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Blambangan Kingdom ꦑꦺꦫꦗꦲꦤ꧀ꦨ꧀ꦭꦩ꧀ꦧꦔꦤ꧀ | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1478–1768[a]/1777[b] | |||||||||
 Blambangan on the eastern tip of Java Island in the 16th century during theMataram Sultanate era in Java | |||||||||
| Capital | |||||||||
| Common languages | Old Javanese,Osing | ||||||||
| Religion | Hinduism (official)[1] Buddhism Islam | ||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||
| Menak/Gusti/Susuhunan/Prabu | |||||||||
• 1478–1489 (first) | Mas Sembar | ||||||||
• 1489–1501 | Bima Koncar | ||||||||
• 1501–1531 | Menak Pentor | ||||||||
• 1531–1546 | Menak Pangseng | ||||||||
• 1546–1601 | Menak Pati | ||||||||
• 1601–1633 | Menak Lumpat | ||||||||
• 1633–1647 | Menak Seruyu / Tawang Alun I | ||||||||
• 1763–1764 (First period) 1767–1768 (Second period) | Wong Agung Wilis | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Dissolution ofMajapahit led to an independent Blambangan | 1478 | ||||||||
• Blambangan was attacked by Balinese kingdom | 1501 | ||||||||
• Batara Wijaya Girindrawardhana Ranawijaya fled to Panarukan[c] afterDaha was controlled byDemak Sultanate | 1527 | ||||||||
• Blambangan lost Pasuruan and Pajarakan because it was taken by Demak | 1545–1546 | ||||||||
• Blambangan became the vassal ofMataram Sultanateaftermath of the war | 1635–1639 | ||||||||
• Civil wars in Blambangan | 1691–1697 | ||||||||
• Absorbed into the territory ofDutch East Indies | 1768[a]/1777[b] | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | Indonesia | ||||||||
TheBlambangan Kingdom (Indonesian:Kerajaan Blambangan,Javanese: ꦑꦺꦫꦗꦲꦤ꧀ꦨ꧀ꦭꦩ꧀ꦧꦔꦤ꧀) was the lastJavaneseHindu kingdom that flourished between the 15th and 18th centuries, based inthe eastern corner of Java.[2] The capital was atBanyuwangi.[3] It had a long history of its own, developing contemporaneously with the largest Hindu kingdom in Java,Majapahit (1293–1527). At the time of the collapse ofMajapahit in the late fifteenth century, Blambangan stood on its own as the one solitaryHindu state left in Java,[4] controlling the larger part ofJava’s Oosthoek.[5]
The historical record and the study of the Blambangan Kingdom are scarce, which contributed to the obscurity of its history. Contemporary Javanese mostly know the kingdom through its link to the popular epic folklore, the legend ofDamarwulan and Menak Jingga. The fictional story which is set in the Majapahit period, told that the rebellious King of Blambangan named Menak Jingga desired the hand of Majapahit Queen Kencanawungu.[2]
During the Majapahit period c. 13th century, theeastern realm was regarded as a peripheral area of the Javanese kingdom, which centered inTrowulan, Majapahit, and surroundingBrantas River basin, whereas the eastern salient areas such asLumajang were regarded as outlying provinces.[6]
The Majapahit kingdom was established in 1293 byRaden Wijaya with the help of the cunning and ableArya Wiraraja, the Regent ofMadura. As a reward of Wiraraja's support, in 1295, Raden Wijaya agreed to give the eastern salient of Java, which includes Blambangan areas withLumajang as its capital.
