| Aria Wangsakara | |
|---|---|
 Artist's conception of Aria Wangsakara | |
| Born | c. 1615 Sumedang |
| Died | c. 1681 |
| Burial | |
| Father | Wiraradja I |
| Religion | Islam |
| Occupation | Ulema |
| Military career | |
| Conflicts | Battle of Batavia (1654)Raid on Indramayu (1678) |
Raden Aria Wangsakara (c. 1615 –c. 1681) was a seventeenth century local chief,muslim cleric and patriot originated fromSumedang, who is generally credited as one of the founders ofTangerang, a city inIndonesia which is now within theJakarta metropolitan area.[2][3] In November 2021 he was declared as anational hero by presidentJoko Widodo.[4][5]
The exact biography of Aria Wangsakara is difficult in certainty due to contradictory accounts appear in different texts, and lack of concrete evidences.[3] He appears in several traditional texts including theBabad Tangerang andBabad Banten.[4] In those texts he is said to have been born around 1615 in Sumedang, as a son of Wiraraja I, and grandson of King Kusumadinata II (Geusan Ulun) and Queen Harisbaya. He is also a descendant of Syarif Abdulrohman of Cirebon.[2][3][6] The traditional narrative mentioned, as theDutch East India Company influence grew in the region, Aria Wangsakara objected to his family's collaboration with the company and left Sumedang with two relatives in 1632, Aria Santika and Aria Yuda Negara. They went to a region on the banks of theCisadane River, known today as Tangerang, where he was granted a authorization to protect the region by Sultan Abu al-Mafakhir ofBanten.[4] He founded a new settlement there called the Lengkong Sumedang Sultanate on the west bank of Cisadane River with himself became the local chief under the name of Sultan Lengkong. While he ruled there he is said to help the spread ofIslam in the surrounding region, by founding apesantren in the 1640s.[4] In the early 1650s the Dutch East India Company built a fort on the opposite bank of his settlement to establish a presence in the region.[2]
Wangsakara is thought to have died in 1681 and buried inPagedangan.[1]
Due to his status as the legendary founder of Tangerang, a major street in the city is named after him, (Jalan Arya Wangsakara). His tomb (Makan Pahlawan R. Aria Wangsakara), which is also surrounded by the tombs of other clerics from the region, was also turned into an official historical site by theTangerang Regency and has long been visited regularly by pilgrims.[7] Many residents of Banten also claim descent from him, including a number ofUlama who claim descent from him and his original group of followers.[8][9]In November 2021, along withTombolotutu,Aji Muhammad Idris, andUsmar Ismail, he was declared aNational Hero of Indonesia by Indonesian presidentJoko Widodo.[4]