Srivijaya, 650–750 CE
Autocracy · Monarchy · Southeast Asia · Early Middle Ages era
The Srivijaya thalassocracy of Sumatra, a Buddhist maritime kingdom controlling the Malacca and Sunda straits and the India–China sea trade.
Srivijaya was a maritime kingdom based in southeastern Sumatra that controlled the Strait of Malacca and Sunda and grew rich taxing and provisioning the sea trade between India and China. A Mahayana Buddhist court patronized monasteries and drew pilgrims and scholars. Power rested on naval strength and a network of tributary ports rather than large territory.
Dominant patterns
- Democratization
- Regime Stabilization
- Great-Power Rivalry
- External Expansion
Political-science factor profile
Each factor 0–100; higher = stronger authoritarian / crisis pole (except institutional stability, where higher = stronger institutions).
| Centralization of Power | 60 |
| Media Control | 45 |
| Repression | 40 |
| Nationalism | 45 |
| Militarization | 55 |
| Economic Stress | 35 |
| External Conflict | 55 |
| Cult of Personality | 66 |
| Elite Fragmentation | 42 |
| Institutions | 55 |
| Social Polarization | 42 |
| Corruption & Patrimonialism | 48 |
| Ideological Mobilization | 58 |
| External Sovereignty | 88 |
Economy & society
| GDP per capita | $650 (intl-$) |
| Population | 1.5M people |
| Share of world population | 0.7% |
| Territory | ~300k km² |
| Capital population | ~25k |
Closest historical twins
The country-eras whose structural profile most resembles Srivijaya 650–750 CE, by similarity score (0–100).
- Kingdom of Aksum, 330–370 CE – similarity 93/100 · shared: Democratization, Regime Stabilization, Great-Power Rivalry, External Expansion
- France, 1226–1270 CE – similarity 92/100 · shared: Democratization, Regime Stabilization, Great-Power Rivalry, External Expansion
- Spain, 1759–1788 CE – similarity 89/100 · shared: Democratization, Regime Stabilization, Great-Power Rivalry, External Expansion
- Himyar, 320–380 CE – similarity 86/100 · shared: Democratization, Regime Stabilization, External Expansion
- Funan, 300–400 CE – similarity 85/100 · shared: Democratization, Regime Stabilization
- Unified Silla, 668–780 CE – similarity 84/100 · shared: Democratization, Regime Stabilization, Great-Power Rivalry
- Kingdom of Hungary, 1000–1038 CE – similarity 83/100 · shared: Democratization, Regime Stabilization, Great-Power Rivalry
- Ghana Empire, 950–1050 CE – similarity 83/100 · shared: Great-Power Rivalry, External Expansion
What followed
- Command of the maritime trade route and Buddhist learning.
- Dominance over the straits and coastal ports.