View source for Majapahit

{{Short description|Javanese Empire from 1292 to c. 1500}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Majapahit
| common_name       = Majapahit
| native_name       = {{native name|jv|ꦩꦗꦥꦲꦶꦠ꧀}}<br>{{native name|sa|मजापहित}}
| religion          = {{ubl|[[Hinduism]] ([[Shaivism]])(official)|[[Buddhism]]|[[Asceticism]] (''karesyan'')|[[Islam]]{{efn|group=note|1=late period only}}|[[Animism]]}}
| p1                = Singhasari
| s1                = Demak Sultanate
| s2                = Blambangan Kingdom
| s3                = Malacca Sultanate
| s4                = Sultanate of Gowa
| s5                = Pagaruyung Kingdom
| s6                = Bruneian Sultanate (1368–1888)
| year_start        = 1292
| year_end          = 1527
| event_start       = Establishment of Majapahit after [[Mongol invasion of Java|Mongol invasion]]
| event1            = Coronation of [[Raden Wijaya|Kṛtarājasa]]<ref name="NGI Trowulan">{{Cite web |last=Mahandis Y. Thamrin |date=September 2012 |title=10 November, Hari Berdirinya Majapahit |url=http://nationalgeographic.co.id/berita/2013/11/10-november-hari-berdirinya-majapahit |access-date=27 May 2015 |publisher=National Geographic Indonesia |language=id |archive-date=26 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150526213546/http://nationalgeographic.co.id/berita/2013/11/10-november-hari-berdirinya-majapahit |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| date_event1       = 10 November 1293
| event2            = ''[[Palapa oath|Sumpah Palapa]]''
| date_event2       = 1334/1336
| event3            = [[Battle of Bubat]]
| date_event3       = 1357
| event4            = [[Regreg war|Majapahit Civil War]] (''Regreg'')
| date_event4       = 1404–1406
| event_end         = [[Demak–Majapahit conflicts]]
| date_end          = 1527
| image_flag        = Naval flag of Majapahit Kingdom.svg
| flag_type         = {{FIAV|reconstructed}}[[Flags and emblems of Majapahit|Reconstructed flag]]
| image_coat        = Surya Majapahit Gold.svg
| symbol_type       = {{lang|kaw|[[Surya Majapahit]]}}{{efn|group=note|1=[[Surya Majapahit]] (the Sun of Majapahit) is the emblem commonly found in Majapahit ruins. It served as the symbol of the Majapahit empire.}}
| image_map         = Majapahit Empire.svg
| image_map_caption = The extent of Majapahit influence according to the [[Nagarakertagama|''Nagarakṛtāgama'']].<ref name="Sastrawan Empire">{{cite web |last=Sastrawan |first=Wayan Jarrah |date=20 January 2020 |title=Was Majapahit Really an Empire? |publisher=New Mandala |url=https://www.newmandala.org/was-majapahit-really-an-empire/ |language=en}}</ref>
| image_map2        = File:Majapahit Expansion.gif
| map_caption2      = Territorial evolution of the Majapahit empire through various conquests and campaigns to its ultimate demise in the 16th century
| capital           = Majapahit ([[Trowulan]])
| common_languages  = {{ubl|[[Old Javanese]]|[[Sanskrit]]}}
| government_type   = [[Mandala (political model)|Maṇḍala state]] ruled by a ''[[Maharaja]]'' and governance by a ''[[Prime minister|Mahapatih]]'' (Prime Minister)
| title_leader      = [[Maharaja#Indonesia|Maharaja]]
| leader1           = [[Raden Wijaya|Kṛtarājasa]] (first)
| year_leader1      = 1293–1309
| leader2           = [[Jayanegara|Jayanagara]]
| year_leader2      = 1309–1328
| leader3           = [[Tribhuwana Wijayatunggadewi|Tribhuvanottuṅgadevī]]
| year_leader3      = 1328–1350s
| leader4           = [[Hayam Wuruk|Rājasanagara]]
| year_leader4      = 1350s–1389/1399<ref>{{cite journal |last=Sastrawan |first=Wayan Jarrah |date=2020 |title=How to read a chronicle: The ''Pararaton'' as a conglomerate text |journal=Indonesia and the Malay World |volume=48 |issue=140 |pages=2–23 |doi=10.1080/13639811.2020.1701325}}</ref>
| leader5           = [[Vikramavardhana]]
| year_leader5      = 1389/1399–1429
| leader6           = [[Girindrawardhana|Girīndravardhana]] (last)
| year_leader6      = {{circa|1486–1527}}{{efn|group=note|1=Although officially recognized as ''[[Maharaja]]'', Girīndravardhana did not have a major role in his government. Most of the governmental duties were carried out by Patih Udara, who mainly led the remnants of Majapahit in Daha before the collapse of the empire.}}
| title_deputy      = [[Viceregent|Mahapatih]]
| currency          = {{ubl|[[Cash coins in Indonesia|''Kepeng'']]<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://www.ebook3000.com/dictionary/Southeast-Asia--A-Historical-Encyclopedia--From-Angkor-Wat-to-East-Timor--3-Volume-Set-_132751.html |title=Southeast Asia: a historical encyclopedia, from Angkor Wat to East Timor (3 vols) |publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]] |year=2004 |isbn=978-1576077702 |editor-last=Ooi |editor-first=Keat Gin |location=Santa Barbara |oclc=646857823 |access-date=5 October 2014 |archive-date=8 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808051416/http://www.ebook3000.com/dictionary/Southeast-Asia--A-Historical-Encyclopedia--From-Angkor-Wat-to-East-Timor--3-Volume-Set-_132751.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>|Native gold and silver coins}}
| deputy1 = Nambi (first)
| year_deputy1 = 1294–1316
| deputy2 = Arya Tadah 
| year_deputy2 = 1316–1323 
| deputy3 = [[Gajah Mada|Jirnnodhara]]
| year_deputy3 = 1334–1364
| deputy4 = Gajah Enggon	| year_deputy4 = 1376–1394
| deputy5 = Wahan
| year_deputy5 = 1430–1498
| deputy6 = Patih Udara (last)
| year_deputy6 = 1498–1516
| demonym           = 
| area_km2          = 
| area_rank         = 
| GDP_PPP           = 
| GDP_PPP_year      = 
| HDI               = 
| HDI_year          = 
| today             = {{Plainlist|
*[[Indonesia]]
*[[Singapore]]
*[[Malaysia]]
*[[Brunei]]
*[[Thailand]]
*[[Timor-Leste]]
*[[Philippines]]}}
}}
{{Contains special characters|Javanese}}
{{History of Indonesia}}

'''Majapahit''' ({{langx|jv|ꦩꦗꦥꦲꦶꦠ꧀|Måjåpahit}}; {{IPA|jv|mɔd͡ʒɔpaɪt}} <small>(eastern and central dialect)</small> or {{IPA|[mad͡ʒapaɪt]}} <small>(western dialect)</small>, {{langx|sa|मजापहित|translit=majāpahita}}), also known as '''Wilwatikta'''{{efn|group=note|1=Some Javanese court literature use this [[Sanskrit]]-derived name, which bears the same meaning ("bitter gourd") as "Majapahit" does in Old Javanese, for example in the {{lang|jv|[[Nagarakretagama|Deśavarṇana]]}} (canto 1 stanza 2) and {{lang|jv|Kidung Harsawijaya}} (canto 4 stanza 66). It is sometimes also written backwards as Tiktawilwa, for example in the {{lang|jv|Deśavarṇana}} (canto 18 stanza 4). However it is still more widely known by its Old Javanese name, as recorded in Javanese and Balinese manuscripts, as well as in the ''hikayat''s of Aceh, Banjar, Malay, Palembang, etc.}} ({{langx|jv|ꦮꦶꦭ꧀ꦮꦠꦶꦏ꧀ꦠ}}; {{IPA|jv|wɪlwatɪkta}}, {{langx|sa|विल्वतिक्त|translit=vilvatikta}}), was a [[Javanese people|Javanese]] [[Hinduism|Hindu]]-[[Buddhism|Buddhist]] [[thalassocracy|thalassocratic]] empire in [[Southeast Asia]] based on the island of [[Java]] (in modern-day [[Indonesia]]).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Majapahit empire, historical kingdom, Indonesia|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Majapahit-empire|access-date=2022-01-09|website=www.britannica.com|language=en}}</ref> At its greatest extent, following significant military expansions, the territory of the empire and its tributary states covered almost the entire [[Nusantara (term)|Nusantara archipelago]], spanning both [[Asia]] and [[Oceania]].<ref name="Robson_Desawarnana">{{cite book |title = Deśawarṇana (Nāgarakṛtagama) by Mpu Prapañca |first = Stuart |last= Robson |year = 1995 |publisher = KITLV Press |place = Leiden}}</ref><ref name="Cribb">{{cite book | title = Historical Atlas of Indonesia | first = Robert | last = Cribb | publisher = Routledge | year = 2013 | isbn = 9781136780578 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Ki8COnr7H0MC&pg=PA87}}</ref><ref name="web.archive.org">{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110708185756/http://www.indonesianhistory.info/map/majapahit.html Majapahit Overseas Empire, Digital Atlas of Indonesian History]}}</ref> After a [[Regreg war|civil war]] that weakened control over the vassal states, the empire slowly declined before collapsing in 1527 due to an [[Demak–Majapahit conflicts|invasion]] by the [[Demak Sultanate|Sultanate of Demak]]. The fall of Majapahit saw the rise of [[History of Indonesia#Islamic civilizations|Islamic kingdoms]] in Java.

Established by [[Raden Wijaya]] in 1292, Majapahit rose to power after the [[Mongol invasion of Java]] and reached its peak during the era of the queen [[Tribhuwana Wijayatunggadewi|Tribhuvana]] and her son [[Hayam Wuruk]], whose reigns in the mid-14th century were marked by conquests that extended throughout Southeast Asia. This achievement is also credited to the famous prime minister [[Gajah Mada]]. According to the [[Nagarakretagama|''Nagarakṛtāgama'']] written in 1365, Majapahit was an empire of 98 tributaries, stretching from [[Sumatra]] to [[New Guinea]];<ref name="Robson_Desawarnana"/><ref name="Cribb"/>{{rp|page=87}}<ref name="web.archive.org"/> including territories in present-day [[Indonesia]], [[Singapore]], [[Malaysia]], [[Brunei]], southern [[Thailand]], [[Timor Leste]], and southwestern [[Philippines]] (in particular the [[Sulu Archipelago]]), although the scope of Majapahit sphere of influence is still the subject of debate among historians.<ref name="M Wood">{{cite book |title =The Borderlands of Southeast Asia |chapter=Chapter 2: Archaeology, National Histories, and National Borders in Southeast Asia|first =Michael|last =Wood|url =https://ndupress.ndu.edu/Portals/68/Documents/Books/borderlands-southeast-asia.pdf|page =36|access-date =4 May 2015|url-status =dead|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20150505003223/http://mercury.ethz.ch/serviceengine/Files/ISN/142914/ichaptersection_singledocument/54578174-4114-4470-a6d4-6fe4a4b376e3/en/Chapter+2.pdf|archive-date =5 May 2015}}</ref><ref name="Britannica-Majapahit">{{cite encyclopedia | title = Indonesia, The Majapahit Era | encyclopedia = Britannica | url = https://www.britannica.com/place/Indonesia/The-Majapahit-era}}</ref> The nature of Majapahit's relations and influence upon its overseas vassals and also its status as an empire still provokes discussion.<ref name="Sastrawan Empire" />

Majapahit was one of the last major Hindu-Buddhist empires of the region and is considered to be one of the greatest and most powerful empires in the history of Indonesia and Southeast Asia. It is sometimes seen as the precedent for Indonesia's modern boundaries.<ref name=ricklefs/>{{rp|page=19}}<ref name="JPMajapahit">{{cite news|title=Tracing the glory of Majapahit | author=Sita W. Dewi | date=9 April 2013 |newspaper=The Jakarta Post|url=http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/04/09/tracing-glory-majapahit.html|access-date=5 February 2015}}</ref> Its influence extended beyond the modern territory of Indonesia and has been the subject of many studies.<ref>Prapantja, Rakawi, trans. by Theodore Gauthier Pigeaud, ''Java in the 14th Century, A Study in Cultural History: The Negara-Kertagama by Rakawi Prapanca of Majapahit, 1365 AD'' (The Hague, Martinus Nijhoff, 1962), vol. 4, pp. 29, 34</ref><ref>G.J. Resink, ''Indonesia's History Between the Myths: Essays in Legal History and Historical Theory'' (The Hague: W. van Hoeve, 1968), p. 21.</ref><ref name="Muljana_Puncak">{{cite book |last=Muljana |first=Slamet |authorlink=Slamet Muljana |title=Menuju Puncak Kemegahan |publisher=LKIS |location=Yogyakarta |year=2005 |orig-year=First published 1965 |language=id |doi= |isbn=}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Muljana |first=Slamet |authorlink=Slamet Muljana |title=Nagarakretagama dan Tapsir Sejarahnya |publisher=Bhratara |location=Jakarta |year=1979 |language=id |doi= |isbn=}}</ref>

==Etymology==
[[File:011 Mojo Fruit, Candi Brahu (39533866225).jpg|thumb|left|A ''[[Aegle marmelos|maja]]'' fruit growing near Trowulan. The bitter-tasting fruit is the origin of the kingdom's name.]]
The name ''Majapahit'' (sometimes also spelled ''Mojopait'' to reflect Javanese pronunciation), derives from [[Javanese language|Javanese]], meaning "bitter ''maja''". German [[Orientalism#Oriental studies|orientalist]] [[Berthold Laufer]] suggested that the ''maja'' element comes from the Javanese name of ''[[Aegle marmelos]]'', an Indonesian tree.<ref>''The Brunei Museum Journal'', Vol. 4, Iss. 1 – p. 192</ref> Majapahit  is also referred to by the Sanskrit-derived synonym ''Wilwatikta'' ({{Langx|sa|विल्वतिक्त|lit=bitter ''maja''|translit=vilvatikta}}). Toponyms containing the word ''maja'' are common in the area in and around [[Trowulan]] (e.g. [[Mojokerto]]), as it is a widespread practice in Java to name an area, a village or settlement with the most conspicuous or abundant tree or fruit species found in that region. The 16th-century chronicle ''[[Pararaton]]'' records a legend linked to the establishment of a new settlement in the forest of Trik by [[Raden Wijaya]] in 1292.<ref name="Pararaton Brandes">{{cite book | title    = Pararaton (Ken Arok) of het boek der Koningen van tumapel en van Majapahit | last = Brandes | first    = Jan Laurens Andries | authorlink= :nl:Jan Laurens Andries Brandes | year     = 1896 | publisher= Albrecht & Rusche / M. Nijhoff | language = Dutch, Javanese}}</ref>{{rp|23, 74, 92}} It was said that the workers clearing the Trik forest encountered some ''maja'' trees and consumed their bitter-tasting fruit which then gave its name to the village.<ref name="NGI Trowulan">{{Cite web |last=Mahandis Y. Thamrin |date=September 2012 |title=10 November, Hari Berdirinya Majapahit |url=http://nationalgeographic.co.id/berita/2013/11/10-november-hari-berdirinya-majapahit |access-date=27 May 2015 |publisher=National Geographic Indonesia |language=id |archive-date=26 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150526213546/http://nationalgeographic.co.id/berita/2013/11/10-november-hari-berdirinya-majapahit |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Strictly speaking, the name ''Majapahit'' refers to the kingdom's capital, but today it is common to refer to the kingdom by its capital's name. In Javanese primary sources, the kingdom as an extended territory is generally referred to not as ''Majapahit'' but rather as ''bhūmi Jawa'' ("land of Java") in [[Old Javanese]] or ''yava-dvīpa-[[mandala (political model)|maṇḍala]]'' ("country of the island of Java") in [[Sanskrit]].

==Historiography==
===Archaeological evidence===
Compared to contemporary societies elsewhere in Asia, little physical evidence of Majapahit remains.<ref>{{cite book | last =Taylor | first =Jean Gelman | title =Indonesia: Peoples and Histories | publisher =Yale University Press |year=2003 | location =New Haven and London | pages =[https://archive.org/details/indonesia00jean/page/29 29] | url =https://archive.org/details/indonesia00jean| url-access =registration | isbn = 0-300-10518-5 }}</ref> Majapahit did produce physical evidence: the main ruins dating from the Majapahit period are clustered in the [[Trowulan]] area, which was the royal capital of the kingdom. The area has become the centre for the study of Majapahit history. The Trowulan archaeological site was first documented in the 19th century by [[Stamford Raffles|Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles]], Lieutenant-Governor of [[French and British interregnum in the Dutch East Indies#British interregnum 1811–1815|British Java]] of the [[East India Company]] from 1811 to 1816. He reported the existence of "ruins of temples... scattered about the country for many miles", and referred to Trowulan as "this pride of Java".<ref>{{cite book | last =Bullough | first =Nigel| title =Historic East Java: Remains in Stone, Indonesian 50th independence day commemorative edition | editor= Mujiyono PH| publisher =ADLine Communications| year =1995 | location =Jakarta| page=102 }}</ref> Aerial and satellite imagery has revealed an extensive network of canals crisscrossing the Majapahit capital.<ref>{{cite news |title =Menyusuri Majapahit dengan Panduan Peta National Geographic Indonesia |author =Mahandis Yoanata Thamrin |work =National Geographic Indonesia |url =http://nationalgeographic.co.id/berita/2014/11/menyusuri-majapahit-dengan-panduan-peta-national-geographic |language =id |access-date =18 October 2015 |archive-date =23 May 2018 |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20180523181513/http://nationalgeographic.co.id/berita/2014/11/menyusuri-majapahit-dengan-panduan-peta-national-geographic |url-status =dead }}</ref> Findings from April 2011 indicate the Majapahit capital was much larger than previously believed after some artefacts were uncovered.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/01/07/majapahit-capital-may-be-larger-previously-believed.html |title=Majapahit capital may be larger than previously believed |work=The Jakarta Post |first=Indra |last=Harsaputra |date=7 January 2011 |access-date=8 April 2022}}</ref>

===Inscriptions===
While significant details about the history of Majapahit remain vague,<ref name=ricklefs/>{{rp|page=18}} this period of Javanese history is the more comprehensively documented than any other. The most reliable written sources for this period are [[Old Javanese]] inscriptions on stone and metal, which are contemporary with the events they describe. These inscriptions provide valuable information about dynasties, religious affairs, village communities, society, economics, and the arts.<ref name="Boechari 2012">{{cite book |last=Boechari |title=Melacak Sejarah Kuno Indonesia Lewat Prasasti/Tracing Ancient Indonesian History through Inscriptions |year=2012 |publisher=Kepustakaan Populer Gramedia}}</ref>{{rp|255–236}}

The Majapahit dynasty is described in royal inscriptions such as Kudadu (issued in 1294), Sukhamerta (1296), Tuhanyaru (1323), Gajah Mada (1351), Waringin Pitu (1447) and Trailokyapuri (1486). These sources help us to clarify the family relationships and chronologies of the Majapahit rulers, as well as to correct certain errors found in the ''[[Pararaton]]''. A few inscriptions found outside Java, such as the Pura Abang C inscription discovered in northern Bali, offer conclusive evidence that these areas were under Majapahit control during the late 14th century.<ref name="Sastrawan Empire"/>

[[File:Nagarakertagama.jpg|thumb|left|''[[Nagarakretagama|<nowiki>''Deśarvarṇana''</nowiki>]]'' [[palm-leaf manuscript]] in the National Library of Indonesia collection.]]

===Javanese chronicles===
Two important chronicle sources are available to historians of Majapahit: ''[[Nagarakretagama|Deśavarṇana]]'' ("Description of Districts") was composed 1365 and the ''[[Pararaton]]'' ("The Monarchs") was compiled sometime between 1481 and 1600.<ref name="Johns1964">{{cite journal |last1=Johns |first1=Anthony H. |title=The Role of Structural Organisation and Myth in Javanese Historiography |journal=The Journal of Asian Studies |date=November 1964 |volume=24 |issue=1 |pages=91–99 |doi=10.2307/2050416|jstor=2050416 |s2cid=163139226 }}</ref> Both of these chronicles survive as 19th- or 20th-century palm-leaf manuscripts. The ''Deśavarṇana'' (also known as ''Nagarakretagama'') is an [[Old Javanese]] [[eulogy]] written during the Majapahit golden age under the reign of [[Hayam Wuruk]], after which some events are covered narratively.<ref name=ricklefs />{{rp| page=18}} Composed by [[Mpu Prapanca]], it provides a primary historical account of Majapahit court during the reign of King [[Hayam Wuruk]], as well as detailed information about the East Javanese countryside and a summary of [[Singhasari]] history. The ''Pararaton'' focuses on [[Ken Arok]], the founder of [[Singhasari]], but includes a number of shorter narrative fragments about the formation of Majapahit.

The Javanese sources incorporate some poetic mythological elements into their historical accounts. This complexity has led to a variety of interpretive approaches. Cornelis Christiaan Berg, a Dutch historian, have considered the entire historical record to be not a record of the past, but a supernatural means by which the future can be determined.{{efn | group=note |1=<ref>C. C. Berg. ''Het rijk van de vijfvoudige Buddha'' (Verhandelingen der Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, Afd. Letterkunde, vol. 69, no. 1) Amsterdam: N.V. Noord-Hollandsche Uitgevers Maatschappij, 1962</ref> cited in<ref name=ricklefs />{{rp|pages=18, 311}}}}<ref name ="M Wood"/> Most scholars do not accept this view, as the historical record corresponds in part with Chinese materials that could not have had similar intention. The references to rulers and details of the state structure show no sign of being invented.<ref name=ricklefs/>{{rp | page=18}}

[[File:爪哇趕者伯夷國王皮影戲偶.jpg|thumb|left|[[Wayang|Wayang klithik]] puppet of Raden [[Damarwulan|Damar Wulan]]{{snd}}the hero of Majapahit kingdom]]

===Chinese sources===
The Chinese historical sources on Majapahit mainly acquired from the chronicles of the [[Yuan dynasty|Yuan]] and following [[Ming dynasty]]. The Chinese accounts on Majapahit are mainly owed to the Ming admiral [[Zheng He]]'s reports during [[Ming treasure voyages|his visit to Majapahit]] between 1405 and 1432. Zheng He's translator [[Ma Huan]] wrote a detailed description of Majapahit and where the king of Java lived.<ref name=yingyai /> The report was composed and collected in ''[[Yingya Shenglan]]'', which provides valuable insight on the culture, customs, and also various social and economic aspects of Java ({{lang|zh-Hant|爪哇}}, {{transliteration|zh|''chao-wa''}}) during Majapahit period.<ref name="Chao-Wa">{{cite web |author2=JVG Mills |author1=Ma Huan |title=Ying-yai Sheng-lan, The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores |year=1970 |work=Washington.edu |pages=86–97 (Country of Chao-Wa) |url=http://faculty.washington.edu/qing/huan_ying-yai_sheng-lan%5B1%5D.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211223000000/http://faculty.washington.edu/qing/huan_ying-yai_sheng-lan%5B1%5D.pdf |archive-date=23 December 2021 |access-date=5 November 2015 |url-status=live }} [https://archive.org/details/ying-yai-sheng-lan-1433/page/n3/mode/2up?q= Alt URL]</ref> The Veritable Records of the Ming Dynasty (''Ming shi-lu'') provide supporting evidence for specific events in Majapahit history, such as the [[Regreg War]].<ref name="Ming shilu">{{cite web |last1=Wade |first1=Geoff |url=https://epress.nus.edu.sg/msl/ |title=Southeast Asia in the Ming Shi-lu |publisher=NUS Press}}</ref>

==History==

===Formation===
After [[Pamalayu|defeating]] the [[Melayu Kingdom]]<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Spuler |first1=Bertold |author2=F.R.C Bagley | title = The Muslim world: a historical survey, Part 4 | publisher = Brill Archive | page=252 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=VNgUAAAAIAAJ | isbn = 9789004061965 | year  =1981 }}</ref> in Sumatra in 1275, [[Singhasari]] became the most powerful kingdom in the region. [[Kublai Khan]], the [[Khagan]] of the [[Mongol Empire]] and the Emperor of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China, challenged Singhasari by sending emissaries demanding tribute. [[Kertanegara of Singhasari]] refused to pay the tribute, insulted Kublai's envoy, and challenged the Khan instead. In response, Kublai Khan [[Mongol invasion of Java|sent a massive expedition of 1000 ships to Java]] in 1293.

====Mongol invasion====
{{main|Mongol invasion of Java}}
[[File:Ser Marco Polo Ancient Chinese War Vessel.jpg|thumb|Painting of a 14th-century [[Yuan dynasty|Yuan]] [[Junk (ship)|junk]]. Similar ships were sent by the Yuan in their naval armada.]]
By that time, [[Jayakatwang]], the ''Adipati'' (Duke) of [[Kediri (historical kingdom)|Kediri]], a vassal state of Singhasari, had usurped and killed Kertanagara. After being pardoned by Jayakatwang with the aid of Madura's regent Arya Wiraraja, Kertanegara's son-in-law [[Raden Wijaya]] was given the land of [[Trowulan|Tarik]] timberland. He then opened the vast timberland and built a new settlement there. The village was named ''Majapahit'', which was taken from the name of a fruit that had a bitter taste (''maja'' is the fruit name and ''pahit'' means bitter). When the Yuan army sent by Kublai Khan arrived, Wijaya allied himself with the army to fight against Jayakatwang. Once Jayakatwang was destroyed, Raden Wijaya forced his allies to withdraw from Java by launching a surprise attack.<ref name="Slamet Muljana 2005">{{cite book
| title     = Menuju Puncak kemegahan: Sejarah Kerajaan Majapahit
| author    = Slamet Muljana
| publisher = PT LKiS Pelangi Aksara
| year      = 2005
| isbn      = 9789798451355
}}</ref> The Yuan army had to withdraw in confusion as they were in hostile territory, with their ships being attacked by Javanese navy. It was also their last chance to catch the [[monsoon]] winds home; otherwise, they would have had to wait for another six months.{{sfn|Nugroho|2011|pp=107–116}}

====The first king, Kertarajasa Jayawardhana====
[[Image:Harihara Majapahit 1.JPG|thumb|left|upright|King [[Kertarajasa]] portrayed as [[Harihara]], amalgamation of [[Shiva]] and [[Vishnu]]. Originally located at Candi Simping, [[Blitar]], today it is displayed in [[National Museum of Indonesia|National Museum]].]]
In 1293, [[Raden Wijaya]] founded a stronghold with the capital Majapahit.<ref name=Coedes/>{{rp|200–201}} The exact date used as the birth of the Majapahit kingdom is the day of his coronation, the 15th of [[Kartika (month)|Kartika]] month in the year 1215 using the Javanese [[Shaka era]], which equates to 10 November 1293.<ref name="NGI Trowulan" /> During his coronation he was given the formal name Kertarajasa Jayawardhana. King Kertarajasa took all four daughters of Kertanegara as his wives, his first wife and prime queen consort Tribhuwaneswari, and her sisters: Prajnaparamita, Narendraduhita, and [[Gayatri Rajapatni]] the youngest. According to Pararaton, he also took a [[Sumatra]]n Malay [[Dharmasraya]] princess named [[Dara Petak]] as his wife.<ref name="Suhadi">{{Cite journal |last=Suhadi |first=Machi |date=1995 |title=Masalah Negara Vasal Majapahit |url=https://berkalaarkeologi.kemdikbud.go.id/index.php/berkalaarkeologi/article/download/678/628/3258 |journal=Berkala Arkeologi |volume=15 |issue=3|pages=92–95 |doi=10.30883/jba.v15i3.678 |language=id|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="SNI-II:Zaman Kuno">{{cite book|author1=Marwati Djoened Poesponegoro|author2=Nugroho Notosusanto|title=Sejarah Nasional Indonesia: Zaman kuno|date=2008|publisher=Balai Pustaka|isbn=978-9794074084|oclc=318053182 |language=id}}</ref>{{Rp|454}}

The new kingdom faced challenges. Some of Kertarajasa's most trusted men, including Ranggalawe, Sora, and Nambi rebelled against him, though unsuccessfully. It was suspected that the Mahapati Halayudha set the conspiracy to overthrow all of his rivals in the court, led them to revolt against the king, while he gained king's favour and attained the highest position in the government. However, following the death of the last rebel Kuti, Halayudha's treachery was exposed, subsequently, he was captured, jailed for his stratagems and then sentenced to death.<ref name="Slamet Muljana 2005"/> Wijaya himself died in 1309.

