The decline period is divided into three periods, which are:
The Decrease Period implies a period that begins with the fading of the Majapahit Kingdom due to various internal disputes within the royal family. War events that resulted in the burning of the palace and the relocation of the capital out of Trowulan also destroyed the capital of the Majapahit kingdom. In addition, there were also natural disasters in the form of volcanic eruptions and floods that damaged the city of Trowulan. The following is a detailed description of each important event that provides knowledge about the spatial changes in Trowulan during the Fading Period.
The glory of Majapahit did not last long because the seeds of rebellion had emerged since the establishment of the Majapahit Kingdom and increasingly receded after the deaths of its significant figures, which encouraged friction between brothers in the struggle for the throne and power. The beginning of the decline of the Majapahit Kingdom until its destruction was quite long, approximately 89 years. The milestone of the preceding period was the death of Prabu Hayam Wuruk in 1389. The receding period ended when Trowulan was attacked in 1478 due to power struggles. The royal centre was finally moved from Trowulan to Daha (Kediri).
After the city of Trowulan was destroyed in 1478, several foreign travellers mentioned the relocation of the Majapahit royal centre and the continuation of trade relations at the end of that period. The book A New History of Southeast Asia (Ricklefs 2010:113), one of the sources used in this study, claims that the Demak Kingdom destroyed the remnants of the Majapahit Kingdom in Kediri in 1527. However, this conquest was not based on religion. Even so, Dutch capitalism, the driving force behind it, sought to control the Nusantara trade in Java (Djafar, 2009). The blood of Majapahit continued to rule Java in the following period, although the name of Majapahit gradually disappeared. This knowledge is the basis for the discussion of research on the value of the memory of Majapahit's greatness for its descendants today, who have spread across various parts of Indonesia.
After the destruction of Majapahit, an exodus of Majapahit people was recorded in Pararaton. The exodus went to other areas in Java (Oosthoek/East Java, Jember-Banyuwangi) and Bali. The exodus referred to here is the flight of the Majapahit population from Trowulan during the burning of Trowulan city due to civil war in 1478 and the flight of the population during the conquest of the remaining Majapahit Kingdom in Kediri by the Demak Kingdom in 1527.
The population's flight during the destruction of Trowulan refers to two directions: the flight to the west of Java Island and the most significant part to the east. The population of Java, which had been under the influence of Islamic teachings and had grown into the Islamic Mataram Kingdom, mixed with the emigrants who had fled to Central Java. The remnants of old temples and places of worship suggest that additional escapees are thought to have created the blood of Majapahit in new areas like Tengger, Pengging, and Banyuwangi, which gave rise to the Kejawen tradition, a fusion of Hindu and Islamic customs.
In addition, there were also escapees from Trowulan who chose to go to Bali (Hefner, 1990:6). In her dissertation research, Kubontubuh (2021) interpreted that they were descendants of Balinese people who returned to Bali after migrating to Java. The Balinese migration to Java took place before the formation of the Majapahit Kingdom, namely during the reign of Prabu Airlangga (1019–1049), who came from the Bedahulu Kingdom in Bali. So, the descendants of the Balinese followers of Airlangga, who had developed in Majapahit, eventually returned to Bali. Arriving in Bali, these people continued the Hindu teachings, and Balinese traditions acculturated in Trowulan. This knowledge explains a strong relationship between Bali and Trowulan that also influenced spatial patterns, including traditions, rice field irrigation arrangements, and architectural styles (Arifin dan Permana, 2011).
In contrast to life in Bali, life in Java during the destruction of Majapahit certainly experienced socio-cultural changes that emphasized Islamic teachings. Thus, the utilization of various temples as a Hindu and Buddhist religious function in Trowulan gradually disappeared, so the condition was increasingly neglected. This condition is attractive when compared with the capital area of the Ayutthaya kingdom in Thailand. When the Burmese Empire invaded Ayutthaya in 1760 and 1765–67 under King Alaungpaya (1714–60; reigned 1752–60) and his son Hsinbyushin (reigned 1763–1777), it also physically destroyed the city (Seekins, 2017; Baker and Phongpaichit, 2017), but it did not undergo ideological changes like the Majapahit Kingdom. The people of Ayutthaya continue their Buddhist traditions to this day, so the various functions of the buildings of the Ayutthaya Kingdom, although no longer intact, still function and are maintained as places of religious activity. Thus, the threat to demolish the structures of the previous era did not occur in Ayutthaya (1350–1767). However, the opposite condition is a challenge in Trowulan.
