| Regreg war | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Western court | Eastern court | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Wikramawardhana | Bhre Wirabhumi | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Soldiers | Soldiers, Bhre Wirabhumi and his family, including Chinese envoys that visiting eastern court | ||||||
The Regreg War (often erroneously called the Paregreg) was a civil war that took place in 1404-1406 within the Majapahit kingdom of Java. The conflict was fought as a war of independence between the Western court led by Wikramawardhana against the breakaway Eastern court led by Bhre Wirabhumi. This war of rivalry and secession had caused the calamity, crisis, court's preoccupation, the drain of financial resources, and exhaustion, that is thought to be one of the causes of Majapahit decline in the following years. [1]
This conflict is usually referred to as the Paregreg, but that term is based on a linguistic misunderstanding. In the Pararaton chronicle, in which the term for this war is found, events are labelled by adding the prefix pa- to one or more keywords. For example, the Javanese attack on Malayu in Sumatra in 1275 is called pamalayu, the rebellion of Rangga Lawe in 1295 is referred to as paranggalawe, and the massacre of the Sundanese at Bubat in 1357 is called pasuṇḍabubat. Hence the better translation of parĕgrĕg is "the Regreg incident". [2]
The Majapahit kingdom was established in 1293 by Raden Wijaya with the help of the cunning and able Arya Wiraraja, the Regent of Madura. As reward for Wiraraja's help, in 1295, Raden Wijaya agreed to give him the eastern portions of East Java, which includes Blambangan areas with Lumajang as its capital. [1] Throughout Raden Wijaya's reign, Arya Wiraraja ruled the eastern realm peacefully as Majapahit's vassal, yet enjoyed substantial freedom. In 1316, Jayanagara, son and heir of Raden Wijaya, cracked down on the Nambi rebellion in Lumajang. Nambi was the successor of Arya Wiraraja. After that battle, the western and eastern realms of East Java were reunited.
According to Pararaton , in 1376 appeared "a new mountain", which hinted the emergence of a new keraton (court, palace, or center of power) opposed to the central authority of Majapahit. According to Ming Chinese chronicles, in 1377 there were two independent kingdoms in Java, both of which sent their envoys to the Ming court. The Western Kingdom was led by Wu-lao-po-wu, and the Eastern Kingdom was led by Wu-lao-wang-chieh.
Wu-lao-po-wu is Chinese pronunciation of Bhra Prabu, which refers to Hayam Wuruk (according to Pararaton ), while Wu-lao-wang-chieh refers to Bhre Wengker, alias Wijayarajasa, the husband of Rajadewi (Hayam Wuruk's aunt). It seems that Wijayarajasa had ambition to be the Majapahit monarch. After the death of Gajah Mada, Tribhuwana Wijayatunggadewi, and Rajadewi, he built a new eastern court in Pamotan, thus in Pararaton, he was also mentioned as Bhatara Parameswara ring Pamotan.
The Regreg war was incited by Bhre Wirabhumi. The real name of Bhre Wirabhumi is unknown. His name simply means Bhre (Duke) of Wirabhumi, a province of Majapahit corresponds with Blambangan area in the "eastern hook" of Java. According to Pararaton, he is the son of Hayam Wuruk with a concubine, and adopted as a foster son by Bhre Daha (Rajadewi), the wife of Wijayarajasa. Later Bhre Wirabhumi would be married to Bhre Lasem sang Alemu, the daughter of Bhre Pajang (Hayam Wuruk's sister).
According to Nagarakretagama, the wife of Bhre Wirabhumi is Nagarawardhani, the daughter of Bhre Lasem or also known as Indudewi. Indudewi is the daughter of Rajadewi and Wijayarajasa. The Nagarakretagama is more valid than Pararaton, since it was written during Bhre Wirabhumi life time. During the reign of Hayam Wuruk and Wijayarajasa, the relations between the western court of Majapahit and the eastern court is described in somewhat an uneasy coexistence and mutual respect, since Wijayarajasa was Hayam Wuruk's father in-law.
