Two Letters from Sriwijaya's Maharaja Reveal Early Ties with Islamic World

Historical records from Arab sources suggest that the Sriwijaya Kingdom had established connections with the Islamic world as early as the 8th century CE. These sources provide evidence that the Maharaja of Sriwijaya sent correspondence to two prominent Islamic caliphs.

One letter was addressed to Caliph Muawiyah, and another to Caliph Umar bin Abdul Aziz. Notably, one of these communications included a request for a religious scholar to be sent to Sriwijaya to impart Islamic teachings. This indicates an early diplomatic and religious exchange between the kingdom and the Middle East.

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(From the King of Hind, or rather the Indian Archipelago) whose drumbeat of beasts contains a thousand elephants, (and) whose palace is made of gold and silver, who is served by a thousand princesses of kings, and who possesses two large rivers (Batanghari and Musi), which irrigate the agarwood tree (aloes), to Mu'awiyah . . .

Historians such as Syed Qudratullah Fatimi have extensively analyzed these Arab sources. Among the key pieces of evidence are the two letters. The first letter, or at least its introductory part, was quoted by al-Jahizh in his renowned work "Kitab al-Hayawan." Al-Jahizh cited al-Haytsam bin Adi, who heard it from Abu Ya'qub al-Tsaqafi, who in turn learned it from Abd al-Malik bin Umayr. Abd al-Malik reportedly saw the letter in Muawiyah's secretariat after the caliph's death.

While the full content of the first letter remains unknown, its opening reflects the formal style typical of rulers in the Nusantara region. The second letter, preserved more completely by Ibn Abd al-Rabbih in "Al-Iqd al-Farid," offers a more comprehensive view of the Maharaja's stature and the splendor of his kingdom. This letter to Caliph Umar bin Abd al-Aziz describes the ruler as a descendant of a thousand kings, whose consort also hailed from royal lineage, and whose kingdom was served by a thousand princesses, with its lands irrigated by two major rivers yielding agarwood.

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The King of Kings (Malik al-Malik = great king) who is the descendant of a thousand kings, whose wife is also from the lineage of a thousand kings, who in the animal pen...