====Jayanegara====
Kertarajasa Wijaya was succeeded by his heir [[Jayanegara]]. The reign of Jayanegara was a difficult and chaotic one, troubled with several rebellions by his father's former companions in arms. Among others are Gajah Biru's rebellion in 1314, Semi rebellion in 1318, and the Kuti rebellion in 1319. The Kuti rebellion was the most dangerous one, as Kuti managed to take control of the capital city. With the help of [[Gajah Mada]] and his ''Bhayangkara'' palace guard,<ref name=Coedes/>{{rp|233}} Jayanegara barely escaped from the capital and safely hid in Badander village. While the king was in hiding, Gajah Mada returned to the capital city to assess the situation. After learning that Kuti's rebellion was not supported by the people or nobles of Majapahit court, Gajah Mada raised resistance forces to crush the Kuti rebellion.

After Kuti forces were defeated, Jayanegara was safely returned to his throne. For his loyalty and excellent service, Gajah Mada was promoted to high office to begin his career in royal court politics.<ref>{{Cite news| title = Misteri pemberontakan Ra Kuti hingga wajah asli sang Gajah Mada | author = Ya'cob Billiocta | newspaper = Merdeka.com | date = 22 April 2015 | language = id | url = http://www.merdeka.com/peristiwa/misteri-pemberontakan-ra-kuti-hingga-wajah-asli-sang-gajah-mada.html}}</ref>

According to tradition, Wijaya's son and successor, Jayanegara, was notorious for his immorality. One of his distasteful acts was his desire to take his half-sisters, Gitarja and Rajadewi, as wives. Since Javanese tradition abhorred the practice of half-siblings marrying, the council of royal elders spoke strongly against the king's wishes. It was not clear what motivated Jayanegara's wish{{snd}}it might have been his way to ensure his claim to the throne by preventing rivals from being his half-sisters' suitors, although in the later period of the Majapahit court the custom of marriage among cousins was quite common. In the ''Pararaton'', he was known as ''Kala Gemet'', or "weak villain". Around the time of Jayanegara's reign in the early 14th century, the Italian Friar [[Odoric of Pordenone]] visited the Majapahit court in Java. He mentioned Java to be well-populated and filled with cloves, nutmeg and many other spices. He also mentioned that the king of Java had seven vassals under him and engaged in several wars with the "khan of Cathay".<ref name=":12">{{Cite book |last=Suarez |first=Thomas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wQTQAgAAQBAJ&dq=great+king+java+seven+vassals&pg=PT279 |title=Early Mapping of Southeast Asia: The Epic Story of Seafarers, Adventurers, and Cartographers Who First Mapped the Regions Between China and India |publisher=Tuttle Publishing |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-4629-0696-3 |language=en}}</ref>{{rp|156}}

In 1328, Jayanegara was murdered by his physician, Tanca, during a surgical operation. In complete mayhem and rage, Gajah Mada immediately killed Tanca. The motive behind this [[regicide]] was never clear. According to the ''Pararaton'', it was Tanca's revenge for the king sexually abusing his wife. However, according to the Balinese manuscript ''[[Babad Dalem]]'', the assassination was a stratagem crafted by Gajah Mada himself to rid the kingdom of an evil tyrant.<ref name="Tirto-Gajah Mada">{{Cite web|url=https://tirto.id/gajah-mada-dan-kontroversi-dalang-pembunuhan-raja-majapahit-cCRR|title=Gajah Mada dan Kontroversi Dalang Pembunuhan Raja Majapahit|last=Raditya|first=Iswara |website=tirto.id|date=7 January 2018 |language=id|access-date=29 July 2019}}</ref> Tradition mentions that the immoral, cruel and abusive king often seduced and abused women, even the wives of his own subordinates.<ref>{{cite news | title = Goda Istri Orang, Raja Jayanegara Dibunuh Tabib (Bagian-2) | author = Bahari | date = 12 September 2015 | work = Sindo | language = id | url = https://daerah.sindonews.com/read/1043588/29/goda-istri-orang-raja-jayanegara-dibunuh-tabib-bagian-2-1441971107/13}}</ref> Other possible reason includes to protect the two princesses – Gitarja and Rajadewi, the daughters of Gayatri Rajapatni from the king's cruelty.<ref name="Tirto-Gajah Mada"/> Since the slain king was childless, he left no successor.

===Golden age===

====Queen Tribhuwana Wijayatunggadewi====
[[File:Parvati Majapahit 2.JPG|thumb|left|upright|The statue of [[Parvati]] as mortuary deified portrayal of [[Tribhuwana Wijayatunggadewi|Tribhuwanottunggadewi]], queen of Majapahit, mother of [[Hayam Wuruk]]]] 
Jayanegara's stepmother, Gayatri Rajapatni – the most revered matriarch of the court – was supposed to take the helm. However, Rajapatni had retired from worldly affairs to become a [[Bhikkhuni|Buddhist nun]]. Rajapatni appointed her daughter, [[Tribhuwana Wijayatunggadewi|Dyah Gitarja]], or known in her formal regnal name as Tribhuwannottungadewi Jayawishnuwardhani, as the queen of Majapahit under Rajapatni's auspices. Tribhuwana appointed [[Gajah Mada]] as the prime minister in 1336. During his inauguration Gajah Mada declared his [[Palapa oath]], revealing his plan to expand Majapahit realm and building an [[empire]].<ref name="JPMajapahit" />

During Tribhuwana's rule, the Majapahit kingdom grew much larger and became famous in the area. Under the initiative of her able and ambitious prime minister, [[Gajah Mada]], Majapahit sent its armada to conquer the neighbouring island of [[Bali]].<ref name="Coedes" />{{rp|234}} According to the Babad Arya Tabanan manuscript, in 1342 Majapahit forces led by Gajah Mada, assisted by his general Arya Damar, the regent of Palembang, landed in Bali. After seven months of battles, Majapahit forces defeated the Balinese king and captured the Balinese capital of Bedulu in 1343. After the conquest of Bali, Majapahit distributed the governing authority of Bali among Arya Damar's younger brothers, Arya Kenceng, Arya Kutawandira, Arya Sentong, and Arya Belog. Arya Kenceng led his brothers to govern Bali under Majapahit suzerainty, and he would become the progenitor of the Balinese kings of the Tabanan and Badung royal houses. Through this campaign, Majapahit planted a vassal dynasty that would rule the [[Bali Kingdom]] in the following centuries. Tribhuwana ruled Majapahit until the death of her mother in 1350. She abdicated the throne in favour of her son, Hayam Wuruk.

[[Ibn Battuta]] in his travels between 1332 and 1347 visited a place called "Mul Jawa" (island of Java or Majapahit Java, as opposed to "al-Jawa" which refers to Sumatra). The empire spanned 2 months of travel and ruled over the country of Qaqula and Qamara. He arrived at the walled city named Qaqula/Kakula, and observed that the city had war junks for pirate raiding and collecting tolls and that elephants were employed for various purposes. He met the ruler of Mul Jawa and stayed as a guest for three days.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Yule |first=Henry |title=Cathay and the Way Thither |volume= 4 |url=https://archive.org/stream/cathaywaythither04yule#page/n9/mode/2up |pages=1–106 |year=1916 |contribution=IV. Ibn Battuta's travels in Bengal and China |place=London |publisher=Hakluyt Society |author-link=Henry Yule}}</ref>{{rp|96–97}}<ref name=":Beckingham">{{Citation |title=The Travels of Ibn Baṭṭūṭa, A.D. 1325–1354 |volume =4 |url=https://archive.org/details/travels-of-ibn-battuta/The%20Travels%20of%20Ibn%20Battuta-1325%E2%80%931354-Volume-IV/page/ii/mode/2up |year=1994 |editor-last=Gibb |editor-first=H.A.R. |place=London |publisher=Hakluyt Society |isbn=978-0-904180-37-4 |editor-last2=Beckingham |editor-first2=C.F.}}</ref>{{rp|880–883}} Ibn Battuta said that the women of Java ride horses, understand archery, and fight like men. Ibn Battuta recorded a story about a country called [[Tawalisi]] which oppose the king of China (Yuan dynasty) and waged war with him using numerous junks until he made a peace on certain conditions.<ref name=":Beckingham" />{{rp|884–885}}<ref>{{citation |last=Bade |first=David W. |title=Of Palm Wine, Women and War: The Mongolian Naval Expedition to Java in the 13th Century |year=2013 |publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies |location=Singapore|pages=3, 114–115 }}</ref>

====Reign of Hayam Wuruk and Gajah Mada's conquest====
[[File:Majapahit Expansion.gif|thumb|260px|Rough estimations of Majapahit's conquest of the Indonesian archipelago ([[Nusantara (archipelago)|Nusantara]]) in the 13th century, its decline and its eventual fall in the early 16th century. The existing historical records from several sources{{efn|group=note|1=Mainly [[Nagarakretagama]], [[Pararaton]], [[Suma Oriental]], and Ming dynasty records}} only partially describe the years listed and thus are subject to revisions.]]
[[Hayam Wuruk]], also known as Rajasanagara, ruled Majapahit in 1350–1389. During this period, Majapahit attained its peak with the help of the prime minister [[Gajah Mada]]. Under Gajah Mada's command (1313–1364), Majapahit conquered more territories and became the regional power.<ref name="Coedes" />{{rp|234}} According to the ''[[Nagarakretagama]]'', canto XIII and XIV mentioned several states in [[Sumatra]], the [[Malay Peninsula]], [[Borneo]], [[Sulawesi]], [[Nusa Tenggara]] islands, [[Maluku Islands|Maluku]], [[New Guinea]], [[Mindanao]], [[Sulu Archipelago]], [[Luzon]] and some parts of the [[Visayas]] islands as under the Majapahit realm of power. The [[Hikayat Raja-raja Pasai|Hikayat Raja Pasai]], a 14th-century [[Aceh]] chronicle describe a Majapahit naval invasion on [[Majapahit conquest of Pasai|Samudera Pasai]] in 1350.<ref name="Tirto-Pasai">{{cite web | title = Kejamnya Sultan Samudera Pasai dan Serbuan Majapahit | author = Iswara N Raditya | date = 21 June 2017 | work = Tirto.id | url = https://tirto.id/kejamnya-sultan-samudera-pasai-dan-serbuan-majapahit-crcW| language = id}}</ref> The attacking force consisted of 400 large [[Djong (ship)|jong]] and an uncountable number of [[malangbang]] and [[kelulus]].<ref name=":2">Hill (June 1960). "[[iarchive:hikayat-raja-raja-pasai/page/2/mode/2up|Hikayat Raja-Raja Pasai]]". ''Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society''. '''33''': pp. 98, 157: "Then he directed them to make ready all the equipment and munitions of war needed for an attack on the land of Pasai – about four hundred of the largest junks, and also many barges (malangbang) and galleys." See also Nugroho (2011). pp. 270, 286, quoting ''Hikayat Raja-Raja Pasai'', 3: 98: "''Sa-telah itu, maka di-suroh baginda musta'idkan segala kelengkapan dan segala alat senjata peperangan akan mendatangi negeri Pasai itu, sa-kira-kira empat ratus jong yang besar-besar dan lain daripada itu banyak lagi daripada malangbang dan kelulus''." (After that, he is tasked by His Majesty to ready all the equipment and all weapons of war to come to that country of Pasai, about four hundred large jongs and other than that much more of malangbang and kelulus.)</ref> This expansion marked the greatest extent of Majapahit, making it one of the most influential empires in Indonesian history. It is considered a commercial trading empire in the civilisation of Asia.

[[File:Gajah-Mada.jpg|thumb|upright|left|The [[terracotta]] figure popularly believed by [[Mohammad Yamin]] as the portrait of [[Gajah Mada]], collection of [[Trowulan Museum]]. His claim, however, is not backed by historical background.]]
In 1355,<ref name="jejakrekam.com 2018">{{cite web | title=Nansarunai Ditaklukkan dengan Tiga Misi Militer Majapahit | website=jejakrekam.com | date=2018-02-24 | url=https://jejakrekam.com/2018/02/24/nansarunai-ditaklukkan-dengan-tiga-misi-militer-majapahit/ | language=id | access-date=2022-02-20}}</ref> Hayam Wuruk [[Majapahit invasion of Nan Sarunai|launched the third invasion]] of Dayak Ma'anyan kingdom of Nan Sarunai, which at the time was led by Raden Anyan or Datu Tatuyan Wulau Miharaja Papangkat Amas. This invasion was led by Ampu Jatmika from Kalingga, Kediri<ref name="Munoz 2009">{{cite book | last=Munoz | first=P. M. | author2=Tim Media Abadi | title=Kerajaan-kerajaan awal kepulauan Indonesia dan Semenanjung Malaysia: perkembangan sejarah dan budaya Asia Tenggara (Jaman pra sejarah – abad xvi) | publisher=Mitra abadi | year=2009 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UWxynQAACAAJ | language=id | access-date=2022-02-20 | page=}}</ref> with his entourage which according to ''Hikayat Banjar'' included his advisor Aria Megatsari, general Tumenggung Tatah Jiwa, minister Wiramartas, ''punokawan'' Patih Baras, Patih Basi, Patih Luhu, dan Patih Dulu, and bodyguards Sang Panimba Segara, Sang Pembelah Batung, Sang Jampang Sasak, and Sang Pengeruntung 'Garuntung' Manau. Multiple battles happened with the first battle in April 1358;<ref name="Kusmartono dan Widianto 1998">Kusmartono dan Widianto (1998), based on ash sample analysis in 1996 of burned Majapahit forces corpses from first nansarunai battle in Tambak Wasi and Candi Agung, Amuntai, gave the date April 1358.</ref> killed Majapahit soldiers were burned in Tambak Wasi. Nansarunai captain Jamuhala was also killed in this battle. While prince Jarang and prince Idong hid in Man near Tabalong-kiwa river. Nansarunai soldiers were concentrated in Pulau Kadap before the second battle happened in December 1362. Casualties from this second battle were buried in ''Tambak'' in Bayu Hinrang. In this war Raden Anyan was killed, speared by Mpu Nala, and buried in Banua Lawas.<ref name="Effrata 2021 pp. 26–33">{{cite journal | last=Effrata | first=Effrata | title=Jejak Nansarunai Dan Tantangan Globalisasi | journal=Jurnal Sociopolitico | volume=3 | issue=1 | date=2021-02-27 | issn=2656-1026 | doi=10.54683/sociopolitico.v3i1.38 | pages=26–33 | s2cid=244856970 | url=https://jurnal.fisipolupgriplk.ac.id/index.php/JSP/article/view/38 | access-date=2022-02-20| doi-access=free }}</ref> In its place, Ampu Jatmika founded a Hindu kingdom state, Negara Dipa under Majapahit tributary, predecessor of [[Banjar Sultanate|Banjar]]. While surviving Javanese, Dayak, Madurese, and Bugis soldiers, sailors, metalsmiths of this war settled in Amuntai, Alabio, and Nagara.<ref name="jejakrekam.com 2018"/><ref name="Effrata 2021 pp. 26–33"/> These invasions were recorded in [[Ma'anyan people|Dayak Ma'anyan]] poetry as ''Nansarunai Usak Jawa''.<ref>{{cite book | last = Ukur | first = Fridolin | title= Tanya Jawab Tentang Suku Dayak | page = 46| year = 1977 |location=Jakarta |publisher=BPK Gunung Mulia}}</ref><ref name="Ahsan 2018">{{cite web | last=Ahsan | first=Ivan Aulia | title=Jejak Panjang Nan Sarunai, Kerajaan Purba di Kalimantan | website=tirto.id | date=2018-01-09 | url=https://tirto.id/jejak-panjang-nan-sarunai-kerajaan-purba-di-kalimantan-cBfD | language=id | access-date=2022-02-20}}</ref>

Along with launching naval and military expeditions, the expansion of the Majapahit Empire involved diplomacy and alliance. Hayam Wuruk decided, probably for political reasons, to take princess [[Dyah Pitaloka Citraresmi|Citra Rashmi]] (Dyah Pitaloka) of neighbouring [[Sunda Kingdom]] as his [[Queen consort|consort]].<ref name="end">{{cite book |last=Munoz|first=Paul Michel|title=Early Kingdoms of the Indonesian Archipelago and the Malay Peninsula|publisher=Editions Didier Millet|year=2006|location=Singapore|isbn= 981-4155-67-5}}</ref>{{rp|279}} The Sundanese took this proposal as an alliance agreement. In 1357 the Sunda king and his royal family came to Majapahit to accompany and marry his daughter to Hayam Wuruk.<ref name=Coedes/>{{rp|239}} However, Gajah Mada saw this event as an opportunity to demand Sunda's submission to Majapahit overlordship. The skirmish between the Sunda royal family and the Majapahit troops on Bubat square was inevitable. Despite courageous resistance, the royal family were overwhelmed and decimated. Almost the whole of the Sundanese royal party was killed.<ref>{{cite book | last = Soekmono | first = Roden | title= Pengantar Sejarah Kebudayaan Indonesia | volume = 2| edition = 2nd | publisher = Kanisius | year = 2002 | isbn = 9789794132906}}</ref> Tradition mentioned that the heartbroken princess committed [[suicide]] to defend the honour of her country.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Y. Achadiati S. |author2=Soeroso M. P. | title= ''Sejarah Peradaban Manusia: Zaman Majapahit''. | publisher = PT Gita Karya | year= 1988 | location =Jakarta| page=13}}</ref> The [[Battle of Bubat]], or the Pasunda Bubat tragedy, became the main theme of ''[[Kidung Sunda]]'', also mentioned in ''[[Carita Parahyangan]]'' and ''[[Pararaton]]'', but it was never mentioned in ''[[Nagarakretagama]]''.

[[File:Prasasti Gajah Mada.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Gajah Mada inscription]], dated 1273 Saka (1351 AD), mentioned about a sacred caitya building dedicated by Gajah Mada for the late King [[Kertanegara of Singhasari|Kertanegara]] of Singhasari.]]
The ''Nagarakretagama'', written in 1365, depicts a sophisticated court with refined taste in art and literature and a complex system of religious rituals. The poet describes Majapahit as the centre of a huge [[mandala]] extending from [[New Guinea]] and [[Maluku Islands|Maluku]] to [[Sumatra]] and the [[Malay Peninsula]]. Local traditions in many parts of Indonesia retain accounts of 14th-century Majapahit's power in more or less [[legend]]ary form. The direct administration of Majapahit did not extend beyond [[east Java]] and [[Bali]], but challenges to Majapahit's claim to overlordship in outer islands drew forceful responses.<ref name="miksic" />{{rp|page=106}}

To revive the fortune of [[Melayu Kingdom|Malayu]] in Sumatra, in the 1370s, a Malay ruler of [[Palembang]] sent an envoy to the court of [[Hongwu Emperor|the first emperor]] of the newly established [[Ming dynasty]]. He invited China to resume the tributary system, just like [[Srivijaya]] did several centuries earlier. Learning this diplomatic manoeuvre, immediately King Hayam Wuruk sent an envoy to Nanking, convinced the emperor that Malayu was their vassal, and was not an independent country.<ref name="Britannica-Majapahit" /> Subsequently, in 1377,{{efn|group=note|1=According to the Chinese sources, the event took place in 1376 or 1377, according to the Javanese about 1361. See<ref>{{cite book |last=Krom |first=N. J. |date=1931 |title=Hindoe-Javaansche Geschiedenis ''(Hindu-Javanese History)'' |edition=2nd |location=The Hague |publisher=M. Nijhoff |page=412}}</ref>}} a few years after the death of Gajah Mada, Majapahit sent a punitive naval attack against a rebellion in Palembang,<ref name="ricklefs" />{{rp | page=19}} contributing to the end of the Srivijayan successor kingdom. Besides Gajah Mada, Another famous military leader was [[Adityawarman]], known for his chronicle in [[Minangkabau people|Minangkabau]].<ref>{{cite book | title = They Came to Malaya | author = Swaran Ludher | publisher = Xlibris Corporation | year = 2015 | isbn = 9781503500365| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=4ZBvBgAAQBAJ&q=Adityawarman+Gajah+Mada+general&pg=PT16}}{{self-published source|date=December 2017}}</ref>

[[File:Cetbang Majapahit of 1470-1478, collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.6|Bronze cannon, called [[cetbang]], [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]], New York, from c. 1470–1478 Majapahit. Note the ''[[Surya Majapahit]]'' emblem on the bronze cannon.]]
The nature of the Majapahit empire and its extent is subject to debate. It may have had limited or entirely notional influence over some of the [[vassal|tributary states]], including Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula, [[Kalimantan]], and eastern Indonesia, over which authority was claimed in the ''Nagarakretagama''.<ref name="atlas">Cribb, Robert, ''Historical Atlas of Indonesia'', University of Hawai'i Press, 2000</ref> Geographical and economic constraints suggest that rather than a regular centralised authority, the outer states were most likely to have been connected mainly by trade connections, which were probably a royal monopoly.<ref name="ricklefs" />{{rp|page=19}} It also claimed relationships with [[Champa]], [[Cambodia]], [[Thailand|Siam]], southern Burma, and Vietnam, and even sent missions to China.<ref name="ricklefs" />{{rp|page=19}} 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 [[proselytise]]rs began entering the area. The Troloyo/Tralaya tomb, a remnant of Islamic cemetery compound was discovered within the Trowulan area, the royal capital of Majapahit. Experts suggest that the cemetery was used between 1368 and 1611 AD, which means Muslim traders had resided in the capital as early as the mid-14th century during the reign of Hayam Wuruk.<ref name="Adrisijanti">{{cite book|last=Adrisijanti|first=Inajati|title=Majapahit: Batas Kota dan Jejak Kejayaan di Luar Kota|url=http://repositori.kemdikbud.go.id/2054/1/Buku%20Majapahit2.pdf|publisher=Kepel Press|year=2014|isbn=978-602-1228-70-8|location=Yogyakarta|language=id|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210313000000/http://repositori.kemdikbud.go.id/2054/1/Buku%20Majapahit2.pdf|archive-date=13 March 2021|access-date=15 March 2020|url-status=live}} [https://archive.org/details/majapahit-batas-kota-dan-jejak-kejayaan/mode/2up Alt URL]</ref>{{rp|185, 196}} Two Muslim tombstones in Troloyo were dated from the 14th century (1368 AD, 1376 AD). The close proximity of the site with the ''kraton'' means there were Muslim people in close relation with the court.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Manguin |first1=Pierre-Yves |last2=Nicholl |first2=Robert |date=1985 |title=The Introduction of Islam into Champa |journal=Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society |volume=58 |issue=1 |pages=1–28 [6]}}</ref>

===Decline===
Following Hayam Wuruk's death in 1389, Majapahit power entered a period of decline with conflict over succession.<ref name="Coedes" />{{rp|241}} Hayam Wuruk was succeeded by the crown princess Kusumawardhani, who married a relative, Prince [[Wikramawardhana]]. Hayam Wuruk also had a son from his previous marriage, the crown prince [[Wirabhumi]], who also claimed the throne.

By the time of Hayam Wuruk's death, Majapahit had lost its grip on its vassal states on the northern coasts of Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula, the latter which according to Chinese sources, would become a tributary state of the [[Ayutthaya Kingdom]] until the rise of [[Malacca Sultanate]], supported by the [[Ming dynasty]].<ref name="notes on the malay archipelago">Groeneveldt, Willem Pieter (1876). "[https://archive.org/details/notes-on-the-malay-archipelago/page/n7/mode/2up?q= Notes on the Malay Archipelago and Malacca, Compiled from Chinese Sources]". Batavia: W. Bruining.</ref>

In the 14th century a Malay [[Kingdom of Singapura]] was established, and it promptly attracted a Majapahit navy that regarded it as [[Temasek|Tumasik]], a rebellious colony. Singapura was finally [[Sack of Singapore|sacked by Majapahit]] in 1398,<ref>{{harvnb|Tsang|Perera|2011|p=120}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Sabrizain}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Abshire|2011|pp=19, 24}}</ref> after approximately 1 month long siege by 300 jong and 200,000 men.<ref name=":10">Nugroho (2011), pp. 271, 399–400, quoting ''Sejarah Melayu'', 10.4: 77: "... ''maka bagindapun segera menyuruh berlengkap tiga ratus buah jung, lain dari pada itu kelulus, pelang, jongkong, tiada terbilang lagi''." (then His Majesty immediately ordered to equip three hundred jong, other than that kelulus, pelang, jongkong in uncountable numbers.)</ref><ref>{{citation |last=Ahmad |first=Abdul Samad |title=Sulalatus Salatin (Sejarah Melayu) |url=http://mymanuskrip.fsktm.um.edu.my/Greenstone/cgi-bin/library.exe?a=d&c=publishe&cl=CL1&d=DSulatus%20Salatin:%20Sejarah%20Melayu |year=1979 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012025208/http://mymanuskrip.fsktm.um.edu.my/Greenstone/cgi-bin/library.exe?a=d&c=publishe&cl=CL1&d=DSulatus%20Salatin:%20Sejarah%20Melayu |publisher=Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka |isbn=983-62-5601-6 |quote=Setelah Betara Majapahit mendengar bunyi surat bendahari Singapura itu, maka baginda pun segera menyuruhkan berlengkap tiga ratus jong, lain daripada banting dan jongkong, kelulos, tiada berbilang lagi; dua keti rakyat Jawa yang pergi itu. |archive-date=12 October 2013 |url-status=dead|page=69}}</ref><ref>Kheng, Cheah Boon; Ismail, Abdul Rahman Haji, eds. (1998). ''[https://archive.org/details/sejarah-melayu-cheah-boon-kheng/page/n1/mode/2up?q= Sejarah Melayu The Malay Annals MS Raffles No. 18 Edisi Rumi Baru/New Romanised Edition]''. Academic Art & Printing Services Sdn. Bhd. [https://archive.org/details/sejarah-melayu-cheah-boon-kheng/page/n127/mode/2up?q=jong pp. 118–119]: "Setelah Betara Majapahit mendengar bunyi surat bendahari raja Singapura itu, maka baginda pun segera menyuruh berlengkap tiga ratus buah jong, lain daripada itu kelulus, pilang, jongkong, tiada terbilang lagi banyaknya; maka dua keti rakyat Jawa yang pergi itu; maka segala rakyat Jawa pun pergilah. Setelah datang ke Singapura, maka berparanglah dengan orang Singapura."</ref><ref>Leyden, John (1821). ''[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.83132/page/n3/mode/2up?q= Malay Annals: Translated from the Malay language]''. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown. [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.83132/page/n101/mode/2up?q= p. 86]: "The bitara immediately fitted out 300 junks together with the vessels calúlús, pelang, and jongkong in numbers beyond calculation, and embarked on board of them two Cati of Javans (200,000). Then having set sail, they arrived at Singhapura, and immediately engaged in battle."</ref> The last king, [[Parameswara (king)|Parameswara]], fled to the west coast of the Malay Peninsula to establish the [[Melaka Sultanate]] in 1400.

