Majapahit << mah jah PAH hit >> was a kingdom that arose in the late 1200’s in eastern Java, an island that is now part of the Southeast Asian nation of Indonesia. The kingdom came to control much of what is now Indonesia before it fell in the early 1500’s. Majapahit culture combined influences from the religions of Hinduism and Buddhism.
In 1222, the Singasari (also spelled Singhasari) kingdom defeated the rival Kediri kingdom. Both kingdoms were in eastern Java. In 1292, Jayakatwang, a Kediri prince, overthrew the Singasari ruler, Kertanagara. Wijaya (also spelled Vijaya), Kertanagara’s son-in-law, then overthrew Jayakatwang. In 1294, Wijaya took the throne as Kertarajasa (also spelled Krtarajasa) Jayawardhana and named his kingdom Majapahit. Tradition says the name came from a fruit called maja that tasted bitter (pahit) and grew abundantly on the trees in the area. He established his capital, Trowulan, near present-day Mojokerto.
Kertarajasa died in 1309 and was succeeded by Jayanagara. Gajah Mada (also spelled Gadjah Mada), a military leader who held a grudge against Jayanagara, convinced a court doctor to murder the king in 1328. Gajah Mada then had the doctor executed for the crime.
Queen Tribhuwana (also spelled Tribhuvana) was the kingdom’s next ruler. She appointed Gajah Mada to the post of patih (prime minister) of Majapahit. Tribhuwana died in 1350 and was succeeded by her son, Hayam Wuruk.
Majaphit reached its height under Hayam Wuruk, who was assisted by Gajah Mada. With assistance from Gajah Mada, Hayam Wuruk extended Majapahit’s control to most of the islands that make up what is now Indonesia. At the same time, agriculture flourished and the kingdom’s trade network extended to Burma (now Myanmar), Cambodia, China, and Siam (now Thailand). Sculpture, literature, and other art forms flourished in this period.
Majapahit declined after Hayam Wuruk’s death in 1389. After a series of civil wars in the 1400’s, as well as a decline in its trade network as other regional powers grew, the kingdom fell to the Muslim kingdom of Demak in the early 1500’s. Historians believe some Majapahit princes fled to the neighboring island of Bali, where Majapahit culture became part of the local culture.
