Beginnings to 1500: The Old Kingdoms and the Coming of

Islam

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about 100

"Dvipantara" or "Jawa Dwipa" kingdom is reported Help the People of Aceh

by Indian scholars to be in Java and Sumatra.

Prince Aji Saka introduces writing system to Java

based on scripts of southern India.

Hindu kings rule the area around Kutai on

Kalimantan.

"Langasuka" kingdom founded around Kedah in

Malaya.

about 400

Taruma kingdom flourishes in West Java. In these early days, many new plants were
introduced into Indonesia, including pepper and
teak.
 Hinduism, one of Indonesia's five religions.

Early civilization in Java and Sumatra was heavily

influenced by India. Today's cultures in Indonesia,
and even the language, still show influences from
the Sanskrit language and literature.

(The first thousand years or so of this

timeline are not well-documented. Dates are
approximate.)

about 425

Buddhism reaches Sumatra.
Records from these days in Indonesia are scarce,
but we do know that sophisticated cultures already
existed. The kings and cities of Sumatra and Java
are mentioned in records from China, because
ambassadors were sent there. Arabs and Persians
knew about the area from traders, and even the
Greeks and Romans had very distant reports.

Records from inside Indonesia are very few, though,

since writing was done on palm leaves and other
materials that did not survive well. Much of our
knowledge comes from stone buildings and
inscriptions. By the time we start to get a clear
history of Java and Sumatra, there are already great
buildings in stone, fine sculptures, classical music
and dance, much as we know them today.

about 500

Beginning of Srivijaya kingdom near Palembang,

in Sumatra.

about 600

Melayu kingdom flourishes around present-day
Jambi on Sumatra.
Chinese records from around this time mention
kingdoms at Jambi and Palembang on Sumatra,
and three kingdoms on Java, a western kingdom
related to the Taruma of inscriptions, a central
kingdom called "Kalinga", and an eastern kingdom
with a capital perhaps near Surabaya or Malang.

about 670
Chinese traveller I Ching visits Palembang,
capital of Srivijaya.

Hindu temples built in the high Dieng plateau of

central Java.

686

Srivijaya takes the Melayu kingdom at Jambi, and Stone tablets dated 683 and 686 from southern
sends an expedition against the kingdoms in Sumatra and Bangka describe the military
Java. campaigns of Srivijaya against Melayu and Java.
They are the oldest known writings in any Malayo-
Polynesian language.

about 700

Suwawa kingdom flourishes in North Sulawesi. By now, Srivijaya had also conquered Kedah, on the
Malay peninsula.

about 732

Sanjaya founds the Sanjaya line of princes in

central Java.

about 770

Sailendra King Vishnu (or Dharmatunga) begins

building Borobudur.

Beginning of building activity on the plain of

Prambanan.

Buddhism, one of Indonesia's five religions.

782

Sailendra king Vishnu is succeeded by Indra (or

Sangramadhanamjaya).

about 790

Sailendra kingdom attacks and defeats Chenla The Sailendra kings remembered that their
(today Cambodia); rules over Chenla for about 12 ancestors came from what is now Thailand or
years. Cambodia.

about 812

Sailendra king Indra is succeeded by

Samaratunga.

about 825
Borobudur is finished under king Samaratunga.

Borobudur
Borobudur is a huge Buddhist monument covering a
volcanic hill a few miles between present-day
Magelang and Yogyakarta. It is in levels
representing the stages to enlightenment. The large
central stupa is empty. The many beautiful relief
sculptures may have been used to educate young
monks.

about 835

Samaratunga passes away. His young son By this time, Buddhist culture had spread as far east
Balaputra has the throne taken from him by the as Lombok.
father of his sister's husband, Patapan of
Sanjaya, who replaces Buddhism on Java with
Hinduism.

about 838

Patapan is succeeded by his son Pikatan (or

Jatiningrat).

about 850

Pikatan defeats forces of Balaputra, then resigns
the throne to become an ascetic. He is
succeeded by Kayuwani.
Balaputra, claimant to the Sailendra throne,
escapes to Sumatra and takes power in Srivijaya.
From about this time we have a version of the
Ramayana epic in the Old Javanese language. The
work is sophisticated, and there were probably
many earlier such works in Old Javanese that have
not survived.

King Warmadewa rules on Bali.

898

Sanjaya King Balitung takes power in central Stone tablets of King Balitung are the first mention
Java. of "Mataram" in central Java.

910

Sanjaya King Daksa succeeds Balitung in

Mataram. He begins building the major Hindu
temples at Prambanan.

