(Ancient).—"Search carefully Yava dvīpa, adorned by seven Kingdoms, the Gold and Silver Island, rich in mines of gold. Beyond Yava dvīpa is the Mountain called Sisira, whose top touches the sky, and which is visited by gods and demons."—Rāmāyana, IV. xl. 30 (from Kern).
A.D. c. 150.—"Iabadiu (Ἰαβαδίου), which means 'Island of Barley,' most fruitful the island is said to be, and also to produce much gold; also the metropolis is said to have the name Argyrē (Silver), and to stand at the western end of the island."—Ptolemy, VII. ii. 29.
414.—"Thus they voyaged for about ninety days, when they arrived at a country called Ya-va-di [i.e. Yava-dvīpa]. In this country heretics and Brahmans flourish, but the Law of Buddha hardly deserves mentioning."—Fahian, ext. in Groeneveldt's Notes from Chinese Sources.
A.D. c. 500.—"When the sun rises in Ceylon it is sunset in the City of the Blessed (Siddha-pura, i.e. The Fortunate Islands), noon at Yava-koṭi, and midnight in the Land of the Romans."—Aryabhata, IV. v. 13 (from Kern).
A.D. c. 650.—"Eastward by a fourth part of the earth's circumference, in the world-quarter of the Bhadrāśvas lies the City famous under the name of Yava koti whose walls and gates are of gold."—Suryā-Siddhānta, XII. v. 38 (from Kern).
Saka, 654, i.e. A.D. 762.—"Dvīpavaram Yavākhyam atulan dhân-yādivājâīhikam sampannam kanakākaraih" ... i.e. the incomparable splendid island called Java, excessively rich in grain and other seeds, and well provided with gold-mines."—Inscription in Batavia Museum (see above).
943.—"Eager ... to study with my own eyes the peculiarities of each country, I have with this object visited Sind and Zanj, and Ṣanf (see [CHAMPA]) and Ṣīn (China), and Zābaj."—Maṣ'ūdī, i. 5.
" "This Kingdom (India) borders upon that of Zābaj, which is the empire of the Mahrāj, King of the Isles."—Ibid. 163.
992.—"Djava is situated in the Southern Ocean.... In the 12th month of the year (992) their King Maradja sent an embassy ... to go to court and bring tribute."—Groeneveldt's Notes from Chinese Sources, pp. 15-17.
1298.—"When you sail from Ziamba (Chamba) 1500 miles in a course between south and south-east, you come to a very great island called Java, which, according to the statement of some good mariners, is the greatest Island that there is in the world, seeing that it has a compass of more than 3000 miles, and is under the dominion of a great king.... Pepper, nutmegs, spike, galanga, cubebs, cloves, and all the other good spices are produced in this island, and it is visited by many ships with quantities of merchandise from which they make great profits and gain, for such an amount of gold is found there that no one would believe it or venture to tell it."—Marco Polo, in Ramusio, ii. 51.