As I have been writing for years now, there is a place name in Chinese sources, Sanfoqi 三佛齊, which, for the past 100+ years, scholars have thought indicated a place on the southern end of the island of Sumatra which they think was the capital of a polity called “Srivijaya.”
What I have been arguing and demonstrating is that Sanfoqi is literally the name “Kambuja,” and was a reference to, of course, “Cambodia.”
The Chinese historical source that probably contains the most information about Sanfoqi/Kambuja is the History of the Song. In what follows, I will translate the section on Sanfoqi in the History of the Song, and I will provide running comments to explain the information there.
三佛齊國，蓋南蠻之別種，與占城為隣，居真臘、闍婆之間，所管十五州。土產紅藤、紫礦、箋沉香、檳榔、椰子。無緡錢，土俗以金銀貿易諸物。四時之氣，多熱少寒，冬無霜雪。人用香油塗身。其地無麥，有米及青白豆，鷄魚鵝鴨頗類中土。有花酒、椰子酒、檳榔酒、蜜酒，皆非麴糵所醞，飲之亦醉。樂有小琴、小鼓，崐崙奴踏曲為樂。國中文字用梵書，以其王指環為印，亦有中國文字，上章表即用焉。累甓為城，周數十里，用椰葉覆屋。人民散居城外，不輸租賦，有所征伐，隨時調發，立酋長率領，皆自備兵器粮糗。汎海使風二十日至廣州。其王號詹卑，其國居人多蒲姓。唐天祐元年貢物，授其使都蕃長蒲訶栗立寧遠將軍。
The kingdom of Sanfoqi 三佛齊 is a separate branch of the southern barbarians and neighbors Champa. It is located between Zhenla 真臘 and Shepo 闍婆, and governs fifteen regions.
Its local products include red rattan, purple mineral, fine aloeswood, betel nuts, and coconuts. They do not use stringed copper coins; the local custom is to trade goods using gold and silver.
The climate is hot in all seasons, with little cold; there is no frost or snow in winter. People anoint their bodies with fragrant oils. The land does not produce wheat, but it has rice as well as green and white beans. Chickens, fish, geese, and ducks are much like those of the Central Lands.
They have flower wine, coconut wine, betel wine, and honey wine. None are brewed with yeast or fermentation starters yet drinking them still causes intoxication.
For music, they use small zithers and small drums, and Kunlun slaves perform stepping dances and songs for entertainment.
In the kingdom, for writing they use the Fan script [Fanshu 梵書, indicates an Indic script]. The king uses a signet ring as a seal. Chinese writing is also known, and Chinese characters are used for formal memorials.
Cities are enclosed by walls made of stacked bricks and extend for several dozen leagues in circumference. Houses are roofed with coconut leaves. People live scattered outside the city and are not subject to taxes or corvée labor. When military campaigns arise, troops are levied as needed; chieftains are appointed to lead them, and each person prepares his own weapons and provisions.
Traveling by sea with a favorable wind, one can reach Guangzhou in twenty days.
The king holds the title Zhanbei 詹卑. Many people residing inside the kingdom have the surname Pu 蒲. In the first year of the Tang Tianyou era [904 CE], they offered tribute. Their envoy, Pu Heli 蒲訶栗, was appointed Chief of the Foreign Tribes [Dufanzhang 都蕃長] and General Who Pacifies the Distant [Ningyuan Jiangjun 寧遠將軍].
1) “The kingdom of Sanfoqi 三佛齊 is a separate branch of the southern barbarians and neighbors Champa. It is located between Zhenla 真臘 and Shepo 闍婆, and governs fifteen regions.”
As I wrote in the second part of my article on “Rescuing History from Srivijaya: The Fall of Angkor in the Ming shilu,” Chinese had very little knowledge of places beyond the coast. From that perspective, we can see Zhenla and Sanfoqi as 1) two coastal access points to the interior, and 2) interior polities that the Chinese didn’t know much about and, at least at the government official level, very rarely, if ever, visited.
In terms of the coastal access points, Zhenla was on the southeastern coast of the Indochinese Peninsula and Sanfoqi was on the southern coast. For much of history, I think one entered the interior from the east by heading up the Saigon River. By say the thirteenth century, however, there are signs of people entering the Mekong. Either way, this area was, to Chinese, “Zhenla.”
Sanfoqi, on the other hand, was, I argue, accessed from the area of what is now Ha Tien.
Where did those two access points lead to? That remains for me the million-dollar question. At the moment, I see them both leading to the region at the bottom end of the Tonle Sap where you had Angkor Borei, Lovek, Sambor Prei Kuk, etc.
Did the access points of Zhenla and Sanfoqi both lead to the same place? It’s possible. One point that is obvious, and this will be clear from passages below, is that the idea that the tribute system was one in which one line of kings maintained a clear relationship with the Chinese court and where there were regular visits from a Chinese envoy to grant a seal to rule is a model that only applied in some cases, such as with Vietnam and Korea (and even there, in the case of Vietnam, you had long periods where nothing happened).
Finally, as for Shepo, while most scholars think this is a reference to island Java, I have written a lot on this by now, and have put forth a lot of supporting evidence, and what I argue is that this was in the area of the Lake Songkhla to Kedah/Trang trans-peninsular crossing.
In other words, where I see Sanfoqi – as accessed through the southern coast of the Indochinese Peninsula – is right between Zhenla and Shepo, as the above passage indicates.
2) “The king holds the title Zhanbei 詹卑.”
I argue that this is the Khmer term “Somdaech.” Reconstructing the pronunciation, you get something like “jam baek” (I’m writing from memory, so that’s not exact, but it’s close).
In the Srivijaya scholarship, scholars have argued that this term refers to Jambi, on the island of Sumatra. To understand the flaws in that scholarship, please see the following: https://leminhkhaiblog.com/the-myth-of-jambi-as-a-capital-of-srivijaya/
As far as I know, I am the only person who has ever taken this statement seriously and attempted to find an explanation for it. I think it’s common sense that this is what historians have to at least make an effort to do in the process of trying to determine the accuracy of historical information. However, there is a very strong tendency in the extant scholarship to promptly dismiss information in Chinese sources that does not fit one’s preconceived view/narrative as a “Chinese misconception.” As I have said many times by now, the problem is usually not with the sources, but with the modern scholars.
I’ve written about that here: https://leminhkhaiblog.com/dismissing-china-the-chinese-in-the-field-of-southeast-asian-history-in-the-english-speaking-world/
3) “Many people residing inside the kingdom have the surname Pu 蒲.”