At the end of the fading period, Trowulan experienced a period of silence, which contains the critical event that the kings of Bali in the 17th and 18th centuries continued to visit Trowulan despite its ruined condition (Kidung Pamancangah). There were no visits to Trowulan from other parties, given the changes in the socio-cultural order at that time towards the teachings of Islam, so apart from visits from Bali, there are no records of visits from other communities to Trowulan. This record shows the relationship between Bali and Majapahit and the importance of buildings built during the Majapahit period for Hindu-related functions as visited pilgrimage sites. Furthermore, expeditions from Bali to East Java gradually decreased and were recorded only to Blambangan (Banyuwangi) as the last Hindu kingdom in Java and not to Trowulan (1976: 376).
Additionally, Untung Suropati's (circa 1645–1706) Pasuruan Regency vassal Japan (another name for Mojokerto before 1838) was Trowulan's administrative superior. Although Japan was recorded as the region's name then, it is unknown how large the area was. Similarly, Daha was also part of Pasuruan. Daha, or Kediri, was previously a region of the Majapahit kingdom, especially after the kingdom's centre was moved from Trowulan in 1478 to Daha. However, there are no records describing Trowulan at that time.
The absence of any record of Trowulan in the report of Pasuruan Regency adds to the knowledge that Trowulan had faded away (Sutjipto, 1968: 51–70). In contrast, the record of Japan in a Dutch report, the Daily Journals of Batavia Castle (Daghregisters van het Kasteel Batavia), dated July 21, 1708, states that Amangkurat III (reigned 1703–8 in the Islamic Mataram Kingdom) was captured on June 23, 1708, in Japan (Ricklefs 1993:148–9; Niemeijer 2019: 258–9; there is a recording error that refers to July 1708 when it should be June 1708).
Trowulan, as part of Japan, was henceforth no longer under Pasuruan. According to the Treaty of Giyanti (1755), Raden Ronggo Prawirodirjo I, the post-1760 regent wedana (senior regent) of Madiun (serving roughly 1760–1844), became in charge of the eastern monconegoro of Yogya, which included Japan District and Wirosobo District. Wirosobo District is Mojoagung District; Jombang Regency, which is also part of the Trowulan KCBN; and Japan District, now Mojokerto Regency.
Besides information about how Trowulan was run after Majapahit was destroyed, information about the environment and geography of Trowulan and its surroundings was gathered from several sources that said that parts of East Java were left empty, with forests full of black tigers [3] and big trees. This happened because of a long war and a massive drop in population. This information is in line with the report of Corporal Pieter Gulin, who was sent to Kertosono, East Java, during the era of Marshal Herman Willem Daendels (1808–11) to conduct his research on attacks on Chinese merchants in Bunder, Semarang (Carey, 2012). These records complement the information on the environmental situation in East Java during the Silent Period.
In addition to descriptions of the directly related geographical environment, some records illustrate the economic and social developments of the waning period. During this period, Marshal Daendels, the Governor General of the Dutch East Indies, established a milestone of change in Java through the construction of the Postal Highway (groote postweg) in 1809–1810, which stretched 1,100 km from Anyer in the west to Panarukan at the eastern end of Java. The construction of this road also affected Trowulan because it became a branch of the Post Road. Daendels also mentioned Japan because of its importance for teak wood production for the construction of Daendels' fort at Fort Lodewijk on the Madura Strait in his correspondence to Nicolaas Engelhard (1761–1831), Governor of the Northeast Coast of Java, who served from 1801–1808 (Carey, 2012: 248).
