Sri Vijaya as the Entrepôt for Circum-Indian Ocean Trade

Abstract

9th-10th century was the first peak of China maritime trade. Many ports along the coast of China engaged in this period, traded commodities from different regions of southern and northern China. But, the ports were not selling the goods directly to the end users. There was an entrepôt in India Ocean between China and Arabian area. According to the Chinese and Arab records in 10th century, we learnt that since 9th-10th century there were three trading circles around the Indian Ocean: Between China and Southeast Asia, between Southeast Asia and Arabia and the Persian Gulf, and between the Arabian area and east Africa. Sri Vijaya and Basra were the two main entrepôts. According to documentary records, China and Sri Vijaya had a very close relationship. Chinese and Arab records of commodities both contain products from Southeast Asia. Their texts on trade route show more details on the side of Malacca Straits they were familiar with than they do on the other side. The cargoes from the shipwrecks of Belitung and Ceribon all contain products from around India Ocean. This shows that during 9th-10th century, the mode of maritime trade in Indian Ocean was in the form of centering in Palembang, Sri Vijaya, where the trade of East and West mainly conducted here.