Sunday, November 22, 2009

The Oldest Kingdoms in Indonesia



10. Kutai Kartanegara (1300-1650)



Around the end of the 13th century the kingdom of Kutai

 Kartanegara was established in the region of Tepian Batu or Kutai

 Lama. The first known ruler is Aji Batara Agung Dewa Sakti, who

 is thought to have ruled from 1300 to 1325. Aji Pangeran Sinum

 Panji Mendapa, who ruled 1635-1650, was able to conquer the

 kingdom of Kutai Martadipura and merged the two realms thus

Kutai Kartanegara Ing Martadipura.



In 1667 the Dutch V.O.C. attacked Makassar on the island of 

Sulawesi leading to the downfall of the Bugis Kingdom of Gowa. 

Some of the Bugis under the leadership of Lamohang Daeng 

Mangkona or Pua Ado I immigrated to Kutai on neighbouring

 Borneo(Kalimantan) and the ruler of Kutai allowed them to settl

e in Kampung Melantai around the Karang Mumus River, now 

known as Kampung Selili. This settlement eventually developed

 into the modern town of Samarinda.Islam took hold in the region

 since the 17th century (most of the Bugis where moslems) and Aji 

Muhammad Idris, ruling 1732-1739, was the first ruler to have an

 Islamic name.



After a civil war Aji Imbut, after finally becoming the ruler as Aji

 Muhammad Muslihuddin in 1780, moved the capital in 1782 from

 Pemarangan to TepianPandan. The name of the capital city

 eventually developed from Tangga Arung to its present form of

Tenggarong.

In 1844 the Dutch defeated the Sultan Aji Muhammad Salehudin,

 forcing him into exile, and took direct control of Kutai.

The Japanese invaded the region in 1942 and acknowledged a

 "Kooti Kingdom", that was a subject of the Tenno. In 1945 Kutai

 joined, along with its neighbours, into the East Kalimantan 

federation.

In 1949 Kutai finally became part of the United Republic of 

Indonesia.



9. Majapahit (1293-1500 AD)


Majapahit was an archipelagic empire based on the island of Java 

from 1293 to around 1500. Majapahit reached its peak of glory

 during the era of Hayam Wuruk, whose reign from 1350 to 1389

 marked by the conquest of kingdoms in Maritime Southeast Asia

 (including present day Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei,

 East Timor, and the Philippines)

Majapahit empire was the last of the major empires of the Malay 

archipelago and is considered to be one of the greatest empires in

 Indonesian history. Its influence extended beyond the modern 

territory of Indonesia and has been a subject of many studies.

Little physical evidence of Majapahit remains, and some details of 

the history are rather abstract. The main sources used by historians

 are: the Pararaton ('Book of Kings') written in Kawi language and

 Nagarakertagama in OldJavanese. Pararaton is focused upon Ken

 Arok (the founder of Singhasari) but includes a number of shorter

 narrative fragments about the formation of Majapahit.

 Nagarakertagama, is an old Javanese epic poem written during the

 Majapahit golden age under the reign of Hayam Wuruk after which

 some events are inadequately covered. There are also some

 inscriptions in Old Javanese and Chinese.


The Javanese sources incorporate some poetic mythological

 elements, and scholars such as C. C. Berg, a Dutch nationalist,

 have considered that the entire historical record to be not a record 

of the past, but a supernatural means by which the future can be 

. Despite Berg's approach, most scholars do not accept this view, as

 the historical record corresponds with Chinese materials that could

 not have had similar intention. The list of rulers and details of the

 state structure, show no sign of being invented.




8. Singhasari (1222-1292 AD)


Singhasari (Singosari) was founded by Ken Arok (

1182-1227/1247), whose story is a popular children's tale in Central

 and East Java


Ken Arok was an orphan born of a mother named Ken Endok and

 an unknown father (some tales stated he was a son of god Brahma

 himself – one of three gods of Hinduism: Brahma, Vishnu, and

 Shiva) in Kediri kingdom’s territory. Ken Arok was also said to be

 a reincarnation of Vishnu. And years later, when he was in war 

against King Kertajaya of Kediri, the king arrogantly said that only

 Shiva himself can defeat him, and thus Ken Arok used Shiva as his

 title, as though the three gods were united in him. Regardless of the

 veracity of his claim, Ken Arok proved himself by growing from a

 mere commoner to be a king whose descendants ruled Java for 

centuries.


