the ruler, their wives and their children all died. Brah mahathera Saccanudeba [also] died. Moan Nagara fell into ruins and reverted to forest for along time.(CNSDA: Chapter IV: Nagara Sri Dharmaraja in legendary Time: Episode IX:Third Abandonment)
  5. The end of Sri Dhamaraja-version B
    The version A did not specifically make a reference to the origin of bana Bansasurah that seam to be close to Bana Candrabhanu during the latter's last day. However version B introduces a boy of the Village named Banbakara who had displayed a gutsy character during his boyhood. Bana Candrabhanu adopted the boy [Banbakara] and decided to use him to assert his independence from Java. When the time came to send tribute to Java, Bana Candrabhanu did not cooperate. Java then sent a naval force to attack him but was defeated by Banbakara. Free from Javanese control, Bana Candrabhanu divided his moan and gave one part to Banbakara. We have reason to believe that Banbakara became Bansasurah in consistency with another part of the version B indicating that Bansasurah would succeed Candabhanu after his death.
    When Brahna Sri Dharmasokaraja died, in the year 1200, Brahna Candabhanu became ruler, and brahna Bansasura became brahna Candbhanu, establishing himself south of the reliquary, at moan Brah Vian. Later, Sri Dharmasokaraja died, and his younger brother, brahna Candrabhanu, became ruler. (CNSDA: Chapter IV: Nagara Sri Dharmaraja In Legendary Times: Episode IX: Third Abandonment)
    The version B then mentions that Chandabhanu died before the epidemic broke-out and that others deserted Sri Dhammaraja.
    When the ruler (Chandabhanu) died, an epidemic broke-out, and the people of the moan, fleeing illness and death, went to live among the mountains and streams. For a long time the moan was deserted. (CNSDB: Chapter IV: Nagara Sri Dharmaraja in legendary Time: Episode IX: Third Abandonment)
    There is no mentioning that Candabhanu's family all died and neither about the fate of Banbakara or Bansasura during the epidemic.
  6. Sri Dharmaraja as Nagara Ton Prah
    The reference "Nagara Ton Prah" is more likekely a fautif of "Nagara Dharm Prah" which is a reference to Sri Dharmaraja. It could be also a reference to "Nagara Thong Prah" that according to the legacy of Kaundinya or Prah Thong settling at Sri Dharmaraja, became part of the Khmer Kingdom after he married the Nagi Princess (Nokor Khmer: Mahidhara as the seat of Sri Dharmaraja: The formation of Lavo).
  7. The Ming Tche's account of Sri Dhammaraja
    Without the chronicle of Sri Dhammaraja, we might agree with George Coedes and other scholars that the Ming Tche account is about the foundation of Malaka by Parammesvara with the support of the Ming Dynasty (ISSA: The End of the Indian Kingdoms: Malaka). From the account of Prah Phnom Khale and the contact with the Ming Dynasty, we see that the Ming Tche's account was just recording their relationship.
  8. The Champa's connection
    There is discrepancy regarding either the Ming Emperor or Xaquendarxa gave the other his daughter for marriage. The version of 1576 alludes that the Ming Emperor offered his daughter to Xaquendarxa, while the version of 1776 mentions the other way around. Considering the fact that Xaquendarxa died shortly after his trip to China, he must to be very old then. It would not make sense for the Ming Emperor to offer his daughter to an old ruler who came to put his country under the Chinese protection. The chronicle of Sri Dharmaraja mentions on the other hand that a Champa princess named Candramauli Sripadanarthasuravamsa sent to the Chinese Emperor as consort. Undoubtedly the Champa princess was the daughter of Xaquendarxa, and her own daughter was given later by the Ming Emperor to King Khale, the Khmer ruler of Pejrapuri. From the alliance, we shall see the emergence of Malkaka, the reestablishment of Champapura and the formation of Lan-xang. While the Mings took back Annam under its control, the sea trade was back under the suzerainty of the Ming Dynasty.
  9. The fall of Malaka
    Concerning the current situation of Malaka, Mahamet 's act was not due to personal issues as stated in the commentary. It was actually a political shift that started already with the assassination of his father Alaodim who was at the forefront of both religious and political lean toward the west. This policy was however was not shared by both the Champa and Pam Kings who aligned themselves with China. After Alaodim was brought done, Mahamet completed the transition and Alfonse d'Albuquerque must to see it as a setback to his interest and a rare opportunity to act. For the sake of his own venturing mission, the conquest resulted in the takeover of Southeast Asian sea-route by the Franks.
  10. The Attack by Alfonse d'Albuquerque
    After the attack on the 25 July 1511, he confiscated all the goods of the Palace that accounted for fifty quintaux of gold and took all women to be his concubines, altogether to the number of fifty women. The Commentary d'Albuquerque then ended the chapter of Malaka as it was conquered by him.
    From the first king who founded Malaka until the reign of Sultan Mahamet, when Alfonse d'Albuquerque seized it, there are ninety years since the city was first populated.
    Also he provided the list of rulers of Malaka that started from it was formed by Paramesvara.
    There were six kings to know: Paramesvara, Xaquendarxa, sultan Masusa, sultan Alaoadim and sultan Mahamet.
    Tracking back through the events, the foundation of Malaka by Paramesvara was approximately around 1420. The rulers that were in list after him all had been converted to Muslim. After the conquest, Alfonse tried to sale Malaka to Siam. The Ayudhan King was smart enough to know that Alfonse d'Albuquerque left Malaka because the Frank and other European venturers already had their own plan in regard to this important seaport.