919
Sanjaya King Tulodong succeeds Daksa; reigns
until 921.

924

Sanjaya King Wawa takes throne of Mataram,

rules until 928.

929

Sanjaya King Mpu Sindok takes power. He moves A major eruption of Mount Merapi in 928 or 929 may
the court from Mataram to East Java (near have been the reason that the king of Mataram and
Jombang). many of his subjects moved east.

947

Sri Isana Tunggawijaya, daughter of Mpu Sindok,

succeeds Mpu Sindok as ruler in East Java.

about 975

King Udayana of Bali, father of Airlangga, is born.

985

Dharmavamsa becomes king of Mataram. He Dharmavamsa is also remembered for ordering the
conquers Bali and founds a settlement in western translation of the Mahabharata into Javanese.
Kalimantan.

990

Dharmavamsa and Mataram send an army

overseas to attack Srivijaya and take Palembang,
but fail.

992

King Chulamanivarmadeva of Srivijaya sends an

ambassador to China to ask for protection against
the forces of Dharmavamsa from Java.

1006

Srivijaya attacks and destroys the capital of

Mataram. The palace is burned, and
Dharmavamsa is killed. Airlangga (then 15 years
old) escapes the destruction. Several years of
chaos in eastern Java follow.

1017

Rajendra Chola, king of Coromandel in India,

attacks Srivijaya.
1019

Airlangga takes rule in eastern Java, founds Airlangga is remembered in today's Indonesia as a
Kahuripan kingdom, makes peace with Srivijaya, model of religious tolerance. He spent his early
protects both Hindus and Buddhists. Over several years living in the forests as an ascetic.
years extends his rule over central Java, eastern
Java, and Bali, uniting areas that had fallen into
disunity.

1025

Rajendra Chola of southern India takes Malay
peninsula from Srivijaya for twenty years. Chola
raiders attack Jambi and other areas of Sumatra.
Airlangga extends the power and influence of
Kahuripan as Srivijaya is weakened.
Under Airlangga, the ports of the north coast of
Java, especially Surabaya and Tuban, became large
important trading centers for the first time. This was
partly due to the weakening of Srivijaya, which
made trading there unsafe.
Around this time, Tumasik was a small kingdom on
the site of today's Singapore. It may have been
influenced by the newcomers from southern India.

Also around this time, the Panai kingdom was

flourishing in the Batak areas of northern Sumatra.

1030

Airlangga marries the daughter of Sangrama

Vijayottungavarman, King of Srivijaya.

1045

Airlangga divides Kahuripan into two kingdoms,

Janggala (around today's Malang) and Kediri, for
his two sons, and abdicates to live the life of an
ascetic. He passes away four years later.

1068

Vira Rajendra, king of Coromandel, conquers

Kedah from Srivijaya. More Chola raids occur on
Sumatra.

1117

Kamesvara becomes king of Kediri (until 1130).

He marries a princess of Janggala and reunites
the two kingdoms.

1135

King Joyoboyo takes rule in Kediri until 1157. Joyoboyo is remembered for a prophecy that
Indonesia would be ruled by a white race for a long
time, then a yellow race for a short time, then be
independent. His reign was also a golden age of Old

1221
Ken Angrok, local ruler of Tumapel, defeats the
forces of Kediri (Battle of Genter).
1222
Ken Angrok founds the Singhasari kingdom as
King Rajasa.
1227
Ken Angrok dies, and is succeeded by Anusapati.
1247
Anusapati dies after a peaceful 20-year reign.
Tohjaya, son of Ken Angrok by a concubine,
becomes king of Singhasari.
1250
Tohjaya is killed in a rebellion and replaced as
king by by Wisnuwardhana, son of Anusapati.
1268
King Wisnuwardhana of Singhasari dies, and is
succeeded by Kertanegara. Kertanegara
promotes a mixture of Hinduism and Buddhism.
Javanese literature.
During this time, Ternate was a vassal state of
Kediri.
Putri Dedes was the wife of Ken Angrok. She was
the daughter of a Buddhist priest who was stolen
away by the governor of Tumapel (near Malang) on
Java. Ken Angrok himself stole Putri Dedes away
from her first husband to be his wife, but she was
already pregnant, and her son (later King Anusapati)
was actually the son of the governor, Tunggul
Ametung. Eventually Ken Angrok conspired to have
Tunggul Ametung killed so that he could become
ruler of Tumapel.
Tumapel paid tribute to Kediri until Ken Angrok
became powerful enough to conquer Kediri for
himself in 1222. The last ruler of Kediri, Kertajaya,
was considered cruel and overbearing.
Putri Dedes was long remembered as the mother of
the royal line of Singhasari, and later Majapahit,
Mataram, Yogya and Solo.
By now, Jambi was an independent kingdom on
Sumatra.
Tradition says that the kings of Singhasari during
this period were all murdered by their successors,
as part of the feud arising from Ken Angrok stealing
away Putri Dedes.
1275

Kertanegara begins a campaign to unite the Historical records tell very different stories about
various kingdoms around Sumatra and Java Kertanegara. Some say that he was a drunkard and
(whether by alliance or military conquest is lustful; others that he was an ascetic and saint.
debated).