The term for kingdom here (guo 國), can range in meaning from a reference to an entire territory or a royal center. I think it’s the latter here because 1) no one was out canvassing the entire kingdom to find out people’s surnames, 2) commoners probably didn’t have anything like a surname at that time, and 3) this would most likely refer to the people whom the Chinese dealt with.
I argue that this “pu” is the “Cham” honorific “po.” We see it in the names of envoys primarily from Champa, but also here, and in some other instances. I argue that we can see in the Song period that Cham were serving as key intermediaries in the trade and tribute networks.
For more on this, see:
https://leminhkhaiblog.com/when-the-cham-ruled-the-seas/
https://leminhkhaiblog.com/more-evidence-for-the-cham-pu-po-in-chinese-historical-sources/
建隆元年九月，其王悉利胡大霞里檀遣使李遮帝來朝貢。二年夏，又遣使蒲蔑貢方物。是冬，其王室利烏耶遣使茶野伽、副使嘉末吒朝貢。其國號生留，王李犀林男迷日來亦遣使同至貢方物。三年春，室利烏耶又遣使李麗林、副使李鵶末、判官吒吒璧等來貢，迴，賜以白犛牛尾、白甆器、銀器、錦線鞍轡二副。開寶四年，遣使李何末以水晶、火油來貢。五年，又來貢。七年，又貢象牙、乳香、薔薇水、萬歲棗、褊桃、白沙糖、水晶指環、瑠璃瓶、珊瑚樹。八年，又遣使蒲陁漢等貢方物，賜以冠帶、器幣。
In the ninth lunar month of the first year of the Jianlong era [960], its king, Xili Hudaxialitan 悉利胡大霞里檀, dispatched the envoy, Li Zhedi 李遮帝, to the court to present tribute.
In the summer of the second year [961], envoy Pu Mie was also dispatched to present local goods as tribute. That winter, the king, Shili Wuye 室利烏耶, sent envoy Chayeqia 茶野伽 and deputy envoy Jiamozha 嘉末吒 to present tribute. Their kingdom is called Shengliu 生留.
Mirilai 迷日來, the son of the king, Lixilin 李犀林, also sent envoys that arrived at the same time to present local goods as tribute.
In the spring of the third year [962], Shili Wuye again dispatched envoys Li Lilin 李麗林, deputy Li Yamo 李鵶末, and adjudicator Zhazhabi 吒吒璧, to present tribute. On their return, they were granted gifts including white yak tails, white porcelain vessels, silverware, and two sets of brocade-decorated saddles and bridles.
In the fourth year of the Kaibao reign [971], envoy Li Hemo 李何末 was sent and presented crystal and petroleum as tribute.
In the fifth year [972], another mission arrived to offer tribute.
In the seventh year [974], tribute was again presented, including elephant ivory, frankincense, rose water, longevity dates, flat peaches, white granulated sugar, crystal rings, glass bottles, and coral branches.
In the eighth year [975], envoys including Pu Tuohan 蒲陁漢 and others brought tribute goods and were rewarded with court caps and belts, vessels, and coinage.
One thing that we do not see here is the establishment of a clear connection or relationship between one king and the Chinese court.
Instead, what we do see here is that when then Song came to power and established tributary relations, there was a mad rush by multiple parties to take advantage of this opportunity. We see the same developments centuries later when the Ming came to power.
Who were these different parties? It’s probably impossible to know. With the first name, Xili Hudaxialitan 悉利胡大霞里檀, the only thing I could come close to creating was possibly Sri Vyavahari “Tan”. . . with vyavahāri meaning “merchant” or “trader” (Jenner, Dictionary of Angkorian Khmer, 569). So, perhaps this was a royal merchant?
But that’s just a guess, and as for the others, I have no idea. But again, they were clearly not all coming from one court, let alone, one king.
That’s an important point to keep in mind.
太平興國五年，其王夏池遣使茶龍眉來。是年，潮州言，三佛齊國蕃商李甫誨乘舶船載香藥、犀角、象牙至海口，會風勢不便，飄船六十日至潮州，其香藥悉送廣州。八年，其王遐至遣使蒲押陁羅來貢水晶佛、錦布、犀牙、香藥。雍熙二年，舶主金花茶以方物來獻。端拱元年，遣使蒲押陀黎貢方物。淳化三年冬，廣州上言：「蒲押陀黎前年自京迴，聞本國為闍婆所侵，住南海凡一年，今春乘舶至占城，偶風信不利，復還。乞降詔諭本國。」從之。
In the fifth year of the Taiping Xingguo era [980], its king, Xiachi 夏池, sent the envoy Cha Longmei 茶龍眉.
In the same year, officials in Chaozhou reported that a foreign merchant [fanshang 蕃商] from the kingdom of Sanfoqi, Li Fuhui 李甫誨, had arrived by ship carrying aromatics, rhinoceros horn, and elephant ivory. Due to unfavorable winds, his vessel drifted for sixty days before reaching Chaozhou. All the aromatic were then forwarded to Guangzhou.
In the eighth year [983], the king, Xiazhi 遐至, sent envoy Pu Yatuoluo 蒲押陁羅 to present tribute, including a crystal Buddha, brocade cloth, rhinoceros tusks, and aromatics.
In the second year of the Yongxi era [985], a shipmaster [bozhu 舶主] named Jin Huacha 金花茶 brought tribute goods.
In the first year of the Duangong era [988], envoy Pu Yatuoli 蒲押陀黎 was sent to offer tribute goods.
In the third year of the Chunhua era [992), during the winter, Guangzhou officials reported: “Pu Yatuoli, after returning from the capital two years ago, heard that his home country had been invaded by Shepo 闍婆. He remained in Nanhai for over a year. This spring, he sailed to Champa, but because the seasonal winds were unfavorable, he returned again. He now respectfully requests that an imperial edict be issued to his home country.” This request was granted.
Here we see even more evidence that tribute was not coming from a single court. Indeed, when tribute arrives from a “shipmaster” [bozhu 舶主], one can only wonder if kings were involved at all.
The mention of “a foreign merchant [fanshang 蕃商] from the kingdom of Sanfoqi” is also interesting. The term “foreign merchant” here, more literally meaning “barbarian merchant,” could be indicating someone coming from Sanfoqi who was a foreigner there, such as a foreign trader.
Related to this, notice how the tribute goods are different from the products that Sanfoqi produced, as mentioned in the opening passage. What we can see is that many of the tribute goods that Sanfoqi presented to the Song court must have been acquired through trade.
Finally, the name Xiachi 夏池 or Xiazhi 遐至 mentioned in 980 and 983 is certainly the title “haji.” Although this title sounds the same as that given to someone who has made the Hajj to Mecca, there is also an honorific in Old Malay, Old Javanese and Cham that is pronounced the same way.
