One of the reasons Indian Ocean trade took off is that there were a wide range of resources available and a wide range of import needs — from ivory to timber to books to grain. But the most important thing was the wind. The Indian Ocean is home to a set of very special winds called Monsoons.

The Indian Ocean trade routes connected Southeast Asia, India, Arabia, and East Africa, beginning at least as early as the third century BCE. Domestication of the camel helped bring coastal trade goods such as silk, porcelain, spices, incense, and ivory to inland empires, as well. Enslaved people were also traded.

Improvements of maritime technologies like lateen sails (the first triangle-shaped sails, allowing ships to be far more maneuverable), dhow ships and the astrolabe (an instrument that vastly increased accurate navigation by measuring the stars), helped sailors navigate safely and consistently throughout the Indian …

How did srivijaya become wealthy and powerful? The Srivijaya became wealthy and powerful by ruling the Straight of Malacca. They taxed trade passing through their waters. Their capital Palembang became a great center of Buddhist learning.

The Srivijaya Empire controlled two major passageways between India and China: the Sunda Straits from the city of Palembang and the Strait of Malacca—see the Sunda Strait, in the south, and the Strait of Malacca, to the north, on the map above. This control strengthened trade routes to China, India, and even Arabia.

The Sailendras

According to Naerssen, they arrived in Java by trading (bought by merchants) or being taken prisoner during a war and then made slaves. By the 12th century, the kingdom included parts of Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula, Western Java, and parts of Borneo.

Srivijaya was also a religious centre in the region. It adhered to Mahayana Buddhism and soon became the stopping point for Chinese Buddhist pilgrims on their way to India. The kings of Srivijaya even founded monasteries at Negapattam (now Nagappattinam) in southeastern India.

The golden era of Majapahit was short-lived; the empire began to decline after the death of Gajah Mada in 1364, and it was further weakened after the death of Hayam Wuruk in 1389.

If Majapahit had never fallen, Islam would likely never be as dominant as it is now in Indonesia. The Islamization of Indonesia was greatly helped by various small kingdoms which adopted Islam as the state religion (e.g. Samudra Pasai, Aceh, Demak, Banten, etc).

The Majapahit was a Javanese Hindu thalassocratic empire in Southeast Asia that was based on the island of Java. It existed from 1293 to circa 1527 and reached its peak of glory during the era of Hayam Wuruk, whose reign from 1350 to 1389 was marked by conquests that extended throughout Southeast Asia.