Tarumanagara Kingdom

The establishment of the Tarumanegara Kingdom was suspected was around the same time with Kutai Martadipura kingdom, namely the 4th century AD.

Tarumanagara Kingdom or Taruma Kingdom was founded by Maharshi Rajadirajaguru Jayasingawarman in 358. The king died in 382 and succeeded by his son, Dharmayawarman (382 - 395). Jayasingawarman originated from Salankayana, Andhra Pradesh, India that collapsed after the invasion of Samudragupta from Gupta Empire.

The Tarumanagara Kingdom is identified by historians with the Tarum River region. Indonesia began to come under the influence of Hindu and Buddhist civilization during the early years of the Christian era.

The most powerful king of Tarumanegara was Purnavarman conquered neighboring countries and built a canal to improve irrigation that changed the course of the Cakung River, and drained a coastal area for agriculture and settlement.

In 669, Tarusbawa succeeded his father in-law as the thirteenth king of Tarumanagara. By that time Tarumanagara's prestige and power had been declining, probably due to the series of invasions from Srivijaya and the severance of its vassal states.

After 670, Tarumanagara was divided into two kingdoms: Sunda Kingdom and Galuh Kingdom with the Citarum river as the boundary.
Tarumanagara Kingdom

Sultanate of Demak (1475–1568)

The Islamic Sultanate of Demak was the first Islamic struggle in Java, which was founded by the Wali Songo. The sultanate was estimated to have stood at the end of the 17th century, together with the growth and development of Islamic societies on the North coast of Java.

The sultanate was founded by Raden Patah. Raden Patah is the son of the last king of Majapahit, Pangeran Kertabhumi or Prabu Brawijaya. His real name is Jin Bun. His mother is a Chinese woman, Retno Siu Ban Ci, who is gifted to Arya Damar in Palembang.

When Trenggana (Raden Patah’s son) ruled Demak Sultanate, he oversaw the expansion of Demak’s influence to the east and west, and the last Hindu-Buddhist state of east Java fell in circa 1527. Trenggana was also an important participant in the conversion of Banjarmasin in south Borneo in the 1520s, and was a major military commander.

The Demak Sultanate was ruled by three Sultans and lasted for half a century. It had reached the height of greatness in the religion, education and culture, government and politics, and the economy and trade.

In the 1520s, an army from Demak led by the semi-legendary Sunan eventually created the sultanate of Bantam in Pajajaran in western Java, which lasted until 1918.

Demak had been famous since the 14th century and became the part of economic growth on the strait of Malaka. Demak in the 14th century was fertile swamps and plenty of rice fields.

Demak under the reign of Raden Fatah was one of the big Sultanates in Java with its abundant amounts of crops. It was called Bandar Niaga (commercial port) as the center of economic activities especially the export of rice to Malay peninsula.

The progress exceeded because of the support of trustees and tolerant Islamic societies, compelling and authoritative rulers, a formidable military, dominant economy, and business and policies planned by its rulers so that Demak could become a bastion of Islamic greatness in medieval Java.

Soon after the collapse of Demak Sultanate, Pajang (1549) and Mataram Sultanate (1575) emerged from the inland of Java and the latter became the strongest Islamic sultanate in Java until nineteenth century.
Sultanate of Demak

Majapahit Empire from Java (1292-1478)

The Majapahit Empire was a loose system of external dependencies and tributary states stretching from Sumatra in the west to the Spice Islands in the east including Malay Peninsula. Its imperial city located on the lower course of River Brantas in eastern Java.

The Majapahit Empire followed the Srivijaya Empire and lasted from 1292-1478.  It was replaced by the Malaccan Empire.

The founder of the Majapahit Empire, Kertarajasa, was the son-in-law of Kertanagara, the ruler of the Singhasari Kingdom, also based in Java and a rival of the Srivijayans.

Kertanagara was an aspiring empire builder whose achievements stimulated the rise of Majapahit; He endeavored to assert Javanese supremacy over a declining Srivijaya and dispatched naval forces around the Java Sea.

Kertanagara drove the Srivijayans out of Java altogether in 1290.  The Majapahit kingdom became the most powerful of the kingdoms in Hindu Java and came to be regarded by the later generations as the major source of Javanese culture. This was the first time the major islands of the Indonesian archipelago had been united under one commands.

Majapahit grew strength because of successfully combined agricultural production with export trade.

The arrival of Islam on Java and a massive revolt on the north of the Island eventually left the empire weak and in disarray.

To make it worse, this internal threat came at the point when a rival kingdom, Malacca, was growing stronger. Malacca was setup in 1403, by Parameswara, who had ruled in Palembang under Majapahit reign.
Majapahit Empire from Java (1292-1478)