| Abstract: |
Temasek, renamed Singapore by Sri Tri Buana according to the Malay Annals/Sejarah Melayu/Sululatu’s Salatin/SM, occupies a seminal position in the evolution of Melaka and modern Malay identity. O.W. Wolters, renowned historian of Srivijaya and Melaka, concluded that the Singapore episode in the SM was a fiction concocted to conceal the subjugation of Palembang by Jambi. Archaeological research in Singapore has shown that the SM depiction of precolonial Singapore was not based on an attempt to falsify history. Singapore was not the first great Malay port, but for a period of 300 years, from 1300 to 1600, it was a fairly prosperous settlement with important local industries in addition to import-export business. Local pottery found there is similar to that found in Kedah and Sumatra at the same period.
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