Ken Arok was raised by a thief. Thus lack of supervision regarding

 right andwrong from his parents made him into a boy who simply

 follows his desires. He earned a very bad reputation by fighting,

 gambling, stealing, etc. Later in life, he came into the service of 

Tunggul Ametung, a local lord of Tumapel, one of the regions of 

Kediri. Ken Arok, who was very talented at making good 

impressions from his youth, somehow earned Tunggul Ametung's

 trust and came to be one of his most trusted people.


Tunggul Ametung, a middle-aged lord of Tumapel, had a very 

beautiful young wife, Ken Dedes. Ken Dedes was a daughter of 

Mpu Purwa, a renowned Buddhist priest. She had been abducted by 

the Tumapel lord while her father was away. Ken Arok fell in love

 with Ken Dedes when they first met, and he planned to make her

 his wife, even if it meant he had to kill his own master. To this end,

 Ken Arok went to a famous weaponsmith named Mpu Gandring

 and asked him to make a sacred kris (Javanese double-edged 

dagger). The process of making the sacred weapon took longer than

 Ken Arok could stand, and in his anger he took the unfinished 

weapon from Mpu Gandring and killed the smith with his own 

weapon. In his last breath, Mpu Gandring cursed Ken Arok and the

 next 7 generations of his descendants to death by the same weapon



Ken Arok made a show of his kris to one of his fellow Tunggul 

Ametung’s retainer, Kebo Ijo, who became fascinated with the

 unique weapon and asked Ken Arok to lend him the Kris. When 

Kebo Ijo had the Kris, he bragged to everyone that the weapon 

belonged to him. Ken Arok kept silent about this, as he was well 

aware of Kebo Ijo’s character and these were his plans from the

 start. One night, Ken Arok secretly took the weapon from Kebo 

Ijo’s room, slipped away and managed to kill Tunggul Ametung. He

 left the kris on the lord's chest so Kebo Ijo would be blamed for the

 murder. The accused Kebo Ijo was soon killed by Ken Arok before 

he could deny using the kris of Mpu Gandring. Ken Arok then took 

Ken Dedes as his wife and made himself the new lord of Tumapel. 

At the time, Ken Dedes was pregnant with Tunggul Ametung's 

child.

The ambition of Ken Arok did not stop. He changed Tumapel’s 

name intoSinghasari (Singosari) and rebelled against the Kediri 





















7. Kediri (1045-1221 AD)


Kediri was an Indianized kingdom based in East Java from 1042 to 

around 1222. Despite the seeming lack of archaeological remains,

 the age of Kediri saw much development in classical literature. 

Mpu Sedah's Kakawin Bharatayuddha, Mpu Panuluh's

 Gatotkacasraya, and Mpu Dharmaja's Smaradahana blossomed in

 this era


Celebrated as the era of blossomming literature, Kediri produced

 significant contributions in the field of Javanese classic literature. 

Next to the literary works already mentioned, Lubdhaka and 

Wrtasancaya by Mpu Tanakung, Krisnayana written by Mpu

 Triguna, and Sumanasantaka by Mpu Monaguna are also notable.


The book of Ling-wai-tai-ta composed by Chinese author Chou

 K'u-fei in 1178 gave a glimpse of everyday life in Kediri that

 cannot be found in any other source material, about the

 government and people of Kediri. According to Chou K'u-fei,

 people wore clothes that covered them down to their legs, with a 



loose hairstyle. Their houses were clean and well arranged with

 floors made from green or yellow cut stones. Agriculture, animal 

farming, and trading flourished and gained full attention from

 government. He reported that silkworm farms to produce silk and

 cotton clothes production had been adopted by Javanese by that 

time. There was no physical punishment (jail or torture) of

 criminals. Instead, the people who committed unlawful acts were

 forced to pay fines in gold, except for thieves and robbers who 

were executed. In marital customs, the bride's family received some

 amount of bride price from the groom's family. Instead of

 developing medical treatment, the Kediri people relied on prayers

 to Buddha.