That the tribute sent by a certain Haji in 983 was delivered by an envoy named Pu Yatuoluo 蒲押陁羅, a name that likely starts with the Cham honorific “po,” increases the likelihood this may have been a Cham, as does the “Yatuoluo,” which might have been a Cham title indicating an official. See https://leminhkhaiblog.com/when-the-cham-ruled-the-seas/
Finally, it is interesting to see Sanfoqi attacked by Shepo here, as Song dynasty era sources indicate that these two polities were rivals. As I have argued extensively already, this Shepo was not island Java, as many scholars believe, but the name that Chinese gave to a powerful polity in the area of the Lake Songkhla to Kedah/Trang trans-peninsular crossing.
咸平六年，其王思離咮囉無尼佛麻調華遣使李加排、副使無陁李南悲來貢，且言本國建佛寺以祝聖壽，願賜名及鐘。上嘉其意，詔以「承天萬壽」為寺額，并鑄鐘以賜，授加排歸德將軍，無陁李南悲懷化將軍。大中祥符元年，其王思離麻囉皮遣使李眉地、副使蒲婆藍、判官麻河勿來貢，許赴泰山陪位于朝覲壇，遣賜甚厚。天禧元年，其王霞遲蘇勿吒蒲迷遣使蒲謀西等奉金字表，貢真珠、象牙、梵夾經、崐崙奴，詔許謁會靈觀，游太清寺、金明池。及還，賜其國詔書、禮物以慰奬之。
In the sixth year of the Xianping era [1003], the king Sili Zhuluowunifomadiaohua 思離咮囉無尼佛麻調華 sent envoy Li Jiapai 李加排 and deputy envoys Wutuolinanbei 無陁李南悲 to present tribute. They also reported that their country had constructed a Buddhist temple to pray for the emperor’s long life, and requested an official name for the temple along with a bell. The emperor appreciated their sincerity and issued a decree granting the temple the name “Receiving Heaven and Ten Thousand Years of Longevity” [Chengtian Wanshou 承天萬壽] and ordered a bell to be cast and bestowed upon them. [Li] Jiapai was given the title General Who Returns to Virtue [Guide jiangjun 歸德將軍), and Wutuolinanbei was granted the title General Who Embraces Moral Transformation [Huaihua jiangjun 懷化將軍].
In the first year of the Dazhong Xiangfu era [1008], its king, Sili Maluopi 思離麻囉皮, sent envoy Li Meidi 李眉地, deputy envoy Pu Polan 蒲婆藍, and adjudicator Mahewu 麻河勿 to present tribute. They were permitted to participate in the imperial pilgrimage to Mount Tai and were received with lavish gifts.
In the first year of the Tianxi era [1017], its king Xiachi Suwuzhapumi 霞遲蘇勿吒蒲迷 sent envoy Pu Mouxi 蒲謀西 and others, bearing a memorial written in gold characters. They offered pearls, ivory, palm-leaf Buddhist scriptures [fanlai jing 梵夾經], and Kunlun slaves. An imperial edict permitted them to visit the Huiling Temple, the Taiqing Temple, and the Jinming Pond. Upon their departure, the emperor issued a letter to their country and granted them gifts in recognition and encouragement.
We get a major change here. Suddenly tribute arrives from a king with a long Indic title, whereas for decades prior to that point, there had been no such names reported.
That name, meanwhile, is very important. Sili Zhuluowunifomadiaohua 思離咮囉無尼佛麻調華 can be transcribed as Sri Culamanivarmadeva.
Chola inscriptions indicate that this was the name of a king who ruled at that time over “Srivijaya and Kataha/Kadaram.” I think all scholars agree that Kataha/Kadaram indicated Kedah. I think most scholars also believe that Sanfoqi was Srivijaya. It was not. Sanfoqi was Kambuja, and we can see this clearly here.
In 992, an envoy from Sanfoqi reported that Sanfoqi had been attacked by Shepo. The next record dates from 1003 when suddenly a very new name appears as king of Sanfoqi: Sri Culamanivarmadeva. These two events are directly related.
As I have already documented in many different writings, “Shepo” referred to the area of the trans-peninsular crossing from Lake Songkhla to Kedah/Trang. Arabs referred to this area as “Jaba,” which is how “Shepo” was pronounced in the past as well, and they argued that it ruled over many polities. One of those polities, I argue, was called “Srivijaya,” meaning something like the “royal district.”
Shepo and Cambodia (across time from Funan to Sanfoqi) were rivals. In early times, Cambodia attracted the trade that crossed the Malay Peninsula north of Lake Songkhla. The Kedah to Lake Songkhla crossing appears to have developed a bit later, but when it did, it became very powerful, so powerful that in the late tenth century, as we see here, it was able to attack Sanfoqi and take control of its tribute/trade with China.
That is why in 1003, the name Sri Culamanivarmadeva suddenly appears as the king of Sanfoqi. He was not the king of Sanfoqi. He was the king of the place the Chinese called Shepo, and in 1003, it looks like he had gained control of the trade in the entire Gulf of Thailand area.
It the years that followed, 1008 and 1017 that you get names that look possibly Malay/Cham, with the title “haji” (Xiachi 霞遲) appearing again in the latter year.
Ok, now are you ready to have you mind blown? Not long after the above embassies were recorded, in 1025, the Chola kingdom in southern India attacked the areas around the Lake Songkhla to Kedah/Trang trans-peninsular crossing. Guess who then shows up in the embassies from Sanfoqi to China?
天聖六年八月，其王室離疊華遣使蒲押陀羅歇及副使、判官亞加盧等來貢方物。舊制遠國使人貢，賜以間金塗銀帶，時特以渾金帶賜之。
熙寧十年，使大首領地華伽囉來，以為保順慕化大將軍，賜詔寵之，曰：「吾以聲教覆露方域，不限遠邇，苟知夫忠義而來者，莫不錫之華爵，耀以美名，以寵異其國。爾悅慕皇化，浮海貢琛，吾用汝嘉，併超等秩，以昭忠義之勸。」元豐中，使至者再，率以白金、真珠、婆律薰陸香備方物。廣州受表入言，俟報，乃護至闕下。天子念其道里遙遠，每優賜遣歸。二年，賜錢六萬四千緡、銀一萬五百兩，官其使群陀畢羅為寧遠將軍，官陀旁亞里為保順郎將。畢羅乞買金帶、白金器物，及僧紫衣、師號、牒，皆如所請給之。
In the eighth lunar month of the sixth year of the Tiansheng era [1028], its king, Shili Diehua 室離疊華, sent envoy Pu Yatuoluoxie 蒲押陀羅歇, along with a deputy envoy and adjudicator named Yakalu 亞加盧, and others, to present tribute goods.
