Srivijaya · 671-1025

Srivijaya: masters of the straits

From Palembang on Sumatra, the kings of Srivijaya controlled the sea gates between India and China for centuries. Students explore how monsoon winds, ports and Buddhist learning built a sea empire that left few stone ruins.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
45 minutes
Ages
11–14
On the map
3 steps, AD 800 to AD 700
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

From Palembang on Sumatra, the kings of Srivijaya controlled the sea gates between India and China for centuries. Students explore how monsoon winds, ports and Buddhist learning built a sea empire that left few stone ruins.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Locate Srivijaya and the straits it controlled.
  • Explain how monsoon winds and sea trade made Srivijaya rich.
  • Describe Srivijaya as a centre of Buddhist learning.
2

Explore the map

12 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 800

Two sea gates

Open the map in 800 and find the Srivijaya Empire. Locate the Strait of Malacca and the Sunda Strait. Why would controlling both make a kingdom rich?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 800

The sea route west

Turn on Trade Routes. Follow the sea route from the Strait of Malacca west to India and beyond. What goods would ships carry each way?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 700

A Buddhist kingdom

Turn on Spreads > Buddhism and zoom in on Palembang. When does the spread reach it on the map? Why would monks from China stop here on their way to India?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

14 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Ships had to wait for the monsoon winds to change. How could a port gain from sailors who had to wait?
  2. Why might a kingdom made rich by the sea leave few stone monuments behind?
  3. Chinese monks stopped in Srivijaya to study on their way to India. What does that tell us about it?
  4. How could Srivijaya make passing ships stop at its ports?
  5. The Chola raiders of 1025 came from thousands of kilometres away. What does that show about the Indian Ocean world?
4

Game round

9 min

Rule History has no Southeast Asian ruler, so play Wu Zetian, who ruled China when the monk Yijing sailed through Srivijaya. Let students take turns ruling. Then discuss: why did Tang China care about a kingdom that guarded the sea route to India?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.