TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – On this day, 729 years ago, Raden Wijaya was sworn in as the first King of Majapahit. After that, Majapahit became one of the powerful kingdoms in Indonesia. But even so, this realm has crumbled due to some aspects beyond his control. So how did it fall apart Majapahit Kingdom?

Quoted from the publication History of Majapahit by digilib.uinsby.ac.idThe beginning of the collapse of the Majapahit kingdom dates back to 1389 after the death of King Hayam Wuruk. Additionally, Majapahit entered a period of decline, one of which was due to the conflict over the throne. Hayam Wuruk’s heiress was Crown Princess Kusumawardhani, who married her own cousin, Prince Wikramawardhana.

Moreover, Hayam Wuruk also had a son by his concubine i.e. Wirabhumi who also demanded his right to the throne from the king. Finally, a civil war broke out in the Majapahit kingdom, often referred to as the Paregreg war, which is said to have taken place between 1405 and 1406 between Wirabhumi and Wikramawardhana.

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This war was ultimately won by Wikramawardhana, but it seems that this civil war weakened Majapahit’s control over the conquered areas on the other side. During the reign of Wikramawardhana, a series of Ming dynasty naval expeditions led by Admiral Zheng He, a Chinese Muslim general, arrived in Java several times between 1405 and 1433.

Publication History of Majapahit also explained that in the late 14th century and early 15th century, Majapahit influence throughout the archipelago began to decline. At the same time, a new Islamic-based trading empire, the Islamic Kingdom of Malacca, began to emerge in the western part of the archipelago.

In the western part of this crumbling empire, Majapahit could no longer stem the rise of the Malacca Sultanate, which in the mid-15th century began to dominate the Straits of Malacca and extend its power to the island of Java. Meanwhile, several settlements and areas conquered by Majapahit in other regions of the archipelago, one by one, began to break away from Majapahit rule.

In the end, the Majapahit kingdom began to crumble with the entry of Islam into Indonesia. Indeed, one of the causes of Majapahit’s collapse was the intervention of the Islamic kingdom of Demak which changed several aspects of the Majapahit kingdom.

First, the people of Majapahit who were originally Hindu-Buddhists converted to Islam. Moreover, there is a mixture javanese culture with Islam which eliminates the influence of the Majapahit kingdom. Finally, the shift from Hindu-Buddhist power to an Islamic-style power system began to slowly undermine Majapahit.

MOHAMED SHAIFULOH

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