The Srivijaya Tax Code: How a Maritime Empire Collected Revenue

The Srivijaya Empire: Southeast Asia's Forgotten Maritime Superpower — Fexingo History · Sep 12, 2026 · 10m · transcript

We’ve spent the last dozen episodes charting Srivijaya’s ships, its monks, and its wars, but we haven’t looked closely at the machinery that kept the empire running. In this episode, Lucas and Luna pull back the curtain on the economic infrastructure of ninth-century Sumatra. We examine how the Maharaja extracted wealth not just through force, but through a sophisticated system of tolls, tariffs, and monopolies. The conversation centers on the Ligor inscription, which details the specific duties paid by merchants passing through key ports like Kedah and the Malay Peninsula. You’ll learn about…