History of East Java

The East Javanese period starts with King Sindok who was to found a dynasty that would rule through 1222. Sindok's dynasty was first called Içana, and later Dharmawangsa after a late 10th C king. King Sindok ruled from 929 through 947. The years of his rule were recorded in an old prasasti that is kept in Calcultta. Sindok's daughter Sri Içanatunggawijaya married King Lokapala and of their union Makutawangsawardhana was born. We know little about these two rulers, but more is known about the latter's successor King Dharmawangsa who ruled from 991 - 1016. Dharmawangsa composed a legal code (the Shivashasana, known on Bali as Poerwadigama), and ordered the first Old Javanese version of the Mahabharata.

Dharmawangsa attacks Srivijaya, but the Kingdom had not weakened to the extent that the attack went unchallenged. In return Srivijaya mounts a counter attack. Dharmawangsa died and his son in law, Airlangga proclaims himself King. Airlangga was the eldest son of

Makutawangawardhana's daughter Gunapriyadharmapatni and Udayana, a Balinese prince. Airlangga's youngest brother, Anak Wungsu, was to rule on Bali. He is buried at Tampaksiring.
In 1024 a war ensued between Srivijaya and the South Indian King Rajendracola. In 1035 Airlangga succeeds in establishing himself as King, and he unifies Java.

Airlangga was an illustrous ruler. He commissioned the Arjunawiwaha - a Javanised Indian epic, started waterworks and encouraged the sea trade through Tuban. The royal seat was not in Tuban, however, but in Kahuripan. He tightened ties with Bali and Borneo, that later became his most important vassal.

In 1042 before retiring as a hermit, Airlangga split his kingdom between his two sons. Of the two kingdoms Daha (at Kediri) and Janggala (near Surabaya) the former was to thrive through 1222. The Daha kingdom boasts the important king Jayabaya, whose prophesies remain popular right through the present day. Jayabaya also commissioned a Javanese version of the Bharatayudha in 1157.

Daha was ultimately brought down by a rebellious province. Ken Arok, was an upstart who gained the power over Tumapel, a fiefdom east of Kawi, and then gradually extends it by gobbling up parts of the old Janggala kingdom. As he consolidated his power he rebelled against Kediri and proceeded to ask its obeisance. Ken Arok takes power as king Rajasa, and with him starts the Singasari dynasty. The last king of Singasari, Kertanagara was to change Javanese foreign policy. He entered into an alliance with Champa and sails against Srivijaya in 1275.

Kertanagara's troops remained West for many years, making the Kingdom vulnerable to attack. When, in 1293, Kertanagara's troops returned home they had not succeeded in bringing down Srivijaya, but did gain a vassal in the old kingdom of Melayu which at the time was said to have revived. Kertanagara's kingdom was attacked out of Kediri while his troops were away, and Kertanagara abdicated.

Before his abdication, Kertanagara had rejected the advances from Kublai Khan who demanded obedience from Kertanagara. To illustrate his point, Kertanagara had defaced the Khan's envoy. In return, Kublai Khan sent a punitive expedition, but it was said to be ill-fated. Of the 1,000 vessels sent, few arrived, and the sailors were starved and low on morale. The vessels had not been allowed to moor in Champa, an ally of Singasari. When the Chinese troops did reach Java, Prince Wijaya, a descendant of Kertanagara sent them on Jayakatwang, the usurper from Kediri. Prince Wijaya had apparently been allowed by Kediri to establish himself near Surabaya having promised them allegiance. However, this faith would prove to be misplaced.Prince Wijaya's Kingdom was to become known under the name Majapahit. Wijaya became its first ruler with the name Kertarajasa.

Of the many kings of Majapahit , none was to become as famous as Hayam Wuruk whose official name was Rajasanagara. He ruled from 1350-1389, and owes much of his fame to his first minister Gajah Mada. This minister had assisted his mother who ruled as Hayam Wuruk's regent when he was still young. Gajah Mada (1331 - 1364) ruled over most of the area we now call Indonesia, less North Sulawesi but with the inclusion of the Malay Peninsula. Much is knows about the kingdom of Majapahit at this time due to the survival of the Nagarakrtagama, a narrative about King Rajasanegara as written by one of his courtiers under the pen-name Mpu Prapanca.

On his death, Hayam Wuruk gave the Blambangan (Java's Eastern Salient) to a second son (or son-in-law). This turned out to be a poor decision: a civil war erupted and famine ensued. Thus power of the mighty kingdom of Majapahit faded.
As Majapahit weakened, its power eroded. This erosion was worst in the cities on Java's north coast which prospered from foreign trade. This trade brought Islam - via Persia, India and Sumatra - to Java. The city states that were to gain the supremacy over Majapahit were no longer semi-Hinduised but Muslim.