Kalinyamat Sultanate facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kalinyamat Sultanate
كسلطانن كاليڽامت
|
|||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1527–1599 | |||||||||
| Capital | Kalinyamat City and Jepara | ||||||||
| Common languages | Javanese language | ||||||||
| Religion | Islam, Kejawen | ||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||
| Raja/Ratu | |||||||||
|
• 1527–1549
|
Sultan Hadlirin | ||||||||
|
• 1549–1579
|
Retno Kencono | ||||||||
|
• 1579–1599
|
Pangeran Arya Jepara | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
|
• Established
|
1527 | ||||||||
|
• Disestablished
|
1599 | ||||||||
|
|||||||||
The Kalinyamat Sultanate (كسلطانن كاليڽامت), also known as the Jepara Kingdom, was an important Islamic kingdom in Java during the 1500s. It was located in the northern part of Java, an island in Indonesia. The main city of this kingdom was Jepara, which is still a city today.
Both Jepara and Kalinyamat started as smaller areas called kadipaten (like a duchy or a small state). They were part of the Demak Sultanate. Later, after some disagreements about who should rule, Kalinyamat became its own separate kingdom. Some of its famous leaders were Sultan Hadlirin and his wife, Ratu Kalinyamat (Retna Kencana), who ruled from 1549 to 1579.
Contents
History
How Kalinyamat Began
The areas of Kalinyamat and the port of Jepara were first set up as kadipaten under the Demak Sultanate. Retna Kencana, who was the daughter of Sultan Trenggana of Demak, and her husband, Sultan Hadlirin, were chosen to rule these areas.
After Sultan Trenggana passed away, his son Sunan Prawata became the new ruler. But in 1549, Arya Penangsang took over the throne of Demak. He did this after killing his cousin, Sunan Prawata.
Retna Kencana, who was Sunan Prawata's younger sister, wanted justice. She went to Sunan Kudus, who was Arya Penangsang's teacher. However, Sunan Kudus did not help her. He said that Sunan Prawata had previously killed Arya Penangsang's father, so Penangsang's actions were seen as a way to get even.
Feeling disappointed, Retna Kencana and Sultan Hadlirin went back home to Kalinyamat. On their way, Arya Penangsang's men attacked them. Sultan Hadlirin was killed in this attack, but Ratu Kalinyamat managed to survive.
After these events, Ratu Kalinyamat declared that her lands, including Kalinyamat and Jepara, were now a separate kingdom from Demak. She wanted to get even with Arya Penangsang for killing her husband. So, she asked her brother-in-law, Hadiwijaya (also known as Jaka Tingkir), to defeat Arya Penangsang. Hadiwijaya was the ruler of Pajang.
Battles with the Portuguese
The Kalinyamat Sultanate had many battles with the Portuguese. The Portuguese were a powerful European group who were trying to control trade routes in Southeast Asia.
First Battle for Malacca (1550)
In 1550, Queen Kalinyamat was worried about the growing power of the Portuguese. They were strong in Malacca, an important trading city. The Sultan of Johor asked for help to free Malacca from the Portuguese.
Queen Kalinyamat sent 4,000 soldiers on 40 ships to help. These troops joined forces with Malay groups, making a huge fleet of about 200 warships. They attacked Malacca from the north and took control of most of the city.
However, the Portuguese fought back. They pushed the invading forces away. The Jepara troops were then ambushed by the Portuguese while trying to leave the shore. About 2,000 Jepara soldiers were lost. A storm also hit, causing two Jepara ships to get stuck near Malacca, where the Portuguese captured them. Less than half of the Jepara soldiers made it back to Java.
Second Battle for Malacca (1568)
In 1564, the ruler of Aceh, Ali Riayat Syah, asked Demak for help to attack the Portuguese in Malacca. At that time, Arya Pangiri, Sunan Prawata's son, ruled Demak. Pangiri mistakenly killed the messenger from Aceh. Even without Demak's help, Aceh attacked Malacca in 1567, but they failed.
In 1568, Jepara tried again to attack the Strait of Malacca. This time, they teamed up with the Aceh Sultanate, led by Alauddin al-Kahar. They managed to take some goods from the Portuguese, but their success did not last long. The Portuguese fought back, and the combined forces had to retreat.
Third Battle for Malacca (1573)
In 1573, the Sultan of Aceh asked Queen Kalinyamat for help to attack Malacca one more time. The Queen sent 300 ships with 15,000 Jepara soldiers. These Javanese forces, led by Admiral Ki Demat, arrived in Malacca in October 1574. But when they got there, the Aceh troops had already been defeated by the Portuguese.
The Jepara ships began firing at the Malacca fort from the sea. The next day, they landed and built some defenses on the shore. However, the Portuguese broke through their defenses and set fire to about 30 Jepara ships. The Jepara forces were shaken but still refused to make peace. Meanwhile, six supply ships sent by Queen Kalinyamat were captured by the Portuguese.
With a lack of supplies, the Jepara troops became weaker. Finally, they decided to retreat. Only about a third of the soldiers sent by Queen Kalinyamat survived and returned to Java.
Even though the Portuguese defeated her forces several times, they had great respect for Queen Kalinyamat. They called her "Rainha de Japara, Senhora poderosa e rica, de kranige Dame," which means "Queen of Jepara, a rich and powerful woman, a brave woman."
Helping Ambon (1565)
Queen Kalinyamat never gave up. In 1565, she also helped the people of Hitu on Ambon Island in the Maluku Islands. They needed help to deal with problems caused by the Portuguese and the Hative people.
The End of Kalinyamat
After Ratu Kalinyamat passed away, the kingdom became weaker. Later, it was taken over by the Mataram Sultanate.