On the 5th month of the year a water festival was celebrated,

 people would travel in boats on along the river to celebrate. On the

 10th month, another festival was held in the mountains. People 

would gather there to have fun and perform musical with 

instruments such as flutes, drums, and wooden xylophones (an



The King wore silk garments, leather shoes and ornately golden 

jewelry. He wore his hair up high on his head. Everyday he would

receive state officials managers of his kingdom on a square throne.

 After an audience, the state official would bow three times to the 

king. If the king traveled outside the palace, he rode an elephant, 

accompanied by 500 to 700 soldiers and officials, while his 

subjects, the people of Kediri prostrated themselves as the king 

passed.



6. Sailendra (8th-9th centuries)


Sailendra (Sanskrit:Lord of the Mountain) is the name of an 

influential Indonesian dynasty that emerged in 8th century Java

.

The Sailendras were active promoters of Mahayana Buddhism and

 covered the Kedu Plain of Central Java with Buddhist monuments,

 including the world famous Borobudur.


The earliest dated inscription in Indonesia in which the dynastic

 name Sailendra appears is the Kalasan inscription of central Java,

 dated 778 AD, which commemorates the establishment of a

 Buddhist shrine for the Buddhist goddess Tara.


The name also appears in several other inscriptions like the Kelurak

 inscription (782) and the Karentengah (792). Outside Indonesia, 

the name Sailendra is to be found in the Ligor inscription (775) on

 the Malay peninsula and the mid-9th century Nalanda inscription.

The Sailendra rulers maintained close relations, including marriage

 allianceswith the Srivijaya kingdom in Sumatra. For instance, 

Samaratungga married Dewi Tara, a daughter of Srivijayan 

maharaja Dharmasetu. The mutual alliance between the two

 kingdoms ensured that Srivijaya had no need to fear the emergence

 of a Javanese rival and that the Sailendra had access to the

 international market.


The received version holds that the Sailendra dynasty existed next 

to the Sanjaya dynasty in Java. Much of the period was

 characterized by peaceful co-existence and cooperation but 

towards the middle of the 9th century relations had deteriorated. 

Around 852 the Sanjaya ruler Pikatan had defeatedBalaputra, the 

offspring of the Sailendra monarch Samaratunga and princess Tara.

 This ended the Sailendra presence in Java and Balaputra retreated 

to the Srivijaya kingdom in Sumatra, where he became the 

paramount ruler.



5. Mataram (752-1045 AD)



Mataram was a Hindu-Buddhist Javanese kingdom based in Central

 Java between the 8th and 10th centuries AD and was established 

by king Sanjaya, he was also known as the founder of Sanjaya

 dynasty. The Sanjaya dynasty reign the kingdom, but then in later 

period the kingdom was ruled by Isyana Dynasty. Although initially

 eclipsed in power by the rival Sailendra Dynasty, by 850 it had

 become the dominant power in Java and was a serious rival to the

 hegemonic Srivijaya Empire.


The early account of Mataram kingdom is mentioned in Canggal

 inscription,dated 732, discovered in Canggal village, Southwest

 from the town of Magelang. This inscription was written in Pallava 

letters and in Sanskrit, and tell about the erection of a lingga 

(symbol of Shiva) on the hill in the Kunjarakunja area. This area is 

located at a noble island called Yawadwipa (Java) which blessed

 with abundance of rice and gold. This 

inscription tells that Yawadwipa was reigned by king Sanna, which

 his long period of reign was marked with wisdom and virtue. After

 king Sanna died the kingdom fell into disunity. Confused because 

lost of ruler and patron, Sanjaya ascend to throne, he was the son of

 Sannaha (sister of Sanna). He was king that mastered holy

 scriptures, martial art, and also military prowess. He conquered 

neighboring area around his kingdom, his wise reign blessed his land

 with peace and prosperity for all his subjects.


