Javanese Hindu King from the Rajasa Dynasty: Hayam Wuruk

The Majapahit Empire was initially founded in the 13th century CE as a kingdom that rule Bali, Madura, Malayu and Tanjungpura.

Hayam Wuruk (r. 1350 -1389) was the fourth king of the great kingdom of Majapahit, with its main territory on the island of Java.

He was the reigning monarch when Majapahit, under the leadership of the “grand vizier” Gajah Mada, reached the zenith of its imperial expansion. Under the two leaders, Majapahit extended its power throughout the Indonesian archipelago.

Hayam Wuruk was born in 1334 as a prince of Kahuripan during an earthquake and the eruption of the volcano Kampud.

Under the two leaders, Majapahit extended its power throughout the Indonesian archipelago.
Javanese Hindu King from the Rajasa Dynasty: Hayam Wuruk

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)

Early history of Temasek

Chinese traders en route to India had plied the waters around Temasek for at least the 5th century AD, though the records of Chinese sailors as early as the 3rd century refer to an island called Pu Luo Chung.

By the 10th century at the peak of Srivijaya’s powers Temasek was at most a small trading post.

According to Malay legend around 1390, Sumatran prince Parameswara rebels against Majapahit and is driven out by the Javanese. He established himself as ruler of Temasek from 1391 to 1397.

As early as the 14th century, Temasek was viewed as the nexus of the trade routes in Southeast Asia. 

Archeological evidence dating from the late fourteenth century suggests that Temasek is engaged in prosperous commerce.

In 1398, Temasek is attacked by invading Majapahit. While Majapahit Empire seems to have conquered Temasek, its practice was not simply to take control of a territory and govern it as its own. Instead, the Majapahit raided a city, looted the wealth, enslaved the population, and burned any structures still standing. 

The departure of Parameswara was precipitated by a Siamese intervention in 1400 and the island’s commercial activity practically ended. It then became a center of piracy closely connected with the Sultanate of Malacca.

The Johor-Riau-Lingga Empire, a Malay maritime empire, made a living from ships passing through the Straits of Malacca.

At that time Temasek competed with rival polyglot ports along the Straits of Malacca coasts, such as Palembang, Jambi, Kota Cina, South Kedah, Lambri and Samudera.

Portuguese writer, Joe de Lisboa, reported in 1526 that a town in Temasek had been destroyed by the Portuguese.

Reports from the late 1500s continue to mention Temasek, as well and both Portuguese and Dutch documents from the early 1600s mention the presence of a harbor master, which is a person of great significance in the Malay royal establishment.
Early history of Temasek

Malayu Kingdom of Jambi

The seventh century saw the emergence of a second coastal and riverine power on Sumatra: Jambi sometimes called Malayu. Jambi province has an old history with the discovery of an ancient relic dated at 686 AD.

The kingdom of Malayu was once incorporated into larger and stronger Sri Vijaya Empire, sometimes a semi independent vassal state and an independent entity for at least a short period.

In Chinese records from the seventh century, there are references to minerals from the kingdom of Mo-lo-yeu.

During Chola invasion in 11th century, Cholas called it the kingdom of Malaiur, the ‘strong mountain for its rampart’.

Jambi’s wealth and power came from its geographic position on the Straits of Malacca. This Sumatran Buddhist kingdom continued to dominate the region until about the 14th century.

At the end of the fourteenth center Jambi became a vassal region of Majapahit though it managed to wrench itself free again after the fall of this empire at the beginning of the 16th century.

It was then succeeded by an Islamic kingdom during 1460-1907.
Malayu Kingdom of Jambi