After the death of Hayam Wuruk in 1389, he was succeeded by his nephew and also son in-law, Wikramawardhana. In the eastern court, after the death of Wijayarajasa in 1398, he was succeeded by his foster son that also his grand daughter's husband, Bhre Wirabhumi. Wirabhumi would rule the Blambangan kingdom with Lumajang as his capital. [1] After the death of Indudewi, the position of Bhre Lasem was awarded to her daughter, Nagarawardhani. However Wikramawardhana also bestowed the title of Bhre lasem to his own wife, the queen Kusumawardhani. That is why in Pararaton there are two Bhre Lasem, Bhre Lasem Sang Halemu (The Fat Bhre Lasem) Bhre Wirabhumi's wife, and Bhre Lasem Sang Ahayu (The Beautiful Bhre Lasem) Wikramawardhana's wife. The contest of Bhre Lasem title has created an animosity between eastern and western courts, until 1400 when both Nagarawardhani and Kusumawardhani died. Wikramawardhana immediately appointed his daughter in-law as the new Bhre Lasem, the wife of Bhre Tumapel.
After the appointment of the new Bhre Lasem, a dispute erupted between the two palaces. According to Pararaton, in 1402 Bhre Wirabhumi and Wikramawardhana were involved in a bitter quarrel, and afterwards they shunned each other and refused to talk. In 1403, through dangerous gamble of power, Wirabhumi sought military assistance from the Chinese court against Majapahit court. [1] The Chinese Imperial court responded by recognizing his province's independence from Majapahit, in exchange Bhre Wirabhumi accepted a seal, commission, and other insignia of Chinese suzerainty over his land. [1] This action would lead to a larger Regreg war in 1404. In Old Javanese, the word regreg means "to proceed with halts and jerks, to proceed slowly" (Zoetmulder 1982, s.v. "rĕgrĕg") [3] . It indicates that there were many battles fought between eastern and western Majapahit throughout the two years, sometimes a battle was won by the western court, sometimes won by the eastern court.
Finally in 1406 the western troops led by Bhre Tumapel, son of Wikramawardhana, penetrated the eastern palace. Bhre Wirabhumi was defeated and fled using a boat during the night. He was chased down and killed by Raden Gajah, also known as Bhra Narapati, titled as Ratu Angabhaya of the western court. Raden Gajah brought the head of Bhre Wirabhumi to the western court (Trowulan). Later Bhre Wirabhumi would be sanctified in Girisa Pura temple located in Lung area.
After the defeat of Bhre Wirabhumi, the eastern court was finally reunited with the western court. However, the ongoing conflicts all these years has kept Majapahit preoccupied and has loosened Majapahit grip on their overseas vassals. As one by one Majapahit overseas possessions outside of Java has liberated themselves and refuse to paid tribute to the central court, Majapahit could do nothing to assert their rules. In 1405, West Borneo was held under Chinese influence. Followed by the rebellions in Palembang, Malayu, and Malacca that would grow into thriving ports independent from Majapahit. In northern coast of Borneo, the Brunei Kingdom has also liberated themselves from Javanese overlordship.
Moreover, Wikramawardhana also owed a huge debt of gold to the Chinese Ming court, a blood money as the compensation for the death of Chinese envoys. During the Regreg war, some Chinese envoys was sent by Chinese Admiral Zheng He to visit the eastern court, however they was caught in the middle of the battle. Around 170 Chinese envoys were killed during this battle as a collateral victims, which caused the uproar of Chinese Ming Emperor. For this incident Wikramawardhana was fined 60,000 tahil of gold by Ming's court. Until 1408 Wikramawardaha could only paid 10,000 tahil. Finally emperor Yong Le pardoned the fine out of pity to the Javanese king. This event was recorded in the Yingya Shenglan by Ma Huan who was Zheng He's secretary.
After the Regreg war, Wikramawardhana brought Bhre Daha, the daughter of Bhre Wirabhumi as a concubine. From that marriage born Suhita that would ascend to the throne as queen regnant in 1427 to succeed Wikramawardhana. During the reign of Suhita, the killer of Bhre Wirabhumi, Raden Gajah, was punished by death sentence in 1433.
The Regreg war is remembered in the collective memory of Javanese tradition. After the advent of Islamic polities in Java, the theme of Regreg war appeared in Javanese literatures, such as in Serat Kanda, Serat Damarwulan, and Serat Blambangan.
According to the tales in Serat Kanda, there was a war between Queen Kencanawungu, the ruler of Majapahit in the west against Menak Jingga the ruler of Blambangan in the east. Menak Jingga finally was killed by Damarwulan, a knight sent by Queen Kencanawungu. As the reward, Damarwulan would be wed to Queen Kencanawungu and become the king of Majapahit, stylized as Prabu Mertawijaya. From their union would born king Brawijaya the last king of Majapahit.