==== Regreg War ====
{{main|Regreg War}}
A war of succession, called the [[Regreg War]], is thought to have occurred from 1405 to 1406.<ref name="ricklefs" />{{rp|page=18}} The war was fought as a contest of succession between the [[Trowulan|western court]] led by [[Wikramawardhana]] and the [[Blambangan|eastern court]] led by [[Bhre Wirabhumi]]. Wikramawardhana was victorious. Wirabhumi was caught and decapitated. However the civil war drained financial resources, exhausted the kingdom, and weakened Majapahit's grip on its outer vassals and colonies.<ref name="Victor">{{cite book | title = From Majapahit and Sukuh to Megawati Sukarnoputri | author = Victor M. Fic | publisher = Abhinav | date = 2014 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=GkMMrDxZYXYC&pg=PA104| page = 104 | isbn = 9788170174042 | access-date =8 April 2022}}</ref>

====Wikramawardhana and Ming expedition====
{{further|Treasure voyages}}
{{see also|Battle of Palembang (1407)}}
[[File:Zheng He.png|thumb|upright=1.36|The route of the voyages of Zheng He's fleet, including Majapahit ports]]
During the reign of Wikramawardhana, a series of [[Ming dynasty|Ming]] armada [[Treasure voyages|naval expeditions]] led by [[Zheng He]],<ref name="Coedes" />{{rp|241–242}} a [[Muslim]] Chinese admiral, arrived in Java several times spanning the period from 1405 to 1433. These Chinese voyages visited numbers of ports in Asia as far as Africa, including Majapahit ports. It was said that Zheng He has paid a visit to the Majapahit court in Java.

These massive Chinese voyages were not merely a naval exploration, but also a [[Power projection|show of power]] and a display of geopolitical reach. The Chinese Ming dynasty had recently overthrown the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty, and was eager to establish their hegemony in the world, which changed the geopolitical balance in Asia.<ref name="TOI-Sanyal">{{cite news | title = History of Indian Ocean shows how old rivalries can trigger rise of new forces | work = Times of India | date = 6 August 2016 | author = Sanjeev Sanyal | url = http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-times/all-that-matters/History-of-Indian-Ocean-shows-how-old-rivalries-can-trigger-rise-of-new-forces/articleshow/53577849.cms}}</ref> The Chinese intervened in the politics of the southern seas by supporting Thais against the declining Khmer Empire, supporting and installing allied factions in India, [[Sri Lanka]] and other places in [[Indian Ocean]] coasts. However, perhaps the most significant Chinese intervention was its support for the newly established [[Sultanate of Malacca]] as a rival and counter-weight to the Majapahit influence of Java.<ref name="TOI-Sanyal" />

Previously, Majapahit had succeeded in asserting its influence in Malacca strait by containing the aspiration of Malay polities in Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula to ever reach the geopolitical might like those of Srivijaya. The Hindu Majapahit was the most powerful maritime power in Southeast Asian seas that time and were opposed to Chinese expansion into their sphere of influence. The Ming's support for Malacca and the spread of Islam propagated by both Malacca and Zheng He's treasure fleet has weakened Majapahit maritime influence in Sumatra, which caused the northern part of the island to increasingly converting to Islam and gained independence from Majapahit, leaving [[Indragiri River|Indragiri]], [[Jambi]] and [[Palembang]], remnants of the old [[Srivijaya]], the only suzerainty under Majapahit in Sumatra,{{efn | group=note | According to the History of Ming, only these areas in Sumatra were still mentioned as under Javanese / Majapahit supremacy at the time. Read<ref name="notes on the malay archipelago" />}} bordering [[Pagaruyung Kingdom]] on the west and independent Muslim kingdoms on the north.

This Ming dynasty voyages are extremely important for Majapahit historiography, since Zheng He's translator [[Ma Huan]] wrote ''[[Yingya Shenglan]]'', a detailed description of Majapahit,<ref name="yingyai" /> which provides valuable insight on the culture, customs, and also various social and economic aspects of Java during Majapahit period.<ref name="Chao-Wa" />

The Chinese provided systematic support to Malacca, and its sultan made at least one trip to personally pay obeisance to the Ming emperor. Malacca actively encouraged the conversion to [[Islam]] in the region, while the Ming fleet actively established Chinese-Malay Muslim community in coastal northern Java, thus created a permanent opposition to the Hindus of Java. By 1430, the expeditions had established Muslim Chinese, Arab and Malay communities in northern ports of Java such as [[Semarang]], [[Demak, Indonesia|Demak]], [[Tuban]], and [[Surabaya|Ampel]]; thus Islam began to gain a foothold on the northern coast of Java. Malacca prospered under Chinese Ming protection, while the Majapahit were steadily pushed back.<ref name="TOI-Sanyal" />

====Queen Suhita====
[[File:Suhita.jpg|thumb|left|upright|The mortuary deified portrait statue of Queen [[Suhita]] (reign 1429–1447), discovered at Jebuk, Kalangbret, Tulungagung, East Java, [[National Museum of Indonesia]]]]
Wikramawardhana ruled until 1429 and was succeeded by his daughter [[Suhita]],<ref name="Coedes" />{{rp|242}} who ruled from 1429 to 1447. She was the second child of Wikramawardhana by a concubine who was the daughter of Wirabhumi. She was married to future [[Kelantan]] king Iskandar Shah or Kemas Jiwa in 1427. Both of them had a daughter together and he stayed with her in Java. [[Kelantan]] was ruled by his brother, Sultan Sadik Muhammad Shah, until his death in 1429. This necessitated Kemas Jiwa to return and took the throne as Iskandar, where he declared Kelantan as Majapahit II in Mahligai.<ref name="Malaysiakini 2018">{{cite web | title=Jawa dan Melayu dalam sejarah | website=Malaysiakini | date=2018-08-02 | url=https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/436967 | language=id | access-date=2022-02-20}}</ref>{{Dubious|date=April 2024}} Although ''Pararaton'' listed her husband as Bhra Hyang Parameswara Ratnapangkaja, which suggests she remarried after Kemas Jiwa returned.{{Dubious|date=April 2024}}

The reign of Suhita was the second time Majapahit was reigned by a queen regnant after her great-grandmother Tribhuwana Wijayatunggadewi. Her reign is immortalized in Javanese legend of [[Damarwulan]], as it involves a maiden queen named Prabu Kenya in the story, and during Suhita's reign there was a war with [[Blambangan]] as stated in the legend.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Holt |first1=Claire |author-link1=Claire Holt (art historian) |title=Art in Indonesia: Continuities and Change |date=1967 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=978-0-8014-0188-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/artinindonesiaco00holt |language=en |page=276}}</ref>

In 1447, Suhita died and was succeeded by [[Kertawijaya]], her brother.<ref name="Coedes" />{{rp|242}} He ruled until 1451. After Kertawijaya died, [[Bhre Pamotan]] became a king with formal name Rajasawardhana. He died in 1453. A three-year kingless period was possibly the result of a succession crisis. [[Girisawardhana]], son of Kertawijaya, came to power in 1456. He died in 1466 and was succeeded by Singhawikramawardhana.

====The divide====
In 1468 Prince Kertabhumi rebelled against Singhawikramawardhana, promoting himself as the king of Majapahit. The deposed Singhawikramawardhana retreated upstream of Brantas River, moved the kingdom's capital further inland to [[Kediri (city)|Daha]] (the former capital of [[Kediri (historical kingdom)|Kediri kingdom]]), effectively splitting Majapahit, under Bhre Kertabumi in Trowulan and Singhawikramawardhana in Daha. Singhawikramawardhana continued his rule until he was succeeded by his son [[Girindrawardhana]] (Ranawijaya) in 1474.

In between this period of the dividing court of Majapahit, the kingdom found itself unable to control its western part of the already crumbling empire. The rising power of the [[Sultanate of Malacca]] began to gain effective control of the [[Strait of Malacca|Malacca Strait]] in the mid-15th century and expanding its influence to Sumatra. And amidst these events, Indragiri and Siantan, according to [[Malay Annals]] were given to Malacca as a dowry for the marriage of a Majapahit princess and the [[Mansur Shah of Malacca|sultan of Malacca]],<ref name="Leyden">Leyden, John (1821), [https://books.google.com/books?id=J9JAAAAAYAAJ ''Malay Annals (translated from the Malay language)''], Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown.</ref> further weakening Majapahit's influence on the western part of the archipelago. Kertabhumi managed to stabilize this situation by allying with Muslim merchants, giving them trading rights on the north coast of Java, with [[Demak Regency|Demak]] as its centre and in return asked for their loyalty to Majapahit. This policy boosted the Majapahit treasury and power but weakened Hindu-Buddhism as its main religion because [[Dawah|Islamic proselytizing]] spread faster, especially in Javanese coastal principalities. Hindu-Buddhist followers' grievances later paved the way for Ranawijaya to defeat Kertabumi.

Dates for the end of the Majapahit Empire range from 1478, traditionally described in ''sinengkalan'' or ''chandrasengkala'' ([[chronogram]]) ''Sirna ilang kertaning bhumi'' that is correspond to 1400 [[Saka era|Saka]], to 1527.{{efn | group=note | 1=The year 1400 saka is marked among Javanese today with ''[[chronogram|candrasengkala]]'' "''sirna ilang kertaning bumi''" (the wealth of earth disappeared and diminished) (''sirna'' = 0, ''ilang'' = 0, ''kerta'' = 4, ''bumi'' = 1).}}<ref name=":11">{{Cite book|last=Ricklefs|first=Merle Calvin|year=2008|url=https://archive.org/details/m.-c.-ricklefs-a-history-of-modern-indonesia-since-c.-1200-red-globe-press-2008/page/4/mode/2up|title=A History of Modern Indonesia Since c. 1200 Fourth Edition (E-Book version)|edition=4th|location=New York|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=9780230546851|pages=}}</ref>{{rp|36}} The year 1478 was the year of [[Sudarma Wisuta war]], when Ranawijaya's army under general Udara (who later became vice-regent) breached Trowulan defences and killed Kertabumi in his palace,<ref>Pararaton, p. 40, "...&nbsp;bhre Kertabhumi&nbsp;... bhre prabhu sang mokta ring kadaton i saka sunyanora-yuganing-wong, 1400".</ref><ref>See also: Hasan Djafar, Girindrawardhana, 1978, p. 50.</ref> but not the actual fall of Majapahit itself as a whole.

Demak sent reinforcements under [[Sunan Ngudung]], who later died in battle and was replaced by [[Sunan Kudus]], but they came too late to save Kertabumi although they managed to repel the Ranawijaya army. This event is mentioned in Trailokyapuri (Jiyu) and Petak inscription, where Ranawijaya claimed that he already defeated Kertabhumi and reunited Majapahit as one Kingdom.<ref name="SNI448">Poesponegoro & Notosusanto (1990), pp. 448–451.</ref> Ranawijaya ruled from 1474 to 1498 with the formal name Girindrawardhana, with Udara as his vice-regent. This event led to the war between the [[Sultanate of Demak]] and [[Kediri (historical kingdom)|Daha]] since Demak rulers were descendants of Kertabhumi.{{Dubious|date=May 2024}}

During this period, [[Demak Sultanate|Demak]], being the dominant ruler of the Javanese coastal lands and Java as a whole, seized the region of Jambi and Palembang in Sumatra from Majapahit.<ref name=":3" />{{rp|154–155}}

====Demak invasion and the fall of Majapahit====
{{main|Demak–Majapahit conflicts}}
[[File:Masjid Agung Demak.jpg|thumb|left|[[Demak Sultanate|Demak]] was the earliest Islamic polity in Java that replaced Majapahit.]]
In 1498, there was a turning point when Girindrawardhana was deposed by his vice-regent, Udara. After this coup, the war between Demak and Majapahit receded, since [[Raden Patah]], Sultan of Demak, left Majapahit alone like his father had done before, some source said Udara agreed to become a vassal of Demak, even marrying Raden Patah's youngest daughter.

Meanwhile, in the west, [[Capture of Malacca (1511)|Malacca was captured by Portuguese in 1511]]. The delicate balance between Demak and Majapahit ended when Udara, seeing an opportunity to eliminate Demak, asked for [[Portuguese Malacca|Portuguese]] help in Malacca, forcing Demak to attack both Malacca and Majapahit under [[Demak Sultanate#Adipati Yunus|Adipati Yunus]] to end this alliance.{{efn | group=note | 1= V.<ref>M. B. Rahimsyah. ''Legenda dan Sejarah Lengkap Walisongo''. (Amanah, Surabaya, tth), p. 50</ref> Another paper noted that the reasons for the attacks Demak (led by Adipati Yunus) to Majapahit (Girindrawardhana period) are a backlash against Girindrawardhana who had defeated Adipati Yunus' grandfather Prabu Bhre Kertabumi (Prabu Brawijaya V).<ref>Marwati Djoenoed Poesponegoro dan Nugroho Notosusanto. Sejarah Nasional Indonesia. Jilid II. Cetakan V. (PN. Balai Pustaka, Jakarta, 1984), p. 451</ref>}}

With the fall of Majapahit, crushed by Demak in 1527,<ref name=":11" />{{rp|54–55}} the Muslim emerging forces finally defeated the remnants of the Majapahit kingdom in the early 16th century;<ref>{{Cite journal| doi= 10.1525/ae.1983.10.4.02a00030| title= Ritual and cultural reproduction in non-Islamic Java
| journal= American Ethnologist| volume= 10| issue= 4| year= 1983| last1= Hefner |first1 = R. W.| pages= 665–683| doi-access = free}}</ref> and with the fall of Majapahit, a large number of courtiers, artisans, priests, and members of the royalty moved east to the island of [[Bali]]. The refugees fled to the east to avoid Demak retribution for their support for Ranawijaya against Kertabhumi.

Demak came under the leadership of Raden (later crowned as Sultan) Patah, who was acknowledged as the legitimate successor of Majapahit. According to Babad Tanah Jawi and Demak tradition, the source of Patah's legitimacy was because their first sultan, Raden Patah, was the son of Majapahit king Brawijaya V with a Chinese concubine. Another argument supports Demak as the successor of Majapahit; the rising Demak sultanate was easily accepted as the nominal regional ruler, as Demak was the former Majapahit vassal and located near the former Majapahit realm in eastern Java.

Demak established itself as the regional power and the first Islamic sultanate in Java. After the fall of Majapahit, the Hindu kingdoms in Java only remained in [[Pasuruan]], [[Panarukan]], and [[Blambangan]]<ref name=":18">Poesponegoro, Marwati Djoened; Notosusanto, Nugroho (2019) [2008]. ''[https://archive.org/details/sejarah-nasional-indonesia-jilid-3-zaman-islam/mode/2up?q Sejarah Nasional Indonesia Edisi Pemutakhiran Jilid 3: Zaman Pertumbuhan dan Perkembangan Kerajaan Islam di Indonesia]''. Jakarta: Balai Pustaka.</ref>{{Rp||page=7}} on the eastern edge and [[Sunda Kingdom|Sunda Kingdom Pajajaran]] in the western part. Gradually [[Hindu]] communities began to retreat to the mountain ranges in East Java and also to the neighbouring island of [[Bali]]. A small enclave of [[Tenggerese people|Hindu communities]] remain in the [[Tengger caldera|Tengger]] mountain range.

==Culture==
The capital [[Trowulan]], was grand and known for its great annual festivities. The main event of the administrative calendar took place on the first day of the month of [[Chaitra|Caitra]] (March–April) when representatives from all territories paying [[tax]] or [[tribute]] to Majapahit came to the capital to pay court. Majapahit's territories were roughly divided into three types: the palace and its vicinity; the areas of east Java and Bali which were directly administered by officials appointed by the king; and the outer [[Dependent territory|dependencies]] which enjoyed substantial internal [[autonomy]].<ref name=miksic />{{rp|page=107}}<ref name="Ritualnetwork">{{cite journal |last1=Hall |first1=Kenneth R. |title= Ritual Networks and Royal Power in Majapahit Java |journal=Archipel |date=1996 |volume=52 |issue= |pages=95–118 |doi= 10.3406/arch.1996.3357|url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/arch_0044-8613_1996_num_52_1_3357 }}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" widths="110" heights="160">
File:Wringin Lawang, Trowulan.jpg|Wringin Lawang, the 15.5-meter tall [[red brick]] split gate in [[Trowulan]], believed to be the entrance of an important compound.
File:The Great King of Java and His Seven Vassals.png|The king of Java and his 7 vassal kings, as imagined in a 15th-century English manuscript containing the accounts of [[Odoric of Pordenone|Friar Odoric]].
File:Plate V No 22 Relief of Majapahit in Trowulan.jpg|Relief from Trowulan: Countryside, walled ''kampung'', [[Rampart (fortification)|ramparts]], and temple.
File:Reliëf uit Trowoelan bij Modjokerto, KITLV 183371.tiff|A relief from Trowulan, showing several walled compounds and a larger wall to their north.
</gallery>

The first European record about Majapahit came from the travel log of the [[Italy|Italian]] [[Odoric of Pordenone|Mattiussi]], a Franciscan friar. In his book ''Travels of Friar [[Odoric of Pordenone]]'', he visited several places in today's Indonesia: [[Sumatra]], [[Java]], and [[Banjarmasin]] in Borneo, between 1318 and 1330. He was sent by the Pope to launch a mission into the Asian interiors. In 1318 he departed from [[Padua]], crossed the [[Black Sea]] into [[Persia]], all the way across [[Calcutta]], [[Madras]], and [[Sri Lanka]]. He then headed to [[Nicobar Islands|Nicobar]] island to Sumatra, before visiting Java and Banjarmasin. He returned to Italy by land through Vietnam, China, all the way through the [[silkroad]] to Europe in 1330.
[[File:Close-up_of_warriors_from_KITLV_87835_-_Isidore_van_Kinsbergen_-_Relief_on_Tjandi_Panataran_near_Blitar_-_Before_1900.jpg|thumb|An armored horse rider, two armored warriors, and a noble figure. From Penataran temple, ca. 1347.]]
In his book, he mentioned that he visited Java without explaining the exact place he had visited. He said that king of Java ruled over seven other kings (vassals).{{efn|group=note|1=Odoric of Pordenone mentioned that the King of Java ruled over "seven crowned kings", possibly refer to ''Bhattara Saptaprabhu'' or seven Bhattara or Bhres (Dukes/Duchess), which is seven influential elders that rules over seven nagara or regional kingdoms, corresponds to Majapahit provinces in East and Central Java; i.e. Kahuripan, Daha, Tumapel, Wengker, Lasem, Pajang, and Mataram.<ref name="Ritualnetwork" />}} He described the richness of this island, and recorded that the [[Mongol Empire|Mongol]] emperors had repeatedly tried to attack Java, but always ended up in failure and managed to be sent back to the mainland.{{efn|group=note|1=The Javanese victory on repelling the [[Mongol invasion of Java|Mongol forces]] during the formation of Majapahit seems to be popular news being retold in Java over generations.}} His full account is as follows:<ref name=":1" />{{rp|87–89}}

<blockquote>
In the neighbourhood of that realm (Sumatra) is a great island, Java by name, which hath a compass of a good three thousand miles. And the king of it hath subject to himself seven crowned kings. Now this island is populous exceedingly, and is the second best of all islands that exist. For in it grow camphor, [[cubeb]]s, cardamoms, [[nutmeg]]s, and many other precious spices. It hath also very great store of all victuals save wine.

The king of this island hath a palace which is truly marvellous. For it is very great, and hath very great staircases, broad and lofty, and the steps thereof are of gold and silver alternately. Likewise the pavement of the palace hath one tile of gold and the other of silver, and the wall of the same is on the inside plated all over with plates of gold, on which are sculptured knights all of gold, which have great golden circles round their heads, such as we give in these parts to the figures of saints. And these circles are all beset with precious stones. Moreover, the ceiling is all of pure gold, and to speak briefly, this palace is richer and finer than any existing at this day in the world.

Now the Great Khan of Cathay many a time engaged in war with this king; but this king always vanquished and got the better of him. And many other things there be which I write not. 
</blockquote>

The Javanese kingdom mentioned in this record is Majapahit, and the time of his visit was in 1321 during the reign of [[Jayanegara]] (1309–1328).<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Yule |first=Sir Henry |url=https://archive.org/details/CathayAndTheWayThitherVol1/page/n9/mode/2up?q= |title=Cathay and the way thither: Being a Collection of Medieval Notices of China vol. 1 |publisher=The Hakluyt Society |year=1866 |location=London}}</ref>{{rp|87}}<ref name=":18" />{{rp|459}}<ref name=":19">{{Cite journal |last=Colless |first=Brian E. |date=September 1968 |title=Giovanni de' Marignolli: An Italian Prelate at the Court of the South-East Asian Queen of Sheba |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0217781100004737 |journal=Journal of Southeast Asian History |volume=9 |issue=2 |pages=325–341 |doi=10.1017/s0217781100004737 |issn=0217-7811|url-access=subscription }}</ref>{{rp|322}}

In ''[[Yingya Shenglan]]''{{snd}}a record about [[Zheng He]]'s expedition (1405–1433){{snd}}[[Ma Huan]] describes the culture, customs, various social and economic aspects of ''Chao-Wa'' (Java) during Majapahit period.<ref name="Chao-Wa"/> Ma Huan visited Java during Zheng He's 4th expedition in 1413, during the reign of Majapahit king [[Wikramawardhana]]. He describes his travel to Majapahit capital, first, he arrived at the port of ''Tu-pan'' ([[Tuban]]) where he saw large numbers of Chinese settlers migrated from [[Guangdong]] and Chou Chang. Then he sailed east to thriving new trading town of ''Ko-erh-hsi'' ([[Gresik]]), ''Su-pa-erh-ya'' ([[Surabaya]]), and then sailing inland into the river by smaller boat to the southwest until reached the river port of ''Chang-ku'' (Changgu).<ref name="Chao-Wa"/> Continued travel by land to the southwest he arrived in ''Man-che-po-I'' (Majapahit), where the king stay. There are about 200 or 300 foreign families resides in this place, with seven or eight leaders to serve the king. The climate is constantly hot, like summer.<ref name=yingyai />
He describes the king's costumes; wearing a crown of gold leaves and flowers or sometimes without any headgear; bare-chested without wearing a robe, the bottom parts wears two sashes of embroidered silk. Additional silk rope is looped around the waist as a belt, and the belt is inserted with one or two short blades, called ''pu-la-t'ou'' (''belati'' or more precisely [[kris]] dagger), walking barefoot. When travelling outside, the king rides an [[elephant]] or an ox-drawn carriage.<ref name=yingyai />

<gallery mode="packed" widths="250" heights="250">
Golden Celestial Nymph of Majapahit.jpg|The graceful ''Bidadari Majapahit'', golden celestial [[apsara]] in Majapahit style.
Gold Kala mask from Majapahit kingdom of Java.png|A silver-alloyed gold mask from East Java, Indonesia, 14th century.
Bronze elephant with riders, East Java.jpg|A statue of bronze elephant with riders, made in the 13th–14th century East Java (Singhasari and Majapahit era).
Kala Demon Rattle made in Malang, Java, Indonesia, Accession No. 2008.21.1.jpg|Gold [[Kāla]] rattle, 11th–14th century, from Malang, East Java.
</gallery>

Commoners' clothing for men is without headgear and women arrange their hair like a bun secured with a hairpin. They wore clothing on the upper body and wrapped unstitched fabrics around the bottom part,{{efn|group=note|1=In the same fashion as traditional costumes of how [[Balinese people|Balinese]] wore unstitched [[sarong]] around their waist or how [[Javanese people|Javanese]] wore ''kain'' [[batik]] around their waist}} Men from a boy aged three to elders slipped ''pu-la-t'ou'' (dagger) in their belt. The dagger, made entirely of steel with intricate motifs smoothly drawn. The handles are made of gold, [[rhino]]'s horn or [[ivory]] carved with a depiction of human or demon, the carving works are exquisite and skilfully made.<ref name=yingyai /><ref name="Chao-Wa"/>

Majapahit people, men and women, favoured their head.{{efn| group=note | 1=One's head is considered sacred since it is where the soul resides, beliefs and customs still practised in modern Indonesia.}} If someone was touched on his head, or if there is a misunderstanding or argument when drunk, they will instantly draw their knives and stab each other.<ref name=yingyai />

The population of the country did not have a bed or chair to sit and to eat they do not use a spoon or chopsticks. Men and women enjoy chewing [[betel nut]] mixed with, [[betel]] leaves, and white chalk made from ground mussels shells.<ref name="Chao-Wa"/> They eat [[rice]] for the meal, first, they took a scoop of water and soak betel in their mouth, then wash their hands and sit down to make a circle; getting a plate of rice soaked in butter (probably [[coconut milk]]) and gravy, and eat using hands to lift the rice and put it in their mouth. When receiving guests, they will offer the guests, not the [[tea]], but with betel nut.<ref name=yingyai />

The population consisted of Muslim merchants from the west (Arab and Muslim Indians, but mostly those from Muslim states in Sumatra), Chinese (claimed to be descendants of [[Tang dynasty]]), and unrefined locals. The king held annual jousting tournaments.<ref name=yingyai />{{rp|page=45}} About the marriage rituals; the groom pays a visit to the house of the bride's family, the marriage union is consummated. Three days later, the groom escorts his bride back to his home, where the man's family beat drums and brass gongs, blowing pipes made from coconut shells (''senterewe''), beating a drum made from [[bamboo]] tubes (probably a kind of bamboo [[gamelan]] or [[kolintang]]), and light fireworks.<ref name="Chao-Wa"/> Escorted in front, behind, and around by men holding short blades and shields. While the bride is a matted-hair woman, with an uncovered body and barefooted. She wraps herself in embroidered silk, wears a necklace around her neck adorned with gold beads, and [[bracelet]]s on her wrist with ornaments of gold, silver and other precious ornaments. Family, friends and neighbours decorate a decorative boat with betel leaf, [[areca]] nut, reeds and flowers are sewn, and arrange a party to welcome the couple on such a festive occasion. When the groom arrives home, the gong and drum are sounded, they will drink wine (possibly [[arrack]] or [[tuak]]) and play music. After a few days, the festivities end.<ref name=yingyai />

About the burial rituals, the dead body was left on the beach or empty land to be devoured by dogs (for lower-class), cremated, or committed into the waters (Javanese: ''Larung''). The upper-class performed [[Sati (practise)|sati]], a suicide ritual by widowed wives, concubines or female servants, through [[self immolation]] by throwing themselves into flaming cremation fire.<ref name=yingyai /><ref name="Chao-Wa"/>

In this record, Ma Huan also describes a musical troupe travelling during full moon nights. Numbers of people holding shoulders creating an unbroken line while singing and chanting in unison, while the families whose houses being visited would give them copper coins or gifts. He also describes a class of artisans that draws various images on paper and give a theatrical performance. The narrator tells the story of legends, tales and romance drawn upon a screen of rolled paper.<ref name=yingyai /> This kind of performance is identified as ''[[wayang]] bébér'', an art of story-telling that has survived for many centuries in Java.<ref name="Chao-Wa"/>

Portuguese diplomat [[Tomé Pires]], who visited the archipelago in 1512, recorded the culture of Java in the late Majapahit era, after his visit to the island between March and June 1513.<ref name=":3" />{{rp|xxv}} Pires' account tells about the lords and nobles in Java. They are described as:

{{blockquote|...tall and handsome, lavishly adorned, and they have richly caparisoned horses. They use krises, swords, and lances of many kinds, all inlaid with gold. They are great hunters and horsemen{{snd}}the horse had stirrups all inlaid with gold and inlaid saddles, which are not to be found anywhere else in the world. The Javanese lords are so noble and exalted that there is no nation to compare with them over a wide area in these parts. They have their head shorn{{snd}}half tonsured{{snd}}as a mark of beauty, and they always run their hands over their hair from the forehead upwards unlike what European did. The lords of Java are revered like gods, with great respect and deep reverence.{{pb}}The lords go out hunting or pleasure-seeking in such exalted style. They spend all their time in pleasures, the retinues had so many lances in holders of gold and silver, so richly inlaid, with so many [[Harrier (dog)|harriers]], [[greyhound]]s and other dogs; and they have so many pictures painted with images and hunting scenes. Their clothes are adorned with gold, their krises, swords, knives, cutlasses are all inlaid with gold; they have numbers of concubines, [[jennet]]s, elephants, oxen to draw the wagons of gilt and painted woodwork. The nobilities go out in triumphal cars, and if they go by sea they go in painted and ornamented kelulus; there are beautiful apartments for their women, other places for the nobles who accompanied him.<ref name=":3" />{{rp|174–175, 200}}}}

===Religion===
{{Hinduism in Indonesia}}
[[File:Candi Jawi.jpg|thumb|right|[[Jawi Temple]], a syncretic Hindu-Buddhist temple of Shiva-Buddha faith, dated from late 13th century Singhasari kingdom, which later renovated and preserved during the Majapahit period]]
[[Buddhism]], [[Shaivism]], and [[Vaishnavism]] were all practised: the king was regarded as the incarnation of the three. The ''Nagarakretagama'' however, does not mention [[Islam]], but there were certainly Muslim courtiers by this time.<ref name=ricklefs />{{rp|page=19}}

[[Hinduism]] and [[Buddhism]] already shaped the Javanese civilisation, religion, and spiritualism since the earlier era, from the 9th century [[Mataram kingdom]], Kahuripan, Kadiri, to Singhasari kingdom. It seems that both Hinduism and Buddhism are widely practised by Majapahit subjects. Nevertheless, native Javanese [[shamanism]] possibly still exist and practised in peripheral rural regions.

