Kalingga Kingdom

Kalingga ꦏꦫꦠꦺꦴꦤ꧀ꦏꦭꦶꦁꦒ ( Shima
History
• Established	6th century
• Disestablished	7th century
Succeeded by Mataram Kingdom
Today part of	Indonesia

Kalingga (Javanese: Karajan Kalingga; 訶陵 Hēlíng or 闍婆 She-pó / She-bó in Chinese sources^[1]) was a 6th-century Indianized kingdom on the north coast of Central Java, Indonesia. It was the earliest Hindu-Buddhist kingdom in Central Java, and together with Kutai and Tarumanagara are the oldest kingdoms in Indonesian history.

Historiography

The archaeological findings and historical records from this period are scarce, and the exact location of kingdom's capital is unknown. It is thought to be somewhere between present-day

Kalingga appeared in the 6th century which is thought to be located in the north of Central Java. Information about the Kalingga Kingdom is obtained from inscriptions and records from China. In 752, the Kalingga Kingdom became Sriwijaya's conquered territory because this kingdom was part of a trading network, along with the Dharmasraya and Tarumanagara Kingdoms which Srivijaya had previously conquered. The three kingdoms became strong competitors of the Srivijaya-Buddhist trading network.^[2]

The theory regarding contact between caliph Mu'awiyah with queen Shima of Kalingga has become a basis for further analysis about history of Islam in Minangkabau conference in 2011 and earlier conference about History of Islam in Indonesia in 1963, which researches suggested that the earliest contact of Nusantara civilizations with Islam were occurred in 7th AD century between Arabian peoples with southeast Asia, contrary to most popular belief that Islam were brought to Nusantara, particularly Java island, by Indian merchants and preachers.^[3] Azyumardi Azra, an Indonesian culture expert, accepted this Arab theory regarding the earliest contact of Islam in Java, although he also noted that the spread of Islam during queen Shima and Mu'awiyah era were not as vigorous as the later era in 15th AD century.^[4] The denomination of Arab theory which introduced by Hamka were supported by researcher who linked the founding of Islamic tomb in Barus, Sumatra island which traced in 7th AD century, thus establishing the theory regarding the existence of trade route between Kalingga kingdom, Srivijaya empire, and Umayyad caliphate.^[5]

History

The Chinese sources come from China and date back to the

The people make fortifications of wood and even the largest houses are covered with palm leaves. They have couches of ivory and mats of the outer skin of bamboo.^[citation needed]

The land produces tortoise-shell, gold and silver, rhinoceros-horns and ivory. The country is very rich; there is a cavern from which salt water bubbles up spontaneously. They make wine of the hanging flowers of the coco palm, when they drink of it, they become rapidly drunk. They have letters and are acquainted with astronomy. In eating they do not use spoons or chopsticks.^{[6]: 13 [7]}

It is stated that the king lives in a town called Djava, Djapa, or Djapo (闍婆). There is also a district called Lang-pi-ya on the mountains, identified by Groeneveldt as Dieng. Groeneveldt argues that Djapa may be referring to Japara, but he does not hold a firm belief in that.^{[6]: 13–15}

According to the Chinese Buddhist monk Yijing, in 664 a Chinese Buddhist monk named Huining (會寧 Huìníng) had arrived in Heling and stayed there for about three years. During his stay, and with the assistance of Jnanabhadra, a Heling monk, he translated numerous Buddhist Hinayana scriptures.^[8][9]: 79

Part of a series on the
History of Indonesia
Timeline
Prehistory Paleolithic Java Man 1,000,000 BP Flores Man 94,000–12,000 BP Neolithic Toba catastrophe 75,000 BP Buni culture 400 BCE
Shailendra dynasty	600s–900s
Mataram Kingdom	716–1016
Bali Kingdom	914–1908
Sunda Kingdom	932–1579
Kahuripan Kingdom	1019–1045
Kediri Kingdom	1045–1221
Dharmasraya Kingdom	1183–1347
Pannai Kingdom	1000s–1300s
Singhasari Empire	1222–1292
Majapahit Empire	1293–1527