King Sanna and Sanjaya also known in Carita Parahyangan, a book

 from later period which mainly tell the history of Pasundan (Sunda 

Kingdom). This bookmentioned that Sanna was defeated by 

Purbasora, king of Galuh, then he retreated to mount Merapi. Later

 Sanna's successor Sanjaya reclaim Sanna's kingdom and ruled West

 Java, Central Java, East Java, and Bali. He also involved in battle

 with Malayu and Keling (against their king Sang Srivijaya). In main 

theme of Carita Parahyangan is corresponds to Canggal inscription.




4. Srivijaya (7th - 13th centuries)



Srivijaya or Sriwijaya was an ancient Malay kingdom on the island

 of Sumatra, Southeast Asia which influenced much of the Maritime 

Southeast Asia. The earliest solid proof of its existence dates from

 the 7th century; a Chinese monk, I-Tsing, wrote that he visited 

Srivijaya in 671 for 6 months. The first inscription in which the 

name Srivijaya appears also dates from the 7th century, namely the

 Kedukan Bukit Inscription around Palembang in Sumatra, dated 

683.The kingdom ceased to exist between 1200 and 1300 due

 tovarious factors, including the expansion of Majapahit. In

 Sanskrit, sri means "shining" or "radiant" and vijaya means 

"victory" or "excellence".


After Srivijaya fell, it was largely forgotten and so historians had

 never considered that a large united kingdom could have been

 present in Southeast Asia. The existence of Srivijaya was only 

formally suspected in 1918 when French historian George Coedès 

of the École française d'Extrême-Orient postulated the existence of

 the empire. Around 1992 and 1993, Pierre-Yves Manguin proved

 that the centre of Srivijaya was along the Musi River between 

Bukit Seguntang and Sabokingking (situated in what is now the

 province of South Sumatra, Indonesia).




3. The Sunda Kingdom (669-1579 AD)


The Sunda Kingdom was a kingdom based on western part of Java

 from 669 to around 1579, covering areas of present-day Banten,

 Jakarta, West Java, and the western part of Central Java.

 According to primary historical records, theBujangga Manik

 manuscript the eastern border of the Sunda Kingdom is Pamali 

River (Ci Pamali, present day Brebes River) and Serayu River (Ci

 Sarayu) in Central Java. Most of the accounts of Sunda Kingdom

 came from the primary historical records dated from the sixteenth

 century.


Little physical evidence of Sunda kingdom remains, and most parts

 of West Java history is remain unclear. However there is

 continuous knowledge about the kingdom among Sundanese

 people that has been kept alive through Sundanese Pantun oral 

tradition, the chant of poetic verses mostly tells the story of the 

golden era of Sunda Pajajaran and the legend of King Siliwangi, the

 popular king of Sunda


Most of the account and records of Sunda kingdom came from

 ancient manuscripts dated from later period, such as Wangsakerta,

 Carita Parahyangan, Kidung Sunda, Bujangga Manik, and Pustaka

 Rajyarajya i Bhumi Nusantara. Several stone inscriptions also 

mentioned the kingdom, such as Jayabupati, Kawali, and Batutulis.



2. Tarumanegara (358-669 AD)


Tarumanagara or Taruma Kingdom or just Taruma is an early 

Sundanese kingdom, whose fifth-century ruler, Purnavarman, 

produced the earliest known inscriptions on Java island. The 

kingdom was not far from modern Jakarta, and Purnavarman 

apparently built a canal that changed the course of the Cakung 

River, and drained a coastal area for agriculture and settlement. In 

his inscriptions, Purnavarman associated himself with Vishnu, and 

Brahmins ritually secured the hydraulic project.



Tarumanagara existed between 358-669. The earliest known 

written records of Tarumanagara existence are inscribed monument

 stones. Inscribed stone is called prasasti in Indonesian language. A 

prasasti located in a river bed of Caiaruteun river, called Prasasti 

Ciaruteun, from the fifth century AD, written in Wengi letters (used 

in the Indian Pallava period) and in Sanskrit language.