[[File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Gouden reliëf met de voorstelling van Sutasoma gedragen door Kalmasapada TMnr 2960-319.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Gold figure from the Majapahit period representing [[Sutasoma]] being borne by the man-eater [[Kalmashapada|Kalmasapada]]]]
The monarch and most of the royal family adhered to Hinduism, with certain emphasis on the cult of their own preferred main deity, either [[Shivaism|Shiva]], [[Vaishnavism|Vishnu]], [[Durga]] or other deities. The first king of Majapahit, [[Raden Wijaya|Kertarajasa Jayawardhana]] was posthumously portrayed as [[Harihara]], the god combination of Shiva and Vishnu, in his mortuary temple in Candi Simping. [[Mahayana Buddhism]] however, was also favoured by the royal family and officials of Majapahit. For example, the queen of Majapahit [[Gayatri Rajapatni]] and [[Gajah Mada]] are known as Buddhists.<ref name="Kompas.com-Gajah Mada">{{Cite web |last=Utomo |first=Yunanto Wiji|date=2017-06-22 |title=Agama Gajah Mada dan Majapahit yang Sebenarnya Akhirnya Diungkap |url=https://sains.kompas.com/read/xml/2017/06/22/190852523/agama.gajah.mada.dan.majapahit.yang.sebenarnya.akhirnya.diungkap |access-date=2022-11-19 |website=KOMPAS.com |language=id}}</ref> Gayatri later posthumously portrayed as [[Prajnaparamita]].

The state religion however, was possibly the ''Siwa Buddha'', the Javanese [[syncretism]] of Shaivism and Buddhism, which emphasise the similarity between Shiva and Buddha which both described as [[ascetics]] and spiritual teacher. The spiritual circumstances of Majapahit, seems to promote the harmony between the adherents of Shiva and Buddha. As demonstrated in the manuscript [[Sutasoma]] written in the 14th century by [[Mpu Tantular]] which promotes the religious tolerance between the Hinduism and Buddhism, specifically promote the syncretic Shiva-Buddha doctrine.<ref name="Siva-Buddha"/>

During the Majapahit period, religious teaching played an important role in the society. The religious education could be done individually within households of [[kshatriya]] nobles and [[brahmana]] religious elites, or in a centre for religious teaching which resembles [[ashram]] or boarding school called ''Mandala'' or ''Kadewaguruan''. A ''Kadewaguruan'' was usually located in remote areas far from habitation places, such as quiet forest, on hills or mountainous region. A ''Kadewaguruan'' is led by a [[Maharishi|mahāresi]] or high priest, who is also known as śiddharesi or dewaguru; hence the education centre is called ''Kadewaguruan''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Santiko |first=Hariani |title=Agama Dan Pendidikan Agama Pada Masa Majapahit |journal= Jurnal Arkeologi, Kementerian Pendidikan Dan Kebudayaan |url=https://jurnalarkeologi.kemdikbud.go.id/index.php/amerta/article/view/393 |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Literature===
The literature of Majapahit was the continuation of [[Javanese literature|Javanese]] [[Kawi language|Kawi]] Hindu-Buddhist scholarly tradition that produces ''[[kakawin]]'' poem that has been developed in Java since the 9th century [[Medang Kingdom|Medang Mataram]] era, all the way through [[Kediri Kingdom|Kadiri]] and Singhasari periods. Notable Javanese literary works dated from an earlier period, such as Kadiri's 11th century Kanwa's [[Arjunawiwaha]], 12th-century Dharmaja's [[Smaradahana]], Sedah's [[Bharatayuddha]], Panuluh's [[Kakawin Hariwangsa|Hariwangsa]] also popular [[Panji (prince)|Panji cycles]] are continuously preserved and rewritten by ''Rakawi'' (Hindu-Buddhist poet or scholar) in Majapahit era. Notable literary works that were produced in the Majapahit period among others are Prapanca's [[Nagarakretagama]], Tantular's [[Sutasoma]], and [[Tantu Pagelaran]]. Popular tale of [[Sri Tanjung]] and [[Damarwulan]] also dated from Majapahit period. These [[Old Javanese]] ''kakawins'' were written and composed by ''Rakawis'' (poets) to worship the king of the gods whose incarnation the king represented.<ref name="Siva-Buddha">{{cite book | title = Worshiping Siva and Buddha: The Temple Art of East Java | author1 = Ann R. Kinney | author2 = Marijke J. Klokke | author3 = Lydia Kieven | publisher = University of Hawaii Press | year = 2003 | isbn = 9780824827793 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=sfa2FiIERLYC&q=Kakawin+Majapahit&pg=PA34}}</ref>

Nagarakretagama composed by Prapanca in 1365 is a vital source of the premier historical account of Majapahit historiography. While Sutasoma is an important literature for modern Indonesian nationhood, since the national motto ''[[Bhinneka Tunggal Ika]]'', which is usually translated as ''[[Unity in Diversity]]'', was taken from a ''pupuh'' ([[canto]]) of this manuscript.<ref>{{cite book | title = Sutasoma: The Ancient Tale of a Buddha-Prince from 14th Century Java by the Poet Mpu Tantular | editor1 = Kate O'Brien | editor2 = Petrus Josephus Zoetmulder | publisher = Orchid Press | year = 2008 | isbn = 9789745241077| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=u7ZJJwAACAAJ&q=sutasoma+bhinneka+tunggal+ika}}</ref>

[[File:Palmleaf of Kakawin Sutasoma from Java01.jpg|thumb|upright=1.75|Palm leaf manuscript of ''[[Kakawin Sutasoma]]'', a 14th-century Javanese poem]]
This quotation comes from Sutasoma canto 139, stanza 5. The full stanza reads as follows:

<blockquote><poem>''Rwâneka dhâtu winuwus Buddha Wiswa,''
''Bhinnêki rakwa ring apan kena parwanosen,''
''Mangka ng Jinatwa kalawan Siwatatwa tunggal,''
''Bhinnêka tunggal ika tan hana dharma mangrwa.''</poem></blockquote>

Originally, the poem was meant to promote the religious tolerance between the Hindu and Buddhist religions, specifically promote the syncretic Shiva-Buddha doctrine.<ref name="Siva-Buddha"/>

In ''Yingya Shenglan'', Ma Huan describes the writing system used in Majapahit. For the writing, they had known the alphabet using ''So-li'' (Chola{{snd}}Coromandel/Southern India) letters. There is no paper or pen, they use ''Chiao-chang'' (''kajang'') or palm leaf (''[[Palm-leaf manuscript#Javanese and Balinese|lontar]]''), written by scraping it with a sharp knife. They also have a developed language system and grammar.<ref name=yingyai />

===Art===
{{further|Majapahit Terracotta}}
[[File:RA 3540013.JPG|thumb|Bas reliefs of Tegowangi temple, dated from Majapahit period, demonstrate the East Javanese style.]]
The Pala school of art of the Indian [[Pala Empire]] influenced the art and architecture of Majapahit.<ref>Encyclopedia of world art by Bernard Samuel Myers pp. 35–36</ref>
Majapahit art was the continuation of East Javanese art, style and aesthetically developed since the 11th century during the Kediri and Singhasari period. Unlike the earlier naturalistic, relaxed and flowing figures of classical Central Java-style ([[Sailendra]] art c. 8th to 10th century), this East Javanese style demonstrates a stiffer pose, stylised and rendered in [[wayang]]-like figures, such as those carved on East Javanese temple's bas-reliefs. The bas-reliefs were projected rather flat from the background. This style was later preserved in [[Balinese art]], especially in its [[Kamasan]] style classical paintings and Balinese wayang.

The statues of Hindu gods and Buddhist deities in Majapahit art were also the continuations of its previous Singhasari art. The statues of East Javanese period tends to be a stiffer and frontal-formal pose, compared to the statues of Central Javanese art (c. 9th century) that are more Indianized style, relaxed in [[tribhanga]] pose. The stiffer pose of Majapahit gods statues is probably in accordance with the statue's function as the deified portrayal self of the dead Majapahit monarch. The carving, however, is richly decorated, especially with a fine floral carving of lotus plants carved on the stela behind the statue. Examples of Majapahit statues are the Harihara statue from Simping temple, believed to be the deified portrayal of [[Raden Wijaya|King Kertarajasa]], the statue of Parwati believed to be the portrayal of [[Tribhuwana Wijayatunggadewi|Queen Tribhuwana]], and a statue of the queen [[Suhita]] discovered at Jebuk, Kalangbret, Tulungagung, East Java.

[[File:Pair of door guardians SF Asian Art Museum.JPG|thumb|left|Pair of door guardians from a temple, Eastern Java, 14th century, [[Asian Art Museum of San Francisco|Museum of Asian Art, San Francisco]]]]

Clay pottery and brick masonry are a popular feature in Majapahit art and architecture. The [[Majapahit Terracotta]] art also flourished in this period. Significant numbers of [[terracotta]] artefacts were discovered in [[Trowulan]]. The artefacts range from human and animal figurines, jars, vessels, water containers, [[piggy bank]]s, bas reliefs, architectural ornaments, roof pinnacles, floor tiles, to pipes and roof tiles.

One of the most interesting findings is the Majapahit piggy bank. Several boar-shaped piggy banks have been discovered in Trowulan. It is probably the origin of Javanese-Indonesian word to refer for saving or money container. The word ''celengan'' in [[Javanese language|Javanese]] and [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]] means both "savings" and "piggy bank". It was derived from the word ''celeng'' which means "wild boar", the [[suffix]] "-an" was added to denote its likeness. One important specimen is stored in the National Museum of Indonesia, it has been reconstructed since this large piggy bank has been found broken to pieces.

Terracotta money boxes also have been found in different shapes, such as tubular or boxes, with slits to slip coins. Another important terracotta artefact is the head figurine of a man popularly thought to be the depiction of Gajah Mada, although it is not certain about who was depicted in these figurines.

===Architecture===
{{further|Candi of Indonesia}}
{{multiple image
| total_width       = 410
| image1            = Close-up of KITLV 28318 - Isidore van Kinsbergen - Relief on the first gallery on the east side of Panataran near Blitar - 1867-02-1867-06 walls, gate, and tower.jpg
| image2            = Close-up of KITLV 28291 - Isidore van Kinsbergen - Relief on the first gallery on the north side of Panataran near Blitar - 1867-02-1867-06 walls, gate, watchtower, and citizens.jpg
| footer            = Reliefs from the main temple of the [[Panataran]] temple complex, depicting walls, gates, towers, and citizens
}}

In his book ''Yingya Shenglan'', Ma Huan also describes the Majapahit cities: most of them do not have walls surrounding the city or the suburbs. He describes the king's palace in Majapahit. The king's residence is surrounded with thick red brick walls more than three ''[[zhang (unit)|chang]]'' high (about {{convert|30|ft|7|in|m|abbr=off|disp=or}}), with length of more than 200 paces ({{convert|340|yd|m|abbr=off|disp=or}}) and on the wall there are two layers of gates, the palace is very well guarded and clean. The king's palace was a two-storey building, each of them 3 or 4 ''chang'' high ({{convert|9.32–12.42|m|abbr=off|disp=or}}). It had wooden plank floors and exposed mats made from rattan or reeds (presumably palm leaves), where people sat cross-legged. The roof was made of hardwood shingles (Javanese: ''sirap'') laid as tiles.<ref name=yingyai /> This description of the palace is very different than that of Odoric of Pordenone, who visited Majapahit in the previous century during the reign of Jayanegara (1309–1328).<ref name=":19" />{{rp|332}} The reason of this was because Ma Huan likely stayed at a special area reserved for envoys, which was still 1.5 days' journey away from the real Majapahit palace.<ref name="kampungmaja">{{Cite web |last=Nugroho |first=Irawan Djoko |date=16 May 2022 |title=Kampung Majapahit Salah Desain Salah Konsep |trans-title=Majapahit Village Wrong Design Wrong Concept |url=https://www.nusantarareview.com/kampung-majapahit-salah-desain-salah-konsep.html |access-date=30 September 2023 |website=Nusantara Review}}</ref>

Odoric described the palace in more detail: The palace was described as being richer and finer than any existing palace at that time in the world. It had grand, broad, and lofty staircases; which the steps alternately made of gold and silver. The pavement of the palace was made alternately with one tile of gold and the other of silver, and the inside wall plated all over with gold, with knight sculptures of gold ornamented with precious stones. The ceiling of Majapahit palace was made of pure gold.<ref name=":1" />{{rp|87}}

According to Ma Huan, the houses of commoners had thatched roofs ([[nipa palm]] leaves). Every family has a storage shed made of bricks, about 3 or 4 ''[[Chi (unit)|chi]]'' ({{convert|48.9|in|cm|abbr=off|disp=or}}) above the ground, where they kept the family property, and they lived on top of this building, to sit and sleep.<ref name="yingyai" /> Not every house in Java looked like this: According to the ''[[History of Song (book)|History of the Song dynasty]]'', houses in Java are grand and handsome{{snd}}they are decorated with gold and jade. The chronicle also noted that when Chinese merchants arrive there they are received as guests in a public building.<ref name="notes on the malay archipelago" />{{rp|16}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yang |first=Shao-yun |date=15 June 2020 |title=A Chinese Gazetteer of Foreign Lands: A new translation of Part 1 of the Zhufan zhi 諸蕃志 (1225) |url=https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/39bce63e4e0642d3abce6c24db470760 |access-date=19 October 2023 |website=Storymaps}}</ref> This indicates that Ma Huan had not yet arrived at the center of Majapahit capital, and was only observing the outskirts.{{sfn|Nugroho|2011|p=138}}<ref name="kampungmaja" />

{{multiple image|perrow = 2|total_width=410
| image1 = Three reliefs of Candi Tegowangi, Dewi Kunti and Batari Durga (Sudamala story).jpg
| image2 = Oemah meten op het erf van de kantja te desa Kajoe Bihi in Bangli op Bali, KITLV 8351.tiff
| image3 = Vrouwen bezig met het stampen van rijst op een erf van een woning op Bali, KITLV 1400147.tiff
| image4 = COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Straatgezicht in een dorp op Bali TMnr 10003533.jpg
| footer = Tegowangi temple reliefs and traditional houses of Bali. Balinese architecture is deeply influence by Majapahit.
}}

The Majapahit temple architecture follows the east Javanese styles, in contrast to earlier central Javanese style. This east Javanese temple style is also dated back from Kediri period c. 11th century. The shapes of Majapahit temples tend to be slender and tall, with a roof constructed from multiple parts of stepped sections formed a combined roof structure curved upward smoothly creating the [[Perspective (visual)|perspective illusion]] that the temple is perceived taller than its actual height. The pinnacle of the temples are usually cube (mostly Hindu temples), sometimes dagoba cylindrical structures (Buddhist temples). Although some of the temples dated from Majapahit period used [[andesite]] or [[sandstone]], the red [[brick]]s is also a popular construction material.

{{multiple image
| align             = left
| total_width       = 250
| image1            = Bajang Ratu Gate Trowulan.jpg
| image2            = Candi Jabung B.JPG
| footer            = '''Left to right''':<br>
*The 16.5-metre tall Bajang Ratu [[Paduraksa]] gate, at Trowulan, echoed the grandeur of Majapahit.
*[[Jabung]] temple near Paiton, Probolinggo, East Java, dated from Majapahit period
}}

Although [[brick]] had been used in the ''[[Candi of Indonesia|candi]]'' of Indonesia's classical age, it was Majapahit architects of the 14th and 15th centuries who mastered it.<ref name="Schoppert1997">{{cite book |last1=Schoppert |first1=P. |last2=Damais |first2=S.|title=Java Style|year=1997|publisher=Periplus Editions|editor=Didier Millet|location=Paris|pages=33–34|isbn=962-593-232-1}}</ref> Making use of a vine sap and [[palm sugar]] mortar, their temples had a strong geometric quality. The example of Majapahit temples are Brahu temple in Trowulan, [[Pari Temple|Pari]] in Sidoarjo, [[Jabung]] in Probolinggo, and [[Candi Surawana|Surawana temple]] near Kediri. Jabung temple was mentioned in Nagarakretagama as Bajrajinaparamitapura, despite some parts of its roof and pinnacles are now missing, it is one of the most well-preserved Majapahit temple architecture. Another example includes Gunung Gangsir temple near Pasuruan. Some of the temples are dated from the earlier period but renovated and expanded during Majapahit era, such as [[Candi Penataran|Penataran]], the largest temple in East Java dated back to [[Kediri (historical kingdom)|Kediri]] era. This temple was identified in Nagarakretagama as Palah temple and reported being visited by King Hayam Wuruk during his royal tour across East Java. Another notable temple of Eastern Javanese style is [[Jawi temple]] in Pandaan{{snd}}also visited by King Hayam Wuruk, the temple was mentioned in Nagarakretagama as Jajawa, and was dedicated as a mortuary temple for his great-grandfather, King Kertanegara of Singhasari.

Some of the typical architectural styles are believed to be developed during Majapahit era; such as tall and slender roofed red brick gate commonly called as ''kori agung'' or ''[[paduraksa]]'', and also split gate of ''[[candi bentar]]''. The large split gate of Wringin Lawang located at Jatipasar, Trowulan, Mojokerto, East Java, is one of the oldest and the largest surviving ''candi bentar'' dated from Majapahit era. The ''candi bentar'' took shape of typical Majapahit temple structure{{snd}}consists of three parts; foot, body and tall roof{{snd}}evenly split into two mirroring structures to make a passage in the centre for people to walk through. This type of split gate has no doors and provides no real defensive purpose but narrowing the passage. It probably only served the ceremonial and aesthetic purpose, to create the sense of grandeur, before entering the next compound through tall roof ''paduraksa'' gate with enclosed door. The example of ''kori agung'' or ''paduraksa'' style gate is the elegant Bajang Ratu gate richly decorated with Kala demon, cyclops and also the bas-relief telling the story of Sri Tanjung. Those typical Majapahit architectural style has deeply influenced the Javanese and [[Balinese architecture]] of later period. The current prevalence of Majapahit style pendopo pavilion, candi bentar and paduraksa gates was owed to the influence of Majapahit aesthetics on Javanese and Balinese architecture.<ref name="Made Wijaya">{{cite book | title = Majapahit Style Vol.1 | author = Made Wijaya | publisher = Wijaya Words – a division of Yayasan Beringin Berapi | year = 2014 | isbn = 9786027136700 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=J3GMBAAAQBAJ }}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

[[File:Looking down from the top of Cetho Temple, 2016-10-13.jpg|thumb|right|The stepped terraces, pavilions, and [[Candi bentar|split gates]] of [[Ceto Temple|Cetho]] temple complex on mount Lawu slopes]]
In later period near the fall of Majapahit, the art and architecture of Majapahit witnessed the revival of indigenous native Austronesian [[megalithic architectural elements]], such as [[Candi Sukuh|Sukuh]] and [[Candi Cetho|Cetho]] temples on western slopes of [[Mount Lawu]]. Unlike previous Majapahit temples that demonstrate typical Hindu architecture of high-rise towering structure, the shape of these temples are [[step pyramid]], quite similar to Mesoamerican [[pyramid]]s. The stepped pyramid structure called ''Punden Berundak'' (stepped mounds) is a common megalithic structure during [[Prehistoric Indonesia|Indonesian prehistoric era]] before the adoption of Hindu-Buddhist culture.

==Economy==
The ''[[Daoyi Zhilüe|Daoyi Zhi]]'', which was written c. 1339 CE, mentioned about Java's wealth and prosperity of the period:<blockquote>"The fields of Java are rich and its soil is level and well watered, therefore grain and rice are abundant, twice as much as in other countries. The people do not steal, and what is dropped on the road is not taken up. The common saying: "prosperous Java" means this country. Men and women wrap up their head and wear long clothes."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Groeneveldt|first=Willem Pieter|date=1896|title=Supplementary Jottings to the 'Notes on the Malay Archipelago and Malacca Compiled from Chinese Sources' by W. P. Groeneveldt|url=https://archive.org/details/supplementary-jottings-malay-archipelago/mode/2up|journal=T'oung Pao|volume=7|pages=113–134|doi=10.1163/156853296X00131}}</ref>{{rp|page=124|}}</blockquote>Also in ''Yingya Shenglan'', Ma Huan reported the Javanese economy and market. [[Rice]] is harvested twice a year, and its grain is small. They also harvest white [[sesame]] and [[lentil]]s, but there is no [[wheat]]. This land produces [[Sapan Wood|sapan wood]] (useful to produce red dye), [[diamond]]s, [[sandalwood]], [[incense]], ''puyang'' pepper, [[cantharides]] (green beetles used for medicine), [[steel]], [[turtle]]s, tortoiseshell, strange and rare birds; such as a large [[parrot]] as big as a hen, red and green parrots, five-colored parrots, (all of them can imitate the human voice), also [[guinea fowl]], ' bird hanging upside down ', five-coloured pigeon, [[peacock]], 'betel tree bird', pearl bird, and green pigeons. The beasts here are strange: there are white deer, white [[monkey]], and various other animals. Pigs, [[goat]]s, cattle, [[horse]]s, poultries, and there are all types of [[duck]]s, however donkeys and geese are not found.<ref name="yingyai" />

For the fruits, there are all kinds of [[banana]]s, [[coconut]], [[sugarcane]], [[pomegranate]], [[Lotus (plant)|lotus]], ''mang-chi-shi'' (''manggis'' or [[mangosteen]]), [[watermelon]] and ''lang Ch'a'' (''langsat'' or [[lanzones]]). ''Mang-chi-shi''{{snd}}is something like a pomegranate, peel it like an orange, it has four lumps of white flesh, sweet and sour taste and very delicious. ''Lang-ch'a'' is a fruit similar to Loquat, but larger contained three blocky white flesh with a sweet and sour taste. Sugarcane has white stems, large and coarse, with roots reaching 3 ''chang'' (30 feet 7 inches). In addition, all types of squash and vegetables are there, just a shortage of [[peach]], [[plum]] and [[leek]].<ref name=yingyai />
[[Image:Majapahit, Piggy Bank.jpg|thumb|Majapahit [[terracotta]] [[piggy bank]], 14th or 15th century [[Trowulan]], [[East Java]] (collection of [[National Museum of Indonesia]], [[Jakarta]])]]
Taxes and fines were paid in cash. Javanese economy had been partly monetised since the late 8th century, using gold and silver coins. Previously, the 9th-century [[Wonoboyo hoard]] discovered in Central Java shows that ancient Javan gold coins were seed-shaped, similar to corn, while the silver coins were similar to buttons. In about the year 1300, in the reign of Majapahit's first king, an important change took place: the indigenous coinage was completely replaced by imported Chinese copper cash. About 10,388 ancient Chinese coins weighing about 40&nbsp;kg were even unearthed from the backyard of a local commoner in [[Sidoarjo]] in November 2008. Indonesian Ancient Relics Conservation Bureau (BP3) of East Java verified that those coins dated as early as Majapahit era.<ref>{{cite web | title = Uang Kuno Temuan Rohimin Peninggalan Majapahit | url = http://www.kompas.com/read/xml/2008/11/24/17571290/uang.kuno.temuan.rohimin.peninggalan.majapahit. | date = November 2008 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131031003554/http://www.kompas.com/read/xml/2008/11/24/17571290/uang.kuno.temuan.rohimin.peninggalan.majapahit. | archive-date = 31 October 2013}}</ref> The reason for using the foreign currency is not given in any source, but most scholars assume it was due to the increasing complexity of Javanese economy and a desire for a [[currency]] system that used much smaller denominations suitable for use in everyday market transactions. This was a role for which gold and silver are not well suited.<ref name=miksic />{{rp | page=107}} These ''kepeng'' Chinese coins were thin rounded copper coins with a square hole in the centre of it. The hole was meant to tie together the money in a string of coins. These small changes{{snd}}the imported Chinese copper coins{{snd}}enabled Majapahit further invention, a method of savings by using a slitted earthenware coin container. These are commonly found in Majapahit ruins, the slit in the small opening to put the coins in. The most popular shape is boar-shaped ''celengan'' (piggy bank).
[[File:Trowulan ancient canal 1.JPG|thumb|left|upright|Ancient red-brick canal discovered in Trowulan. Majapahit had a well-developed irrigation infrastructure.]]
Some idea of the scale of the internal economy can be gathered from scattered data in inscriptions. The Canggu inscriptions dated 1358 mentions 78 ferry crossings in the country (mandala Java).<ref name=miksic />{{rp | page=107}} Majapahit inscriptions mention a large number of occupational specialities, ranging from gold and silversmiths to drink vendors and butchers. Although many of these occupations had existed in earlier times, the proportion of the population earning an income from non-agrarian pursuits seems to have become even greater during the Majapahit era.

The great prosperity of Majapahit was probably due to two factors. Firstly, the northeast lowlands of Java were suitable for rice [[Tillage|cultivation]], and during Majapahit's prime numerous [[irrigation]] projects were undertaken, some with government assistance. Secondly, Majapahit's ports on the north coast were probably significant stations along the route to obtain the spices of [[Maluku Islands|Maluku]], and as the spices passed through Java they would have provided an important source of income for Majapahit.<ref name=miksic />{{rp|page=107}}

The Nagarakretagama states that the fame of the ruler of Wilwatikta (a synonym for Majapahit) attracted foreign merchants from far and wide, including Indians, Khmers, Siamese, and Chinese among others. While in the later period, ''Yingya Shenglan'' mentioned that large numbers of Chinese traders and Muslim merchants from the west (from Arabia and India, but mostly from Muslim states in Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula) are settling in Majapahit port cities, such as Tuban, Gresik and Hujung Galuh ([[Surabaya]]). A special tax was levied against some foreigners, possibly those who had taken up semi-permanent residence in Java and conducted some type of enterprise other than foreign trade. The Majapahit Empire had trading links with Chinese [[Ming dynasty]], [[Đại Việt]] and [[Champa]] in today Vietnam, [[Cambodia]], Siamese [[Ayutthaya Kingdom|Ayutthayan]], Burmese [[Martaban]] and the south Indian [[Vijayanagara Empire]].<ref>Poesponegoro & Notosusanto (1990), p. 220.</ref>

During the Majapahit era, almost all of the commodities from Asia were found in Java. This is because of extensive shipping by the Majapahit empire using various type of ships, particularly the jong, for trading to faraway places.{{sfn|Nugroho|2011|pp=56–60, 286–291}} Ma Huan (Zheng He's translator) who visited Java in 1413, stated that ports in Java were trading goods and offer services that were more numerous and more complete than other ports in Southeast Asia.{{sfn|Nugroho|2011|pp=233–234, 239–240}}

==Administration==
{{multiple image
| align             = right
| direction         = vertical
| total_width       = 150
| image1            = Surya Majapahit.jpg
| image2            = Surya Majapahit 2.jpg
| image3            = Candi Ceto Majapahit Sun, Surakarta 1264.jpg
| footer            = Three designs of [[Surya Majapahit]], the sun emblem of the kingdom
}}

During the reign of [[Hayam Wuruk]], Majapahit employed a well-organised bureaucratic structure for administrative purposes. The hierarchy and structure relatively remain intact and unchanged throughout Majapahit history.<ref name="SNI451">Poesponegoro & Notosusanto (1990), pp. 451–456.</ref> The king is the paramount ruler, as the [[chakravartin]] he is considered the universal ruler and believed to be the living god on earth. The king holds the highest political authority and legitimacy.