The Majapahit was a Javanese Hindu-thalassocratic empire in Southeast Asia, based on the island of Java, that existed from 1293 to circa 1527. Majapahit reached its peak of glory during the era of Hayam Wuruk, whose reign from 1350 to 1389 was marked by conquest which extended through Southeast Asia. His achievement is also credited to his prime minister, Gajah Mada. According to the Nagarakretagama (Desawarñana) written in 1365, Majapahit was an empire of 98 tributaries, stretching from Sumatra to New Guinea; consisting of present-day Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, southern Thailand, East Timor, southwestern Philippines, although the scope of Majapahit sphere of influence is still the subject of debate among historians. The nature of Majapahit relations and influences upon its overseas vassals, also its status as an empire are still provoking discussions.
Gajah Mada was, according to Javanese old manuscripts, poems and mythology, a powerful military leader and Mahapatih or Prime Minister of the Indonesian Hindu empire of Majapahit, credited with bringing the empire to its peak of glory. He delivered an oath called Sumpah Palapa, in which he vowed to live ascetic until he had conquered all of the Southeast Asian archipelago of Nusantara for Majapahit. In modern Indonesia, he serves as an important national hero, a symbol of patriotism and national unity. During his reign the Hindu epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, became ingrained in the culture and worldview of the Javanese through the performing arts of wayang kulit.
Hayam Wuruk, also called Rajasanagara, Pa-ta-na-pa-na-wu, or Bhatara Prabhu, (1334–1389), was a Javanese Hindu King from the Rajasa Dynasty and the fourth monarch of the Indianised Majapahit Empire. Together with his prime minister Gajah Mada, he reigned the empire at the time of its greatest power. During his reign the Hindu epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, became ingrained in the culture and worldview of the Javanese through the wayang kulit. He was preceded by Tribhuwana Wijayatunggadewi and succeeded by his son-in-law Wikramawardhana. Most of the accounts of his life were taken from Nagarakretagama and Pararaton.
Kidung Sunda is a Middle-Javanese kidung of probable Balinese provenance. In this poem, the story of king Hayam Wuruk of Majapahit who was looking for a bride to be, is narrated. At last he chose the princess of Sunda, a kingdom in West Java. The princess' name is remained undisclosed in this story, however she corresponds to Dyah Pitaloka Citraresmi in Pararaton. Hayam Wuruk's grand vizier Gajah Mada, betrayed his king and rejected this idea. There was a dispute about geopolitical relations between Sunda and Majapahit. Gajah Mada considered Sunda to be a vassal state of Java. For that reason a great battle took place in Bubat, the port where the Sundanese party landed as they refused to be treated as vassals. There the Majapahit-Javanese army slaughtered the Sundanese. The grieved princess of Sunda committed suicide not long afterwards. This historical story has to be situated somewhere in the 14th century.
Raden Wijaya or Raden Vijaya was a Javanese King, the founder and the first monarch of the Majapahit Empire. The history of his founding of Majapahit was written in several records, including Pararaton and Negarakertagama. His rule was marked by the victory against the army and the navy of Kublai Khan's Yuan dynasty.
Kertanegara of Singasari, Kritanagara, or Sivabuddha,, was the last and most important ruler of the Singhasari kingdom of Java, reigning from 1268 to 1292. Under his rule Javanese trade and power developed considerably, reaching the far corners of the Indonesian archipelago.
Wikramawardhana was a Javanese king and succeeded Hayam Wuruk as the fifth monarch of the Majapahit empire, reigning from 1389 to 1429. He was the nephew and also the son-in-law of the previous monarch after taking princess Kusumawardhani, Hayam Wuruk's daughter, as his wife. His co-reign with his queen consort was challenged by Hayam Wuruk's other offspring, Bhre Wirabhumi. Bhre Wirabhumi felt that he had a better right to be successor since he was the only son of the late monarch. Wirabhumi, however, lacked legitimacy because his mother was a concubine, not the queen consort. The struggle for succession resulted in the Paregreg war. Despite Wikramawardhana's success in winning the war and defeating Wirabhumi, the civil war gravely weakened previously unchallenged Majapahit hegemony in Nusantara and loosened Majapahit's grip on its far flung vassal kingdoms. His invasion of Singapore in 1398 however, is a success.
