kingdom · Mainland Southeast Asia
Tambralinga
Origins
Tambralinga appears in Chinese sources as Danmaling and in inscriptions, including a Chola list of conquests of about 1030. Its centre lay at or near Nakhon Si Thammarat on the east coast of the peninsula. For long periods it was tied to the maritime network of Srivijaya, before asserting itself as an independent power.
Rule and society
The kingdom drew its wealth from the trans-peninsular trade and exports such as aromatic woods and tin. It sent missions to the Song court in the 11th century. Its most famous ruler, Chandrabhanu Sridhamaraja, recorded in an inscription at Chaiya dated 1230, built up a navy and twice invaded Sri Lanka, partly to obtain a sacred relic.
Decline and legacy
Chandrabhanu was defeated in Sri Lanka by Pandyan forces in the 1260s, and Tambralinga weakened. By the late 13th century it had become the Nakhon Si Thammarat Kingdom, which accepted the overlordship of Sukhothai and later Ayutthaya, while retaining strong Sinhalese Theravada links.
Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (1)
- Tambralinga was a vassal of Srivijaya Empire775 CE – 1000 CE
More states of Mainland Southeast Asia →
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Tambralinga. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/tambralinga
- MLA
- “Tambralinga.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/tambralinga. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Tambralinga.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/tambralinga.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Tambralinga’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/tambralinga (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