Srivijaya's Spice War: Black Pepper and the Chola Navy

The Srivijaya Empire: Southeast Asia's Forgotten Maritime Superpower — Fexingo History · Sep 11, 2026 · 8m · transcript

While earlier episodes explored Srivijaya’s maritime networks and Buddhist scholarship, this episode zooms in on the violent rupture of 1025 CE. We examine the devastating raid by Rajendra Chola I against Kedah and Palembang, a conflict driven not just by religion but by control over the black pepper trade. Through the Thiruvalangadu inscription and Chinese accounts like those of Zhao Rukuo, we reconstruct how the Chola navy bypassed Sumatra to strike at the Malay Peninsula, shattering Srivijaya’s monopoly. Lucas walks through the tactical details of the invasion, the role of the Orang Laut…