Sunan Gunungjati

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Sunan Gunungjati
Born1448
Died19 September 1568
Pakungwati Palace, Sultanate of Cirebon
Burial
Gunung Sembung
SpouseNyai Ratu Dewi Pakungwati
Nyai Ratu Kawunganten
Nyai Babadan
Nyai Ageng Tepasari
Nyai Lara Baghdad
Ong Tien Nio
Issue
  • Sabakingking
  • Pasarean
  • Ratu Ayu
  • Winahon
  • Trusmi
  • Bratakelana
  • Jayalelana
FatherSyarif Abdullah Maulana Huda
MotherNyai Rara Santang
ReligionSunni Islam

Sunan Gunungjati (1448–1568) was one of the

Wali Songo or nine saints of Islam revered in Indonesia. He founded the Sultanate of Banten and the Sultanate of Cirebon on the north coast of Java
.

Early life

Gunungjati was born Syarif Hidayatullah (

Hindu Devaraja of the Sunda Kingdom.[citation needed
]

There is much historical uncertainty as to his early life and later career in the Indonesian Archipelago. Some say that he was born in

Jayakarta
in 1527.

To this day, his victory over the Portuguese is commemorated as the official anniversary of the founding of Jakarta. The many conflicting stories about Sunan Gunungjati led some scholars to conclude that he might be a conflation of more than one historical figure.[1]

Education

Syarif Hidayatullah studied Islam under the guidance of venerated scholars in

Sufis, during his fourteen years of peregrinations overseas. It is assumed that he must have also undertaken his pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina.[citation needed
]

Leadership

Sunan Gunungjati was the only one of the Wali Songo to have assumed a sultan's coronet. He used his kingship -- imbued with the twin authority of his paternal Hashemite lineage and his maternal royal ancestry -- to propagate Islam all along the Pesisir, or northern coast of Java.[citation needed]

Proselytization

Pilgrims praying before the tomb of Sunan Gunungjati at Sunan Gunungjati cemetery site, Cirebon.

In

sheikhs
, as well as developing basic infrastructure and building roads connecting isolated areas of the province. He and his prince Maulana Hasanuddin took part in several expeditions, particularly in Banten; the leader of Banten later voluntarily submitted the leadership of the region to Sunan Gunungjati but was eventually appointed as the new leader of the province which later became the kingdom of Banten.

Around the age of 89, Sunan Gunungjati started to focus on dawah and began moves to appoint a successor. Pangeran (Prince) Pasarean later became the new king.

Death

In 1568, Sunan Gunungjati died in Cirebon[2][3] and was buried in Gunung Sembung, Gunung Jati, around 5 km to the north of the town centre. His tomb has become one of Java's most important pilgrimage points. The tomb enclosure is embedded with porcelain plates, which are replaced with new pieces bought by well wishers. Today the pieces are largely of European or Japanese origin.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ Sejarah Indonesia: Wali Songo
  2. ^ "Graveyard Mountain Sembung"
  3. ^ "Cirebon"
  4. ISBN 962-593-232-1
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