1280

A group of Javanese from Kediri, unhappy with Around this time, the Thai kingdom of Sukhotai
Kertanegara, settle around Kutai in Kalimantan. began to take the parts of the Malay peninsula that
had belonged to Srivijaya.

1281

Muslims from Jambi send an embassy to Kublai

Khan.

1284

Kertanegara takes Bali for Singhasari. The last

Warmadewa king of Bali is killed.

1289

Kublai Khan sends messengers to Singhasari to

demand tribute; Kertanegara slashes their faces
and sends them home.

1290

Kertanegara takes the Melayu kingdom on Around this time, Kertanegara also took the Sunda
Sumatra around Jambi. area of western Java, uniting the entire island.

1292

Marco Polo visits Sumatra and Java. Majapahit was one of the few countries of that time
to defeat a Mongol invasion, along with Japan and
Kublai Khan prepares invasion fleet of 1000 ships Egypt. However, the Mongol fleet was hit by a
to take Java. typhoon along the way, and was refused permission
to land in Champa (in today's Vietnam) to take on
supplies. By the time the fleet reached Tuban, the
Kertanegara is killed in a court rebellion; his son- army was sickened and weak.
in-law Wijaya retreats and founds a new court at
Majapahit (today Trowulan), with the help of Arya
Wiraraja, the local ruler of Madura.

Bali breaks away from Singhasari under the

Pejeng kings at Ubud.

November Mongol fleet leaves for Java; lands at

Tuban.

1293
Wijaya forms alliance with Mongol forces against
the remainder of Singhasari in Kediri, led by
Jayakatwang.

March Combined force of Mongol/Chinese

soldiers and Majapahit takes Kediri.

Wijaya returns to Trowulan, then attacks the

Mongols in a surprise attack. The Mongols retreat
and leave Java.

November Wijaya is enthroned as king Candi Singasari, near today's Malang.

Kertarajasa Jayawardhana of new Majapahit.

Wijaya being crowned King Kertarajasa of

Majapahit, in a sculpture from that time.

According to tradition, Vijaya married all four

daughters of the former king Kertanegara. Some
think that this tradition is actually symbolic, that the
four daughters represent Bali, Madura, Sumatra
(Jambi) and Kalimantan, the outlying areas
dependent on the kingdom.

1295

Rebellion against King Kertarajasa of Majapahit,

led by Rangga Lawe, is put down.

1297

Pasai in Sumatra converts to Islam. Sultan Malek

Saleh is the first Muslim ruler in what is now
Indonesia.

1298

Rebellion against Kertarajasa, led by Sora,

breaks out. It lasts for two years before being
suppressed.

1309

Jayanegara becomes king of Majapahit.

