South East Asia

Modern Thailand occupies much of the Indochinese peninsula in South-East Asia. It is bordered by Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Burma. From the twelfth century onwards Thais expanded outwards, predominantly southwards into the Malay-Thai peninsula. State-building swiftly followed in Early Thailand to create a patchwork of kingdoms and minor principalities.

The state of Langasaka, also referred to as Langkasuka, occupied the northern and central Malay peninsula, straddling modern Thailand and Malaysia. The kingdom at its height around AD 750 found itself to the north of Kedah and to the south of Tambralinga, holding territory which later would form part of Singora.

The name originated in Sanskrit, perhaps combining to form 'magnificent land' or 'resplendent land' and 'joy'. An unlikely possibility is that the name may have borne its name thanks to the Mauryan emperor, Asoka (Ashoka). An ancient Chinese name for the state was Lang Yia Xiu. Records from the early medieval Liang dynasty use the same term amended over several centuries in the form of 'Langga' or 'Langgasu'.

One of the earliest known states in the region, Langasaka is thought to have existed from the second century AD to the fifteenth century. According to legend the state was founded by an Indian prince: Raja Marong Mahawangsa.

He sailed to an island off the western coast of the Malay peninsula where he was welcomed by the Gergasi, a giant indigenous people. They were so impressed by his bearing that they granted him a small piece of land. The legend signifies the belief that there was a peaceable mixing of immigrants and natives, something which was happening around much of the South-East Asian coast as far east as Funan.

A legend from the Hikayat Merong Mahawagsa, one of a number of 'historical' documents for each Malaysian state which remains popular in Malaysia, claims that Marong Mahawangsa was a Roman who migrated to Langasaka. Following the voluntary conclusion of his reign he returned to Rome, leaving his son to succeed him. Langasaka was apparently renamed in the son's honour as Kedah Zamin Turan.

Chinese records first mention Langasaka in a sixth century AD book called Liangshu. The place was described as a prosperous port which was crucial to trade. The Chinese reported that the people of this state followed Buddhism.

Further potentially contentious claims include one that the eleventh century Rajendra Chola I of the Chola empire conquered the state. In the same century the state became dominated by the Sumatran empire of Sri Vijaya from his capital at Srivijaya (in today's Indonesia). By 1365 it was being influenced by the Indonesian empire of Majapahit.

Langasakans were speakers of Old Malay, the forerunner of the classic Malay which is now spoken throughout the peninsula and in neighbouring areas. The region quickly absorbed Hindu and Buddhist beliefs, incorporating them into its literature and art.

The rise of the Sumatran empire at Srivijaya and its expansion between the seventh and eleventh centuries contributed to Langasaka's long decline. Sumatra eclipsed Langasaka as a trading centre. The spread of Islam in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries further undermined the state.

Its ruling elite began to convert to Islam - even going so far as to rename the state to Kedah - and local cultural and social traditions began to be eroded. The powerful states of Malacca and Patani overshadowed the region's Hindu and Buddhist states. By the fifteenth century Langasaka had disappeared from the historical record.

During its existence the state was governed under the mandala system, a decentralised political arrangement with a core central authority and a heavy reliance on surrounding vassal and semi-autonomous states. The ruling raja was seen as being semi-divine, and he tended to govern alongside court officials and advisors.

At its height Langasaka was a strategic centre, one which sponsored important trade in spices, camphor, precious stones, textiles, and ceramics. Taxes which were imposed on merchants and the safeguarding of maritime trade helped to secure the state's prosperity. The nature of the extensive trade also helped to assimilate cultural and religious changes, at least until the arrival of Islam.

Far East Kingdoms

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