Tribhuwana Wijayatunggadewi, known in her regnal name Tribhuwannottunggadewi Jayawishnuwardhani, also known as Dyah Gitarja, was a Javanese queen regnant and the third Majapahit monarch, reigning from 1328 to 1350. She also bears the title Bhre Kahuripan. With the help of her prime minister Gajah Mada, she pursued a massive expansion of the empire. Tradition mentioned her as a woman of extraordinary valour, wisdom and intelligence.
Dyah Pitaloka Citraresmi or Citra Rashmi (1340–1357), was the princess of the Sunda Kingdom in Western Java. According to the Pararaton or Book of Kings, she was supposed to marry Hayam Wuruk, the new young king of Majapahit who had a great desire to take her as his queen. However, in the tragedy known as The Bubat Incident she took her own life. Tradition describes her as a young woman of extraordinary beauty.
Jayanegara or Jayanagara, Prince of Kediri in 1295, reigned from 1309 to 1328, was a Javanese King and the second monarch of Majapahit empire. Jayanegara was the heir, crown prince, the son of Raden Wijaya, the founder of Majapahit. The story of his life was written in several records, including Pararaton and Negarakertagama. His reign saw the beginning of Gajah Mada's rise as an important figure in the empire.
Rajasa was the ruling dynasty of Singhasari kingdom and later Majapahit empire in 13th to 15th century eastern Java. The rulers of Singhasari and Majapahit trace their origins back to the mysterious figure of Ken Arok or Sri Ranggah Rajasa, who founded the Rajasa dynasty early in the 13th century. According to the Pararaton, Ken Arok was born in the Tumapel region. He was considered as the dynasty founder of both the Singhasari and Majapahit line of monarchs.
The Battle of Bubat also known as Pasunda Bubat is the battle between the Sundanese royal family and Majapahit army that took place in Bubat square on the northern part of Trowulan in 1279 Saka or 1357 CE.
The Blambangan Kingdom was the last Javanese Hindu kingdom that flourished between the 13th and 18th centuries, based in the eastern corner of Java. The capital was at Banyuwangi. 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 of Majapahit in the late fifteenth century, Blambangan stood on its own as the one solitary Hindu state left in Java, controlling the larger part of Java’s Oosthoek.
Kahuripan later Kediri was an 11th-century Javanese Hindu-Buddhist kingdom with its capital located around the estuarine of Brantas River valley in East Java. The kingdom was short lived only spanned the period between 1019 and 1045 and Airlangga was the only raja of the kingdom, which was built out of the rubble of the Kingdom of Medang after the Srivijaya invasion. Airlangga later in 1045 abdicated in favour of his two sons and divided the kingdom into Janggala and Panjalu (Kadiri). The kingdom's name derived from Old Javanese term hurip with circumfix ka- -an which means "life" or "livelihood". Later in 14th to 15th century, the former kingdom was recognised as one of Majapahit's 12 provinces.
Gayatri Rajapatni was the queen consort of Majapahit's founder and first king Kertarajasa Jayawardhana, and also the mother of Tribhuwana Wijayatunggadewi, the queen regnal of Majapahit. A devout Buddhist, she was the youngest daughter of Kertanegara, king of Singhasari.
Dara Petak or Dara Pethak, also known in her formal name as Indreswari, was the consort of King Kertarajasa Jayawardhana, the founder of Majapahit kingdom. She was a Malay Dharmasraya princess from Sumatra and the only non-Javanese wife of Kertarajasa, and also the mother of Jayanegara, the second monarch of Majapahit. Tradition mentioned her as a woman of exceptional beauty.
Dara Jingga, was one of the Malay Dharmasraya princess intended to be presented to Javanese King Kertanegara of Singasari after the Pamalayu expedition 1275–1293.
Nagarawardhani was the niece of King Majapahit, Hayam Wuruk, and was the daughter of the King's sister, Isywari, also known as Bhre Pajang.
The Kingdom of Bali was a series of Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms that once ruled some parts of the volcanic island of Bali, in Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia. With a history of native Balinese kingship spanning from the early 10th to early 20th centuries, Balinese kingdoms demonstrated sophisticated Balinese court culture where native elements of spirit and ancestral reverence combined with Hindu influences – adopted from India through ancient Java intermediary – flourished, enriched and shaped the Balinese culture.
The eastern salient of Java is a region that makes up the easternmost part of the island of Java, Indonesia. It is not a formal or administrative subdivision, but rather a designation often used to refer to its distinct history, culture, and geographical feature. It is generally considered to begin in the Tengger mountain range and extend eastwards to the east coast of Java. It is entirely contained by the Indonesian province of East Java.
