Langkasuka

Langkasuka
2nd century–15th century
A suggestion of the reach of the kingdom of Langkasuka. Most scholars consider Langkasuka to be located on the East coast of the Malay peninsula, but some argued for a kingdom that extended from the East to the West coast. Ligor refers to Nakhon Si Thammarat and Kataha is Kedah.
Capital		Unknown
Languages		Old Malay
Religion		Hindu-Buddhist
Government		Monarchy
Raja		Merong Mahawangsa
		Bhagadatta
History
•	Established	2nd century
•	Disestablished	15th century
Succeeded by Pattani Kingdom
Today part of		Malaysia  Thailand

Langkasuka was an ancient Hindu-Buddhist Malay kingdom located in the Malay Peninsula. The name is Sanskrit in origin; it is thought to be a combination of langkha for "resplendent land" -sukkha for "bliss". 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 legendary Mauryan Hindu warrior king who eventually became a pacifist after embracing the ideals espoused in Buddhism, and that the early Indian colonizers of of the Malay Isthmus named the kingdom Langkasuka in his honour.

The kingdom, along with Old Kedah, is probably among the earliest kingdoms founded on the Malay Peninsula. The exact location of the kingdom is of some debate, but archaeological discoveries at Yarang near Pattani, Thailand suggest a probable location. The kingdom is believed to have been founded in the 2nd century.

Historical records are sparse. The earliest and most detailed description of the kingdom comes from the Chinese Liang Dynasty (502-557) record Liangshu, which refers to the kingdom of "Lang-ya-xiu" (Chinese: 狼牙脩, Lang-gga-siu in Hokkien) founded in the 2nd century AD. According to Liangshu, "Lang-ya-xiu" or Langkasuka was thirty days' journey from east to west, and twenty from north to south, 24,000 li in distance from Guangzhou. It mentions that Aloeswood (Aquilaria) and camphor were abundant in the kingdom, and its capital was described as being surrounded by walls to form a city with double gates, towers and pavilions. Both men and women in Langkasuka were said to wear sarongs with their torsos bare and their hair loose, although the king and senior officials covered their shoulders with cloth and wore gold earrings and belts of gold cord. Women of high status wrapped themselves in cloth and wore jeweled girdles. It gives further information on some of its kings and also related a story on a succession: