City of the Ganges Gangga Negara (Malay) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| c. 2nd century–1025/1026 | |||||||
 Beruas,Manjung (as Dinding on the map above) was the presumed location ofGangga Negara, as seen in this map ofBritish Malaya. | |||||||
| Capital | Beruas | ||||||
| Common languages | Old Malay | ||||||
| Religion | Hindu | ||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||
| Raja | |||||||
| History | |||||||
• Establishment | c. 2nd century | ||||||
• Defeated byChola Empire | 1025/1026 | ||||||
| |||||||
| Today part of | Malaysia | ||||||
Gangga Negara (literallyCity of the Ganges) was a semi-legendaryMalay-Hindu kingdom mentioned in theMalay Annals. Researchers believe that the kingdom was centred at Beruas and it collapsed after an attack by KingRajendra Chola I ofTamilakam, between 1025 and 1026. According to another Malay annals, theHikayat Merong Mahawangsa known as theKedah Annals, Gangga Negara may have been founded byMerong Mahawangsa's son Raja Ganji Sarjuna ofKedah, allegedly a descendant ofAlexander the Great or by theKhmer royalties no later than the 2nd century.[1] Raja Gangga Shah Johan was one of its kings.
Gangga Negara means "City on the Ganges" inSanskrit,[2] the name derived[citation needed] fromGanganagar in northwest India where theKambuja peoples inhabited. The Kambujas are an Indo-Iranian clan of the Indo-European family, originally localised in Pamirs and Badakshan. Commonly known as Hindu traders, they built their colonies[citation needed] inSoutheast Asia around 2,000 years ago[3] at the Mekong valley and also at the Malay archipelago inFunan,Chenla,Champa,Khmer,Angkor,Langkasuka,Sailendra,Srivijaya, etc. Historians[who?] found that the Kambuja traders travelled from Gujarat to Sri Lanka and then to Ligor (Nakhon Sri Thammarat) of the northernMalay Peninsula, overland to Thailand and Cambodia.
The first research into the Beruas kingdom was conducted by ColonelJames Low in 1849 and a century later, byH. G. Quaritch Wales. According to the Museum and Antiquities Department, both researchers agreed that the Gangga Negara kingdom existed between 100 and 1000 CE[4] but could not ascertain the exact site. For years, villagers had unearthed artefacts believed to be from the ancient kingdoms, most of which are at present displayed at theBeruas Museum. Artefacts on display include a 128 kg cannon, swords, kris, coins, tin ingots, pottery from theMing dynasty and various eras, and large jars. They can be dated back to the 5th and 6th century.[5] Through these artefacts, it has been postulated that Pengkalan (Ipoh),Kinta Valley,Tanjung Rambutan,Bidor andSungai Siput were part of the kingdom. Artefacts also suggest that the kingdom's centre might have shifted several times. Gangga Negara was renamed to Beruas after the establishment ofIslam there.
The district of Beruas has found some royal Acehnese gravestones and this evidence has it linked to another historical source that aSamudera Pasai prince fromAceh named Malik rested at aBeruas tree, this tree gave the area its name where it can still be found in the nearby villages ofPengkalan Baru[6] and Batang Kubu.[7]
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