Thread by @Sam_Mahakaal

Defenders of the India

#HistoryFacts : The devastation caused by Indian naval raids of Srivijaya in 1025, marked the end of Shailendra Empire as the ruling dynasty in Sumatra.
In 1025, Rajendra Chola I, the Chola king from #TamilNadu in South India, launched naval raids on the

city-state of Srivijaya in maritime Southeast Asia, Rajendra's overseas expedition against #Srivijaya was a unique event in India's history and its otherwise peaceful relations with the states of Southeast Asia.
To sail from #India to the Indonesian Archipelago,

vessels from India sailed eastward across the Bay of Bengal and called at the ports of Lamuri in Aceh or Kedah in Malay peninsula before entering Strait of Malacca. But the Chola armada sailed directly to the Sumatran west coast. The port of Barus in the west coast of North

Sumatra at that time belonged to Tamil trading guilds and served as a port to replenish after crossing the Indian Ocean. The Chola armada then continued to sail along Sumatra's west coast southward and sailed into Strait of Sunda. The Srivijaya navy guarded Kedah and

surrounding areas on the northwest opening of the Malacca strait completely unaware that the Chola attack was coming from the Sunda Strait in the south. The first Srivijayan city being raided was Palembang, the capital of Srivijaya empire. Thanjavur inscription states that

Rajendra captured King Sangrama Vijayottunggavarman of Srivijaya and took a large heap of treasures including the Vidhyadara Torana, the jeweled 'war gate' of Srivijaya adorned with great splendor.
The tactic of a fast-moving

unexpected attack was probably the secret of Cholan success, since it did not allow the Srivijayan mandala to prepare the defences, reorganize themselves, provide assistance or to retaliate.

The war ended with a victory for the Cholas and major losses for the Srivijaya Empire ending the Srivijaya maritime monopoly in the region.