Gangga Negara is believed to be a semi-legendary Malay-Hindu kingdom lost to time. It is mentioned in the Malay Annals (Originally titled the Sulalatus Salatin or the Genealogy of Kings) which were composed during the 15th and 16th centuries. It details a kingdom that would cover modern-day Beruas, Dinding, and Manjung in Perak, on the west coast of the Malay peninsula.
We know where it was. We even know the names of some of the kings, for example Raja Gangga Shah Johan. But was this ever a real place?
There has been little research committed to the topic but those that have, believe that the kingdom was likely centered at Beruas, a small town in the region, but collapsed after it was attacked by the conquering King Rajendra Chola I. He was from Coromandel in South .
This attack is estimated to have happened within the 11th century. However, little archaeological evidence has ever presented itself and the written sources are so scant that it can be hard to create a picture of just what the lost kingdom of Gangga Negara was or what people may have lived there.
