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Oceania · Classical Hindu-Buddhist Java and Bali

Kediri Kingdom

1042–1222

Kediri (Kadiri, also Panjalu) was an Indianized Hindu-Buddhist kingdom in East Java and the successor to Airlangga's Kahuripan, regarded as a continuation of the Isyana dynasty. Its capital was Daha (Dahanapura, "city of fire," named in Airlangga's Pamwatan inscription of 1042), near the fertile Brantas valley at modern Kediri.

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Existed
1042–1222
Shown on the map
1046–1226
Peak area
74k km²
Region
Oceania

Overview

Kediri (Kadiri, also Panjalu) was an Indianized Hindu-Buddhist kingdom in East Java and the successor to Airlangga's Kahuripan, regarded as a continuation of the Isyana dynasty. Its capital was Daha (Dahanapura, "city of fire," named in Airlangga's Pamwatan inscription of 1042), near the fertile Brantas valley at modern Kediri. The economy centered on rice agriculture — inheriting Kahuripan's irrigation, including the Wringin Sapta dam — plus cattle, boar and poultry farming, and trade; a Chinese source (Ling wai tai ta, 1178) knew it as "Pu-chia-lung."

Decline and legacy

The first king was Sri Samaravijaya (1042–1051). After a fifty-year obscurity, the dynasty's fortunes brightened under Sri Jayabhaya (1135–1159), who conquered Janggala and reunified the realm; under him the Kakawin Bharatayuddha was completed (1157), and he became legendary in Java for his prophecies (Jangka Jayabaya). Sri Kameshvara (1182–1191) and finally Sri Kertajaya/Srengga (1194–1222) followed. Kediri became a flourishing center of Old Javanese kakawin literature. Its fall came in 1222, when Kertajaya — who demanded to be worshipped as a god and quarreled with the Brahmins — was defeated by Ken Arok of Tumapel at the Battle of Ganter, ending the Kediri period. The kingdom was briefly revived by Jayakatwang (1292–1293), who killed Kertanegara of Singhasari, before being crushed by the combined Mongol and Majapahit forces in 1293.

Common questions

What was the Kediri Kingdom?
Kediri (Kadiri, also Panjalu) was an Indianized Hindu-Buddhist kingdom in East Java and the successor to Airlangga's Kahuripan, regarded as a continuation of the Isyana dynasty. Its capital was Daha (Dahanapura, "city of fire," named in Airlangga's Pamwatan inscription of 1042), near the fertile Brantas valley at modern Kediri.
When did the Kediri Kingdom exist?
The Kediri Kingdom existed 1042–1222. On this map it is drawn 1046–1226.
How large was the Kediri Kingdom?
At its greatest extent drawn on this map, the Kediri Kingdom covered about 74,000 km². That is the largest area the border data gives it across the years it is drawn, not necessarily its greatest extent in history.
How did the Kediri Kingdom end?
The first king was Sri Samaravijaya (1042–1051). After a fifty-year obscurity, the dynasty's fortunes brightened under Sri Jayabhaya (1135–1159), who conquered Janggala and reunified the realm; under him the Kakawin Bharatayuddha was completed (1157), and he became legendary in Java for his prophecies (Jangka Jayabaya).

Sources

This compendium cites its sources once for the whole document rather than per territory. Its bibliography names the English Wikipedia article for each polity and its key rulers as the basis of these profiles, supplemented by Encyclopaedia Britannica, the World History Encyclopedia, museum and UN sources, Pacific news organisations, and the scholarship of Ricklefs, Andaya, Coedès, Carey, Sri Margana and Smith & Smith. The article this entry is anchored on:

This entry was last updated .

This entry was researched and drafted with AI from the sources above, and has not been reviewed by a historian. How entries are made

Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0: reuse it with a credit to The World Through Time and a link to this page. Passages drawing on the Wikipedia articles listed above are also licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 by their contributors.

Border geometry for the map itself comes from Cliopatria v0.12 (Seshat Global History Databank, CC-BY-4.0).

Around the same time

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