===Law and order===
The [[Law and order (politics)|law and order]] of Majapahit kingdom follows the regulations related to the criminal code of law which became the guidelines for people's lives at that time. This rule of law can be found in a manuscript called ''[[Kutaramanawa Dharmashastra]]'' or translated as "the Book of Religious Legislation". According to the historian Slamet Muljana's notes in the book ''Perundang-undangan Madjapahit'' (1967), there is no definite record regarding the time when this criminal law was drafted. However, based on some evidence, it can be concluded that this book of law written in old Javanese was originated from the Majapahit period during the reign of King [[Hayam Wuruk|Rajasanagara]].<ref name="Hukum Majapahit">{{Cite web |first=Dedy | last=Afrianto |date=2021-06-20 |title=Hukum Pidana Era Majapahit: Dari Menebang Pohon hingga Korupsi Menteri |url=https://www.kompas.id/baca/riset/2021/06/20/hukum-pidana-era-majapahit-dari-menebang-pohon-hingga-korupsi-menteri |access-date=2022-11-21 |website=kompas.id |language=id}}</ref>

In Majapahit, the punishment for the [[crime]] of [[murder]] was death. According to the manuscript Kidung Sorandaka, it was said that Demung Sora, a minister of Majapahit court, was sentenced to death penalty under the ''Astadusta'' provisions for his crime on killing Mahisa Anabrang. ''Astadusta'' is a part of the ''Kutaramanawa Dharmashastra'' which regulates the punishment for murder.<ref name="Hukum Majapahit"/> Overall, this criminal code consists of 19 sections that regulate various aspects of life. In addition to the punishment for the crime of murders which are summarised in the ''Astadusta'' section, there are also rules regarding [[trade|buying and selling]], [[debts]], marriage, and [[pawnbroker]]. The punishments handed down included the death penalty, mutilation of the guilty body parts, fines and compensation. Additional penalties included ransom, confiscation, and money compensation for medication and drugs.<ref name="Hukum Majapahit"/>

According to the Chinese description in ''[[Yingya Shenglan]]'', when the one being stabbed was wounded and dead, the murderer will flee and hide for three days, then he will not lose his life. But if he was caught during the fight, he will instantly be stabbed to death (execution by stabbing). The country of Majapahit knows no [[caning]] for major or minor punishment. They tied the guilty men on his hands in the back with rattan rope and paraded them, and then stabbed the offender in the back where there is a floating rib which resulted in instant death.<ref name=yingyai /> Judicial executions of this kind were frequent.

===Bureaucracy officials===
During his daily administration, the king is assisted by bureaucratic state officials that also included the close relatives of the kings that hold certain esteemed titles. The royal order or edict usually transmitted from the king to the high officials well to their subordinates. The officials in Majapahit courts are:
:* ''Rakryan Mahamantri Katrini'', usually reserved for the king's heir
:* ''Rakryan Mantri ri Pakira-kiran'', the board of [[Minister (government)|ministers]] that conduct the daily administration
:* ''Dharmmadhyaksa'', the officials of laws, state laws as well as religious laws
:* ''Dharmma-upapatti'', the officials concerning religious affairs

Within the ministers of ''Rakryan Mantri ri Pakira-kiran'' there is the most important and the highest minister titled ''Rakryan Mapatih'' or ''Patih Hamangkubhumi''. This position is analogous to [[prime minister]], and together with the king, they determine the important state policies, including war or peace. Among the Dharmmadhyaksa officials, there is ''Dharmmadhyaksa ring Kasewan'' (State's highest Hindu [[Shivaist]] priest) and ''Dharmmadhyaksa ring Kasogatan'' (State's highest Buddhist priest), both are the authorities of the religious law of each dharmic faiths.

There is also the board of advisors which consists of the elders within the royal family called ''Bhattara Saptaprabhu''. This council consists of seven influential elders{{snd}}mostly directly related to the king. They are the ''Bhres'' (Duke or Duchess) acted as regional kings, the rulers of Majapahit provinces. This council congregates, offers advice, considered the king, and often formed an assembly to judge a certain important case in the court. Example of their office was, their sentence to temporarily suspend Mahamantri Gajah Mada, as a punishment since he was held responsible for the shamefully disastrous [[Battle of Bubat|Bubat incident]]. The council also sentenced the execution of Raden Gajah (Narapati) for decapitating Bhre Wirabhumi in [[Regreg War|Regreg war]].<ref name="BP-Sejarah Nasional">{{cite book| title = Sejarah Nasional Indonesia: Zaman Kuno – Volume 2 dari Sejarah Nasional Indonesia| author1 = Marwati Djoened Poesponegoro| author2 = Soejono (R. P.)| author3 = Richard Z. Leirissa| publisher = PT Balai Pustaka| year = 2008| isbn = 9789794074084| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=LReVFTELXcwC&pg=PA516| language = id}}{{Dead link|date=May 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>{{rp|page=481}}

===Territorial hierarchy===
[[File:Majapahit Core and Provinces.svg|thumb|right|360px|Majapahit core realm and provinces (''Mancanagara'') in eastern and central parts of Java, including islands of Madura and Bali]]
Majapahit recognise the hierarchy classifications of lands within its realm:
:#''[[Bhūmi|Bhumi]]'': the kingdom, ruled by the king
:#''Nagara'': the province, ruled by the ''rajya'' (governor), or ''natha'' (lord), or ''bhre'' (prince or duke)
:#''Watek'': the regency, administered by ''wiyasa'',
:#''Kuwu'': the district, administered by ''akuwu'',
:#''Wanua'': the village, administered by ''thani'',
:#''Kabuyutan'': the hamlet or sanctuary place.

During its formation, Majapahit traditional realm only consists of lesser vassal kingdoms (provinces) in eastern and central Java. This region is ruled by provincial kings called ''Paduka Bhattara'' with the title ''Bhre'', shortened form of ''Bhatara i'' (Bhatara of). This title is the highest position below the monarch and similar to duke or duchess. Usually, this position reserved for the close relatives of the king. They have to administer their provinces, collect taxes, send annual tributes to the capital, and manage the defences of their borders.

During the reign of [[Hayam Wuruk|Dyah Hayam Wuruk]] (formally King Rajasanagara; 1350–1389) there were 12 provinces of Majapahit, administered by king's close relatives:
{| class="wikitable sortable" border="1" width="80%"
! width="260" |Provinces
! width="120" |Titles
! width="140" |Rulers
! width="260" |Relation to the King
|-
|[[Kahuripan]] (or [[Janggala]], today [[Sidoarjo Regency|Sidoarjo]])
|Bhre Kahuripan
|Tribhuwanatunggadewi
|queen mother
|-
|Daha (former capital of [[Kediri (historical kingdom)|Kediri]])
|Bhre Daha
|Rajadewi Maharajasa
|aunt and also mother-in-law
|-
|Tumapel (former capital of [[Singhasari]])
|Bhre Tumapel
|Kertawardhana
|father
|-
|Wengker (today [[Ponorogo]])
|Bhre Wengker
|Wijayarajasa
|uncle and also father-in-law
|-
|Matahun (today West [[Bojonegoro]])
|Bhre Matahun
|Rajasawardhana
|husband of the duchess of Lasem, king's cousin
|-
|Wirabhumi ([[Blambangan]])
|Bhre Wirabhumi
|Bhre Wirabhumi{{efn | group=note | 1=Bhre Wirabhumi is actually the title: the Duke of Wirabhumi (Blambangan), the real name is unknown. He is referred to as Bhre Wirabhumi in Pararaton. He married Nagawardhani, the king's niece.}}

|son
|-
|Paguhan (today upstream of [[Serayu River|Serayu]])
|Bhre Paguhan
|Singhawardhana
|brother in-law
|-
|Kabalan (today East [[Bojonegoro]])
|Bhre Kabalan
|Kusumawardhani{{efn | group=note | name=jointheirs | 1= Kusumawardhani (king's daughter) married Wikramawardhana (king's nephew), the couple became joint-heirs.}}
|daughter
|-
|Pawanuan
|Bhre Pawanuan
|Surawardhani
|niece
|-
|Lasem (a coastal town in [[Central Java]])
|Bhre Lasem
|Rajasaduhita Indudewi
|cousin
|-
|[[Pajang]] (today [[Surakarta]])
|Bhre Pajang
|Rajasaduhita Iswari
|sister
|-
|[[Mataram Kingdom|Mataram]] (today [[Yogyakarta]])
|Bhre Mataram
|Wikramawardhana{{efn | group=note | name=jointheirs}}
|nephew and son-in-law 
|}

<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Noorduyn |first=J. |date=1978 |title=Majapahit in the Fifteenth Century |journal=Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde |volume=134 |issue=2/3 |pages=207–274 |doi=10.1163/22134379-90002587 |jstor=27863183 |issn=0006-2294|doi-access=free }}</ref> List of Majapahit provinces administered by the king's relatives based on [[Waringin Pitu inscription]] (1447) written during the reign of Dyah Kertawijaya (formally King Wijayaparakramawardhana).
{| class="wikitable sortable" border="1" width="80%"
! width="260" |Provinces
! width="120" |Titles
! width="140" |Rulers
! width="260" |Relation to the King
|-
|[[Kahuripan]] (or [[Janggala]], today [[Sidoarjo Regency|Sidoarjo]])
|''Bhre'' Kahuripan
|Rājasawardhana Dyah Wijayakumāra
|son 
|-
|Daha (former capital of [[Kediri (historical kingdom)|Kediri]])
|''Bhre'' Daha
|Jayawardhanī Dyah Jayéswarī
|wife
|-
|Tumapel (former capital of [[Singhasari]])
|''Bhre'' Tumapel
|Singhawikramawardhana Dyah Suraprabhāwa
|son
|-
|Wengker (today [[Ponorogo]])
|''Bhre'' Wengker
|Girīsawardhana Dyah Sūryawikrama
|son
|-
|Matahun (today West [[Bojonegoro]])
|''Bhre'' Matahun
|Wijayaparākrama Dyah Samarawijaya
|grandson 
|-
|Wirabhumi ([[Blambangan]])
|''Bhre'' Wirabhumi
|Rājasawardhanendudewī Dyah Puréswari
|granddaughter-in-law
|-
|Jagaraga
|''Bhre'' Jagaraga
|Wijayendudewī Dyah Wijayaduhitā
|niece
|-
|Tanjungpura
|''Bhre'' Tanjungpura
|Manggalawardhanī Dyah Suraghārinī
|daughter-in-law
|-
|Kabalan (today East [[Bojonegoro]])
|''Bhre'' Kabalan
|Mahāmisī Dyah Sāwitrī
|daughter-in-law 
|-
|Kembang Jenar
|''Bhre'' Kembang Jenar
|Rājānandanéswarī Dyah Sudharminī
|niece-in-law
|-
|Singhapura
|''Bhre'' Singhapura
|Rājāsawardhanadewī Dyah Srīpurā
|daughter-in-law
|-
|[[Pajang]] (today [[Surakarta]])
|''Bhre'' Pajang
|Dyah Suréswari
|niece
|-
|Keling
|''Bhre'' Keling
|Girindrawardhana Dyah Wijayakarana
|grandson
|-
|Kalinggapura
|''Bhre'' Kalinggapura
|Kalamawarnadewī Dyah Sudāyitā
|granddaughter-in-law 
|}

===Territorial division===
{{Main|Territories of Majapahit}}
When Majapahit entered the thalassocracy imperial phase during the administration of Gajah Mada, several overseas vassal states were included within the Majapahit sphere of influence, as a result, the new larger territorial concept was defined:
[[File:Majapahit Empire.svg|thumb|360px|The extent of Majapahit's influence under Hayam Wuruk in 1365 according to Nagarakretagama]]
* '''''Negara Agung''''', or the Grand State, the core kingdom. The traditional or initial area of Majapahit during its formation before entering the imperial phase. This includes the capital city and the surrounding areas where the king effectively exercises his government. The area in and around royal capital of [[Trowulan]], the port of Canggu and sections of [[Brantas River]] valley near the capital, also mountainous areas south and southeast of the capital, all the way to [[Mount Penanggungan|Pananggungan]] and [[Arjuno-Welirang]] peaks, are the core realm of the kingdom. The Brantas river valley corridor, connecting Majapahit Trowulan area to Canggu and estuarine areas in Kahuripan (Sidoarjo) and [[Janggala|Hujung Galuh]] port (Surabaya) are considered parts of ''Negara Agung''.
* '''''Mancanegara''''', areas surrounding ''Negara Agung''{{snd}}traditionally refer to Majapahit provinces in East and Central Java. This area covered the eastern half of Java, with all its provinces ruled by the ''Bhres'' (dukes), the king's close relatives. These areas are directly influenced by Javanese Majapahit court culture and obliged to pay annual tributes. These areas usually possess their rulers that might be directly related, foster an alliance or intermarried with the Majapahit royal family. Majapahit stationed their officials and officers in these places and regulate their foreign trade activities and collect taxes, yet they enjoyed substantial internal autonomy. This includes the rest of [[Java]] island, [[Madura]] and [[Bali]]. However, in the later period, overseas provinces which have developed culture reflected or comparable to those of Java, or possess significant trading importance, are also considered ''mancanegara''. Either the province has its own native rulers subject (vassal) to the king, or a regent appointed and sent by the king to rule the region. This realm includes [[Melayu Kingdom|Dharmasraya]], [[Pagaruyung Kingdom|Pagaruyung]], [[Lampung]] and [[Palembang]] in [[Sumatra]].
* '''''Nusantara''''', areas which do not reflect Javanese culture, but are included as colonies and they had to pay an annual tribute. They had their native polity intact, enjoyed substantial autonomy and internal freedom, and Majapahit did not necessarily station their officials or military officers here; however, any challenges on Majapahit oversight might draw a severe response. These areas such as the vassal kingdoms and colonies in the [[Malay Peninsula]], [[Borneo]], [[Lesser Sunda Islands]], [[Sulawesi]] and [[Maluku Islands|Maluku]].
[[File:Filippine, provincia di agusan, immagine hindu, statuetta in oro massiccio, xiii secolo.jpg|left|thumb|upright|A 1.79 kilogram, 21-karat Majapahit period [[Golden Tara|gold image]] discovered in [[Esperanza, Agusan|Agusan]], [[Philippines]], copied Nganjuk bronze images of the early Majapahit period,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://digitalcollections.universiteitleiden.nl/view/item/7096|title=[Bronze statues from Nganjuk] OD-3577 {{!}} Digital Collections|website=digitalcollections.universiteitleiden.nl|access-date=2020-03-15}}</ref> signify Majapahit cultural influence on southern Philippines.]]

[[Nagarakretagama#Descriptions of the Majapahit realm|Nagarakretagama]] mentioned more than 80 places in the archipelago described as the vassal states.<ref name="Britannica-Majapahit"/> In Canto 13, several lands on [[Sumatra]] are mentioned, and some possibly correspond to contemporary areas: [[Jambi]], [[Palembang]], Teba (either [[Tebo Regency|Tebo]] in Jambi or [[Toba Samosir Regency|Toba]] areas by [[Lake Toba]]), and [[Dharmasraya]]. Also mentioned are Kandis, Kahwas, [[Minangkabau people|Minangkabau]], [[Siak Regency|Siak]], [[Rokan Hilir Regency|Rokan]], [[Kampar Regency|Kampar]] and [[Pannai|Pane]], Kampe, [[Aru Kingdom|Haru]] (coastal [[North Sumatra]], today around [[Medan]]) and [[Mandailing]]. Tamiyang ([[Aceh Tamiang Regency]]), negara Perlak ([[Peureulak]]) and [[Padang Lawas Regency|Padang Lawas]], are noted in the west, together with Samudra ([[Samudra Pasai]]) and [[Lamuri]], Batan ([[Bintan]]), [[Lampung]], and [[Barus]]. Also listed are the states of Tanjungnegara (believed to be on [[Borneo]]): [[Kapuas River|Kapuas]] [[Katingan Regency|Katingan]], [[Sampit]], Kota Lingga, [[Kotawaringin]], [[Sambas Regency|Sambas]], and Lawas.

In Nagarakretagama Canto 14 more lands are noted: Kadandangan, [[Landak Regency|Landa]], Samadang, Tirem, Sedu ([[Sibu]] in [[Sarawak]]), Barune ([[Brunei]]), Kalka, Saludung (Serudong River in Sabah<ref>{{Cite book |last=Saunders |first=Graham |title=A History of Brunei |publisher=RoutledgeCurzon |year=2002 |isbn=9-781-1-36873-942 |edition=2nd |location=London and New York |pages=42 |language=en}}</ref>), Solot ([[Sulu Province|Sulu]]), Pasir, [[Barito River|Barito]], Sawaku, [[Tabalong Regency|Tabalung]], and [[Kutai|Tanjung Kutei]]. In Hujung Medini ([[Malay Peninsula]]), [[Pahang]] is mentioned first. Next [[Langkasuka]], Saimwang, [[Kelantan]] and [[Trengganu]], [[Johor]], [[Paka, Malaysia|Paka]], [[Muar town|Muar]], [[Dungun]], Tumasik ([[Temasek]], where [[Singapore]] is today), Kelang ([[Klang Valley]]) and [[Kedah]], Jerai ([[Gunung Jerai]]), Kanjapiniran, all are united.

Also in Canto 14 are territories east of Java: [[Bedulu|Badahulu]] and [[Goa Gajah|Lo Gajah]] (part of today's [[Bali]]). Gurun and [[Nusa Penida|Sukun]], [[Taliwang]], Sapi (Sape town, east end of Sumbawa island, by the [[Sape Strait]]) and [[Dompu|Dompo]], [[Sangeang Api|Sang Hyang Api]], [[Bima]]. [[Seram Island|Sheran]] and Hutan Kadali ([[Buru]] island). [[Gorong archipelago|Gurun island]], and [[Lombok|Lombok Merah]]. Together with prosperous [[Sasak people|Sasak]] (central, north and east [[Lombok]]) are already ruled. [[Bantayan Island|Bantayan]] with [[Luwu Regency|Luwu]]. Further east are Udamakatraya ([[Sangihe Islands|Sangir]] and [[Talaud]]). Also mentioned are [[Makassar]], [[Buton]], [[Banggai Regency|Banggai]], Kunir, [[Pantar|Galiao]] with [[Selayar Islands|Selayar]], [[Sumba]], [[Sulu archipelago|Solot]], [[Muar (town)|Muar]]. Also Wanda(n) ([[Banda Islands|Banda]] island), [[Ambon Island|Ambon]] or [[Maluku Islands|Maluku islands]], [[Kai Islands]], Wanin ([[Onin Peninsula]], today [[Fakfak Regency]], West Papua), [[Kingdom of Kaimana|Sran]], [[Timor]] and other islands.

[[File:Asia in 1335.svg|thumb|upright=1.75|Asia in the early 14th century]]
The true nature of Majapahit [[suzerainty]] is still a subject of study and even has sparked controversy. Nagarakretagama describes Majapahit as the centre of a huge [[Mandala (political model)|mandala]] consists of 98 tributaries stretching from Sumatra to New Guinea. Some scholars have discounted this claim as merely a sphere of limited influence, or even just a statement of geographical knowledge.<ref name="Cribb" />{{rp|page=87}}

Nevertheless, the Javanese overseas prestige and influence during the lifetime of Hayam Wuruk was undoubtedly considerable.<ref name="Britannica-Majapahit"/> Majapahit fleets must have periodically visited many places in the archipelago to acquire formal submission, or the splendour of Majapahit court might have attracted regional rulers to send a tribute, without any intention to submit to Majapahit's order.<ref name="Cribb"/>{{rp|page=87}}

All of those three categories{{snd}}the ''Negara Agung, Mancanegara'' and ''Nusantara'', were within the sphere of influence of the Majapahit empire.

The model of political formations and power diffusion from its core in the Majapahit capital city that radiates through its overseas possessions was later identified by historians as "[[Mandala (Southeast Asian history)|mandala]]" model. The term mandala derived from Sanskrit "circle" to explain the typical ancient Southeast Asian polity that was defined by its centre rather than its boundaries, and it could be composed of numerous other tributary polities without undergoing administrative integration.<ref>{{Cite web
| url = http://epublications.bond.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1007&context=cewces_papers&sei-redir=1
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150203095708/http://epublications.bond.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1007&context=cewces_papers&sei-redir=1
| url-status = dead
| archive-date = 3 February 2015
| title = Mandala: from sacred origins to sovereign affairs in traditional Southeast Asia
| access-date = 4 October 2014
| last = Dellios
| first = Rosita
| year = 2003
| publisher = Bond University Australia
| format = pdf
}}</ref> The territories belongs within Majapahit Mandala sphere of influence were those categorised as Mancanegara and Nusantara. These areas usually have their indigenous rulers, enjoy substantial autonomy and have their political institution intact without further integration into Majapahit administration. The same mandala model also applied to previous empires; [[Srivijaya]] and [[Khmer Empire|Angkor]], and also Majapahit's neighbouring mandalas; Ayutthaya and Champa.

Foreign or overseas territories are mentioned in Nagarakretagama canto 15 stanza 1. These territories include Syangka (Siam), Ayodyapura ([[Ayutthaya Kingdom|Ayutthaya]]), Dharmmanagari ([[Ligor]]), Marutma ([[Martaban]] or [[Mergui]]), Rajapura ([[Ratchaburi province|Rajpuri]] in the south of Siam), Singhanagari ([[Singburi|Singhapuri]] on the branch of the river Menam), Campa, and Kamboja ([[Cambodia]]).<ref name="Pigeaud 1962">{{cite book|last=Pigeaud|first=Theodoor Gautier Thomas|year=1962|title=Java in the 14th Century: A Study in Cultural History, Volume IV: Commentaries and Recapitulations|location=The Hague|publisher=Martinus Nijhoff|isbn=978-94-017-7133-7|edition=3rd (revised)}}</ref>{{Rp|35–36}} The relationship between Majapahit and these territories is called ''kachaya'', which means "to be exposed to light". It is interpreted as protected or sheltered. The term "protected area" in the modern state system is referred to as a [[protectorate]].<ref name=":152">{{cite book|last=Nugroho|first=Irawan Djoko|year=2009|title=Meluruskan Sejarah Majapahit|publisher=Ragam Media}}</ref>{{Rp|234–235}}

In addition, in canto 83 stanza 4 and 93 stanza 1 are mentioned the places that became the origin of merchants and scholars. The regions are Jambudwipa (India), Cina, [[Karnataka]] (South India), and Goda ([[Gauḍa (city)|Gauḍa]]).<ref name="Pigeaud 1962"/>{{Rp|35–36}} What is different is Yawana ([[Territories of Majapahit#Overseas region|Arabs, see explanation]]), as mentioned ''anyat i yawana mitreka satata'' (different is Yawana who is a permanent ally).<ref name=":152" />{{Rp|234}}{{sfn|Nugroho|2011|pp=141–142}}

The question whether Majapahit is considered an [[empire]] or not is actually depends on the definition of the word and concept of "empire" itself. Majapahit did not performed direct administration of its overseas possessions, they did not maintain permanent military occupation, and did not imposes its political and cultural norms over a wide area; thus it is not sufficiently considered an empire in a traditional sense. However, if being an empire means the projection of military power at will, formal acknowledgement of overlordship by vassals, and the regular tribute delivery to the capital, then Java's relationship to the rest of archipelagic realm can well be considered an imperial one; thus Majapahit can be considered an empire.<ref name="Sastrawan Empire"/>

In later period, Majapahit's hold on its overseas possessions began to wane. According to [[Waringin Pitu inscription]] (dated 1447) it was mentioned that Majapahit's core realm was consisted of 14 provinces, that administrated by the ruler titled ''Bhre''.<ref>Nastiti, Titi Surti. ''Prasasti Majapahit'', in the site {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20081222233648/http://www.majapahit-kingdom.com/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10&Itemid=7 www.Majapahit-Kingdom.com]}} from Direktorat Jenderal Sejarah dan Purbakala. Friday, 22 June 2007.</ref> The provinces written in the inscription are:
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* [[Kediri (historical kingdom)|Daha]] (former capital of [[Kediri (historical kingdom)|Kediri]])
* Jagaraga
* Kabalan
* [[Kahuripan]] (or [[Janggala]], modern [[Surabaya]])
* Keling
* Kelinggapura
* Kembang Jenar
* [[Matahun]] (today [[Bojonegoro]])
* [[Pajang]] (today [[Surakarta]])
* [[Cirebon|Singhapura]]
* [[Tanjungpura Kingdom|Tanjungpura]]
* [[Tumapel]] (former capital of [[Singhasari]])
* [[Wengker]] (today [[Ponorogo]])
* [[Wirabhumi]] (today [[Blambangan]])
{{div col end}}

The inscription, however, did not mention Majapahit's vassals in other areas around the period, such as:
* [[Indragiri (disambiguation)|Indragiri]] in Sumatra and [[Siantan]] (now in [[Pontianak]] in the west coast of Borneo), which according to the [[Malay Annals]], were given as a dowry to [[Sultanate of Malacca|Malacca]] for the marriage of a Majapahit princess and [[Mansur Shah]] sometime during his reign.<ref name="Leyden" /> Sultan [[Mansur Shah]] reigned from 1459 to 1477,<ref name="Coedes" /> which implies that Indragiri and Siantan were both still under Majapahit's control in 1447.
* [[Jambi]] and [[Palembang]], which only ceased to be under Majapahit suzerainty when seized by [[Demak Sultanate|Demak]].<ref name=":3" />{{rp|154–155}}
* And [[Bali]], which were known to be the last stronghold of the Hindu-Javanese civilization during Majapahit's downfall.<ref name="Coedes" />
The book ''[[Suma Oriental]]'' by Tomé Pires written in 1515 records that Java (Majapahit) ruled as far as the Moluccas on the east side and most of the west side of the archipelago; and almost the whole island of Sumatra was under its control and also controlled all the islands known to the Javanese. Majapahit ruled over these for a long time until about a hundred years earlier, when its power began to wane until it became similar to that during the year of Pires' visit to Java (March–June 1513).<ref name=":3" />{{Rp|174}}

==Military==
{{Campaignbox Conflicts involving Majapahit}}
The army of Majapahit was divided into 2 main types, namely ''prajurit'' (professional soldier) and [[Conscription#Medieval levies|levy]] taken up from peasants. The main weapon used was the spear.<ref name=":15" />{{Rp|84–85, 130}} Initially, cavalry only existed in limited numbers. They were mainly used for scouting and patrol, and were most likely armed with lances.<ref name=":15" />{{Rp|90, 94}} After the Mongol invasion, the use of horses became more widespread in Java, especially for war.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bankoff|first1=Greg|last2=Swart|first2=Sandra|year=2007|title=Breeds of Empire: The 'Invention' of the Horse in Southern Africa and Maritime Southeast Asia, 1500–1950|place=Copenhagen|publisher=NIAS|isbn=978-8-7769-4014-0|volume=42 (NIAS studies in Asian topics)|pages=1–20|chapter=1. Breeds of Empire and the ‘Invention’ of the Horse}}</ref>{{Rp|12–13}} [[Chariot]]s are used for transporting soldiers to the battlefield and were "parked" before the battle. Some chariots were indeed used in battle, for example, the prime minister Nambi rode a chariot and served as an archer in the Rangga Lawe rebellion (1295 CE). Gajah Mada also rode in a chariot when attacking Sundanese troops in the [[Battle of Bubat|Bubat battle]] (1357). Chariots were carved at the Penataran Temple, seemingly modeled from the real world.<ref name=":15" />{{Rp|96, 98}}<ref name=":0222">{{Cite book|last=Wales|first=H. G. Quaritch|date=1952|url=http://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.10026|title=Ancient South-East Asian Warfare|location=London|publisher=Bernard Quaritch|language=}}</ref>{{Rp|64, 76}}<ref name=":17" />{{Rp|141, 142}} [[War elephant]]s were used mainly for transport, or as a mount for nobility and soldiers of higher rank.<ref name=":15" />{{Rp|101}}