Furthermore, as explained at the beginning of this section, the fading of the Majapahit Kingdom was not only due to destruction due to war but also natural factors, namely environmental changes due to climate change and natural disasters. One of the natural disasters that helped destroy Trowulan, in particular, was the eruption of Mount Kelud in 1395, 1421, 1450, and 1462 (Cahyono, 2012:89). Trowulan's physical destruction was a result of its location close to active mountains in the area (see Figures 1 and 2), especially Mount Kelud (Geological Agency, 2014). In addition, Mojokerto district has been designated as a flood-prone area due to its proximity to the Brantas River (East Java Regional Disaster Management Agency, 2012). However, no records suggest a population exodus from Trowulan due to these flood conditions.
Gambar 1 Letak geomorfologis Trowulan (Sampurno, 1980; dalam Depdikbud 1986:16).
Gambar 2 Gunung-gunung di sekitar Trowulan (Depdikbud, 1986).
The volcanoes around Trowulan, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, are Mount Kelud (1,731 masl), Mount Welirang (2,282 masl), Mount Anjasmoro-Arjuno (2,812 masl), Mount Penanggungan or Pawitra (1,653 masl), and Mount Kawi (2,551 masl). Pararaton (VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIV, XVII, XVIII) contains information on eight to nine volcanic events, most likely related to the eruption of Mount Kelud or its subsidiaries (Cahyono, 2012). There are records of six volcanic eruptions in 1311, 1334, 1376, 1385, 1395, 1421, 1451, 1462 and 1481.
There is also mention of an earthquake in 1450 and a famine that resulted in a massive famine in 1426. However, Pararaton does not include details about the impact of these natural disasters on Trowulan. In this case, the volcanic eruptions resulted in adding soil layers. Still, until now, no research has confirmed the geological condition of these layers (Smithsonian, 2006).
According to the research of geologists Sampurno et al. (Sartono and Bandono, 1991:127), in 1980, two events could have resulted in the accumulation of tuff sand material in the Trowulan area. The two events that destroyed Trowulan were: (1) the flow of sand and gravel by floods from a series of volcanoes or floods from the Brantas River and (2) volcanic eruptions that have released volcanic ash that is widely spread and alluvial deposits occur in the form of further closure.
In addition to Sartono and Bandono (1991), Safitri's study (2015) also reviewed geological research from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) under Sampurno. The initial assumption was that Mount Welirang's eruption was the cause of the flooding that destroyed the Majapahit Kingdom. The second assumption that the capital area of Majapahit Kingdom was damaged due to material cover from the mountain eruption is associated with the position of the capital of Majapahit Kingdom right on the path of Mount Welirang's pyroclastic lava. This position resulted in the lava that crossed the path, sweeping away the capital of the Majapahit Kingdom. However, there is no mention of when the mountain eruption occurred.
Meanwhile, Widodo's research (2020) completes the record of natural disasters that have occurred in Trowulan, namely, mainly mountain eruptions in 1343 Saka (1421 AD), which resulted in food shortages in 1348 Saka (1426 AD). There was also an earthquake (palindu) in 1372 Saka (1450 AD) before the mountain erupted again in 1373 Saka (1451 AD). Based on the linkage of natural disaster data (Widodo, 2020) and the two studies above to Sampurno's research from ITB, the two natural disasters of mountain eruptions are believed to have occurred in Trowulan, where the most significant eruptions were the first around 1421 and the second around 1451.
The climate in Trowulan, with an average altitude of 50 meters above sea level and an average temperature of 30 °C, is classified as a hot climate by Junghuhn's research (1845 and 1852–1854), which found that land with an altitude of 0-600 meters above sea level has a temperature of 22-26.3 °C. These conditions result in widespread inundation of water in Trowulan during the rainy season, affecting the vulnerability of clay materials such as bricks, pottery, and others. Cultural heritage items in Trowulan that are no longer intact further prove this. Many are found under several soil surface layers because they have been submerged in water for a long time and have experienced sedimentation several times.
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