Kertanegara of Singhasari
Encyclopedia
Sri
Sri , also transliterated as Shri or Shree or shre is a word of Sanskrit origin, used in the Indian subcontinent as polite form of address equivalent to the English "Mr." in written and spoken language, or as a title of veneration for deities .-Etymology:Sri has the root meaning of radiance, or...
Maharaja
Maharaja
Mahārāja is a Sanskrit title for a "great king" or "high king". The female equivalent title Maharani denotes either the wife of a Maharaja or, in states where that was customary, a woman ruling in her own right. The widow of a Maharaja is known as a Rajamata...
diraja Sri Kertanegara Wikrama Dharmatunggadewa) (died 1292), was the last and most important ruler of the Singhasari
Singhasari
Singhasari was a kingdom located in east Java between 1222 and 1292. The kingdom succeeded Kingdom of Kediri as the dominant kingdom in eastern Java.-Foundation:...
kingdom of Java
Java
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
, reigning from 1268 to 1292. Under his rule Javanese trade and power developed considerably, reaching the far corners of the Indonesian archipelago.
Background
Kertanegara was the fifth ruler of Singhasari and was the son of the previous king, Visnuvardhana (r. 1248-1268). He effectively held power from 1254 and officially succeeded his father when the latter died in 1268. The Singhasari dynasty had come to power in Java following the overthrow of the previous Kingdom of Kediri by Ken ArokKen Arok
Ken Arok was the founder and first ruler of the Singhasari Kingdom, an ancient Hindu-Budhist kingdom in the East Java area of Indonesia. He was considered as the founder of Rajasa dynasty of both the Singhasari and Majapahit line of monarchs. He came from humble origins but subsequently rose to...
, the first Singhasari ruler in 1222.
Kertanegara was a follower of a mystical Tantric
Tantra
Tantra , anglicised tantricism or tantrism or tantram, is the name scholars give to an inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, expressed in scriptures ....
syncretism
Syncretism
Syncretism is the combining of different beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought. The term means "combining", but see below for the origin of the word...
of Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
and Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
, and presented himself as the god-king incarnation of Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
and Buddha
Buddha
In Buddhism, buddhahood is the state of perfect enlightenment attained by a buddha .In Buddhism, the term buddha usually refers to one who has become enlightened...
. Kertanegara celebrated many religious festivals and commissioned sculptures and metal plaques during his reign.
Conquests
Singhasari reached the height of its power during Kertanegara's rule, which saw the dramatic expansion of Javanese power in Maritime Southeast AsiaMaritime Southeast Asia
Maritime Southeast Asia refers to the maritime region of Southeast Asia as opposed to mainland Southeast Asia and includes the modern countries of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei, East Timor and Singapore....
. He extend Javanese involvement in the lucrative spice trade
Spice trade
Civilizations of Asia were involved in spice trade from the ancient times, and the Greco-Roman world soon followed by trading along the Incense route and the Roman-India routes...
with the Moluccas. He also put down rebellions in Java by Cayaraja in 1270 and Mahisa in 1280.
Kertanegara was the first Javanese ruler with territorial ambitions that extended beyond the island of Java. In 1284 he subjected nearby Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
to vassalage. Kertanagara managed to form an alliance with Champa
Champa
The kingdom of Champa was an Indianized kingdom that controlled what is now southern and central Vietnam from approximately the 7th century through to 1832.The Cham people are remnants...
, another dominant state in Southeast Asia.
Late in his reign, the Pamalayu expedition
Pamalayu expedition
The Pamalayu expedition was a military expeditionary force sent by King Kertanegara of Singhasari to conquer the Sumatran Melayu Kingdom. It was decreed in 1275, though perhaps not undertaken until later.Little is known about the results of the expedition...
succeeded in gaining control of the Melayu Kingdom
Melayu Kingdom
Melayu Kingdom was a classical Southeast Asian kingdom that existed between the 7th and the 13th century of the common era. It was established around present-day Dharmasraya on Sumatera, Indonesia, approximately 300 km north of Palembang...
in eastern Sumatra, and possibly also gained control over the Sunda kingdom
Sunda Kingdom
The Sunda Kingdom was a Hindu kingdom located on the 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...
and hegemony over the Strait of Malacca
Strait of Malacca
The Strait of Malacca is a narrow, stretch of water between the Malay Peninsula and the Indonesian island of Sumatra. It is named after the Malacca Sultanate that ruled over the archipelago between 1414 to 1511.-Extent:...
. Other areas in Madura
Madura
Madura is an Indonesian island off the northeastern coast of Java. The island comprises an area of approximately 4,250 km². Madura is administered as part of the East Java province. It is separated from Java by the narrow Strait of Madura.-History:...
and Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
also offered their submission to Kertanegara.
Conflict with the Mongol
Following the conquest of Song DynastySong Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, the Mongol
Mongols
Mongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
Yuan dynasty
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
sought to extend its power in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
. In 1289 Kubilai Khan, Genghis
Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death....
' grandson sent his own ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
s to Java to ask for tribute
Tribute
A tribute is wealth, often in kind, that one party gives to another as a sign of respect or, as was often the case in historical contexts, of submission or allegiance. Various ancient states, which could be called suzerains, exacted tribute from areas they had conquered or threatened to conquer...
