A GLORIOUS LEGACY
During the early years of the Christian era Indonesia became increasingly influenced by Indian civilization and culture. Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms grew up in Java, Sumatra and Kalimantan (Borneo).
In the 6th and 7th centuries A.D. the great trading empire of Srivijaya, with a powerful centre at Palembang in eastern Sumatra, dominated the Malay Peninsula and much of the Indonesian Archipelago.
A hundred years later a royal dynasty known as Sailendra, the 'Lords of the Mountain', rose to power in Central Java and built, among other monuments, the magnificent Buddhist temple of Borobudur, which has often been hailed as the eighth wonder of the world, In East Java, too, there is material evidence of Indianized civilization from this early date.
The remains of the temples of Badut and Songgoriti, near Malang, are considered to have belonged to the eighth century kingdom of Kanjuruhan, thus making them about the same age as the earliest temples of Central Java. Today, one of the city of Malang's well known universities is named after Kanjuruhan's most famous king, Gajayana.
Candi Sumbrada, one of a group of small Hindu temles high up on the mistery Dieng Plateau in Central Java; c. 8th century.

 
Candi Sari, a Buddhist temple at Kalasan, near Yogyakarta, is one of the great monuments left to us by the Sailendra Kings.


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