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The greatest of Malay empires, Sri Vijaya, had its beginningatPalembang which lying at the south of Sumatra dominated the Straits ofSunda.With its capital at Bukit Seguntang, the Buddhist pilgrim I-Tsing in671A.D. described it as an important centre of Buddhist learning, withmorethan a thousand monks devoting their days to study and good works. Fourinscriptionsin old Malay throw light on this Buddhist Sri Vijaya. The oldest fromthefoot of Bukit Seguntang records that on I 3 April 683 a king went byseato acquire magic power and on May 8th left the estuary with 20,000 men,asa result of which he conferred on Sri Vijaya victory, power and riches.Thatking was probably Jayanasa who, in the following year, founded a publicgardenat Talang Tua some four miles from Bukit Seguntang and had aninscriptioncarved expressing the hope that this and other good works would helphimon the road to illumination. Inscriptions elsewhere invoked curses upontheirinhabitants if they contemplate rebellion against the king or hisofficials.

Inscriptions also indicated an expedition in 686 against Javaanda Sanskrit inscription in Ligor shows that by 775 Sri Vijaya had afootingin northern Malaya, having conquered Kedah and a large part of the westcoast.It mentions a king entitled Sri Maharaja, a descendant of the Sailendrafamilyand described as the "destroyer of his enemies". The Sailendras, orKingsof the Mountain, were originally rulers of the Cambodian Funan Empire,whobecame kings of Middle Java and become famous as the builders ofBorobudur.Their descendants were to rule not only Palembang but Kedah (knownvariouslyasKataha, andKadaram).

In the world of commerce, Sti Vijaya, now calledSanfo-ts'ibythe Chinese andZabag orSribuza by the Arabs, rapidlyroseto be a far-flung empire controlling the two passages between India andChina,namely the Sunda Straits from Palembang and the Malacca Straits fromKedah.Arab accounts state that the empire of the Maharaja was so large thatintwo years the swiftest vessel could not travel round all its islands,whichproduced camphor, aloes, cloves, sandal-wood, nutmegs, cardamom andcubebs,ivory, gold and tin, making the Maharaja as rich as any king in theIndies.In 990 A.D. Java appears to have attacked Sri Vijaya, which asked forChina'sprotection. In 1006 Sri Vijaya seems to have burnt the capital of itsJavaneseenemy and slain the king and many of his chiefs.

A year before that, Chulamanivarmadeva, described ininscriptionsas "the king ofKataha (Kedah) and Srivishaya", built aBuddhist templeat Negapatam, which the Chola King Rajaraja I supported with therevenueof a large village. Sri Vijayan relics have been found in various partsofKedah and Perak. Chinese maps put Sri Vijaya right in the middle of theMalayPeninsula. Even Portuguese histories of I5I2 tells how Kedah in themiddleof the fifteenth century still claimed tribute from Perak, Manjong,Bemam,Selangor and Malacca, obviously as heir to "Kataha."

For six hundred years or more Kedah became an important portofcall for Chola-mandala (Coromandel). But in A.D. I0I7 Coromandel'sfamousruler, Rajendra Chola I, made war on Sri Vijaya and, in 1025,overhwelmedit and her colonies in the Malay Peninsula. Sri Vijaya seems to haverecoveredfrom this setback, only to be attacked in 1068 by another Chola king,ViraRajendra. Vira Rajendra conquered Kedah, apparently at the request ofitsruler who wanted to win independence from Sri Vijaya.

However, the Empire was already falling to pieces. Wars becamefrequent,primarily due to trade rivalries, and this degenrated to piracy. Thecapitalof the great empire sank to be a den of pirates. By the end of eleventhcentury,Jambi (or Melayu), Langkasuka, Ligor, Acheh and other countries thatwerepart of Sri Vijaya were now independent - with Jambi playing the roleofdominant power. Jambi did not have aspirations for a maritime,far-flungempire overseas but turned its attention to Sumatra's highlands andfoundwhat was to become the kingdom of Minangkabau.

On the peninsula, Ligor took over the mantle from Sri Vijaya.Itsking Candrabhanu attacked Sri Lanka first in 1247 and again in 1270.Inscriptionsindicate that Candrabhanu also ruled Kedah, from which he launched hisexpeditionsacross the Indian Ocean. The Thais were to later subjugate thiskingdom,leading to Thais domination of much of the northern peninsula in theyearsto come.

In 1275 the famous Kartanagara, ruler of east Java, sent hisJavaneseforces against Sumatra and conquered Jambi and much of Pahang. Sometimebetween 1338 and 1365, his successors - the Majaphit Empire - conqueredallof Sumatra, bringing to an end the days of the first and perhapsgreatestof all Malay Empires.