1316
Rebellion led by Nambi, son of a former chief
minister, is put down by Jayanegara.
1319
Rebellion led by Kuti forces Jayanegara to flee
the court for the countryside. An uprising against
Kuti allows Jayanegara to return to court.
1328
Jayanegara is assassinated, possibly with the
help of Gajah Mada. Tribhuwana Wijayatungga
Dewi, daughter of Kertarajasa, is titular head until
1350.
1330
Gajah Madah becomes patih or chief minister of
Majapahit, and rules as regent.
1333
Kingdom of Pajajaran is founded, with its capital
at Pakuan near today's Bogor.
1334
Hayam Wuruk is born to Tribhuwana
Wijayatungga Dewi; heir to line of Majapahit.
1343
Some observers think that the rebellions against
Majapahit were due to the ongoing policy of
expansion, that Javanese members of the court
disliked "outsiders" from Sumatra and other areas
having influence.
During the rebellion, Jayanegara was accompanied
by a young leader of his bodyguards, Gajah Mada.
Gajah Mada slipped back into the city in disguise,
and started a rumor that King Jayanegara had been
killed. This news was very unpopular among the
public, which told Gajah Mada that Kuti was disliked
and the King should try to retake his throne.
Tradition says that King Jayanegara had stolen the
wife of Gajah Mada. Gajah Mada, now a high-
ranking minister, conspired to have a doctor kill the
King on his sickbed, then turned around and had the
doctor executed for this deed.
Around this time, Odoric of Pordonone, a
Franciscan monk from Italy, visited Java, Sumatra,
and Kalimantan.
One of the few areas that were not conquered by
Majapahit was the Sundanese area of West Java,
the Kingdom of Pajajaran. It occasionally paid
tribute to Majapahit, but was known for its
independent behavior.
Force under Gajah Madah defeats the Pejeng
king of Bali, Dalem Bedaulu, and takes Bali for
Majapahit.
1345
Arab traveller and writer Ibn Battuta visits Pasai
on Sumatra.
1347
Adityavarman, king of Melayu or Jambi, rules
Minangkabau for Majapahit.
1350
Rajasanegara becomes King of Majapahit.
Majapahit conquers the Islamic kingdoms of
Pasai and Aru (later Deli, near Medan) in northern national motto today. (The meaning is very similar to
Sumatra.
1351
Hayam Wuruk asks to marry the daughter of the
King of Pajajaran. The King of Pajajaran agrees,
Gajah Madah in a statue from the 1300s.
With Gajah Madah as chief minister, the kingdom of
Majapahit gained control or collected tribute from
most of what is now Indonesia. He is remembered
for the "Palapa Oath", saying that he would refuse to
eat spices in his food (palapa) until all the islands
around were united under one rule. Today in
Yogyakarta, the university is named for him.
Around this time, traditional chronicles say that
Majapahit collected tribute from "Makassar, Gowa,
Banda, Sumbawa, Ende, Timor, Ternate, Sulu,
Seram, Manila, and Burni (Brunei?)". Palembang
and Bali were also within Majapahit's sphere, but
were more troublesome.
Ibn Battuta reported that the Muslims he met
followed the madhhab or legal school of Shafi'i,
which is the school followed by almost all Muslim
Indonesians today.
Adityavarman had been kept at the court of
Majapahit as a boy. When he came of age, he ruled
over Melayu as a vassal of Majapahit, and extended
the influence of Majapahit into the Minangkabau
areas of Sumatra.
The poet Mpu Tantular of Majapahit, who lived
about this time, is remembered for coining the motto
"Bhinneka Tunggal Eka", which is Indonesia's
the United States' "E Pluribus Unum": "Unity in
Diversity".)
and travels to Bubat in eastern Java for the
ceremonies. At the last minute, Gajah Mada
insists that the daughter be handed over as an
act of tribute from a dependent king. The King of
Pajajaran refuses to submit, violence breaks out,
and the entire company from Pajajaran is killed.
Pajajaran becomes a dependency of Majapahit
for several years.

1364

Gajah Madah passes away. The many

responsibilities that he handled are considered to
be too burdensome for one normal person, so his
duties are divided between four new government
posts.

Hayam Wuruk becomes King of Majapahit.

1377

Majapahit sends a navy against Palembang, a
remnant of Srivijaya, and conquers it.
The King of Palembang sent a courier to China,
offering his kingdom to the emperor in exchange for
protection. The Emperor of China accepted the
offer, and sent officials in return, but by the time the
officials got to Palembang, it had already been
conquered by Majapahit, and they were executed.

1387

Empu Jamatka founds Banjarmasin.

1389

Hayam Wuruk passes away and is succeeded by

Wikramawarddhana. Another son of Hayam
Wuruk, Wirabumi, disputes the succession.
Beginning of the decline of Majapahit.

1400

Aceh converts to Islam.

1401

War of succession begins in Majapahit, lasting

four years, with the rebellious forces led by
Wirabumi. The power of Majapahit begins to
lessen.

Paramesvara, a prince of Palembang (and

descendant of the Sailendras), is driven from
Palembang to Tumasik (today's Singapore), then
ruled by a local chief under the King of Siam.
Paramesvara kills the chief and takes Tumasik for
himself.
 Temple complex at Besakih, in Gelgel on Bali:
Around this time, the kings of Gelgel began to rule
as "dewa agung", or chief king, in Bali.

Also around this time, Palembang fell under the

control of Chinese pirates.

1402

Paramesvara is driven from Tumasik by the King

of Pahang (or perhaps Patani), acting on behalf of
the King of Siam. Paramesvara with his followers
founds Melaka on the west coast of Malaya.

1404

Paramesvara sends an embassy to Beijing,

receives promise of protection from China.

1405

Chinese Admiral Cheng Ho visits Semarang.