According to established protocol, when envoys from distant countries presented tribute, they were customarily granted a belt with silver plating and inlaid gold. On this occasion, however, a belt made entirely of solid gold was specially bestowed.
In the tenth year of the Xining reign (1077 CE), the head chieftan [Dashouling 大首領] Dihuajialuo 地華伽囉 came as an envoy. He was granted the title “Great General Who Protects and Submits and Admires Moral Transformation” [Baoshun muhua da jianghun 保順慕化大將軍], and an imperial edict was issued in his honor, stating:
“I extend my enlightening teachings far and wide, without limiting them by distance. All who recognize loyalty and righteousness and come to me are granted illustrious titles and honored with fine names, so that their kingdoms may be marked with distinction. You have admired and embraced my august transformations, crossed the seas to offer precious tribute. I appreciate your sincerity and elevate your rank beyond the norm, to make manifest the encouragement of loyalty and righteousness.”
During the Yuanfeng era [1078–1085], envoys arrived twice. They regularly brought tribute goods such as refined silver, pearls, and fragrant resins including borneol and olibanum.
The tribute memorial was received in Guangzhou and submitted to the court. After a reply was prepared, the envoys were escorted to the capital. The emperor, mindful of the long distances they had travelled, always granted generous gifts before sending them home.
In the second year [1079], the emperor bestowed 64,000 strings of cash and 10,500 taels of silver. Envoy Quntuobiluo 群陀畢羅 was appointed “General Who Pacifies the Distant” [Ningyuan jianghun 寧遠將軍], and Tuopangyali 陀旁亞里 was appointed “Commandant Who Protects and Submits” [Baoxun langjun 保順郎將].
Biluo 畢羅 requested to purchase a gold belt, silver vessels, a purple robe for a monk, a Buddhist teacher’s title, and certification documents. All were granted as requested.
The “diehua” 疊華 and “dihua” 地華 in the name of the 1028 king and the 1077 chieftan is “deva,” and that is a term that we did not see in the names of previous “kings” from Sanfoqi.
The appearance of the term “head chieftan” [Dashouling 大首領] is also interesting. This was not an ordinary envoy. Instead, this person had some other status.
In the same year that Head Chieftan Dihuajialuo (Devakala? Devakula?) arrived as an envoy from Sanfoqi, an embassy arrived from the Chola kingdom on behalf of a king by the same name.
This has long confused scholars, but when we understand that Sanfoqi was Kambuja and Srivijaya was located in Shepo/Jaba, the main rival of Sanfoqi, and the place that had recently attacked Sanfoqi, then the attack on Srivijaya by the Chola and the appearance of new names in records about Sanfoqi all make sense.
The Chola attack on Shepo (look at the places they attacked – they are all right there around the Lake Songkhla to Kedah/Trang trans-peninsular crossing), where the “royal district” of Srivijaya was located, was carried out in response to Shepo’s attack on Sanfoqi/Kambuja.
Shepo and Sanfoqi were the two main international trade hubs, and Shepo’s attack on Sanfoqi brought both hubs under its control. The Chola clearly had a reason to object to this. Either Sanfoqi asked for their assistance, or the Shepo monopoly so negatively affected their trade activities that they decided to take action.
My sense is that it was an alliance between Sanfoqi and the Chola kingdom (if I remember correctly, there is a record of a friendly exchange between Chola and Cambodia in one of the Chola inscriptions), and in the aftermath of the attack, the Chola were given certain benefits in Sanfoqi, hence the position of “head chieftan.”
However, can we still talk about the Chola kingdom at this point, or was this just a case of Tamils from that kingdom staying in the region? I think it was probably more the latter. Scholars have tried to figure out who the “real” Chola king was who sent tribute in 1077. That tribute probably did not come all the way from southern India. Instead, Tamils based in Cambodia, or somewhere else in the region (and there is evidence that they were in other places as well) may have sent it.
One thing is clear, however, and that is that Head Chieftan Dihuajialuo was not a stranger to the Chinese for by the time he arrived as envoy from Sanfoqi in 1077, he had already long been involved in re-building a Daoist temple in Guangzhou, the Tianqing Temple (Tianqing guan 天慶觀). We saw this temple mentioned in the previous section. Mariners prayed at various temples to protect their ships, and this temple likely served that purpose.
We learn about Dihuajiaoluo’s interest in restoring the Taiqing Temple from an inscription that was made in 1079 to commemorate the re-building of the temple. in this inscription, Dihuajialuo is referred to as “Lord of the Land and Head Chieftan of Sanfoqi Dihuajialuo” (Sanfoqi dizhu dushouling Dihuajialuo 三佛齊地主都首領地華迦囉).
Oh my!! Now that’s interesting, isn’t it? Here is a rough translation of the (long) inscription.
The teachings of the Daoist tradition originate with Laozi during the Zhou dynasty, flourished under Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang, and reached full splendor under Emperor Zhenzong of our Song dynasty. Indeed, when Laozi composed the two scriptures—the Dao and the De—his words completely expressed the principles of emptiness and non-being. Could this not be called the origin? When Emperor Xuanzong honored the teachings and proclaimed Daoism to be a model for the empire, ordering the establishment of temples named “Opening of Mystery” throughout the realm—could this not be called the flourishing? When Emperor Zhenzong revered the Supreme Dao and, during the Xiangfu era, issued an edict that every province and commandery should establish a Tianqing Temple, could this not be called the height of its prosperity?
In the southwest of the great metropolis of Guangfu [Guangzhou] in the Lingnan region stood such a temple—an especially prominent site of reverence. But in the fourth year of the Huangyou era [1052], the rebel Nong Zhigao from Guangyuan took advantage of unprepared defenses and advanced along the river to invade Panyu. The outer city suffered destruction, and the temple buildings were reduced to ashes and ruin. From then on, it lay desolate. Who, then, could restore it? Unless there were someone wealthy who loved the Way, and sincere in seeking blessings, who would care enough to direct attention to it?
In the fifth year [1053], in this place near great waters, where the routes of many foreign ships intersect, during the Zhiping reign, Lord of the Land and Head Chieftan of Sanfoqi Dihuajialuo [Sanfoqi dizhu dushouling Dihuajialuo 三佛齊地主都首領地華迦囉] sent his close associate, Zhiluolu 至囉囉, who arrived by ship. He saw that the temple lay in collapse and was overgrown with brambles. Together with a close associate from among the foreigners [fanzhong yi qinren 蕃中一親人] he returned to meet the lord of the land to fully report the situation. He was delighted and this gave rise to the desire to support the Dao and rebuild the temple.
