Early Kingdoms of the Indonesian Archipelago and the Malay Peninsula

Book excerpt: At a period when sea navigation depended more on the skill and courage of sailors than on technology, men were none the less able to build maritime regional empires that stretched from Indochina to the Indonesian Archipelago. This book, which draws on a huge body of archaeological and documentary research, provides a much-needed overview of the history of the Malay Peninsula and insular Southeast Asia from its earliest times up till the 16th century. It also provides an in-depth analysis of the international context of the political, economic and social evolution of these kingdoms, and so provides a useful background to the modern history of the region. An impressive collection of charts, reproductions of major stone inscriptions and an extensive glossary of Sanskrit, old Malay, Javanese and Tamil words and names are also included. Book jacket.