TheNagarakretagama, composed in 1365, mentioned that the central part of the eastern corner of Java was visited by KingHayam Wuruk in his royal tour in 1359. The poem contains interesting information about the region.[7]
The eastern realm becomes a vassal ormancanagara (provinces) of Majapahit. Over time the Eastern realm steadily becomes more autonomous and where an Eastern court is situated, rivalling the Majapahit central authority. The rivalry erupted in theRegreg war (1404–1406), which was fought as a contest of succession between theWestern court led byWikramawardhana, against the Eastern court (which would become the Blambangan Kingdom) led byBhre Wirabhumi. In 1406 the Western troops led by Bhre Tumapel, the son of Wikramawardhana, penetrated the eastern palace and defeated Bhre Wirabhumi.[8]
After the collapse of Majapahit in the late 15th century, Blambangan stood alone as the sole Javanese Hindu polity in Java. The kingdom subsequently was contested and harassed by successive expansive Javanese Islamic states to the west, fromDemak toPajang andMataram.[2] On the eastern side across the strait, theBalinese courts ofGelgel andMengwi also have invested their political interest in the region, as the Balinese regarded Blambangan as a buffer state to ward off Islamic expansive influences.[2]
In the first decades of the 16th century,Tomé Pires' informants reported that the "heathen" Blambangan kingdom was the most powerful Javanese kingdom east of Surabaya.[7] At that time, the port ofPanarukan was the commercial as well as the political center of the kingdom.
For almost three centuries, Blambangan was situated between two different political factions, the Islamic state of Mataram in the west, and various Hindu realms in Bali (Gelgel, Buleleng, and Mengwi) in the east. Both neighbouring powers simultaneously contested the territory of Blambangan to appease their own political and religious ambitions.
TheBalinese kingdoms used Blambangan as a vassal and buffer against the Islamic expansion initiated by Mataram from the west and also found it useful to bolster the economy of Bali which was heavily overshadowed by endemic warfare.
In the second half of the 16th century, a few Roman Catholic missionaries from thePortuguese colony in Malacca arrived in East Java to try to convert the local people. They visited Panarukan and Blambangan and reported that the port of Panarukan was contested between the Muslim rulers of Pasuruan allied with Surabaya, against the Hindu King of Blambangan and Panarukan.[7] The Balinese chronicleBabad Gumi, which was first composed around the early 18th century, ascribed the fall of Blambangan around this period in the year 1520śaka or 1598 AD. This is one of the first dates within thebabad that can be positively proved to be correct by comparison with European materials of the same period. When the Dutch visited Bali in February 1597 a large expedition was being collected by the king of Gelgel in Bali to help the lord of Blambangan from the Pasuruan attack. The expedition must have been a failure, as another Dutch report from early 1601 mentioned that the Pasuruan army had taken Blambangan some years ago and exterminated the royal family therein.[9]
Other accounts asserted that the conquest of Blambangan by the forces ofSultan Agung of Mataram took place in 1639, which was also the end of Panarukan's independence.[7] With the loss of its important port, Panarukan, the center of the Blambangan kingdom was receded to inland south to present day Blambangan area, with its port inBanyuwangi. In 1665, Tawang Alun II Danureja, the 8th king of Blambangan, opened the forest of Sudiamara and established a new capital in Macan Putih, Kabat district (Kecamatan Kabat) located about 10 kilometres from Banyuwangi.[2]
Of the nine rulers who once ruled Blambangan, Tawang Alun II (1665–1691) is considered one of the greatest kings of Blambangan. During his reign, Blambangan's territory reachedJember,Lumajang,Situbondo, andBali. Blambangan society at that time lived peacefully and prosperous, after all time engaged in various warfare against the expansionist neighboring kingdoms to the west and east.[2] TheVOC archive mentioned the spectacularngaben (cremation) ceremony of Tawang Alun II, that among his 400 wives, 271 of them performedsuttee (self-immolation).[2]
In 1697, the Balinese Kingdom of Buleleng sent its expedition to Blambangan, which established Balinese influence in the region.[10]
In the early 18th century, theDutch andBritish contested each other’s political and economic power in the region. Internal disputes about the succession at the court of Blambangan impaired the kingdom, making it vulnerable to foreign intervention.
Official Status of the Blambangan Occupational Religion was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).