In the fourth year [1067], Sili Shawen 思離沙文 [the “Sili” here is “Sri”] was dispatched to Guangzhou, where he began construction on the main gate. In the first year of the Xining era [1068], the hall reconstruction had not yet been completed, and Sili Shawen returned. In the second year [1069], he came again and finished rebuilding the main hall, as well as constructing the Hall of Proclamations to the west of the temple and then returned.
In the third year [1070], the lord of the land again sent offerings along with a request that the Daoist master Luo Yingzhi of Mount Lu be appointed to oversee the temple. The purple-robed monk He Deshun was appointed as supervisor. That same year, a request was made to purchase fields with 100,000 strings of cash to support offerings and temple services.
At the time, Luo Yingzhi returned to his former mountain retreat, and the visitor petitioned the Office for Overseeing Foreigners [Fansi 藩司], earnestly requesting that He Deshun be made resident abbot, and that construction continue with the Baohzhen Hall, the North Pole Hall, and the vegetarian hall, and that statues of the Heavenly Emperor and his retinue to be sculpted and completed.
Seeing that Sili Shawen would return again to his foreign land [benfan 本蕃], and that he was committed to fully restoring the Daoist establishment and reviving the sacred traces, a document was drafted to deliver to the lord of the land urging further support. It so happened that the adjudicator Matuhualuo 麻圖華囉, a man who deeply respected culture and virtue, came to present tribute and gifts. A formal petition was submitted, expressing the wish to contribute funds for rebuilding the Hall of the Three Purities and the Pavilion of the Imperial Calligraphy. He also requested permission to select one novice each year to be ordained, to cast a large bell and build a bell tower, and donated 400,000 strings of cash to purchase land to support the temple’s needs.
The court appreciated this sincerity and granted the requests. The lord of the land was awarded the title “Great General Who Protects and Submits and Admires Moral Transformation” [Baoshun muhua dajiangjun 保順慕化大將軍], and He Deshun was honored with the title “Grand Master Who Exalts the Dao.”
By the second year of the Yuanfeng era [1079], after some seven or eight months, all structures had been completed in grand scale. They stood like a celestial mansion—graced by cool breezes and the sound of ringing bells. When the sun shone down, the gold and blue-green decorations reflected the light.
As for the 400,000 strings of cash, they were used to purchase one qing and 90 mu of rice fields at Longwan bank outside Sangui village in Nanhai County, which yielded an annual rent of 758 hu of grain. In Liantang village in Qingyuan County, 90 hu from planted fields were acquired, and the combined rents of the two estates produced 700 hu of rice each year to support the use of the Daoist community. Another 100,000 strings were placed in the Jinghui Temple to purchase land for the daily expenses of monks and nuns, particularly their vegetarian meals.
Since the lord of the land first began supporting the temple’s reconstruction, his ships [bo 舶] have crossed dangerous waters safely without the disasters or terrors of the past—ample proof of the true spirit’s protection. Now, having dispatched great ships [jubo 巨舟] again and receiving the blessings of the Supreme Clarity [Shangqing 上清], these events can truly be measured.
I, observing these extraordinary events and at the request to honor the Dao, composed this record.
Written on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, second year of the Yuanfeng era [1079] 郎將.
Adjudicator and Commandant Who Protects and Submits Matuhualuo 麻圖華囉, Jialian Botujianadun 迦連縛圖迦哪吨, Patron and Great General Who Protects and Admires Moral Transformation Dihuajialuo 地華迦囉, and the abbot, Grand Master Who Exalts the Dao, the purple-robed recipient He Deshun 何德順, erected this stele.
Hmmm. . . So, in the eleventh century, we have a Tamil man who was “lord of the land” of Sanfoqi, and he sends someone who was most likely a fellow Tamil man to re-build a temple in Guangzhou.
Gee, I wonder what else they might have been building. . .
“Hey ChatGPT, are there any new architectural developments that start to take place in Cambodia in the eleventh century?” 😊
Think of how much ink has been spilled trying to explain how those incredibly sophisticated “Indic” temples in Cambodia were built, temples that seem to so closely resemble the temples that were built in the Tamil areas of southern India at that time. . .
Here is obviously the answer.
Finally, it is in this context, where there was a Tamil “lord of the land” in Sanfoqi, that reference to a tributary mission from Sanfoqi’s Zhanbei 詹卑/詹畢 kingdom appears.
That reference, however, does not appear in the History of the Song, but instead, in the Song huiyao. I will provide what is written in the History of the Song first, and then follow that with what is written in the Song huiyao.
五年，廣州南蕃綱首以其主管國事國王之女唐字書，寄龍腦及布與提舉市舶孫迥，迥不敢受，言於朝。詔令估直輸之官，悉市帛以報。
[History of the Song:] In the fifth year [1082; other sources say that this was in 1088/89] the head of Southern Barbarian Tribute Transport [Nanfan gangshou 南蕃綱首] in Guangzhou brought a letter written in Tang script from the overseer of state affairs, the king’s daughter, and sent with it borneol and cloth to the Superintendent of the Maritime Trade Office, Sun Jiong. Jiong did not dare to accept them and reported the matter to the court. An imperial edict ordered that their value be assessed and transferred to government custody, and that brocade be purchased in return as a token of thanks.
五年十月十七日，廣東轉運副使兼提舉市舶司孫迥言：「南蕃綱首持三佛齊詹畢國主及主管國事國主之女唐字書，寄臣熟龍腦二百二十七兩、布十三段。臣昨奉差委，推行市舶法。臣以海舶法敝，商旅輕於冒禁，每召賈胡，示以條約，曉之以來遠之意。今幸刑戮不加，而來者相繼。前件書物等，臣不敢受，乞估直入官，委本庫買綵帛物等，候冬舶回，報謝之。所貴通異域之情，來海外之貨。」從之
[Song huiyao:] On the seventeenth day of the tenth month in the fifth year [1082], the Deputy Transport Commissioner of Guangdong, who also served concurrently as Superintendent of the Maritime Trade Office, Sun Jiong, reported:
“The head of Southern Barbarian Tribute Transport brought a letter written in Tang script from the lord of Sanfoqi’s Zhanbi kingdom [Sanfoqi Zhanbei guozhu 三佛齊詹畢國主], as well as from the overseer of state affairs, the lord of the state’s daughter [zhuguan guoshi Guozhi zhi nu 主管國事國主之女]. Along with the letter, they sent to me 227 taels of refined borneol and thirteen bolts of cloth.
