This novel is influenced by a plentiful of real stories and persons. In this chapter, the author would like to discuss which are indeed facts and which are fiction.
The story revolves around the confrontation between Srivijaya kingdom and Mongol Empire, was it a fact?
No, it was a fiction. The Mongol empire, under Kublai Khan, actually did try to invade what was now Indonesia's territory in 1293--but at that time, it was Singhasari kingdom that was attacked. Meanwhile, during that period, there was no historical evidence that Srivijaya kingdom still existed (Srivijaya kingdom reigned from 7th century until 12th century). However, the action taken by Maharaja Sumatrabhumi to cut the ear of a Mongol messenger was actually inspired by a real incident conducted by King Kertanegara of Singhasari that eventually triggered the Mongol invasion to Java. The reason why the author chose Srivijaya in this novel was because it had much larger territories (includes what was now Philippines, Thailand, and Cambodia) compared to Singhasari, so it was reasonable for the Mongol to conduct a ground invasion to its northern Kedatuan.
Between the characters, which ones are based on real persons?