. Kertanegara took grave offence to the request and arrested the envoys. He branded their faces, cut their ears and sent them back to China with disfigured faces.
Knowing that the Mongol would send a military expedition to punish him, Kertanegara tried to solidify his power. Around 1290 the Singhasari ruler launched the Pamalayu expedition to Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
, in order to conquer the Malay kingdom of Jambi in the south, one of successor states to Srivijaya
Srivijaya
Srivijaya was a powerful ancient thalassocratic Malay empire based on the island of Sumatra, modern day Indonesia, which influenced much of 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...
. Jambi was one of the first Indonesian polities where Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
had established its presence, and it already entertained cordial relationships with Yuan China.
Kubilai Khan ordered that a strong punitive naval expedition be launched against the remote equatorial islands in order to punish Kertanegara.
Rebellion of Jayakatwang
In the meantime Kertanegara had dominated all of Java, but before the Mongol fleet came, a dramatic political change occurred. JayakatwangJayakatwang
Jayakatwang was the king of short lived second Kingdom of Kediri of Java, after his overthrow of Kertanegara, the last king Singhasari. He was eventually defeated by Raden Wijaya, Kertanegara's son-in-law using Mongol troop that was invading Java...
, prince of Kediri and one of Singhasari's most powerful vassals, rebelled against his overlord.
With the bulk of the Javanese army in campaign overseas and Singhasari's defence weakened, Jayakatwang seize his chance and launched a coup against Kertanegara. He launched a diversionary attack to northern Java, where his troops drew the remaining Singhasari troops left on the island. With Singhasari defenseless he attacked the capital city.
Kertanegara was killed along with many courtiers in his palace in Singhasari in May or June 1292. He was apparently killed when drunk on palm wine
Palm wine
Palm wine also called Palm Toddy also called "Kallu" written in Malayalam and கள்ளு in Tamil or simply Toddy is an alcoholic beverage created from the sap of various species of palm tree such as the palmyra, and coconut palms...
in a religious Tantric Buddhist ceremony. Jayakatwang then declared himself ruler of Java and king of the restored Kediri.
Among the few surviving relatives of Kertanegara was his son-in-law Raden Wijaya
Raden Wijaya
Raden Wijaya was a Javanese King, the founder and the first monarch of Majapahit empire. The history of his founding of Majapahit was written in several records, including Pararaton and Negarakertagama...
, who fled to Madura
Madura
Madura is an Indonesian island off the northeastern coast of Java. The island comprises an area of approximately 4,250 km². Madura is administered as part of the East Java province. It is separated from Java by the narrow Strait of Madura.-History:...
where he was sheltered by its regent, Arya Wiraraja. Following pleas from Wiraraja, Jayakatwang forgave Wijaya, who in return submitted himself to Jayakatwang. Jayakatwang gave Wijaya land in the Tarik forest in the Brantas delta, where he built a village that was later called Majapahit.
Legacy
Raden Wijaya used the oncoming Mongol troopsMongol invasion of Java
In 1293, Kublai Khan, the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire and the founder of the Yuan Dynasty, sent a large invasion fleet to Java with 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers...
to overthrow Jayakatwang. Wijaya then betrayed his Mongol allies, who were exhausted after the war, and drove them from Java and established Majapahit as one of the greatest empires to arise from within the area covered by the modern territory of Indonesia.
Kertanegara had no male heir, but through his daughter Rajapatni Gayatri, who married Raden Wijaya
Raden Wijaya
Raden Wijaya was a Javanese King, the founder and the first monarch of Majapahit empire. The history of his founding of Majapahit was written in several records, including Pararaton and Negarakertagama...
, Kertanegara became the ancestor of Rajasa dynasty
Rajasa Dynasty
House of Rajasa was the ruling family of Singhasari kingdom and later Majapahit empire in 13th to 15th century eastern Java. The rulers of Singhasari and Majapahit trace their origins back to the mysterious figure of Ken Arok or Sri Ranggah Rajasa, who founded the Rajasa dynasty early in the 13th...
, the ruling dynasty of Majapahit. His daughter Gayatri and his granddaughter Tribhuwana Wijayatunggadewi
Tribhuwana Wijayatunggadewi
Tribhuwana Wijayatunggadewi or known in her regnal name Tribhuwannottunggadewi Jayawishnuwardhani, was a Javanese queen regnant and the third monarch of Majapahit empire, reigning from 1328 to 1350...
would become reigning queens
Queen regnant
A queen regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right, in contrast to a queen consort, who is the wife of a reigning king. An empress regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right over an empire....
of Majapahit. His great-grandson Hayam Wuruk
Hayam Wuruk
Hayam Wuruk, also called Rajasanagara, , was a Javanese King and the fourth monarch of Majapahit empire. Together with his prime minister Gajah Mada, he reigned the empire at the time of its greatest power. He was preceded by Tribhuwana Wijayatunggadewi and succeeded by his son in law...
, became the greatest king of Majapahit, which under his rule became one the greatest empires in Nusantara
Nusantara
Nusantara is an Indonesian word for the Indonesian archipelago. It is originated from Old Javanese and literally means "archipelago".The word Nusantara was taken from an oath by Gajah Mada, as written on an old Javanese manuscript Pararaton and Negarakertagama...
.