Majapahit
Java unites the archipelago — and gives Indonesia its founding story
See it on the timeline →In depth
Majapahit's extent is contested: the 1365 court poem Nagarakretagama lists around a hundred dependencies, but the relationship was in many cases tribute and trade rather than rule — precisely the kind of power a crisp polygon misrepresents. It was the last great Hindu-Buddhist polity in the region before Islam became dominant. The modern use of Majapahit to justify Indonesia's borders is a clear case of past empires being recruited into present-day nation-building.
For children
From East Java, Majapahit ran a network of ports across the archipelago and beyond into Malaysia. The prime minister Gajah Mada swore a famous oath not to taste spice until the whole archipelago was united. When Indonesia became independent in 1945, Majapahit was invoked as proof that the country had been one before.
Connects to
Part of Terra Saga — the story of Earth on a timeline. terrasaga.org