Religion and Trade in South and Southeast Asia

INDIA, THE INDIAN OCEAN BASIN, and EAST ASIA HIST 1301 | History Religion and Trade in South and Southeast Asia Muslims now play a significant role in international trade, especially in the Indian Ocean and along the Silk Roads, thanks to the expansion of Islam. Islam reached northern India by the middle of the eighth century. The Abbasids established what would become one of the most significant cities along the Silk Roads and a location that allowed them to dominate the expanding Indian Ocean trade when they overthrew the Umayyad dynasty and relocated their capital from Damascus to Baghdad. This new capital was located next to the Tigris River, which served as an important commercial route connecting the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean. One of the most significant commercial ports of the ninth century was the Persian Gulf city of Siraf, which was frequently shipping ships to and from China. But when the trade was devastated by an earthquake in 997, Siraf's grasp on it grew weaker. Other areas intervened as well, such as Omar, Hormuz, and especially the Persian Gulf island city of Qeys. Initially passing through these ports, Arab expansion into the Indian Ocean commerce later extended along the African coast as well. An essential link in the web of Indian Ocean commerce was the Muslim presence in northwest India. Muslim invaders first appeared in India in the eighth century, and many of the indigenous population converted to Islam as they passed through Khurasan and Ghazni in the late 10 and early eleventh centuries. Through their important city of Khambhat, the Hindu Chalukya dynasty continued to control much of the Indian Ocean commerce in Gujarat, which is located just south of Sindh. But by the end of the twelfth century, they were becoming less powerful. This territory gradually fell under the control of the Turkic peoples from modern-day Afghanistan, who started to govern the Delhi province independently in 1206 as the Delhi Sultanate. Persian influence was widespread throughout South Asia as a result of generations of Persian rulers' forays into the continent. The Persian influence is still evident in the Urdu language of contemporary Pakistan, which blends Farsi and Hindu components. After years of pillaging Gujarati towns, the ruler Ala alDin invaded Gujarat as part of the Delhi Sultanate in 1304. At the end of the century, Gujarat broke away from the beleaguered state to establish an independent Muslim sultanate under the Tughluq dynasty, following the conquest of Delhi by the warrior Timur (known as Tamerlane in the West). The Tughluqs began pacifying the Hindu Rajput chieftains of the area and establishing a fleet at Diu, which was well situated near vital trade routes connecting the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea. As a result, this Islamic empire came to control a large portion of the Indian Ocean commerce in northwest India. Peninsular India was the home of the Hindu Chola monarchy, a maritime commerce empire, from the fall of the Guptas until the advent of strong Muslim sultanates in the north, like Gujarat. From around 970 to 1300, Chola controlled commerce in the surrounding area of the Indian Ocean through its vassal republics, which included portions of the modern-day Maldives and Sri Lanka in the south. Control of Palk Strait, which separates southern India from Sri Lanka, was vital to its ascendancy. The strait served as a choke point, forcing ships to halt and pay taxes, often equal to a percentage of their load. Known as dhows, a large number of these boats could accommodate twelve to twenty-four sailors. Additionally, there was secondary commerce, or cabotage, in which these bigger ships transacted with smaller port towns through authorised middlemen. The Chola were attempting to increase and solidify their hold on regional trade in the eleventh century. In order to do this, Rajendra I, also known as the "Victor of the Ganges" (1019–1021), went along the Coromandel coast of east India and took control of ports in order to strengthen links with China, where commerce in goods like glassware and ivory was widespread. The 10 and eleventh centuries saw the Chola experience a literary, artistic, and architectural flourishing. During this "Imperial Golden Age," the building of colossal temples in the so-called Chola style—which is distinguished by features like tall encircling walls and stepped, pyramidal towers—exploded. One such temple is located at Thanjavur on the southeast coast. Numerous of these locations included ornate bronze sculptures of gods that the emperors had commissioned, which symbolised their stature, riches, and religiosity. The finest period in South Indian literary history is sometimes referred to as the Chola era. The Ramavataram, a twelfth-century Tamil epic penned by poet Kambar, is a noteworthy example of this tradition. It was inspired by the Sanskrit epic Ramayana, which recounted the adventures of Prince Rama. All of this serves as a stark reminder that, throughout human history, flourishing artistic and architectural endeavours have been most often correlated with political and economic stability. If the Chola had not monopolised commerce over the Palk Strait, which brought in huge sums of money, their golden period would never have come to pass. As the founders of the Srivijaya Empire found out when they gained control of the Malacca Strait, the monopolisation of choke points was crucial for anybody hoping to benefit from maritime commerce. This strait, which connects Malaysia with the modern-day Indonesian island of Sumatra, was a necessary route for traders travelling from the eastern Indian Ocean to Southeast Asia. Srivijaya made money via regulating and taxing the profitable commerce that crossed the strait from around 650. Early on in its history, Buddhist and Hindu traders from India had a significant effect on Srivijaya. For instance, a superb Buddha statue from the seventh or eighth century may be seen at Palembang, the capital of the Srivijaya empire in southern Sumatra. Named for the southeastern area where it originated, this sculpture, which is sculpted in the highly detailed and elaborate Amaravati style that is still popular in modern India, attests to the importance that trade plays in the dissemination of art, culture, and philosophy. The persistence of Hindu shrines and temples demonstrates the extent to which Hinduism permeated Srivijayan society and culture throughout this pivotal time. Srivijaya ruled over all trade between China and the Indian Ocean by the eleventh century. However, the Cholas dispatched a marine expedition against the Srivijaya in 1025, fearing the excessive trade taxes and pirate danger they posed. This expedition destroyed their main ports, including Palembang, and temporarily diminished Srivijaya's authority and influence. Even while Srivijaya was able to partially recover, its hold on the marine commerce quickly became irreversibly weaker. It had mostly been replaced by the port of Malacca by the thirteenth century, which rose to rule an area that encompassed present-day Singapore. Southeast Asia saw significant Islamic spread in the thirteenth century, with the Acehnese peoples on Sumatra's northern tip becoming the first to convert to Islam. In particular, a large number of merchants adopted Islam, which guaranteed the safe transit of their merchandise and safeguards against theft, particularly in the northeastern Sumatra kingdoms of Aru and Perlak, which were later followed by Pasai in the north and Malacca, the emerging marine hub. With the arrival of Sufi missionaries, Islamization continued. Sufism, a subset of Sunni Islam, encouraged non-merchants to convert by fusing Islam with regional religious customs. Over time, Sumatra, the northern Javan region, and a large portion of the Malay Peninsula were all under the influence of Islam, especially in the sixteenth century. Similar to Islam, Hinduism expanded throughout Southeast Asia in the later Middle Ages. For example, work on the massive Angkor Wat temple complex in Cambodia started in the eleventh century. Angkor Wat, which is dedicated to Vishnu, was intended to be the capital city, state temple, and funeral complex of the ruling monarch, Suryavarman II. The five towers of the temple were intended to symbolise Mount Meru, the home of the Hindu gods, while Hindu symbols adorned the outside of the building in bas relief style, including scenes from the epic Indian poetry Mahabharata and representations of the gods. However, the structure was converted into a Buddhist centre of worship by the end of the twelfth century.