1406

Wirabumi is executed, and his head is brought to

the court of Majapahit. The war of succession
ends.

1409

Cheng Ho visits Melaka for the first time.

1411

Paramesvara visits Beijing on a state visit.

1414

Paramesvara converts to Islam, and takes the

name Iskandar Syah, after marrying the daughter
of the Sultan of Pasai. Melaka is now an Islamic
sultanate.

Islam, one of Indonesia's five religions.

The Islamic religion had been common among

traders in Sumatra and Java for some time. The
Singhasari and Majapahit kingdoms probably had a
few Muslims involved in their courts. Large-scale
 conversions to Islam began when local kings
adopted the new religion. Aceh and Melaka were
among the first. Most of Java did not become
Muslims until the early 1500s.

(Today, over 85% of Indonesians are Muslims.)

See also Notes on Islam in Modern Indonesia.

1414

First masjid founded on Ambon island.

1419

Iskandar Syah of Melaka visits China to ask for

help against Siam.

1424

Iskandar Syah passes away aged 72. His son The son and grandson of Iskandar Syah included
takes the title Sri Maharaja, and immediately Hindu titles in their names; some scholars have
travels to China to seek support. interpreted this as meaning that Islam was not yet
firmly established in Melaka.

1427

Queen Suhita inherits the Majapahit kingdom

from Wikramawardhana.

1445

Hindu revolt in Melaka against Islam is

suppressed.

Thai attack on Melaka is driven back.

1446

Muzaffar Syah leads a coup in Melaka and takes

the throne.

1447
Kertawijaya, brother of Suhita, becomes King of
Majapahit. He converts to Islam on the advice of
his wife, Darawati, a princess of Champa (in what
is now Vietnam).

Sunan Ampel, nephew of Kertawijaya, works to

spread Islam around Surabaya.

Sunan Ampel in a traditional portrait. Sunan Ampel

was the first notable member of the Nine Walis or
Walisongo, Islamic teachers who worked to spread
Islam around Java in the late 1400s and early
1500s. See also the separate page on the
Walisongo.

1451

King Kertawijaya is murdered and replaced by

Rajasawardhana, who hinders the spread of
Islam in Majapahit.

1456

Thai attack on Melaka by sea is driven back. Around this time, Palembang converted to Islam.
Melaka's forces are led by Tun Perak.

Bhre Wengker becomes king of Majapahit after

three years of chaos.

1459

Muzaffar Syah of Melaka is succeeded by Raja

Abdullah or Mansur Syah.

Mansur Syah of Melaka conquers Kedah and

Pahang from the Thais. The forces of Melaka are
led by Tun Perak. Pahang becomes an Islamic
sultanate under Melaka.

1460

Kingdom of Aru (near Deli) on Sumatra becomes

independent.

1466

Suraprabhawa becomes king of Majapahit.

Kyai Demung founds Sumenep on Madura;

breaks away from Majapahit control.

1468
Court rebellion in Majapahit: Bhre Kertabhumi Around this time, many Hindus from Majapahit left
drives Suraprabhawa out of his court at Tumapel. Java for Bali.
Suraprabhawa moves his seat to Daha, near
Kediri.

1471

Bugis state of Wajo founded in Sulawesi.

1475

Ternate and Tidore convert to Islam.

1477

Ala'uddin Riayat Syah, son of Mansur Syah,

becomes Sultan of Melaka. Tun Perak exercises
great power in the Sultanate.

1478

Daha region under Girindrawardhana, a great- By the 1490s, the Portuguese had sailed around the
grandson of Kertawijaya, revolts. Majapahit southern tip of Africa and had landed in India.
kingdom falls into chaos. Bhre Kertabumi, King of
Majapahit at Tumapel, flees to Demak.
Girindrawardhana sets himself up as ruler in
Majapahit.

Islamic Kingdom of Demak is founded by Raden

Patah (or Fattah), a prince of Majapahit (son of
King Kertawijaya by a Chinese wife). Masjid is
founded at Demak.

Islamic Sultanate founded at Cirebon, formerly a

possession of the Pajajaran King Siliwangi.

1486

Zainal Abidin becomes Sultan of Ternate (until

1500).

Court of Majapahit moves to Kediri.

1488

Mahmud becomes Sultan of Melaka.

First mention of Bandung in historical records.

1498

Tun Perak, military leader in Melaka, passes Sultan Mahmud of Melaka was considered to be a
away. weak ruler. Tun Perak and his successors exercised
the real power in the Sultanate. The last several
years of Mahmud's time on the throne were spent in
 warfare with Siam, right up until the Portuguese
conquest in 1511.

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