Majapahit had 30,000 full-time professional troops, whose soldiers and commanders were paid in gold. This shows the existence of a [[standing army]], an achievement that only a handful of Southeast Asian empires could hope to achieve.<ref name=":62">{{Cite book|last=Miksic|first=John M.|year=2013|title=Singapore and the Silk Road of the Sea, 1300–1800|publisher=NUS Press|isbn=9789971695583|author1-link=John N. Miksic}}</ref>{{Rp|185}}<ref name=":022">{{Cite book |last1=Miksic |first1=John N. |title=Ancient Southeast Asia |last2=Goh |first2=Geok Yian |date=2017 |publisher=Routledge |location=London |pages=462–463}}</ref>{{Rp|467}} In addition to these professional soldiers, Majapahit was strengthened by troops from subordinate countries and regional leaders.<ref name="end" />{{Rp|277}} From the records of ''Suma Oriental'' and Malay Annals, the total number of Majapahit troops could reach 200,000 people.<ref name=":33">{{Cite book|last=Cortesão|first=Armando|url=https://archive.org/details/McGillLibrary-136385-182|title=The Suma oriental of Tomé Pires : an account of the East, from the Red Sea to Japan, written in Malacca and India in 1512–1515; and, the book of Francisco Rodrigues, rutter of a voyage in the Red Sea, nautical rules, almanack and maps, written and drawn in the East before 1515 volume I|publisher=The Hakluyt Society|year=1944|isbn=9784000085052|location=London}} {{PD-notice}}</ref>{{Rp|175–176}}<ref>Kheng, Cheah Boon; Ismail, Abdul Rahman Haji, eds. (1998). ''[https://archive.org/details/sejarah-melayu-cheah-boon-kheng/page/n1/mode/2up?q= Sejarah Melayu The Malay Annals MS Raffles No. 18 Edisi Rumi Baru/New Romanised Edition]''. Academic Art & Printing Services Sdn. Bhd. [https://archive.org/details/sejarah-melayu-cheah-boon-kheng/page/n127/mode/2up?q=jong hlm. 118–119]: "Setelah Betara Majapahit mendengar bunyi surat bendahari raja Singapura itu, maka baginda pun segera menyuruh berlengkap tiga ratus buah jong, lain daripada itu kelulus, pilang, jongkong, tiada terbilang lagi banyaknya; maka dua keti rakyat Jawa yang pergi itu; maka segala rakyat Jawa pun pergilah. Setelah datang ke Singapura, maka berparanglah dengan orang Singapura."</ref> The Majapahit troops were multiethnic, similar to the [[Yogyakarta Sultanate]] military which had [[Bugis]] and Dhaeng ([[Makassar people|Makassar]]) troops. As noted in ''Hikayat Raja-Raja Pasai'':<blockquote>So the two parties returned to their respective places. That was how the war went on every day, for about three months, the war was unrelenting, because the Javanese kingdom also received help from foreign lands.{{sfn|Nugroho|2011|p=182}}</blockquote>{{multiple image
| direction         = vertical
| total_width       = 220
| image1            = Bedil kuno atau meriam kuno Jawa cetbang.png
| image2            = Madrid_canons_indiens.png
| footer            = Gunpowder weapons used by Majapahit:<br />
*Bronze hand cannon-type [[cetbang]], found in the Brantas river, Jombang
*A double-barrelled cetbang on a carriage, with swivel yoke, c. 1522. The mouth of the cannon is in the shape of [[Nāga#Indonesia|Javanese Nāga]].
}}

[[Gunpowder]] technology entered Java in the [[Mongol invasion of Java]] (1293 A.D.).<ref>Lombard, Denys (1990). ''Le carrefour javanais. Essai d'histoire globale (The Javanese Crossroads: Towards a Global History) Vol. 2''. Paris: Editions de l'Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales. p. 178.</ref><ref>Reid, Anthony (1993). ''Southeast Asia in the Age of Commerce, 1450–1680. Volume Two: Expansion and Crisis''. New Haven and London: Yale University Press.</ref>{{Rp|220}} Majapahit under ''Mahapatih'' (prime minister) [[Gajah Mada]] utilized gunpowder technology obtained from the [[Yuan dynasty]] for use in the naval fleet.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Pramono|first=Djoko|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HihuOBhi1wAC|title=Budaya Bahari|publisher=Gramedia Pustaka Utama|year=2005|isbn=9789792213768|page=57}}</ref> During the following years, the Majapahit army have begun producing cannons known as [[cetbang]]. Early cetbang (also called eastern-style cetbang) resembled Chinese cannons and hand cannons. Eastern-style cetbangs were mostly made of bronze and were front-loaded cannons. It fires arrow-like projectiles, but round bullets and co-viative projectiles{{Efn|A type of scatter bullet – when shot it spews fire, splinters and bullets, and can also be arrows. The characteristic of this projectile is that the bullet does not cover the entire bore of the barrel.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Needham|first=Joseph|title=Science and Civilisation in China, Volume 5: Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Part 7, Military Technology: The Gunpowder Epic|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1986|pages=9, 220|location=Cambridge}}</ref>|name=|group=note}} can also be used. These arrows can be solid-tipped without explosives, or with explosives and incendiary materials placed behind the tip. Near the rear, there is a combustion chamber or room, which refers to the bulging part near the rear of the gun, where the gunpowder is placed. The cetbang is mounted on a fixed mount, or as a hand cannon mounted on the end of a pole. There is a tube-like section on the back of the cannon. In the hand cannon-type cetbang, this tube is used as a socket for a pole.<ref name=":102">Averoes, Muhammad (2020). Antara Cerita dan Sejarah: Meriam Cetbang Majapahit. ''Jurnal Sejarah'', 3(2), 89–100.</ref>{{Rp|94}}

Because of the close maritime relations of the Nusantara archipelago with the territory of west India, after 1460 new types of gunpowder weapons entered the archipelago through Arab intermediaries. This weapon seems to be cannon and gun of Ottoman tradition, for example the [[prangi]], which is a [[breech-loading swivel gun]].<ref name=":102" />{{Rp|94–95}} It resulted in a new type of cetbang, called "western-style cetbang". It can be mounted as a fixed or swivel gun, small-sized ones can be easily installed on small vessels. In naval combat, this gun is used as an anti-personnel weapon, not anti-ship. In this age, even to the 17th century, Nusantaran soldiers fought on a platform called ''balai'' and performed boarding actions. Loaded with scatter shots ([[grapeshot]], [[case shot]], or [[Nail (fastener)|nails]] and stones) and fired at close range, the cetbang would have been effective at this type of fighting.<ref name=":72">{{Cite journal|last=Manguin|first=Pierre-Yves|date=1976|title=L'Artillerie legere nousantarienne: A propos de six canons conserves dans des collections portugaises|url=https://archive.org/details/1976-artillerie-nousantarienne/1976Artillerie_nousantarienne/|journal=Arts Asiatiques|volume=32|pages=233–268|doi=10.3406/arasi.1976.1103|s2cid=191565174 }}</ref>{{Rp|241}}<ref name=":02">{{Cite book|last=Wade|first=Geoff|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XNsk7tLkMU4C|title=Anthony Reid and the Study of the Southeast Asian Past|publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies|year=2012|isbn=978-981-4311-96-0|location=Singapore}}</ref>{{Rp|162}}

Majapahit had elite troops called ''Bhayangkara''. The main task of these troops is for protecting the king and nobilities, but they may also be deployed to the battlefield if required. The [[Hikayat Banjar]] noted the ''Bhayangkara'' equipments in the Majapahit palace:

<blockquote>''Maka kaluar dangan parhiasannya orang barbaju-rantai ampat puluh sarta padangnya barkupiah taranggos sakhlat merah, orang mambawa astenggar ampat puluh, orang mambawa parisai sarta padangnya ampat puluh, orang mambawa dadap sarta sodoknya sapuluh, orang mambawa panah sarta anaknya sapuluh, yang mambawa tumbak parampukan barsulam amas ampat puluh, yang mambawa tameng Bali bartulis air mas ampat puluh.''<br>
So came out with their ornaments men with [[chain mail]] numbered forty alongside their swords and red ''[[kopiah]]'' [skull cap], men carrying ''astengger'' [<nowiki/>[[arquebus]]] numbered forty, men carrying shield and swords numbered forty, men carrying ''dadap'' [a type of shield]{{efn | group=note |1=''Dadap'' has 2 meanings: In Indonesian language, it refers to round shield made of leather or rattan,<ref>See the meaning of ''dadap'' in Departemen Pendidikan Nasional (2008). ''Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia Pusat Bahasa Edisi Keempat''. Jakarta: PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama. Can be accessed online at https://kbbi.kemdikbud.go.id/entri/dadap</ref> while in old Javanese it refers to a long, narrow parrying shield.<ref>Zoetmulder, Petrus Josephus (1982). ''Old Javanese-English dictionary''. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff. p. 345.</ref> ''Dadap'' in Java seems to refer to a long shield which is quite heavy, probably with protruding ends.<ref>Jákl, 2014: 77–78</ref>}} and ''sodok'' [broad-bladed spear-like weapon]{{efn | group=note |1=For the meaning of ''sodok'', see<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gardner |first=Gerald Brosseau |title=Keris and Other Malay Weapons |publisher=Progressive Publishing Company |year=1936 |location=Singapore |url=https://archive.org/details/KerisAndOtherMalayWeaponsfreeGift/page/n83/mode/2up?q= |page=85 }}</ref>}} numbered ten, men carrying bows and arrows numbered ten, (men) who carried ''parampukan'' spears{{efn | group=note |1=''Rampuk'' likely derived from Old Javanese ''rampog'' and ''ngrampog'', which means "to attack in great numbers". Old Javanese ''watang parampogan'' means a pike used in the ''parampogan'', that is, tiger spearing (''[[Rampokan|rampokan macan]]'').<ref>Zoetmulder, Petrus Josephus (1982). ''Old Javanese-English dictionary''. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff. p. 1499.</ref>}} embroidered with gold numbered forty, (men) who carried Balinese shields with golden water engraving numbered forty.<br>{{snd}} Hikayat Banjar, 6.3<ref>Ras, Johannes Jacobus, 1968, ''Hikayat Bandjar. A Study in Malay Historiography''. The Hague (Bibliotheca Indonesica, 1)</ref>{{Rp|Line 1209–1214}}{{sfn|Nugroho|2011|p=204-205}}</blockquote>

<gallery mode="packed" widths="110" heights="160">
File:Javanese or Sundanese jong in China Sea, from Miller Atlas of 1519.png|Cropped portion of China Sea in the [[Lopo Homem-Reineis Atlas|Miller atlas]], showing six and three-masted jong
File:Stone block fragment of a Javanese temple, probably from Candi Panataran.jpg|A relief showing scale armor, probably from Penataran temple complex
File:Vietnam matchlock of Qing period.jpg|This [[Jiaozhi]] arquebus is similar to [[Java arquebus]].
File:Seated Male Deity Holding a Cuirass (Chest Armour) last quarter of the 10th–first half of the 11th century.jpg|Deity holding a [[cuirass]], from earlier, 10–11th century, [[Nganjuk Regency|Nganjuk]], [[East Java]]
File:Archipel Asiatique Malaisie - Armes Offensives et Étendard.jpg|Various keris and pole weapons of Java
File:Plaster cast of the bodhisattwa Manjusri from candi Jago dated 1265 Saka or 1343 CE.jpg|Bodhisattva Manjusri wielding a sword, from [[Candi Jago]], 1343
</gallery>

Military forces in various parts of Southeast Asia were lightly armored. As was common in Southeast Asia, most of the Javanese forces were composed of temporarily conscripted commoners (levy) led by the warrior and noble castes. The "peasant army" was usually bare-chested wearing a ''[[Sarong|sarung]]'', armed with spear, short sword, or bow and arrows.<ref name=":13">{{Cite book |last=Oktorino |first=Nino |title=Hikayat Majapahit{{snd}}Kebangkitan dan Keruntuhan Kerajaan Terbesar di Nusantara |publisher=Elex Media Komputindo |year=2020 |isbn=978-623-00-1741-4 |location=Jakarta}}</ref>{{Rp|111–113}} The richer (higher rank) soldiers wore armor called ''[[kawaca]]''.{{Efn|''Kawaca'' has two meaning. The first one is a [[shirt]] or [[dress shirt]] (Indonesian: ''kemeja'') worn by clergy, the other means armor. See{{sfn|Nugroho|2011|p=386}}|name=|group=note}}<ref name=":15">{{cite thesis |last=Jákl |first=Jiří |date=2014 |title=Literary Representations of War and Warfare in Old Javanese Kakawin Poetry |type= |publisher=The University of Queensland |degree=PhD}}</ref>{{rp|78}} Irawan Djoko Nugroho argues that it may be shaped like a long tube and was made of cast copper.{{sfn|Nugroho|2011|pp=202, 386}} In contrast, the regular infantry (professional soldiers, not the levy) wore a scale armor called ''[[siping-siping]]''.<ref name=":15" />{{rp|75, 78–79}} There is also a kind of steel helmet called ''rukuh''.{{sfn|Nugroho|2011|p=321}}<ref name=":15" />{{rp|20, 78, 80}} Other kinds of armor used in Majapahit-era Java was ''[[Baju Rantai|waju rante]]'' (chain mail armor) and ''[[karambalangan]]'' (a layer of metal worn in front of the chest).{{sfn|Nugroho|2011|pp=202, 320}}<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |last=Nugroho |first=Irawan Djoko |date=6 August 2018 |title=Baju Baja Emas Gajah Mada |trans-title=The Golden Armor of Gajah Mada |url=https://www.nusantarareview.com/baju-baja-emas-gajah-mada.html |access-date=14 August 2019 |website=Nusantara Review}}</ref><ref name=":5">Berg, Kindung Sundāyana (Kidung Sunda C), Soerakarta, Drukkerij "De Bliksem", 1928.</ref> In [[Kidung Sunda]] canto 2 stanza 85 it is explained that the ''mantri''s (ministers or officers) of Gajah Mada wore armor in the form of chain mail or breastplate with gold decoration and dressed in yellow attire,<ref name=":7" />{{Rp|103}} while Kidung Sundayana canto 1 stanza 95 mentioned that Gajah Mada wore golden embossed ''karambalangan'', armed with gold-layered spear, and with a shield full of diamond decoration.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":8" />

Majapahit also pioneered the use of firearms in the archipelago. Even though the knowledge of making gunpowder-based weapons has been known after the failed Mongol invasion of Java, and the predecessor of firearms, the [[Hand cannon|pole gun]] ([[bedil tombak]]) was recorded by Ma Huan in his [[Yingya Shenglan|''Yingya Shenlan'']] as being used by the [[Javanese people|Javanese]] for marriage ceremony in 1413,<ref>Mayers (1876). "[https://hkjo.lib.hku.hk/archive/files/cada1c05f0deef101b0493372b268cfa.pdf Chinese explorations of the Indian Ocean during the fifteenth century]". ''The China Review''. '''IV''': p. 178.</ref><ref name=":72"/>{{Rp|245}} the knowledge of making "true" firearms came much later, after the middle of the 15th century. It was brought by the [[Islam]]ic nations of West Asia, most probably the [[Arabs]]. The precise year of introduction is unknown, but it may be safely concluded to be no earlier than 1460.<ref name=":22">{{Cite book|last=Crawfurd|first=John|url=https://archive.org/details/adescriptivedic00crawgoog/page/n8/mode/2up?q=|title=A Descriptive Dictionary of the Indian Islands and Adjacent Countries|publisher=Bradbury and Evans|year=1856}}</ref>{{Rp|23}}

''[[Xingcha Shenglan]]'' (星槎勝覽) written by [[Fei Xin]] c. 1436 stated that Java (Majapahit) is equipped with armored soldiers and equipment, and it is the center of the Eastern people.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jiang |first=Sun |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a05sEAAAQBAJ&dq=%E7%88%AA%E5%93%87%E9%8A%83&pg=PT38 |title=重审中国的"近代"：在思想与社会之间 (Reexamining China's "Modern Times": Between Thought and Society) |publisher=社会科学文献出版社 (Social Science Literature Publishing House) |year=2018 |isbn=9787520132626 |quote=费信《星栏胜览》称爪哇"古名阁婆,地广人稠,实甲兵器械,乃为东洋诸蓄之冲要"。[16]严从简《殊域周咨录》则谓"其国地广人稠,甲兵火统为东洋诸善之雄"。[17]明末张堂《东西洋考》亦说下港(爪哇)"甲兵为诸番之雄"。[18]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Xin |first=Fei |url=https://ctext.org/wiki.pl?if=en&chapter=436710 |title=Xingcha Shenglan (星槎勝覽, The Overall Survey of the Star Raft) |year=1436 |pages=25–26 |quote=25 爪哇國（自占城起程，順風二十晝夜可至其國）26 古名闍婆，地廣人稠，實甲兵器械，乃為東洋諸番之衝要。舊傳鬼子魔天，正於此地，與一罔象青面紅身赤髮相合。凡生子百餘，常食啖人血肉。佛書所云鬼國，其中只此地也。人被啖幾盡，忽一曰雷震石裂，中坐一人，眾稱異之，遂為國主，即領兵驅逐罔象，而不為害。後複生齒而安業，乃至今國之移文，後書一千三百七十六年。考之肇啟漢初，傳至我宣德七年。}}</ref> ''Haiguo Guangji'' (海国广记) and ''Shuyu zhouzi lu'' (殊域周咨錄) recorded that Java is vast and densely populated, and their armored soldiers and hand cannons (火銃—huǒ chòng) dominated the Eastern Seas.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Hesheng |first1=Zheng |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ao8GAQAAIAAJ&q=%E7%88%AA%E5%93%87%E9%8A%83 |title=郑和下西洋资料汇编 (A Compilation of Materials on Zheng He's Voyages to the West) Volume 2, Part 1 |last2=Yijun |first2=Zheng |publisher=齐鲁书社 (Qilu Publishing House) |year=1980 |quote=《海国广记·爪哇制度》有文字,知星历。其国地广人稠,甲兵火铳为东洋诸番之雄。其俗尚气好斗,生子一岁,便以匕首佩之。刀极精巧,名日扒刺头,以金银象牙雕琢人鬼为靶。男子无老幼贫富皆佩,若有争置,即拔刀相刺,盖杀人当时拿获者抵死,逃三日而出,则不抵死矣。}}</ref>{{Rp|755}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Congjian |first=Yan |url=https://ctext.org/wiki.pl?if=en&chapter=202042 |title=殊域周咨錄 (Shuyu Zhouzilu) 第八卷真臘 (Volume 8 Chenla) |year=1583 |page=111 |quote=其國地廣人稠，甲兵火銃，為東洋諸番之雄。其俗尚氣好鬥。}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BIG9DwAAQBAJ&dq=%E7%88%AA%E5%93%87%E9%8A%83&pg=PT79 |title=南海文明圖譜：復原南海的歷史基因◆繁體中文版 (Map of South China Sea Civilization: Restoring the Historical Gene of the South China Sea. Traditional Chinese Version) |publisher=Rúshì wénhuà |year=2019 |isbn=9789578784987 |editor-last=Wenbin |editor-first=Yan |page=70 |quote=《海國廣記》記載,爪哇「甲兵火銃為東洋諸蕃之冠」。}}</ref>

Tomé Pires' 1513 account tells the army of Gusti Pati (Patih Udara), viceroy of ''Batara Vojyaya'' (probably Brawijaya or Ranawijaya), numbered 200,000 men, 2,000 of which are horsemen and 4,000 musketeers.<ref name=":3">{{citation-attribution|1={{Cite book|last=Cortesão|first=Armando|url=https://archive.org/details/McGillLibrary-136385-182|title=The Suma oriental of Tomé Pires : an account of the East, from the Red Sea to Japan, written in Malacca and India in 1512–1515; and, the book of Francisco Rodrigues, rutter of a voyage in the Red Sea, nautical rules, almanack and maps, written and drawn in the East before 1515 volume I|publisher=The Hakluyt Society|year=1944|isbn=9784000085052|location=London}} }}</ref>{{Rp|175–176}} Duarte Barbosa ca. 1514 recorded that the inhabitants of Java are great masters in casting artillery and very good artillerymen. They make many one-pounder cannons (cetbang or [[Lantaka|rentaka]]), long muskets, ''spingarde'' (arquebus), ''schioppi'' (hand cannon), [[Greek fire]], guns (cannons), and other fire-works.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|last=Stanley|first=Henry Edward John|url=https://archive.org/details/descriptionofcoa00barbrich/page/n7/mode/2up|title=A Description of the Coasts of East Africa and Malabar in the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century by Duarte Barbosa|publisher=The Hakluyt Society|year=1866}}</ref>{{Rp|198}}<ref>{{Cite book|last=Partington|first=J. R.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fNZBSqd2cToC&q=java&pg=PA224|title=A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder|date=1999|publisher=JHU Press|isbn=978-0-8018-5954-0|language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|224}} Every place is considered excellent in casting artillery, and in the knowledge of using it.<ref name=":14">{{Cite book|last=Jones|first=John Winter|url=https://archive.org/details/travelsofludovic00vartrich/page/254/mode/2up?q=|title=The travels of Ludovico di Varthema in Egypt, Syria, Arabia Deserta and Arabia Felix, in Persia, India, and Ethiopia, A.D. 1503 to 1508|publisher=Hakluyt Society|year=1863}}</ref>{{Rp|254}}<ref name=":4" />{{Rp|198}}

{{multiple image
| align             = center
| direction         = vertical
| total_width       = 600
| image1            = Close-up of KITLV 87835 - Isidore van Kinsbergen - Relief on Tjandi Panataran near Blitar - Before 1900.jpg
| caption1          = Worn-out reliefs in Candi Penataran, showing an armored horse rider, armored warriors, and a chariot.
| image2            = Close-up of KITLV 87823 - Isidore van Kinsbergen - Reliefs on Tjandi Panataran near Blitar - Before 1900.jpg
| caption2          = Battle scene from the relief of the Krishnayana story.
| image3            = Close-up of KITLV 28323 - Isidore van Kinsbergen - Relief on the first gallery on the south side of Panataran near Blitar - 1867-02-1867-06.jpg
| caption3          = Troops consisting of war chariots, spearmen, and a war elephant.
| header            = Reliefs at the main temple of the Penataran temple complex, 1269 saka or 1347 CE.
}}

The first true cavalry (organized units of cooperative horsemen) in Java may have appeared during the 12th century CE.<ref>Wade, G., 2009, "The horse in Southeast Asia before 1500 CE: Some vignettes," in: B. G. Fragner, R. Kauz, R. Ptak and A. Schottenhammer (eds), ''Pferde in Asien: Geschichte, Handel und Kultur/Horses in Asia: History, Trade and Culture''. Vienna, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften: 161–177.</ref> The old Javanese manuscript ''kakawin Bhomāntaka'' mentioned early Javanese horse lore and horsemanship.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Teeuw, A. and S. O. Robson|title=Bhomāntaka. The Death of Bhoma|publisher=KITLV Press|year=2005|isbn=9789067182539|location=Leiden|page=436}}</ref> The manuscript may reflect the conflict (allegorically) between the newly formed Javanese cavalry and the well-established elite infantry of Javanese armies.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Jákl|first=Jiří|title=The Whale in Old Javanese kakawin: timiṅgila, 'elephant fish', and lĕmbwara revisited|url=https://www.academia.edu/8448722 |year=2014a |language=en |journal=Pandanus |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=103–118 [113]}}</ref> In the 14th century CE, Java became an important horse breeder and the island was even listed among horse suppliers to China.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Ptak|first=Roderich|title=China's Seaborne Trade with South and Southeast Asia, 1200–1750|publisher=Ashgate|year=1999|isbn=9780860787761|page=208}}</ref> During the Majapahit period, the quantity and quality of [[Java Pony|Javanese horse]] breeds steadily grew. In 1513 CE Tomé Pires praised the highly decorated horses of Javanese nobility, complemented by gold-studded stirrups and lavishly decorated saddles that were "not found anywhere else in the world".<ref name=":3" />{{Rp|174–175}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Jákl |first=Jiří |date=2016-05-15 |title=The Loincloth, Trousers, and Horse-riders in Pre-Islamic Java: Notes on the Old Javanese Term Lañciṅan |journal=Archipel |volume=91 |issue=91 |pages=185–202 [196–197]|doi=10.4000/archipel.312 |s2cid=164528855 |issn=0044-8613|doi-access=free }}</ref> The [[Sumbawa pony]] seems to have been derived from the Javanese domesticated horse introduced by Majapahit in the 14th century CE.<ref>{{cite book |last1=de Jong Boers |first1=Bernice |title=Breeds of Empire: The 'Invention' of the Horse in Southern Africa and Maritime Southeast Asia, 1500–1950 |publisher=NIAS |year=2007 |isbn=978-8-7769-4014-0 |volume=42 (NIAS studies in Asian topics) |place=Copenhagen |pages=51–64 [52–53] |chapter=4. The ‘Arab’ of the Indonesian Archipelago: The Famed Horse Breeds of Sumbawa}}</ref>

{{multiple image
| perrow            = 2/2
| total_width       = 350
| caption_align     = center
| align             = right
| image_style       = border:none;
| background color  = 
| title             = 
| image1            = 231 Krishnayana Reliefs (40388020252).jpg
| image2            = Close-up of KITLV 28301 - Isidore van Kinsbergen - Relief with part of the Ramayana epic on the south side of Panataran, Kediri - 1867-02-1867-06 warrior and horse archer.jpg
| image3            = Close-up of KITLV 28291 - Isidore van Kinsbergen - Relief on the first gallery on the north side of Panataran near Blitar - 1867-02-1867-06 horse riders.jpg
| image4            = 214 Krishnayana Reliefs (26560692388).jpg
| footer            = Soldiers and equipments depicted in the main temple of Penataran
}}

Majapahit had a naval troops that was distinguished from ground troop units, which was called ''wwang jaladhi''. Naval troops get preferential treatment in terms of facilities. Majapahit navy personnel were large, as noted Nagarakretagama canto 16 stanza 5:{{sfn|Nugroho|2011|pp=178–179}}<ref>{{Cite book|last=Muljana|first=Raden Benedictus Slamet|date=1979|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vq8sAAAAMAAJ|title=Nagarakretagama dan Tafsir Sejarahnya|publisher=Bhratara Karya Aksara}}</ref>{{Rp|17, 148, 281}}{{sfn|Pigeaud|1960c|p=19}}
<blockquote>
{{lang|jv|irika tang anyabhumi sakhahemban ing Yawapuri,}} ({{lang|en|Then 'Anyabhumi' [other lands] everywhere were all united in the Javanese kingdom,}})

{{lang|jv|amateh i sajna sang nrpati khapwa satya ring ulah,}} ({{lang|en|obey every command of the king. All are faithful in attitude,}})

{{lang|jv|pituwi sing ajñalanghyana dinon wiśirnna sahana,}} ({{lang|en|even though there were treaty violators, they were attacked by expeditionary forces and were all destroyed,}})

{{lang|jv|tekap ikang watek jaladhi mantry aneka suyaśa.}} ({{lang|en|by the activity of the group of 'mantri jaladhi' [naval officers] who were numerous, glorious.}})</blockquote>