[alternately, this could be two letters: one from the lord of Sanfoqi’s Zhanbi kingdom and one from his daughter]
I am currently serving under commission to enforce the maritime trade regulations. I observe that maritime trade practices have become lax, and foreign merchants often take risks by violating prohibitions. I have repeatedly summoned these foreign merchants to explain the regulations and to impress upon them the significance of their coming from distant lands.
Now, fortunately, no punishment has been imposed, and yet envoys continue to arrive in succession. As for the letter and goods mentioned above, I did not dare to accept them. I request permission to assess their value and transfer them to government custody, and to use the state warehouse to purchase brocade and other fabrics to send back on the returning winter ships as a token of thanks.
The purpose of this, above all, is to maintain good relations with foreign lands and to facilitate the arrival of overseas goods.”
This request was approved.
There have been debates over whether the “lord of the kingdom” (guozhu 國主) mentioned in the Song huiyao, should be “king of the kingdom” (guowang 國王) as it appears in the History of the Song, as the characters for lord and king are very similar.
Given that there was a “lord of the land” (dizhu 地主) at this time, I think it’s safe to say that regardless of which characters are correct, power was clearly being shared in Cambodia in this period.
The lord of the land was also the “head chieftan.” That title, I would argue, suggests a position where someone was in charge of foreigners, such as the merchant community.
Meanwhile, the Zhanbei Kingdom, I also argue, following the statement above that “The king holds the title Zhanbei,” was the “Somdaech Kingdom,” meaning the place where the main Khmer ruler resided.
Who had more power? The fact that the embassy coming from Sanfoqi’s Zhanbei/Somdaech kingdom seemed to be trying to bribe the Chinese officials with expensive gifts suggests that at least when it came to foreign tribute/trade, it did not have the upper hand.
The next entry on Sanfoqi in the History of the Song contains information that also appears in the records of tribute missions from the Chola kingdom. I will present first the information in the History of the Song that is in the section on Sanfoqi, and then the information that is in the section on the Chola kingdom.
五年，遣使皮襪、副使胡仙、判官地華加羅來，入見，以金蓮花貯真珠、龍腦撒殿。官皮襪為懷遠將軍、胡仙加羅為郎將。加羅還至雍丘病死，賻以絹五十匹。
[Sanfoqi:] In the fifth year [1082; other sources say that this was in 1088/89], envoy Piwa 皮襪, deputy envoy Huxian 胡仙, and adjudicator Dihuajialuo 地華加羅 were sent. Upon entering for audience, they scattered pearls and dragon-brain incense (borneol) from a golden lotus blossom in the palace hall.
Piwa was granted the title General Who Cherishes the Distant [Huaiyuan jianghun 懷遠將軍], and Huxian and [Dihua]Jialuo were appointed as a Commandant [langjiang郎將]. [Dihua]Jialuo fell ill and died in Yongqiu on his return journey and was [posthumously] gifted fifty bolts of silk.
熙寧十年，國王地華加羅遣使奇囉囉、副使南卑琶打、判官麻圖華羅等二十七人來獻踠豆珠、麻珠、瑠璃大洗盤、白梅花腦、錦花、犀牙、乳香、瓶香、薔薇水、金蓮花、木香、阿魏、鵬砂、丁香。使副以真珠、龍腦登陛，跪而散之，謂之 撒殿。既降，詔遣御藥宣勞之，以為懷化將軍、保順郎將，各賜衣服器幣有差；答賜其王錢八萬一千八百緡、銀五萬二千兩。
[Chola kingdom:] In the tenth year of the Xining era [1077], the king Dihuajialuo 地華加羅 dispatched envoy Qiluoluo 奇囉囉, with deputy envoy Nanbeipada 南卑琶打, adjudicator Matuhualuo 麻圖華羅, and a total of twenty-seven persons to present tribute.
The tribute items included: twisted mung-bean beads, hemp beads, large glazed glass basins, white plum-blossom camphor, brocade flowers, rhinoceros tusks, frankincense, bottled incense, rosewater, golden lotus flowers, agarwood, asafoetida, borax, and cloves.
The main and deputy envoys ascended the steps of the court carrying pearls and borneol, and knelt to scatter them—an act referred to as scattering in the hall [sandian 撒殿].
After they descended, an imperial medical official was dispatched to greet and commend them. They were granted the titles of General Who Embraces Moral Transformation and Commandant Who Protects and Submits, and were each awarded garments, vessels, and coinage in various grades.
In return, their king was granted 81,800 strings of cash and 52,000 taels of silver.
Notice the similarity here between the people and titles mentioned in this account about the Chola kingdom in 1077 and the names and titles mentioned in the Tianqing Temple inscription.
Here, Dihuajialuo is the Chola king, whereas in the inscription he is Lord of the Land and Head Chieftan of Sanfoqi.
Here we have envoy Qiluoluo 奇囉囉, whereas in the inscription, Dihuajialuo sends his close associate Zhiluolu 至囉囉 to Guangzhou to inspect the destroyed temple.
Here was have adjudicator Matuhualuo 麻圖華羅 as a member of an embassy from the Chola kingdom, while in the inscription, Matuhualuo 麻圖華囉 is the adjudicator from an embassy that presumably was from Sanfoqi.
What I think this shows, is that there were Tamils based in Sanfoqi/Kambuja who were presenting tribute for two kingdoms. Whether the tribute from the Chola kingdom actually had any connection to the Chola kingdom is unclear. Dihuajialuo may have simply been using that name to enrich himself further.
Let us continue with the remaining information in the History of the Song about Sanfoqi.
六年，又以其使薩打華滿為將軍，副使羅悉沙文、判官悉理沙文為郎將。紹聖中，再入貢。紹興二十六年，其王悉利麻霞囉陀遣使入貢。帝曰：「遠人向化，嘉其誠耳，非利乎方物也。」其王復以珠獻宰臣秦檜，時檜已死，詔償其直而收之。淳熙五年，復遣使貢方物，詔免赴闕，館於泉州。
In the sixth year [1083, envoy Sadahuaman 薩打華滿 was appointed as General, and deputy envoy Luoxishawen 羅悉沙文 and adjudicator Xili Shawen 悉理沙文 were both granted the title of Commandant.
During the Shaosheng era [1094–1097], they again came twice to offer tribute.
In the 26th year of the Shaoxing era [1156], its king, Xili Maxialuotuo 悉利麻霞囉陀, sent envoys to present tribute. The emperor remarked, “These distant people turn toward our moral transformation. What I appreciate is their sincerity, not the value of their tribute goods.”
