Langkasuka was an ancient MalayGinsburg, N. S. (1958). Malaya, by Norton Ginsburg and Chester F. Roberts, Jr., with the collabora. (n.p.): (n.p.). – via Google Books Armed Separatism in Southeast Asia. (1984). Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. – via Google BooksRand, N. (2015). Conflict: Journeys through war and terror in southeast Asia. Ireland: Maverick House Publishers. Proceedings of The 6th MAC 2016. (2016). (n.p.): MAC Prague consulting. – via Google Books Hindu-Buddhist kingdom located in the Malay Peninsula (in modern-day Thailand). Langkasuka flourished from the 2nd century to the 15th century as the oldest kingdom in the Malay Peninsula, believed to have been established by descendants of Ashoka the Great. The name is Sanskrit in origin; it is thought to be a combination of langkha for "resplendent land" J. Dodiya, Critical Perspectives on the Rāmāyaṇa, Sarup & Sons, 2001, p. 166-181- Sukha for "bliss"
/ref> The kingdom, along with Old Kedah, is among the earliest kingdoms founded on the Malay Peninsula. The exact location of the kingdom is of some debate, but archaeological discoveries at Yarang District near Pattani, Thailand suggest a probable location. The kingdom is proposed to have been established in the 1st century, perhaps between 80 and 100 AD.
According to the legend given in the Kedah Annals, the kingdom was founded and named by Merong Mahawangsa. Another proposal suggests that the name may have been derived from langkha and Ashoka, the Mauryan Hindu warrior king who eventually became a pacifist after embracing the ideals espoused in Buddhism, and that the early Indian colonizers of the Malayic Isthmus named the kingdom Langkasuka in his honour. Chinese historical sources provided some information on the kingdom and recorded a king Bhagadatta who sent envoys to the Chinese court.
This king then ruled for more than 20 years. He was succeeded by his son, King Bhagadatta, who sent the first ambassadorial mission to China in 515. Further emissaries were sent in 523, 531, and 568.
The transcription of the kingdom's name in Chinese records changed over time. In the late seventh century, the Buddhist monk Yi Jing mentioned encountering three Chinese monks who lived in a place named Lang-jia-shu (郎伽戍).
A Song dynasty work Zhu fan zhi (published in 1225) gives a description of the country of Ling-ya-si-jia (凌牙斯加). It mentions that its people cut their hair and wrapped themselves in a piece of cloth, its products included elephant tusks, rhinoceros horns, types of wood and camphor, and their merchants traded in wine, rice, silk and porcelain. It also says that the country paid tribute to a country named Sanfoqi, which is usually interpreted to be Srivijaya. Original text: 凌牙斯國,自單馬令風帆六晝夜可到,亦有陸程。地主纏縵跣足;國人剪發,亦纏縵。地產象牙、犀角、速暫番、生香、腦子。番商興販,用酒、米、荷池、纈絹、甆器等為貨;各先以此等物准金銀,然後打博。如酒一墱,准銀一兩、准金二錢;米二墱准銀一兩,十墱准金一兩之類。歲貢三佛齊國。
Langkasuka was known as "Long-ya-xi-jiao" (龍牙犀角) in Daoyi Zhilüe from the Yuan dynasty (1279–1368); Original text: 峯頂內平而外聳,民環居之,如蟻附坡。厥田下等。氣候半熱。俗厚。男女椎髻,齒白,繫麻逸布。俗以結親為重。親戚之長者一日不見面,必携酒持物以問勞之。為長夜之飮,不見其醉。民煮海為鹽,釀秫為酒。有酋長。地產沈香,冠於諸番。次鶴頂、降眞、蜜糖、黃熟香頭。貿易之貸,用土印布、八都刺布、靑白花碗之屬。 and "Lang-xi-jia" (狼西加) during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), as marked in Admiral Zheng He's Mao Kun map. Daoyi Zhilüe mentions that the natives of Langkasuka made salt from seawater and ferment rice wine, and produced Hornbill ivory, lakawood, honey and gharuwood. The people wore cotton from the Philippines and printed cloth from India and local sources.
"Langkasuka" was mentioned in the Malay language text Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa, and it was referred to as "Lengkasuka" in the Javanese poem Nagarakretagama. Tamil language sources name "Ilangasoka" as one of Rajendra Chola's conquests in his expedition against the Srivijaya empire. It was described as a kingdom that was "undaunted in fierce battles". Thai sources made no reference to Langkasuka, but Pattani was identified as one of the twelve Naksat cities under the influence of Nakhon Si Thammarat in Thai chronicles.
The Pasai Annals mentioned that Langkasuka was destroyed around 1370. Some believed that Langkasuka remained under the control and influence of the Srivijaya empire until the 14th century when it was conquered by the Majapahit Empire. Langkasuka was probably conquered by Patani Kingdom as it ceased to exist by the 15th-century. Several historians contest this and believe that Langkasuka survived up to the 1470s. The areas of the kingdom that were not under the direct rule of Pattani is thought to have embraced Islam along with Kedah in 1474.
In 1961, taking account of the various sources, the geographer and historian Paul Wheatley concluded that Langkasuka should be located near the modern town of Pattani. French archaeologist and historian Michel Jacq-Hergoualc'h concurred, and proposed the former estuary of the Pattani River near Yarang as the likely location of Langkasuka. He also suggested that whole area between Pattani, Saiburi and Yala may have been part of Langkasuka. Modern archaeological explorations have uncovered ruins near Yarang, a village fifteen kilometers south of Pattani, which may be of the city described in Liangshu. The city was located inland 10 miles from the coast and connected to the rivers leading to the sea via canals. Silting of the waterways may have led to its decline.
An archaeological investigation of the Yarang area began in 1989 by the Fine Arts Department of Thailand. The majority of the ruins were clustered in the vicinity of a hamlet called Ban Wat, and may have formed the nucleus of the city. Others were scattered further to the North at Ban Jalæ, and a couple more at Ban Prawæ. The excavations found various Buddhist structures and objects including votive tablets and sculptures, indicating a strong Buddhist presence in the kingdom. Objects related to Hindu worship were also found.
Many Chinese and Arab coins made of bronze have been found in the region, an indication of the commercial activity of the kingdom. Two silver Sassanid coins have also been found.
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