In about 650, Tarumanagara kingdom was attacked and defeated by

 Srivijaya (a kingdom established in Sumatra island in 500). Then, 

Tarumanegara's influence on its small kingdoms began to decline.


In 669, Tarusbawa inherited Tarumanagara crown. Tarusbawa was

 the last king of Tarumanagara. This is in line with Chinese

 chronicles mentioning that a messenger of Tarumanagara last 

visited China in 669. Tarusbawa indeed sent his messenger advising

 his enthronement to Chinese king in 669. Because the influence of

 Tarumanagara in Tarusbawa era declined as a result of severance 

by its vassal states as well as due to the attacks by Srivijaya, he 

wished to return the greatness of the kingdom as was in the era of 

Purnawarman controlling the kingdoms from Sunda Pura. Hence, in

 670, he changed name Tarumanagara to be Sunda.


This event was made as a reason by king Wretikandayun 

(Monarchic founder of Galuh) to dissociate the small kingdom from

 the power of Tarumanagara and asked King Tarusbawa to divide 

Tarumanagara territory into two parts. Galuh got a support from 

Kalingga kingdom (the first kingdom in Java island) to separate 

from Tarumanagara because Galuh and Kalingga had made an 

alliance through dynastic marriage; a son of King Wretikandayun

 married Parwati (a daughter of Queen Sima) from Kalingga and 

Sana alias Bratasenawa alias Sena (a grandson of King 

Wretikandayun) married Sanaha (a granddaughter of Queen Sima).

 In a weak position and wishing to avoid civil war, the young King 

Tarusbawa accepted the request of old King Wretikandayun. In 

670, Tarumanagara was divided into two kingdoms: Sunda 

Kingdom and Galuh Kingdom with the Citarum river as the 

boundary. Then Galuh Kingdom comprised many vassal kingdoms 

which covered areas ofpresent-day West and present-day Central 

Java Provinces.


King Tarusbawa then established a new capital of his kingdom near

 the Cipakancilan river upstream which centuries later became the 

city of Pakuan Pajajaran (or shortly called Pakuan or Pajajaran). 

King Tarusbawa becomes the ancestor of Sunda kings.


1. Kutai Martadipura (350-400 AD)

The history is usually divided into two periods, that of the early 

Kutai Martadipura phase some time around 350-400 and the later 

Kutai Kartanegara phase beginning around 1300.

Seven stone pillars, or yūpa (“sacrificial posts”), have been found in

 Kutai, Kaman Estuary, near the Mahakam River. The plinths bear 

an inscription in the Pallava script of India reading "A gift to the 

Brahmin priests". The style of the script has been dated to the last

 half the fourth century. It is believed these religions were brought 

to Indonesia around the second and fourth centuries, respectively, 

when Indian traders arrived on the islands of Sumatra, Java and 

Sulawesi.


The names of three rulers are known from the inscriptions. The first 

ruler mentioned is Kuṇḍungga, the “lord of men” (narendra), his 

son Aśwawarman, styled the “founder of the dynasty” (vaṇśa-kartṛ) 

and grandson of the first and son of the later, Mūlawarman called 

the “lord of kings” (rājendra). As Kuṇḍungga does not seem to be a

 name of Sanskrit hinduistic style while the other two are, it is 

presumed he was a leader of local origin and it was his son 

Aśwawarman that adopted the hinduistic belief. It was 

Mūlawarman who let these inscriptions be made. While nothing of 

the military actions of his two predecessors is known, "Raja"

 Mūlawarman is stated to have conquered his neighbours in battle.

 The name of his kingdom is not mentioned on the inscriptions nor 

do any other documents in other countries relate to a kingdom at 

this time in this region. It is not known what became of the kingdom

 after these pillars had been erected. It may be possible that the 

name Kutai, as in Tuñjung Kute of the 1365 Javanese Majapahit

poem Nāgarakṛtāgama is asancient and reflects the original name 

used a thousand years earlier.

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