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Majapahit was also the last of the great Hindu empires of the Malay archipelago. It was preceded by the Malay Sri Wijaya Empire, based in Palembang on the island of Sumatra.

The founder of the Majapahit Empire, Raden Wijaya, was the son-in-law of the ruler of the Singhasari kingdom, also based in Java. The rising power of Singhasari had came to the attention of Yuan Dynasty founder Kublai Khan in China and he sent emissaries demanding tribute. Kertanagara, the-then ruler of the Singhasari kingdom, refused to pay tribute and so the Khan sent a punitive expedition which arrived off the coast of Java in 1293.

By that time, a rebel from Kediri, Jayakatwang, had killed Kertanagara. Raden Wijaya allied himself with the Mongols against Jayakatwang and, once the Singhasari kingdom was destroyed, turned and forced his Mongol allies to withdraw in confusion.

Thus, Raden Wijaya managed to establish the Majapahit Kingdom. The name Majapahit stems from the two words maja, meaning a type of fruit, and pahit, which is the Indonesian word for ‘bitter’.

The exact date used as the birth of the Majapahit kingdom is the day of his coronation, the 15th of Kartika month in the year 1215 using the Javanese saka calendar, which equates to November 10, 1293. On that date, his title has changed from Raden Wijaya to Sri Kertarajasa Jayawardhana, commonly shortened to Kertarajasa.

Following the example of its predecessor, Singhasari, Majapahit was based on the combined development of agriculture and large scale maritime trade.

In the eyes of the Javanese, Majapahit represents a symbol: that of the great concentric agrarian kingdoms relying on a solid agricultural base. More importantly, it is also the symbol of Java’s first claim to pre-eminence in the Malay Archipelago, even if Majapahit’s so-called tributaries were, more often than not, places known to the Javanese of that period rather than actual dependencies.

The power of Majapahit reached its height in the mid-14th century under the leadership of King Hayam Wuruk and his prime minister, Gajah Mada. Some scholars have argued that the territories of Majapahit covered present-day Indonesia and part of Malaysia, but others maintain that its core territory was confined to eastern Java and Bali. Nonetheless, Majapahit became a significant power in the region, maintaining regular relations with Bengal, China, Champa, Cambodia, Annam (North Vietnam), and Siam (Thailand).

During this golden period of Majapahit many literary works were produced. Among them was “Negara Kertagama,” by the famous Javanese author Prapancha (1335-1380). Parts of the book described the diplomatic and economic ties between Majapahit and numerous Southeast Asian countries including Myanmar, Thailand, Tonkin, Annam, Kampuchea and even India and China.

Other works in Kawi, the old Javanese language, were “Pararaton,” “Arjuna Wiwaha,” “Ramayana,” and “Sarasa Muschaya.” In modern times, these works were later translated into modern European languages for educational purposes.

Although the Majapahit rulers extended their power over other islands and destroyed neighbouring kingdoms, their focus seems to have been on controlling and gaining a larger share of the commercial trade that passed through the archipelago. About the time Majapahit was founded, Muslim traders and proselytisers began entering the area.

Muslim merchants from Gujarat (India) and Persia began visiting what is now-called Indonesia in the 13th Century and established trade links between the area and India and Persia. Along with trade, they propagated Islam among the Indonesian people, particularly along the coastal areas of Java, like Demak. At a later stage they even influenced and converted Hindu kings to Islam, the first being the Sultan of Demak.

This Muslim Sultan (Raden Fatah) later spread Islam westwards to the cities of Cirebon and Banten, and eastward along the northern coast of Java to the kingdom of Gresik. Feeling threatened by the rise of the Demak Sultanate, the last king of Majapahit, Prabhu Udara attacked Demak with the help of the King of Klungkung on Bali in 1513. However, Majapahit’s forces were driven back.

Demak finally conquers Kediri, the Hindu remnant of Majapahit state in 1527; from then on, the Sultans of Demak claims to be successors to Majapahit kingdom.

However, the descendants of the Majapahit aristocracy, religious scholars and Hindu Ksatriyas (warriors) managed to retreat through the East Java peninsula of Blambangan to the island of Bali and Lombok.

Centuries later, Indonesian nationalists of the 1920s and 1930s made use of the historical memory of the Majapahit Empire as evidence that the peoples of the archipelago had once been united under a single government, and so could be again, in modern Indonesia.

Rulers of the Majapahit kingdom