The king also offered pearls as a gift to the chief minister Qin Hui, but by that time Qin Hui had already died. An imperial edict ordered that the value of the pearls be compensated and that they be accepted into state holdings.
In the 5th year of the Chunxi era [1178], envoys were again sent with tribute goods. The emperor issued an edict excusing them from appearing at the capital, and instead had them hosted in Quanzhou.
So here we have no more mention of a head chieftan, only a king, but the kings mentioned have names that don’t look like the names of Khmer rulers, and the title “shawen” 沙文 is one that appears in the temple inscription in the name of the man who oversaw the temple’s reconstruction.
What does all this mean?
What we can see is that Cambodia was dangerously exposed to the outside world. When the Song dynasty came to power, it looks like there was a mad rush by different people to participate in the tributary system. Eventually, however, a powerful kingdom, Shepo, made a move and took control of at least Cambodia’s trade.
That situation appears to have alarmed more people than the Khmer, hence the Chola attack on Shepo, with its rich “royal district” of Srivijaya (probably located somewhere in the Lake Songkhla region if I were to guess). Following that attack, the Chola, or perhaps adventurous Tamils, stayed in the region, and established some kind of relationship with the Somdaech at Angkor.
Was it an alliance? Was it conquest? It seems like it was the former, at least at first, but it is not clear what happened over time.
However, one thing that did happen over time, I argue, is that Sanfoqi/Kambuja came up with a way to circumvent Shepo. I’ve written about this before, but what we can see in the 1225 Zhu fan zhi 諸蕃志, is that Sanfoqi had “vassals” all along the coast down the Malay Peninsula and then up through the Straits of Melaka to Aceh. Those vassals, however, did not include Shepo or Kedah. See: https://leminhkhaiblog.com/the-singora-angkor-rivalry-the-greatest-story-of-premodern-southeast-asian-history-youve-never-heard/
Now, I’ve also argued that up until at least the eleventh century, most trade did not pass through the Straits of Melaka, but instead, went across the Malay Peninsula at places like the Kedah to Songkhla crossing.
So, how is it that in 1225, the Zhu fan zhi lists a string of Sanfoqi vassals stretching down the Malay Peninsula and up through the Straits of Melaka?
Let us recall the concluding passage in the Tianqing Temple inscription:
Since the lord of the land first began supporting the temple’s reconstruction, his ships [bo 舶] have crossed dangerous waters safely without the disasters or terrors of the past—ample proof of the true spirit’s protection. Now, having dispatched great ships [jubo 巨舟] again and receiving the blessings of the Supreme Clarity [Shangqing 上清], these events can truly be measured.
What were these “great ships” (jubo 巨舟)? Clearly, they were something special, and distinct from other ships.
What I would therefore argue, is that not only did the Chola attack the trans-peninsular crossing at Kedah to Lake Songkhla in 1025, but they also stayed and transformed the region. In reality, we should be talking about the “Tamil century” (or centuries) in Southeast Asia.
Not only did Tamils gain control of trade at Sanfoqi/Kambuja, one of Southeast Asia’s main trading hubs, but with their great ships, they were able to circumvent the other trading hub, Shepo, and that hub never regained its stature. Further, if we look more closely at some of the vassals on that trading route, like Tambralinga, I think we will also find evidence of a strong Tamil presence if not direct control (and many scholars have already pointed to Tamil inscriptions and artistic/architectural influence across the region at this time).
And as for those magnificent temples and other structures that were built in Cambodia during this period. . .
Yes, this was the Tamil centuries.
Finally, as a kind reader just pointed out, the late historian Michael Vickery struggled to explain some “strange” non-Khmer sounding names of early rulers in a certain Cambodian chronicle. Well, I think we might have the answer to that here as well.
Perhaps the first Ayutthayan attack on Angkor was not really about “the Thai” trying to conquer “the Khmer”. . . Perhaps, instead, it was an effort to bring to an end the Tamil centuries.
I need to go back and look at those sources again, but I recall that beyond the strange names, there are other little details that point to a more complex historical setting than “the Thai” versus “the Khmer.”
This is the history of Cambodia you never knew about.
[Note: The image at the top is not real, but is an AI generated image of an imagined Tamil temple.]
>but I recall that beyond the strange names, there are other little details that point to a more complex historical setting than “the Thai” versus “the Khmer.”
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According to Vickery and multiple scholars later, they believed with linguistic evidences and European 16th century travelers, that the early Ayutthaya-Kambuja wars, if they ever existed, are more like Khmer civil wars rather Siamese-Khmer war. In similar way to the Hundred Years Wars between England and France, where two French dynasties trying to wear the same crown. Vickery distrusted the chronicles and only relied on contemporary records. Much of Ayuthaya and LanXang early periods (14th-16th century) suggested the Khmer language, titles and laws were still heavily utilized in those periods. Ayuthaya might have been bilingual till the 17th century.
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Tracing their lineage or deriving the authority from the king of Angkor, was attested in epigraphs and European travelers. In Vickery views, the first truly Khmer-Thai war is in the destruction of Longvek, where the Northern Thai dynasty of Naresuan from Sukhothai, was installed by the Burmese king Bayinuang. Before then, several of the ruling families of Ayuthaya would have considered themselves as part of Khmer world. The “Thai” identity is far far more modern than the languages, and the chronicles are subject to historical revisionism and nationalist retelling.
It is similar to Burmese and Mon historians who believed that Pagan wasn’t Burmese at the start of its history, which all kings from Pyusawhti (legendary) to real kings Anawratha and Saw Li are all Burmese according to the chronicles. https://www.academia.edu/44918001/Epigraphy_as_a_source_for_history_of_Old_Burma . Instead, Bagan as a Burmese empire is 100 or 200 years later, starting with Kyansitta who might be the first actual Burmese king. In Aluangsitu, was when Burmese seems to be the main language. Ayuthaya is definitely not a Thai state when the city is built, may not have been Thai when they sacked Angkor, may not be completely Thai, when Bayinuang sacked the city. Siamese is also a generic term to refer to strangers. I once have Khmer person called a letter in the Khmer alphabeth a Siam alphabeth, because they don’t know what it is used for, one thing for sure, the Siamese don’t have that alphabeth.
Thanks for the comments!!
I agree but have one (kind of nerdy) question. If we are going to delink “Thai” from early Ayutthaya and “Burmese” from early Bagan, then should we also de-link “Khmer” from Angkor (at any point)? When you say “the ruling families of Ayuthaya would have considered themselves as part of Khmer world,” I wonder in what sense it would have been “Khmer.” And do we have evidence that it was seen in that way? If not, what would be a good term to use for whatever it was they saw themselves a part of?