The main warship of the Majapahit navy was the [[Djong (ship)|jong]]. The jongs were large transport ships that could carry 100–2000 tons of cargo and 50–1000 people. They are about 26.36–80.51 m in [[Length on deck|LOD (deck length)]] and 28.99–88.56 m in [[Length overall|LOA (overall length)]]. A jong from 1420 nearly crossed the Atlantic Ocean.<ref>Text from Fra Mauro map, 10-A13, original Italian: "Circa hi ani del Signor 1420 una naue ouer çoncho de india discorse per una trauersa per el mar de india a la uia de le isole de hi homeni e de le done de fuora dal cauo de diab e tra le isole uerde e le oscuritade a la uia de ponente e de garbin per 40 çornade, non-trouando mai altro che aiere e aqua, e per suo arbitrio iscorse 2000 mia e declinata la fortuna i fece suo retorno in çorni 70 fina al sopradito cauo de diab. E acostandose la naue a le riue per suo bisogno, i marinari uedeno uno ouo de uno oselo nominato chrocho, el qual ouo era de la grandeça de una bota d'anfora." {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20010306061134/http://geoweb.venezia.sbn.it/geoweb/Hsl/FraMauro/FMnumerico.html]}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=March 2022|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]). Need proper academic source such as journal or book.}} A type of large nine-decked jong that was recorded in ''Kidung'' ''Panji Wijayakrama-Rangga Lawe'' (c. 1334) was called ''jong sasangawangunan'', it carried 1000 fighting men with red sails.<ref name=":17">Berg, C.C. (1930). ''[https://archive.org/details/rangga-lawe/page/90/mode/2up?q= Rangga Lawe: Middeljavaansche Historische Roman: Critisch uitgegeven]''. Batavia: Kon. Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen (''Bibliotheca Javanica'', 1).</ref>{{rp|91}} The exact number of jongs fielded by Majapahit is unknown, but the largest number of jongs deployed in an expedition was about 400 jongs when Majapahit attacked Pasai.<ref name=":2" /> The average jong used by Majapahit would be about 76.18–79.81 m [[Length overall|LOA]], carrying 600–700 men, with 1200–1400 tons [[Deadweight tonnage|deadweight]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Averoes|first=Muhammad|date=2022|title=Re-Estimating the Size of Javanese Jong Ship|journal=Historia: Jurnal Pendidik Dan Peneliti Sejarah|volume=5|issue=1|pages=57–64|doi=10.17509/historia.v5i1.39181 |s2cid=247335671 |url=https://archive.org/details/size-of-javanese-jong |doi-access=free}}</ref>{{Rp|60–62}} Before the [[Battle of Bubat]] in 1357, the [[Sunda Kingdom|Sunda]] king and the royal family arrived in Majapahit after sailing across the [[Java Sea]] in a fleet of 200 large ships and 2000 smaller vessels.<ref name=":7">Berg, C. C., 1927, [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.530847/page/n11/mode/2up?q= Kidung Sunda. Inleiding, tekst, vertaling en aanteekeningen], ''BKI'' LXXXIII : 1-161.</ref>{{Rp|16–17, 76–77}} The royal family boarded a nine-decked hybrid Sino-Southeast Asian junk (Old Javanese: ''Jong sasanga wangunan'' ''ring Tatarnagari tiniru''). This hybrid junk incorporated Chinese techniques, such as using iron nails alongside wooden dowels, the construction of watertight bulkheads, and the addition of a central rudder.<ref name=":32">Lombard, Denys (2005)''. [https://archive.org/details/NJ2JA/mode/2up?q= Nusa Jawa: Silang Budaya, Bagian 2: Jaringan Asia]''. Jakarta: Gramedia Pustaka Utama. An Indonesian translation of Lombard, Denys (1990). ''Le carrefour javanais. Essai d'histoire globale (The Javanese Crossroads: Towards a Global History) vol. 2''. Paris: Éditions de l'École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales.</ref>{{rp|270}}<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal|last=Manguin|first=Pierre-Yves|date=September 1980|title=The Southeast Asian Ship: An Historical Approach|journal=Journal of Southeast Asian Studies|volume=11|issue=2|pages=266–276|doi=10.1017/S002246340000446X|jstor=20070359|s2cid=162220129 }}</ref>{{rp|272–276}} Besides that, other types of vessels used by Majapahit navy are [[malangbang]], [[kelulus]], [[pelang]], [[jongkong]], [[cerucuh]], and [[tongkang]].<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":10" /><ref>Nugroho (2011), p. 271, 399–400, quoting ''Sejarah Melayu'', 5.4: 47: ''"Maka betara Majapahitpun menitahkan hulubalangnya berlengkap perahu akan menyerang Singapura itu, seratus buah jung; lain dari itu beberapa melangbing dan kelulus, jongkong, cerucuh, tongkang, tiada terhisabkan lagi banyaknya''." (So the king of Majapahit ordered his war commander to equip vessels for attacking Singapore, a hundred jong; other than that a few melangbing and kelulus; jongkong, cerucuh, tongkang all in uncountable numbers.)</ref> In the 16th century [[Lancaran (ship)|lancaran]] and [[penjajap]] are also used.<ref name=":3" />{{Rp|195}}<ref>{{citation-attribution|1={{Cite book |last=Cortesão |first=Armando |url=https://archive.org/details/McGillLibrary-136388-15666 |title=The Suma oriental of Tomé Pires : an account of the East, from the Red Sea to Japan, written in Malacca and India in 1512–1515; and, the book of Francisco Rodrigues, rutter of a voyage in the Red Sea, nautical rules, almanack and maps, written and drawn in the East before 1515 volume II |publisher=The Hakluyt Society |year=1944 |isbn= |location=London}} }}</ref>{{Rp|282}} Modern depictions of the Majapahit navy often depict [[outrigger]] ships, in reality, these ships were from 8th-century [[Borobudur ship]] bas relief. Research by Nugroho concluded that the main vessels used by Majapahit did not use outriggers, and using [[Borobudur]] engraving as the basis for reconstructing the Majapahit ship is wrong and misleading.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nugroho |first=Irawan Djoko |date=30 July 2018 |title=Replika Kapal Majapahit, Replika Untuk Menghancurkan Sejarah Bangsa |trans-title=Majapahit Ship Replica, A Replica to Destroy the History of the Nation |url=https://www.nusantarareview.com/replika-kapal-majapahit-replika-untuk-menghancurkan-sejarah-bangsa.html |access-date=14 August 2020 |website=Nusantara Review}}</ref>{{sfn|Nugroho|2011|pp=266–267}}

== Explorations and navigation ==
During the Majapahit era, Nusantaran exploration reached its greatest accomplishment. [[Ludovico di Varthema]] (1470–1517), in his book ''Itinerario de Ludouico de Varthema Bolognese'' stated that the Southern Javanese people sailed to "far Southern lands" up to the point they arrived at an island where a day only lasted four hours long and was "colder than in any part of the world". Modern studies have determined that such place is located at least 900 nautical miles (1666&nbsp;km) south of the southernmost point of [[Tasmania]].<ref name=":9">{{Cite book|last=Jones|first=John Winter|title=The travels of Ludovico di Varthema in Egypt, Syria, Arabia Deserta and Arabia Felix, in Persia, India, and Ethiopia, A.D. 1503 to 1508|publisher=Hakluyt Society|year=1863}}</ref>{{rp|248–251}}

The Javanese people, like other [[Austronesian peoples|Austronesian]] ethnicities, use a solid navigation system: Orientation at sea is carried out using a variety of different natural signs, and by using a very distinctive [[astronomy]] technique called "[[Star navigation|star path navigation]]". Basically, the navigators determine the bow of the ship to the islands that are recognized by using the position of rising and setting of certain stars above the horizon.<ref>{{Citation|last=Liebner|first=Horst H.|title=Eksplorasi Sumberdaya Budaya Maritim|pages=53–124|year=2005|editor-last=Edi|editor-first=Sedyawati|contribution=Perahu-Perahu Tradisional Nusantara: Suatu Tinjauan Perkapalan dan Pelayaran|contribution-url=https://www.academia.edu/7780936/Perahu-Perahu_Tradisional_Nusantara_Suatu_Tinjauan_Perkapalan_dan_Pelayaran_-_-_Ini_sudah_agak_outdated_ada_tulisan_barunya_Beberapa_Catatan_akan_Sejarah_Pembuatan_Perahu_dan_Pelayaran_Nusantara_|place=Jakarta|publisher=Pusat Riset Wilayah Laut dan Sumber Daya Nonhayati, Badan Riset Kelautan dan Perikanan; Pusat Penelitian Kemasyarakatan dan Budaya, Universitas Indonesia}}</ref>{{Refpage|10}} In the Majapahit era, [[compass]]es and [[magnet]]s were used, and [[cartography]] (mapping science) was developed. In 1293 CE Raden Wijaya presented a map and census record to the [[Yuan dynasty|Yuan]] Mongol invader, suggesting that mapmaking has been a formal part of governmental affairs in Java.<ref name=":12" />{{rp|53}} The use of maps full of longitudinal and transverse lines, rhumb lines, and direct route lines traveled by ships were recorded by Europeans, to the point that the Portuguese considered the Javanese maps were the best map in the early 1500s.<ref name=":9" />{{rp|249}}<ref name=":3" />{{rp|lxxix}}<ref name=":0" />{{sfn|Nugroho|2011|pp=163–164, 166–168}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nusantarareview.com/teknologi-era-majapahit.html|title=Majapahit-era Technologies|date=2018-10-02|website=Nusantara Review|language=en-US|access-date=2020-06-11}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=29 March 2021 |title=Kerajaan Majapahit |url=https://belajarsam.com/kerajaan-majapahit/ |access-date=8 August 2021 |website=Sejarah Kerajaan}} in Indonesian.</ref>

When [[Afonso de Albuquerque]] conquered [[Malacca Sultanate|Malacca]] (1511), the Portuguese recovered a chart from a Javanese [[maritime pilot]], which already included part of the [[Americas]]. Regarding the chart Albuquerque said:<ref name=":52">Carta IX, 1 April 1512. In Pato, Raymundo Antonio de Bulhão (1884). ''[https://archive.org/details/cartasdeaffonso03albugoog/page/n98/mode/2up?q Cartas de Affonso de Albuquerque, Seguidas de Documentos que as Elucidam tomo I]'' (pp. 29–65). Lisboa: Typographia da Academia Real das Sciencas. p. 64.</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Olshin |first=Benjamin B. |date=1996 |title=A sixteenth century Portuguese report concerning an early Javanese world map |journal=História, Ciências, Saúde-Manguinhos |volume=2 |issue=3 |pages=97–104 |doi=10.1590/s0104-59701996000400005 |issn=0104-5970|doi-access=free |url=https://www.scielo.br/j/hcsm/a/HtNK8HhmxkbycBDLzbp4SWH/?format=pdf&lang=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231019000000/https://www.scielo.br/j/hcsm/a/HtNK8HhmxkbycBDLzbp4SWH/?format=pdf&lang=en |archive-date=19 October 2023 }} [https://archive.org/details/portuguese-report-early-javanese-map Alt URL]</ref>{{rp|98–99}}
<blockquote>"...a large map of a Javanese pilot, containing the [[Cape of Good Hope]], [[kingdom of Portugal |Portugal]] and the land of [[Colonial Brazil|Brazil]], the [[Red Sea]] and the [[Persian Gulf|Sea of Persia]], the [[Maluku Islands|Clove Islands]], the navigation of the Chinese and the Gores, with their rhumbs and direct routes followed by the ships, and the hinterland, and how the kingdoms border on each other. It seems to me. Sir, that this was the best thing I have ever seen, and Your Highness will be very pleased to see it; it had the names in Javanese writing, but I had with me a Javanese who could read and write. I send this piece to Your Highness, which Francisco Rodrigues traced from the other, in which Your Highness can truly see where the [[Chinese people|Chinese]] and [[Ryukyuan people|Gores]] come from, and the course your ships must take to the Clove Islands, and where the gold mines lie, and the islands of [[Java]] and [[Banda Islands|Banda]], of nutmeg and mace, and the land of the King of [[Ayutthaya Kingdom|Siam]], and also the end of the land of the navigation of the Chinese, the direction it takes, and how they do not navigate farther."

:— Letter of Albuquerque to [[Manuel I of Portugal|King Manuel I of Portugal]], 1 April 1512.</blockquote>Duarte Barbosa mention places and route which the Majapahit ships visited, which include [[Maluku Islands]], [[Timor]], [[Banda Islands|Banda]], [[Sumatra]], [[Malay Peninsula|Malacca]], [[Greater China|China]], [[Tenasserim coast|Tenasserim]], Pegu ([[Bago Region|Bago]]), [[Bengal]], [[Pulicat]], [[Coromandel Coast|Coromandel]], [[Malabar Coast|Malabar]], Cambay ([[Khambhat|Khambat]]), and [[Aden]]. From the notes of other authors, it is known that there were also those who went to the [[Atolls of the Maldives|Maldives]], Calicut ([[Kozhikode]]), [[Imamate of Oman|Oman]], [[Aden]], and the [[Red Sea]]. The passenger brought their wives and children, even some of them never leave the ship to go on shore, nor have any other dwelling, for they are born and die in the ship.<ref name=":4" />{{rp|191–193}}<ref name=":16">Manguin, Pierre-Yves (1993). 'The Vanishing Jong: Insular Southeast Asian Fleets in Trade and War (Fifteenth to Seventeenth Centuries)', in Anthony Reid (ed.), ''Southeast Asia in the Early Modern Era'' (Ithaca: Cornell University Press), 197–213.</ref>{{rp|199}}{{sfn|Nugroho|2011|pp=289–290}}<ref name="end" />{{rp|278}}

==Relations with regional powers==
[[File:JavaneseGoldOrnaments-14C-NationalMuseumofSingapore-20090712.jpg|thumb|right|14th-century gold armlets and rings in East Javanese Majapahit style, found at Fort Canning Hill, [[Singapore]], suggests that [[Temasek|Tumasik]] or [[Kingdom of Singapura|Singapura]] was within Majapahit sphere of influence.]]
For several centuries{{snd}}since the era of [[Srivijaya]] and [[Medang Kingdom|Medang Mataram]] (circa 10th century), [[Mataram–Srivijayan wars|the classic rivalry]] between Sumatran [[Ethnic Malay|Malay]] states and [[Javanese people|Javanese]] kingdoms has shaped the dynamics of geopolitics in the region.
Their activities in guarding the sea in pursuit of their economic interest, plus their military activities to safeguard this interests, has led to conflicts between Malays and Javanese.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Liow|first=Joseph Chinyong|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PFq_7fuwtNwC&q=Java+Malay+rivalry+Majapahit+Srivijaya&pg=PA37|title=The Politics of Indonesia-Malaysia Relations: One Kin, Two Nations|date=2005|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-0-415-34132-5|language=en|page=37}}</ref> Since early of its formation, Majapahit inherited the foreign outlook of its predecessor entity – [[Singhasari]] kingdom, in which its last king [[Kertanegara]] projected his influence abroad by launching [[Pamalayu]] expedition (1275–1293) to incorporate Malay polities in Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula within Javanese sphere of influence. Previously, Singhasari seeks to dominate trade route, especially Malacca strait, and also saw the outreach of Mongolian-Chinese Yuan influence into Southeast Asia as the threat to their interest. During its formation, the returning Pamalayu expedition in 1293 has brought Malayu Kingdoms in Jambi and Dharmasraya under Javanese suzerainty. Therefore, Java often considers itself as the overlord of most of the polities in the Indonesian archipelago.

During the reign of Majapahit's first two monarch{{snd}}Wijaya and Jayanegara, the kingdom struggled to consolidate its rule, plagued by several rebellions. However, it was not until the reign of its third monarch{{snd}}Queen Tribhuwana Tunggadewi, and her son, Hayam Wuruk{{snd}}that the kingdom began to project its power overseas. Majapahit's confidence for dominance was stemmed for their economic and demographic comparative advantage; agrarian as well as a maritime nation; their large rice production, immense human resources, well-organized society, also their mastery in shipbuilding, navigation and military technology; are excellent relatively compared to their neighbours. These strengths were used by Gajah Mada to expand the kingdom's influence and building a maritime empire. This rather imperialistic outlook has projected in the way he forcefully dealt with Majapahit's neighbours; the Pabali (conquest of Bali, 1342–1343) and the [[Battle of Bubat|Pasunda Bubat]] (1356). Majapahit pulled Bali into their orbit as a vassal state. While the disastrous diplomacy with the [[Sunda Kingdom|Sunda kingdom]] has led to the enmity among them.

[[File:Bhairava Adityavarman.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Adityawarman]], a senior minister of Majapahit depicted as Bhairava. He established the [[Pagaruyung Kingdom]] in Central Sumatra.]]
Majapahit overlordship upon Malay states of Sumatra was demonstrated by the rule of [[Adityawarman]] of Malayupura. Adityawarman, the cousin of King Jayanegara, was raised within Majapahit palace and rose to become a senior minister in Majapahit court. He was sent to led Majapahit military expansion to conquer east coast region in Sumatra. Adityawarman then founded the royal dynasty of [[Minangkabau people|Minangkabau]] in [[Pagarruyung]] and presided over the central Sumatra region to take control of the gold trade between 1347 and 1375.

Within Indonesian archipelago, Majapahit saw itself as the centre of a huge mandala. This notion is demonstrated by its three-tier administrative hierarchy; Nagara Agung, Mancanegara, and Nusantara.

In Sumatran front, Majapahit did capture Palembang, Jambi and Dharmasraya, invade [[Samudera Pasai Sultanate|Pasai]], and it also saw the settlement of [[Temasek|Tumasik]], that later become [[Kingdom of Singapura]], as its rebellious colony, and thus deal with them accordingly.

In later years after the era of Hayam Wuruk, Majapahit has lost their grips on some of their overseas possessions. This led to the thrive and the rise of several polities previously held under Majapahit domination, such as [[Bruneian Empire|Brunei]] and [[Malacca Sultanate|Malacca]]. The rise of Malacca in the 15th century, in particular, is important, because it represents Majapahit eventual failure to control Malacca strait. Previously Majapahit tried to contain the rise of a potential regional rival; a Malay polity in par with Srivijaya, by punishing a rebellion in Palembang and capturing Singapura. In this sense, Malacca was indeed the rival of Majapahit in the competition to dominate the archipelagic realm. Despite this perceived rivalry, in practice, however, the two kingdoms had some close and intense economic and cultural relations. At that time, the trade link between Majapahit ports of Hujung Galuh and Tuban with the port of Melaka must have thrived.

[[File:Cast Chinese coins (330 B.C. - 1912 A.D.).jpg|thumb|right|On centre bottom row (no. 8) is a Yǒng-Lè Tōng-Bǎo (永樂通寶) cash coin cast under the [[Yongle Emperor|Yǒng-Lè Emperor]] (永樂帝) of Ming dynasty. These were cast in great quantities and used by [[Ashikaga Shogunate|Ashikaga]], [[Ryūkyū Kingdom|Ryukyu]], as well as Majapahit.]]
Majapahit true rival for domination, however, was the powerful [[Ming dynasty|Ming Chinese]]. After the fall of Yuan, the Ming Emperor eager to project his power into Southeast Asia. On the other hand, Majapahit saw this archipelagic realm as theirs and unwelcome to any perceived Chinese interference. After Majapahit was weakened by Paregreg civil war, and incessant conflicts among its nobles, the arrival of the formidable [[Ming treasure voyages]] led by [[Zheng He]] upon Majapahit shores has pushed Majapahit prestige and power to the side. Ming on the other hand, actively support the rise of Malacca. This Ming protection has made Majapahit unwilling and unable to push Malacca anymore.<ref name="TOI-Sanyal" />

Majapahit ultimate nemesis, however, was located very close at home; the [[Demak Sultanate]] on the northern coast of Central Java. Ming support to Malacca, and Malacca active proselytizing of Islam, has led to the thriving and rise of Muslim traders community in the archipelago, including in Majapahit ports on the north coast of Java. This in turn gradually corroded the prestige of Javanese Hindu-Buddhist kingship, and after several generations, led to the fall of once-mighty Majapahit empire.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Acharya|first1=Amitav|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vqmMAgAAQBAJ&q=Malacca+Majapahit+relations&pg=PT238|title=Non-Western International Relations Theory: Perspectives On and Beyond Asia|last2=Buzan|first2=Barry|date=2009|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-17403-3|language=en}}</ref>

==Legacy==
{{History of Malaysia}}
[[File:DenpasarPuraMaospahit.JPG|thumb|right|''Pura Maospahit'' ("Majapahit Temple") in [[Denpasar]], Bali, demonstrate the typical Majapahit red brick architecture.]]

Majapahit was the largest empire ever to form in Southeast Asia.<ref name=miksic />{{rp|page=107}} Although its political power beyond the core area in east Java was diffuse, constituting mainly ceremonial recognition of suzerainty, Majapahit society developed a high degree of sophistication in both commercial and artistic activities. Its capital was inhabited by a cosmopolitan population among whom literature and art flourished.<ref name=miksic />{{rp|page=107}}

Numbers of local legends and [[folklore]]s in the region had mentioned about the Majapahit kingdom. Other than Javanese sources, some regional legends mentioning Majapahit kingdom or its general Gajah Mada also can be found; from Aceh, Minangkabau, Palembang, the Malay Peninsula, Sunda, Brunei, Bali to Sumbawa. Most of them mentioned about the incoming Javanese forces to their land, which was probably a local testament of the empire's expansive nature that once dominating the archipelago. The [[Hikayat Raja-raja Pasai|Hikayat Raja Pasai]], a 14th-century [[Aceh]] chronicle tell a Majapahit naval invasion against [[Samudra Pasai]] in 1350. The chronicle described that the Majapahit invasion was a punishment for Sultan Ahmad Malik Az-Zahir's crime on ruining a royal marriage between Pasai Prince Tun Abdul Jalil and Raden Galuh Gemerencang, a Majapahit princess{{snd}}that led to the death of the royal couple.<ref name="Tirto-Pasai"/> 
[[File:Masjid Menara Kudus.jpg|thumb|left|The Majapahit style minaret of Kudus Mosque]]
In West Sumatra, the [[Minangkabau (legend)|legend of Minangkabau]] mentioned an invading foreign prince{{snd}}associated with Javanese Majapahit kingdom{{snd}}being defeated in a buffalo fight.<ref name="Sindo-Minangkabau">{{cite news |date=11 March 2017 |title=Invasi Majapahit ke Pagaruyung dan Pertarungan Dua Kerbau |language=id |work=Sindo News |url=https://daerah.sindonews.com/read/1187263/29/invasi-majapahit-ke-pagaruyung-dan-pertarungan-dua-kerbau-1489158517}}</ref> In [[West Java]], the [[Battle of Bubat|Pasunda Bubat]] tragedy caused a myth to revolve around Indonesians, which forbids marriage between a [[Sundanese people|Sundanese]] and a [[Javanese people|Javanese]], as it would be unsustainable and only bring misery to the couple.<ref>{{cite news | title = Tragedi Perang Bubat dan mitos orang Jawa dilarang kawin dengan Sunda | date = 24 April 2015 | author = Hery H Winarno | url = https://www.merdeka.com/peristiwa/tragedi-perang-bubat-mitos-orang-jawa-dilarang-kawin-dengan-sunda.html | language = id}}</ref> In Malay Peninsula, the [[Malay Annals]] mentioned the legend of the fall of [[Kingdom of Singapura|Singapura]] to Majapahit forces in 1398 was due to the betrayal of Sang Rajuna Tapa that opened the fortified city gate.<ref>{{harvnb|Ahmad|1979|pp=69–70}}</ref> In [[Brunei]], the folk legend of Lumut Lunting and Pilong-Pilongan islands in [[Brunei Bay]] also connected to Majapahit.<ref>{{cite web | title = Two Brunei Bay Legends, Tales about Lumut Lunting and Pilong-Pilongan | author = Rozan Yunos | work = Brunei Sources | url = http://www.bruneiresources.com/goldenlegacy/tgl_brunei_bay_legends.html}}</ref>

Several Javanese legends were originated or become popular during the Majapahit period. The [[Panji (prince)|Panji cycles]], the tale of [[Sri Tanjung]], and the epic of [[Damarwulan]], are popular tales in Javanese and [[Balinese literature]]s. The tales of Panji was dated from the older period during Kediri kingdom, while the tale of Sri Tanjung and the epic of Damarwulan took place during the Majapahit period. These tales remained a popular theme in Javanese culture of later period during Mataram Sultanate, and often became the source of inspiration for [[wayang]] shadow puppet performance, [[ketoprak]] and [[topeng]] dance drama. The Panji tales, in particular, have spread from East Java to become a source of inspiration for literature and dance drama throughout the region, as far as the Malay Peninsula, Cambodia and Siam where he is known as Raden Inao or Enau ({{langx|th|อิเหนา}}) of Kurepan.{{Sfn|Holt|1967|p=274}}

Majapahit had a momentous and lasting influence on [[Indonesian art]] and [[Indonesian architecture|architecture]]. The empire's expansion circa 14th-century contributed to the diffusion Javanese cultural influence throughout the archipelago, which can be seen as a form of [[Javanisation]]. It was probably during this period that some of the Javanese cultural elements, such as [[gamelan]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-gamelan-195131|title=Learn the History Behind Gamelan, Indonesian Music and Dance|work=ThoughtCo|access-date=13 November 2018}}</ref> and kris, being expanded and introduced to islands outside of Java. The descriptions of the architecture of the capital's pavilions (''[[pendopo]]'') in the ''Nagarakretagama'' evoke the Javanese [[Kraton (Indonesia)|Kraton]] also the [[Pura (Balinese temple)|Balinese temples]] and palace compounds of today. The Majapahit architectural style that often employs [[Majapahit Terracotta|terracotta]] and [[red brick]] heavily influenced the architecture of Java and Bali in the later period. The Majapahit style ''[[candi bentar]]'' split gate, the ''kori'' or ''[[paduraksa]]'' towering red-brick gate, and also ''pendopo'' pavilion have become ubiquitous in Javanese and Balinese architectural features, as seen in [[Menara Kudus Mosque]], [[Keraton Kasepuhan]] and Sunyaragi park in [[Cirebon]], [[Mataram Sultanate]] royal cemetery in [[Kota Gede]], [[Yogyakarta]], and various palaces and temples in Bali.<ref name="Made Wijaya"/>

[[File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Bas-reliëfs op het Pendopo Terras Panataran tempelcomplex TMnr 20027152.jpg|thumb|right|Bas relief from [[Candi Penataran]] describes the Javanese-style [[pendopo]] pavilion, commonly found across Java and Bali.]]

The vivid, rich and festive [[Balinese people#Culture|Balinese culture]] is considered one of Majapahit's legacy. The Javanese Hindu civilisation since the era of [[Airlangga]] to the era of Majapahit kings has profoundly influenced and shaped the Balinese culture and [[History of Bali|history]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.lonelyplanet.com/indonesia/bali/history |title=Lonely Planet: History of Bali |access-date=14 October 2011 |archive-date=11 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190511082247/https://www.lonelyplanet.com/indonesia/bali/history |url-status=dead }}</ref> The ancient links and Majapahit legacy is observable in many ways; architecture, literature, religious rituals, dance-drama and artforms. The aesthetics and style of bas-reliefs in Majapahit East Javanese temples were preserved and copied in Balinese temples. It is also because, after the fall of the empire, many Majapahit nobles, artisans and priests had taken refuge either in the interior mountainous region of East Java or across the narrow strait to Bali. Indeed, in some ways, the [[Bali Kingdom|Kingdom of Bali]] was the successor of Majapahit. Large numbers of Majapahit manuscripts, such as [[Nagarakretagama]], [[Kakawin Sutasoma|Sutasoma]], [[Pararaton]] and [[Tantu Pagelaran]], were being well-kept in royal libraries of Bali and Lombok and provides the glimpse and valuable historical records on Majapahit. The Majapahit Hindu-Javanese culture has shaped the culture of Bali, that led to popular expression; "without Java, there is no Bali". Yet in return, Bali is credited as the last stronghold to safeguard and preserve the ancient Hindu Javanese civilisation.

[[File:WLANL - mchangsp - Kris van Knaud.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Kris of Knaud]], one of the oldest surviving kris, is dated to Majapahit period.]]

