Empire · 1293–1527 · Southeast Asia
Majapahit
Majapahit was founded in 1293 by Raden Wijaya, a Javanese prince who cleverly used an invading Mongol army sent by Kublai Khan to defeat his rival, then turned on the Mongols and drove them out. From its capital at Trowulan in East Java the kingdom grew rich on rice farming and the spice trade.
Under Queen Tribhuwana and her son Hayam Wuruk, the prime minister Gajah Mada vowed to unite the archipelago, and Majapahit claimed tribute from much of modern Indonesia, the Malay Peninsula and beyond, though it ruled directly mainly over Java, Madura and Bali. The court poem Nagarakretagama describes its splendour. After Hayam Wuruk's death, civil war, the rise of Malacca and the spread of Islamic coastal sultanates eroded its power, and it ended in the early 16th century.
- Years
- 1293–1527
- Capital
- Trowulan (East Java)
- Greatest extent
- 1365, about 1.00 million km²
- Region
- Southeast Asia
Claimed tribute from much of modern Indonesia under Hayam Wuruk; direct rule mainly over Java, Madura and Bali (rough estimate)
Legacy
Majapahit is celebrated in Indonesia as a symbol of national unity, and its Hindu-Buddhist culture survives most strongly in Bali.
Rulers
- Raden Wijaya (Kertarajasa) 1293 – 1309
Founder; used and then expelled a Mongol army
- Tribhuwana Wijayatunggadewi 1328 – 1350
Queen who appointed Gajah Mada
- Gajah Mada prime minister 1331 – 1364
Swore to unite the archipelago
- Hayam Wuruk (Rajasanagara) 1350 – 1389
Ruled at the empire's height
- Wikramawardhana 1389 – 1429
His reign saw a ruinous civil war
Realms on the map
- Majapahit 1294–1518