We can avoid using Thai and Burmese by just talking about Ayutthaya and Bagan, should we then avoid Khmer and just use Angkor/Angkorean?
Long ago I wrote a 650-page dissertation on “Sino-Vietnamese” relations in which, after the introduction, I never used the words “Vietnam” or “China” as no such terms existed in the historical documents the dissertation was based on, so this type of issue is one that I’m interested in. . . I know that Matt Reader at NUS has written on what we can say about ethnicity in the past, but I’m wondering what the best term would be to refer to the linguistic/administrative “repertoire” that was shared across the region.
Hi Prof. Kelly. Welome back! (I know it’s a belated welcome after the hiatus due to the technical problem of your blog). Still, I appreciate a lot the set of new blogposts.
As for your above comment, unrelated to the topic at hand, I wonder what and where the 650-page dissertation is. I would like to add it to my reading list, alongside your recent papers about Sanfoqi (I am trying to get access to all of them). Thanks a lot!
Dear An Vinh, thank you for the comments,
Everything I publish, I put on my Academia.edu page (free to sign up, or just log in with FB or Google).
https://ubd.academia.edu/LiamKelley
The dissertation is linked below. You can find the later book version (Beyond the Bronze Pillars) on Anna’s Archive and probably libgen (it was not working when I checked right now). One difference with the dissertation is that it has all of the classical Chinese text of the passages and poems I translated.
https://www.academia.edu/3386022/Whither_the_Bronze_Pillars_Envoy_Poetry_and_the_Sino_Vietnamese_Relationship_in_the_16th_to_19th_Centuries
>When you say “the ruling families of Ayuthaya would have considered themselves as part of Khmer world,” I wonder in what sense it would have been “Khmer.”
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According to 16rh century European travelers, Angkor was seen by Siamese kings as their sacred capital and their origins, sending envoys on every holy occasion, and claimed that their ancestors built it. I think the ethnicity and labels in the period is similar to English and French in the Hundred Years War, or the Romans and Barbarians in the Fall of Western Roman empire.
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>And do we have evidence that it was seen in that way?
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In Hunter Watson phd dissertation, he mentioned several scholars who pointed that the Khmer language were still in evidences in the early period. The titles and laws of the Ayuthayan ruling families followed the Khmer seemingly followed the Khmer succession system. Vickery wrote about it in his online pdf “the Constition of Ayuthaya”, but he did not delved deeper. He talked about it more, in his translated lecture notes in a book I’ve got at hand, but I don’t know where he referenced from.
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On “delinking”. The Khmer identity as the descendants of Kambu and Mera and the land being Kambujadesa, are already present in the 9th century. Siam, on the hand, is exonym, equivalent to being called barbarians. Siamese don’t call themselves that. My attitude, as an amateur, is that it is convenience. All the labels are for convenience. My framework is the examples above:
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1) In the reddit post from r/askhistorians ” How “English” were the English armies in the Hundred Years War? And did people distinguish between Englishmen from England, and French or Welsh or whatever soldiers fighting for the English King? “, the English are just whomever fight for the Plantenganet kings, and the French are just whoever fight for the other French branch. But the “The Plantagenet never called themselves as such. We call them that way. It makes it more easy for us contemporary historians to encompass a period of English history and understand it as a whole.”.
2) In another reddit post” Why is Odoacer’s reign considered the end of Roman rule in the west when he placed himself below the emperor in the east, was supported by the Roman senate, and even invaded Dalmatia in the name of Julius Nepos? The Western Roman empire is “went through a multi-century process of disintegration and transformation. The western European world of 500 CE was different in many important ways from the world of 200 CE, but to pick any single event or even any single year out of that timespan as the crucial turning point is an exercise in meaninglessness.”
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That remind me, to the Chinese records, Zhenla and Funan may be different states, but their priest clans did not see themselves as such. That maybe the same as Zhenla, Sanfoqi, Xien, Loho,…The Chineses saw enough differences to think they are not the same, but the ruling families are not divided in their identity.
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/1h5ggkj/why_is_odoacers_reign_considered_the_end_of_roman/
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/gzkvft/how_english_were_the_english_armies_in_the/
The two reddit posts that I mentioned above. I think it is parellel to the transformations in the late Angkorian times. Btw, the laws in Ayuthaya, that Vickery mentioned seem to be uniquely Khmer laws (throne go to sister’s son) and not found in Northern Thai polities like Lanna or Lanxang.
I think the passage from the reddit post that parallel the situation from late Angkorian period and early Ayuthaya is:
>The western Roman Empire did not end in 476. The western Roman Empire did not end at any definable date. It went through a multi-century process of disintegration and transformation. The western European world of 500 CE was different in many important ways from the world of 200 CE, but to pick any single event or even any single year out of that timespan as the crucial turning point is an exercise in meaninglessness.
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>Actually, the western Roman Empire just kind of broke down a little bit at a time over some three-hundred years.” History is also more appealing when we have known, named people to tell stories about. “Odoacer replaced Romulus” is a story. “Local societies across the western empire gradually distanced themselves from the imperial court, the Roman army, and connected market economies to focus more on small-scale power structures, locally-supported military forces, and sustainable subsistence farming” is not much of a story.
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Angkor briefly became a capital again, twice, in the sixteenth century, after the empire supposedly fell, but the name of the country remained Kambuja as it always been since at least the 9th century, and the people calling themselves the Khmers.
Never feel bothered if Prof Kelley wouldn’t mind an off-topic stuff but I have a little question: was the “Suari” mentioned by Megasthenes and Pliny the Elder actually identical to the modern Sora/Sawara tribe in Odisha, India? It would be really interesting that the tribe thereof still around today one million strong, and probably the first mention of an Austro-Asiatic people in ancient India?
Thank you for the comment, but to be honest, I really have no idea what to do with these very early sources. I never use them or try to make any claims based on them as I just think that they are too far in the past (with no follow-up sources) to be able to say anything for certain.
Hello,
I found your blog while trying to research and date and especially interesting piece of agarwood that has found its way into my collection, and I’m curious if you would be interested/willing to help me figure it out. I’m fairly convinced it is one of the pieces of tribute incense from this period.
Please reply to my email if interested, The photo files are to large to link to this post
Thank you for the question, and it’s great that you have an interesting piece of agarwood, but I have absolutely zero expertise to be able to help with this. I would think that a specialized antique dealer or someone like that would be required.
Possibly, my only thought that you may have some ability with it is that it is labeled with a hanko seal, and has writing over that.
I see. Well, if you want, you can send an image of that hanko and writing to liam [@] hawaii.edu. I’m not all that great at reading “seal script” (the hanko writing), either, but I could take a look.