Singhasari

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Kingdom on the island of Java (1222–1292)

For disctrict in Malang Regency, East Java, see Singosari.

Singhasari ꦱꦶꦔ꧀ꦲꦱꦫꦶ ( Kertanegara
History
• Coronation of Kediri	1292
Currency	Native gold and silver coins
Preceded by Succeeded by Kediri (historical kingdom) Majapahit

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

Singhasari (

Singhasari was founded by

Ken Arok rose from being a servant of Tunggul Ametung, a regional ruler in Tumapel (present-day Malang) to becoming a ruler of Java from Kediri. He is considered the founder of the Rajasa dynasty of both the Singhasari and later the Majapahit line of monarchs.^[1] He killed Tunggul Ametung and he was later assassinated by Anusapati, in revenge for killing his father, Tunggul Ametung.^{[2]: 185–187} Ken Arok's son Panji Tohjaya assassinated Anusapati, but he in turn reigned only a few months in 1248 before his nephews revolted. These two, Ranga Wuni and Mahisha Champaka, ruled together under the names Vishnuvardhana and Narasimhamurti.^[2]: 188

Expansion

In the year 1275, King

Singhasari, and its successor kingdom, Majapahit, were among the few kingdoms in Asia that were able to thwart an invasion by the

Kertanegara, demanding Singhasari's submission and tribute to the great Khan. The demand was refused. The next year in 1281, the Khan sent another envoy, demanding the same, which was refused again. Eight years later, in 1289, the last envoy was sent to demand the same, and King Kertanegara refused to pay tribute.^[2]: 198

Enraged by this humiliation and the disgrace committed against his envoy and his patience, in late 1292 Kublai Khan sent 1,000 war junks for a punitive expedition that arrived off the coast of Tuban, Java in early 1293.

King Kertanegara, whose troops were now spread thin and located elsewhere, did not realize that a coup was being prepared by the former Kediri royal lineage.

Fall of Singhasari

In 1292, Regent

The Kediri (Gelang-gelang) army attacked Singhasari simultaneously from both north and south. The king only realized the invasion from the north and sent his son-in-law, Nararya Sanggramawijaya, informally known as 'Raden Wijaya', northward to vanquish the rebellion. The northern attack was put at bay, but the southern attackers successfully remained undetected until they reached and sacked the unprepared capital city of Kutaraja. Jayakatwang usurped and killed Kertanagara during the Tantra sacred ceremony, thus bringing an end to the Singhasari kingdom.

Having learned of the fall of the Singhasari capital of Kutaraja due to Kediri's treachery, Raden Wijaya tried to defend Singhasari but failed. He and his three colleagues, Ranggalawe, Sora, and Nambi, went to exile in favour of the same regent (Bupati) Arya Wiraraja of Madura, Nambi's father, who then turned his back to Jayakatwang. With Arya Wiraraja's patronage, Raden Wijaya, pretending to submit to King Jayakatwang, won favour from the new monarch of Kediri, who permitted him to open a new settlement north of Mount Arjuna, the Tarik forest. In this wilderness, Wijaya found many bitter Maja fruits, so it was called Majapahit (literally meaning “bitter Maja”), the future capital of the empire.

The beginning of Majapahit empire

In early 1293, the Mongol naval forces arrived on the north coast of Java (near Tuban) and on the Brantas River mouth to flank what they thought was Singhasari. Raden Wijaya found the opportunity to use the unsuspecting Mongols to overthrow Jayakatwang. Raden Wijaya's army allied with the Mongols in March 1293 and a battle ensued between Mongol forces against Daha forces in the creek bed of Kali Mas River, a distributary of Brantas River, which was followed by the battle of Mongol forces against Daha forces that attacked the Majapahit regional army led by Raden Wijaya. The Mongols then stormed Daha and Jayakatwang finally surrendered and was executed.

Once Jayakatwang was eliminated, Raden Vijaya then turned his troops on his former Mongol allies, forcing them to withdraw from the island of Java on 31 May 1293.^{[2]: 200–201}

The victor, Prince Wijaya, son-in-law of

Rulers of Singhasari

• Ken Arok 1222–1227^{[2]: 185–187}
• Anusapati 1227–1248^{[2]: 187–188}
• Panji Tohjaya 1248^[2]: 188
• Vishnuvardhana-Narasimhamurti 1248–1268^[2]: 188
• Kertanegara 1268–1292^[2]
  ^: 188

Gondang inscription

The Gondang Inscription is an

• List of monarchs of Java
• Kidal Temple
• Jago Temple
• Jawi Temple

References

Further reading

• Saidihardjo, Dr. M. Pd., A.M, Sardiman, Drs., Sejarah untuk SMP, Tiga Serangkai, Solo, 1987, 4th reprint edition in 1990

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Singhasari.

• The Origins of Rajasa Dynasty
• Beginnings to 1500: The Old Kingdoms and the Coming of Islam, a timeline of Indonesian history