In weaponry, the Majapahit expansion is believed to be responsible for the widespread use of the [[Kris|keris]] dagger in Southeast Asia; from Java, Bali, Sumatra, Malaysia, Brunei to Southern Thailand. Although it has been suggested that the keris, and native daggers similar to it, predate Majapahit, nevertheless the empire expansion contributed to its popularity and diffusion in the region around the year 1492.<ref name="JPostKris">{{cite news|title=Kris, more than just a simple dagger |author=Tantri Yuliandini |date=18 April 2002 |newspaper=The Jakarta Post |url=http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2002/04/18/kris-more-just-a-simple-dagger.html |access-date=30 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140729203644/http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2002/04/18/kris-more-just-a-simple-dagger.html |archive-date=29 July 2014 }}</ref> For example, [[Kris of Knaud]], one of the oldest surviving kris is dated to 1264 Saka (which correspondents to 1342). The Malay legend of Kris [[Taming Sari]] is also attributed to Majapahit origin.

For Indonesians in later centuries, Majapahit became a symbol of past greatness. The Islamic sultanates of [[Demak Sultanate|Demak]], [[Pajang]], and [[Mataram Sultanate|Mataram]] sought to establish their legitimacy to the Majapahit.<ref name=ricklefs />{{rp|page=40}} The Demak claimed a line of succession through Kertabumi, as its founder [[Raden Patah]], in court chronicles was said to be the son of Kertabumi with Putri Cina, a Chinese princess, who had been sent away before her son was born.<ref name=ricklefs/>{{rp|pages=36–37}} [[Sultan Agung]]'s conquest of [[Wirasaba]] (present-day Mojoagung) in 1615{{snd}}during that time just a small town without significant strategic and economic value{{snd}}led by the sultan himself, may probably have had such symbolic importance as it was the location of the former Majapahit capital.<ref name=ricklefs />{{rp|page=43}} Central Javanese palaces have traditions and [[genealogy]] that attempt to prove links back to the Majapahit royal lines{{snd}}usually in the form of a grave as a vital ''link'' in Java – where legitimacy is enhanced by such a connection.{{Citation needed|date=February 2007}} Bali, in particular, was heavily influenced by Majapahit and the [[Balinese people|Balinese]] consider themselves to be the true heirs of the kingdom.<ref name="Schoppert1997"/>

[[File:Relief of Indonesian History, Monas.JPG|thumb|right|The high reliefs of Gajah Mada and Majapahit history depicted in [[National Monument (Indonesia)|Monas]] has become the source of Indonesian national pride of past greatness.]]

Modern Indonesian nationalists, including those of the early 20th-century [[Indonesian National Revival#National Revival|Indonesian National Revival]], have invoked the Majapahit Empire.<ref name ="M Wood"/> Indonesian founding fathers—especially [[Sukarno]] and [[Mohammad Yamin]], built a historical construct around Majapahit to argue for the ancient unified realm, as a predecessor of modern Indonesia.<ref name="NG-Majapahit">{{cite news |author=Mahandis Y. Thamrin |date=11 October 2013 |title=Nusantara Bukanlah Wilayah Majapahit? |language=id |work=National Geographic Indonesia |url=http://nationalgeographic.co.id/berita/2013/10/faktanya-nusantara-bukanlah-wilayah-majapahit |access-date=6 October 2016 |archive-date=3 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180303050423/http://nationalgeographic.co.id/berita/2013/10/faktanya-nusantara-bukanlah-wilayah-majapahit |url-status=dead }}</ref> The memory of its greatness remains in Indonesia and is sometimes seen as a precedent for the current political boundaries of the Republic.<ref name=ricklefs />{{rp|page=19}} Many of modern Indonesian national symbols derived from Majapahit Hindu-Buddhist elements. The Indonesian national motto, "''[[Bhinneka Tunggal Ika]]''", is a quotation from an [[Old Javanese]] poem "''Kakawin Sutasoma''", written by a Majapahit poet, Mpu Tantular.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.antaranews.com/berita/1256649489/bhinekatunggalikakaryagemilangmputantular |title=Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, masterpiece of Mpu Tantular, Antara (in Indonesian) |access-date=17 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111008024249/http://www.antaranews.com/berita/1256649489/bhinekatunggalikakaryagemilangmputantular |archive-date=8 October 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The Indonesian coat of arms, ''[[Coat of arms of Indonesia|Garuda Pancasila]]'', also derives from [[Hinduism in Indonesia|Javanese Hindu elements]]. The statue and relief of [[Garuda]] have been found in many temples in Java such as [[Prambanan]] from the ancient [[Mataram Kingdom|Mataram]] era, and the [[Penataran Temple|Panataran]] as well as the [[Candi Sukuh|Sukuh]] temple dated from the Majapahit era. The notable statue of Garuda is the statue of the king [[Airlangga]] depicted as [[Vishnu]] riding [[Garuda]].

In its propaganda from the 1920s, the [[Communist Party of Indonesia]] presented its vision of a classless society as a reincarnation of a romanticised Majapahit.<ref name=ricklefs />{{rp|page=174}} It was invoked by Sukarno for nation building and by the [[Orde Baru|New Order]] as an expression of state expansion and consolidation.<ref>{{cite book | last = Friend | first = Theodore | title = Indonesian Destinies | year = 2003 | publisher = Belknap Press, [[Harvard University Press]] | location = Cambridge, Massachusetts and London | pages = [https://archive.org/details/indonesiandestin00theo/page/19 19] | isbn = 0-674-01137-6 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/indonesiandestin00theo/page/19 }}</ref> Like Majapahit, the modern state of Indonesia covers vast territory and is politically centred on Java.
[[File:Patih Gajah Mada.jpg|thumb|upright|Gajah Mada statue in front of the now-demolished Telecommunication Museum in [[Taman Mini Indonesia Indah]], Jakarta. [[Palapa]], Indonesia's first telecommunication satellite launched on 9 July 1976 was named after [[Palapa oath]].]]
[[Palapa]], the series of communication satellites owned by [[Telkom Indonesia]], an Indonesian telecommunication company, was named after ''Sumpah Palapa'', the famous oath taken by [[Gajah Mada]], who swore that he would not taste any spice as long as he had not succeeded in unifying Nusantara (Indonesian archipelago). This ancient oath of unification signifies the Palapa satellite as the modern means to unify the Indonesian archipelago by way of [[telecommunication]]. The name was chosen by the president [[Suharto]], and the program was started in February 1975.

Pura Kawitan Majapahit was built in 1995 as a homage to honour the empire that inspires the nation. Majapahit is often regarded as the antecedent of the modern state of Indonesia. This Hindu temple complex is located within Trowulan just north of Segaran pool.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2020/02/13/pura-kawitan-majapahit-tribute-to-an-empire-that-inspires-a-nation.html|title=Pura Kawitan Majapahit: Tribute to an empire that inspires a nation|last=Preuss|first=Shane|website=The Jakarta Post|language=en|access-date=2020-02-14}}</ref>

During the last half-year of 2008, the Indonesian government sponsored a massive exploration on the site that is believed to be the place where the palace of Majapahit once stood. [[Jero Wacik]], the Indonesian Minister of Culture and Tourism stated that the [[Trowulan#The Majapahit Park|Majapahit Park]] would be built on the site and completed as early as 2009, to prevent further damage caused by home-made brick industries that developed in the surrounding area.<ref>{{cite web|title=Taman Majapahit Dibangun di Trowulan |date=4 November 2008 |url=http://www.kompas.com/read/xml/2008/11/04/20305699/taman.majapahit.dibangun.di.trowulan |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081107163612/http://www.kompas.com/read/xml/2008/11/04/20305699/Taman.Majapahit.Dibangun.di.Trowulan |archive-date=7 November 2008 }}</ref> Nevertheless, the project leaves a huge attention to some historians, since constructing the park's foundation in Segaran site located in south side of [[Trowulan Museum]] will inevitably damage the site itself. Ancient bricks which are historically valuable were found scattered on the site. The government then argued that the method they were applying were less destructive since digging method were used instead of drilling.<ref>{{cite web|title=Situs Majapahit Dirusak Pemerintah |date=5 January 2009 |url=http://www.kompas.com/read/xml/2009/01/05/05100324/situs.majapahit.dirusak.pemerintah |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090112012614/http://www.kompas.com/read/xml/2009/01/05/05100324/situs.majapahit.dirusak.pemerintah |archive-date=12 January 2009 }}</ref>

==List of rulers==
[[File:Rajasa Dynasty.svg|thumb|right|220px |Genealogy diagram of the [[Rajasa dynasty]], the royal family of Singhasari and Majapahit. Rulers are highlighted with period of reign.]]
The rulers of Majapahit belong to the [[Rajasa dynasty]], which was founded in the early 13th century by [[Ken Arok|Sri Ranggah Rajasa]], the first king of [[Singhasari]].<ref name=":022" />

{| class="wikitable sortable" border="1" width="75%"
!width="40px"|Reign
!width="60px"|Monarch
!width="40px"|Capital
!width="440px"|Information and events
|-
|1293–1309
|[[Raden Wijaya|Saṅgrāmavijaya]], styled Kṛtarājasa Jayavardhana<ref name=Coedes>{{Cite book
  | last    =Cœdès
  | first = George
  | author-link = Georges Coedès
  | title = The Indianized states of Southeast Asia
  | publisher = University of Hawaii Press
  | year = 1968
  | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=iDyJBFTdiwoC
  | isbn =9780824803681 }}</ref>{{rp|201}}
|[[Trowulan]]
|
* Victory against [[Mongol invasion of Java|Mongol forces]] sent by [[Kublai Khan]] of the [[Yuan dynasty]] (1293).
* Ascended to Javanese throne on the 15th Kārttika of 1215 Śaka (10 November 1293).
* Ranggalawe rebellion (1295).
|-
|1309–1328
|[[Jayanegara|Jayanagara]],<ref name=Coedes/>{{rp|233–234}} styled Sundarapāṇḍyadevādhīśvara
|[[Trowulan]]
|
* Nambi rebellion (1316).
* Kuti rebellion (1319).
* Jayanagara's assassination by Tanca (1328).
|-
|1328–1350s
|Gitārjā, styled [[Tribhuwana Wijayatunggadewi|Tribhuvanottuṅgadevī Jayaviṣṇuvardhanī]]<ref name=Coedes/>{{rp|234}}
|[[Trowulan]]
|
* Sadeng and Keta rebellion (1331).
* ''Pabali'', the conquest of [[Bali Kingdom|Bali]] (1342–1343).
* Conquest of [[Samudra Pasai]] (1349–1350).
|-
|1350s–1389/1399<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sastrawan |first=Wayan Jarrah |date=2020-01-02 |title=How to read a chronicle: The Pararaton as a conglomerate text |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13639811.2020.1701325 |journal=Indonesia and the Malay World |language=en |volume=48 |issue=140 |pages=2–23 |doi=10.1080/13639811.2020.1701325 |issn=1363-9811|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
|[[Hayam Wuruk]], styled Rājasanagara<ref name=Coedes/>{{rp|239}}
|[[Trowulan]]
|
* [[Battle of Bubat|Pasunda Bubat]] (1357).
* Majapahit golden age described in the ''[[Nagarakretagama|Nagarakṛtāgama]]'' (1365).
* Punitive attack on the Palembang rebellion (1377).
|-
|1389/1399–1429
|[[Vikramavardhana]],<ref name=Coedes/>{{rp|241}} styled Bhaṭāra Viśeṣa
|[[Trowulan]]
|
* Siege and invasion of [[Kingdom of Singapura|Singapura]] (1398).
* [[Paregreg war|Paregreg civil war]] (1405–1406), Vikramavardhana defeating Bhre Vīrabhūmi.
* Campaign against [[Pagarruyung]] (1409).
|-
|1429–1447
|[[Suhita|Suhitā]]<ref name=Coedes/>{{rp|242}}
|[[Trowulan]]
|
|-
|1447–1451
|[[Kertawijaya|Kṛtavijaya]],<ref name=Coedes/>{{rp|242}} styled Vijayaparākramavardhana
|[[Trowulan]]
|
|-
|1451–1453
|Vijayakumāra, styled Rājasavardhana<ref name=Coedes/>{{rp|242}} 
|[[Trowulan]]
|
|-
|1453–1456
|[[Interregnum]]
|
|
|-
|1456–1466
|Sūryavikrama, styled Girīśavardhana<ref name=Coedes/>{{rp|242}} 
|[[Trowulan]]
|
|-
|1466–1478 
|Suraprabhāva,<ref name=Coedes/>{{rp|242}} styled Siṅhavikramavardhana
|[[Trowulan]]
|
|-
|c. 1486–1527
|[[Girindrawardhana|Girīndravardhana]]
|[[Trowulan]]
|
* [[Demak-Majapahit conflicts]] (1478-1527).
|}

==Family tree==
{{Chart top|width=100%|collapsed=no|Family Tree of Majapahit Emperors}}

{{Tree chart/start|align=center}}

{{Tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |A01  | | | | | |A02  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
A01=''[[Dharmasraya|Dharmasraya<br>Kingdom]]''|boxstyle_A01=border-width:0px|

A02=''[[Singhasari#Family Tree|Singhasari<br>Kingdom]]''|boxstyle_A02=border-width:0px}}

{{Tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |!| | | | | | | |!| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |}}

{{Tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |A01  |y|A02  |y|A03  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
A01=♀ [[Dara Petak|Indreswari]]|

A02='''[[Raden Wijaya|Kertarajasa<br>Jayawardhana]]'''<br><sup>(1)</sup><br><small>r. 1293–1309</small>|boxstyle_A02=background-color:#FFE4E1; border-color:#FFD700|

A03=♀ [[Gayatri Rajapatni|Gayatri<br>Rajapatni]]|}}

{{Tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |!| | | |!| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |}}

{{Tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |A01  | |A02  |y|A03  | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
A01='''[[Jayanegara|Sri<br>Sundarapandya<br>Dewa Adhiswara]]'''<br><sup>(2)</sup><br><small>r. 1309–1328</small>|boxstyle_A01=background-color:#FFE4E1; border-color:#FFD700|

A02='''♀ [[Tribhuwana Wijayatunggadewi|Sri Tribhuwana<br>Wijayatungga<br>dewi]]'''<br><sup>(3)</sup><br><small>r. 1328–1351</small>|boxstyle_A02=background-color:#FFE4E1; border-color:#FFD700|

A03=Cakradhara}}

{{Tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |,|-|-|-|-|-|^|-|.| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |}}

{{Tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |A01  | |A02  |y|A03  | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
A01='''[[Hayam Wuruk|Sri<br>Rajasanagara]]'''<br><sup>(4)</sup><br><small>r. 1351–1389</small>|boxstyle_A01=background-color:#FFE4E1; border-color:#FFD700|

A02=Singhawardhana|

A03=♀ Dyah Nertaja}}

{{Tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |!| | | |,|-|'| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |}}

{{Tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |A01  |~|A02  |y|A03  | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
A01=♀ Kusumawardhani|

A02='''[[Wikramawardhana|Wikrama<br>wardhana]]'''<br><sup>(5)</sup><br><small>r. 1389–1429</small>|boxstyle_A02=background-color:#FFE4E1; border-color:#FFD700|

A03=♀ Bhre Daha}}

{{Tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |,|-|-|-|'| |`|-|.| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |}}

{{Tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |A01  | |A02  |~|A03  | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
A01='''Wijaya<br>Parakrama<br>wardhana'''<br><sup>(7)</sup><br><small>r. 1447–1451</small>|boxstyle_A01=background-color:#FFE4E1; border-color:#FFD700|

A02=Bhre Hyang<br>Parameswara<br>Ratnapangkaja|

A03=♀ '''[[Suhita|Sri Suhita]]'''<br><sup>(6)</sup><br><small>r. 1429–1447</small>|boxstyle_A03=background-color:#FFE4E1; border-color:#FFD700}}

{{Tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | | | | | |,|-|-|-|+|-|-|-|.| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |}}

{{Tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | | | | |A01  | |A02  | |A03  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
A01='''Rajasawardhana<br>Sang Sinagara'''<br><sup>(8)</sup><br><small>r. 1451–1453</small>|boxstyle_A01=background-color:#FFE4E1; border-color:#FFD700|

A02='''Girishawardhana'''<br><sup>(9)</sup><br><small>r. 1456–1466</small>|boxstyle_A02=background-color:#FFE4E1; border-color:#FFD700|

A03='''Sri Adi<br>Suraprabhawa'''<br><sup>(10)</sup><br><small>r. 1466–1478</small>|boxstyle_A03=background-color:#FFE4E1; border-color:#FFD700|}}

{{Tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | | | | | |!| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |}}

{{Tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | | | | |A01  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

A01='''Girindrawardhana<br>Dyah<br>Ranawijaya'''<br><sup>(11)</sup><br><small>fl. 1478</small>|boxstyle_A01=background-color:#FFE4E1; border-color:#FFD700|}}

{{Tree chart/end}}

{{Chart bottom}}

==Majapahit in popular culture==
{{More citations needed|section|date=January 2025}}
[[File:Theatrical Majapahit.jpg|thumb|right|Theatrical performance depicting the Mongol invasion of Java, performed by 150 students of [[Indonesian Institute of the Arts, Yogyakarta]]. The history of Majapahit continues to inspire contemporary artists.]]
Celebrated as 'the golden era of the archipelago', the Majapahit empire has inspired many writers and artists (and continues to do so) to create their works based on this era or to describe and mention it. The impact of the Majapahit theme on popular culture can be seen in the following:

===Literature===
* ''Sandyakalaning Majapahit'' (1933), or Twilight/Sunset in Majapahit is a historical romance that took place during the fall of Majapahit empire, written by [[Sanusi Pane]].
* ''Panji Koming'' (since 1979), a weekly [[comic strip]] by Dwi Koendoro published in the Sunday edition of [[Kompas]], telling the everyday life of Panji Koming, a common Majapahit citizen. Although it took place in the Majapahit era, the comic strip serves as witty [[satire]] and [[criticism]] of modern Indonesian society. From a political, social, cultural and current point of view, Indonesia is described as the '[[reincarnation]]' of the Majapahit empire. The current Indonesian president is often portrayed as a Majapahit monarch or prime minister.
* ''Senopati Pamungkas'' (1986, reprinted in 2003), a martial art-historical epic novel by Arswendo Atmowiloto. It takes place in the late Singhasari period and formation of Majapahit. This novel describes the sagas, royal intrigues, and romance of the formation of the kingdom as well as the adventure of the main character, a commoner named Upasara Wulung and his forbidden love affair with princess Gayatri Rajapatni, whom later becomes the consort of [[Raden Wijaya]], the first king of Majapahit.
* ''Imperium Majapahit'', a comic book series by Jan Mintaraga, published by Elexmedia Komputindo. This series tells the history of Majapahit from its formation until the decline.
* ''[[Gajah Mada (book)|Gajah Mada]]'', a [[pentalogy]] written by [[Langit Kresna Hariadi]] depicting a fictionalised detail of [[Gajah Mada]]'s life from the [[Gajah Mada#Rise to power|Kuti rebellion]] up to the [[Gajah Mada#The Bubat Incident|Bubat War]].
* ''[[Dyah Pitaloka]]'' (2007), a novel written by Hermawan Aksan, fictionalising the detailed life story of Sundanese princess [[Dyah Pitaloka Citraresmi]] set around the [[Gajah Mada#The Bubat Incident|Bubat War]]. The novel virtually takes the same context and was inspired by the [[Kidung Sundayana]].
* ''Jung Jawa'' (2009), an anthology of short stories written by Rendra Fatrisna Kurniawan, imagining the life of the Nusantara people, published by Babel Publishing.

===Film and Radio===
* ''Saur Sepuh'' (1987–1991), a radio drama and film by Niki Kosasih. Begun as a popular radio drama program in the late 1980s, Saur Sepuh is based on 15th-century Java, centred around the story about a fictional hero named Brama Kumbara, the king of Madangkara, a fictional kingdom neighbour of the [[Kingdom of Sunda|Pajajaran]]. In several stories the Paregreg war is described, that is to say, the civil war of Majapahit between Wikramawardhana and Bhre Wirabhumi. This part has been made into a single feature film entitled 'Saur Sepuh' as well.
* ''Tutur Tinular'', a radio drama and film by S Tidjab. Tutur Tinular is a [[martial art]] historical epic fictional story with the Majapahit era serving as the background of the story. The story also involved a romance between the hero named Arya Kamandanu and his Chinese lover Mei Shin.
* ''Wali Songo'', the film tells the story of [[Wali Sanga|nine Muslim saints]] ('wali') who spread [[Islam]] to Java. The story took place near the end of the Majapahit era and the formation of [[Demak Sultanate|Demak]]. It describes the decaying Majapahit empire where royals are fighting each other for power while the commoners suffer.
* ''[[Puteri Gunung Ledang (film)|Puteri Gunung Ledang]]'' (2004), a [[Malaysia]]n epic film based on [[Legend of Puteri Gunung Ledang|a traditional Malay legend]]. This film recounts the love story between Gusti Putri Retno Dumilah, a Majapahit princess, and [[Hang Tuah]], a [[Malaccan Sultanate|Malaccan]] admiral.

===Video game===
* ''[[Civilization 5: Brave New World]] (2013)'', where [[Gajah Mada]] appeared as one of the leaders of a great civilisation in the second expansion of the [[Civilization 5]] game. He is the leader of the Indonesian civilisation, with the emblem of the Indonesian empire being the [[Surya Majapahit]], although in the game the empire is known as the "Indonesian empire" instead.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Pitcher |first1=Jenna |title=Civilization 5's Brave New World expansion introduces Morocco and Indonesia |url=https://www.polygon.com/2013/5/21/4350894/civilization-5s-brave-new-world-expansion-introduces-morocco-and |access-date=10 January 2025 |work=Polygon |date=21 May 2013}}</ref>
* Later, in [[Civilization VI|''Civilization 6 (2016),'']] ''a'' downloadable content has one of its rulers, [[Tribhuwana Wijayatunggadewi|Dyah Gitarja]] (referred as Gitarja in-game) as the leader of the Indonesian civilization, with the emblem being a simpler version of the Surya Majapahit. The unique unit of Indonesian civilization is the ''jong''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Andy |first1=Chalk |title=Civilization 6 is also adding Indonesia to the mix |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/civilization-6-is-also-adding-indonesia-to-the-mix/ |access-date=10 January 2025 |work=[[PC Gamer]] |date=17 October 2017 |language=en}}</ref>
* On the ''Rise of the Rajas'' expansion pack from ''[[Age of Empires II]]'', [[Gajah Mada]] appears in a campaign detailing his rise and then fall after the Pasunda Bubat tragedy. He also made appearance in the ''[[Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition]]''.
* A unit called Cetbang Cannon is available for Indonesia, a revolutionary nation available for the Dutch and Portuguese civilization in ''[[Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition]]''.
* Majapahit is featured as a civilization in ''[[Civilization VII]]''. They appear during the exploration period of the game.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://civilization.2k.com/civ-vii/game-guide/civilizations/majapahit/#:~:text=Majapahit%20%2D%20Exploration%20Age%20Civilization&text=The%20last%20great%20Hindu%20kingdom,dawn%20of%20the%20global%20era.|title=MAJAPAHIT - EXPLORATION AGE CIVILIZATION|date=December 2, 2024|access-date=December 10, 2024|publisher=[[2K (company)|2K]]|website=civilization.2k.com}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Indonesia}}
{{div col}}
*[[Trowulan Museum|Majapahit Museum]]
* [[Gosari inscription]]
* [[Indonesian Esoteric Buddhism]]
* [[Javanese Kshatriya]]
* [[Kidung Sunda]]
* [[List of monarchs of Java]]
* [[Osing people|Osing]]
* [[Srivijaya]]
* [[Tenggerese people|Tenggerese]]
* [[Hinduism in Indonesia]]
* [[Hinduism in Java]]
* [[Bali]]
* [[Majapahit (train)|Majapahit train]]{{col div end}}

==Notes==
{{notelist | group=note | close}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em|refs=
<ref name=miksic>{{Cite book
| isbn      = 9813018267
| series    = Indonesian Heritage Series
| title     = Ancient History
| publisher = Archipelago Press / Editions Didier Millet
| year      = 1999
| editor    = John Miksic |editor1-link = John N. Miksic
| volume    = 1
}}</ref>
<ref name=ricklefs>{{Cite book
| isbn      = 9780804721950
| last      = Ricklefs
| first     = Merle Calvin
| title     = A history of modern Indonesia since c. 1300
| year      = 1993
| publisher = Stanford University Press / Macmillans
| edition   = 2nd
}}</ref>
<ref name=yingyai>{{Cite book
| isbn      = 9780521010320
| author    = Ma Huan
| title     = [[Yingya Shenglan|Ying-yai Sheng-lan]] (瀛涯胜览) The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores
| others    = translated by J.V.G Mills
| orig-year = 1433
| year      = 1970
| publisher = Cambridge University Press
| series    = [[Hakluyt Society]]
}}</ref>
}}

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* {{Cite book |last=Muljana |first=Raden Benedictus Slamet |title=Menuju Puncak Kemegahan: Sejarah Kerajaan Majapahit |year=2005 |editor-last1=Al-Fayyadl |editor-first1=Muhammad |location=Yogyakarta |publisher=LKiS Pelangi Aksara}}
* {{Cite book |last=Nugroho |first=Irawan Djoko |title=Meluruskan Sejarah Majapahit |year=2009 |publisher=Ragam Media}}
* {{Cite book |last=Nugroho |first=Irawan Djoko |title=Majapahit Peradaban Maritim |year=2011 |publisher=Suluh Nuswantara Bakti |isbn=978-602-9346-00-8}}
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* {{Cite book |last=Pigeaud |first=Theodoor Gautier Thomas |title=Java in the 14th Century: A Study in Cultural History, Volume III: Translations |year=1960c |edition=3rd (revised) |location=The Hague |publisher=Martinus Nijhoff |isbn=978-94-011-8772-5}}
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* {{Cite book |last=Prapanca |first=Mpu |title=Kakawin Nagarakertagama: Teks Asli dan Terjemahan |year=2018 |editor=Isidora |edition=2nd (revised) |location=Yogyakarta |publisher=Narasi |isbn=978-979-168-553-5 |translator-last1=Saktiani |translator-first1=Damaika |translator-last2=Widya |translator-first2=Kartika |translator-last3=Aminullah |translator-first3=Zakaria Pamuji |translator-last4=Marginingrum |translator-first4=Novi |translator-last5=Septi |translator-first5=Neda}}
* {{citation |last=Sabrizain |title=Palembang Prince or Singapore Renegade? |url=http://www.sabrizain.org/malaya/parames1.htm |access-date=2012-10-04}}
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==External links==
{{Commons category|Majapahit Empire}}
{{div col}}
* [http://www.eastjava.com/books/trowulan/history/history.html A Short History of Majapahit]
* [http://www.eastjava.com/books/majapahit/ Memoirs of Majapahit Kingdom]
* [http://users.skynet.be/network.indonesia/ni4001c6.htm A brief history of Majapahit] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070101051340/http://users.skynet.be/network.indonesia/ni4001c6.htm |date=1 January 2007 }}
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20120125090000/http://sejarahnasional.org/index.php/kerajaan-nusantara/1-terjemahan-manuskrip-nagarakertagama A Complete Transcription of Majapahit Royal Manuscript of Nagarakertagama from SejarahNasional.org an National History Website]}}, adapted from Muljana, Slamet (1979). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=Vq8sAAAAMAAJ Nagarakretagama dan Tafsir Sejarahnya]''. Bhratara Karya Aksara.
{{col div end}}

{{Precolonial states in Indonesia}}
{{Asia in topic|Hinduism in}}
{{Empires}}
{{Family trees}}

{{Authority control}}

{{Coord missing|Indonesia}}

[[Category:Majapahit| ]]
[[Category:1527 disestablishments in Asia]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1293]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1527]]
[[Category:Hindu states]]
[[Category:Precolonial states of Indonesia]]
[[Category:1293 establishments in Asia]]
[[Category:Former countries in Malaysian history]]
[[Category:Former monarchies of Southeast Asia]]
[[Category:Hindu Buddhist states in Indonesia]]
[[Category:Former countries in Thai history]]
[[Category:13th century in Thailand]]
[[Category:Island countries]]
[[Category:Indianized kingdoms]]
[[Category:Family trees|Majapahit]]
[[Category:Hinduism in the Philippines]]