5 Oldest Kingdoms in Indonesia:
1. Kutai Kingdom – 4 AD
This kingdom, located in East Kalimantan, is considered one of the oldest kingdoms in Indonesia, founded in the 4th century AD.
Kutai Martadipura is known for its advanced civilization and gold mining skills.
This kingdom reached its peak during the reign of King Mulawarman and fell under Maharaja Dharma Setia, the last king of the kingdom.
This kingdom period is known based on the discovery of seven Yupa inscriptions found on Brubus Hill, Muara Kaman, inland of the Mahakam River in Kutai Regency, East Kalimantan.
2. Tarumanegara Kingdom – 4 AD
This kingdom was founded in the 4th century and collapsed in the 7th century AD. Tarumanegara became one of the largest Hindu kingdoms that ever existed in Indonesia.
Based on historical evidence such as inscriptions, the Tarumanegara Kingdom was located in the Bogor area, West Java and developed between 400-600 AD.
The Tarumanegara Kingdom received strong influence from Indian Hindu culture.
This is known from the beliefs held, Sanskrit, and the Pallawa letters written in the inscriptions.
3. Srivijaya Kingdom – 7 AD
The Srivijaya Kingdom was a Buddhist kingdom which was a symbol of the greatness of Sumatra in the past. Its greatness is said to be able to match the Majapahit Kingdom in the east.
The Srivijaya Kingdom was born in the 7th century AD with its founder named Dapunta Hyang Sri Jayanasa.
4. Ancient Mataram Kingdom – 8 AD
Ancient Mataram is known to have been founded in the 8th to 11th centuries AD. This kingdom was also known as Bhumi Mataram.
Ancient Mataram was first founded by King Sanjaya whose title was Rakai Mataram Sang Ratu Sanjaya. He was known as a king who was wise, capable and obedient in his worship. During his leadership, the Ancient Mataram Kingdom was able to expand its territory and become a center for Hindu religious learning
The Canggal inscription is evidence of the history of this kingdom.
Canggal is written using Pallava letters and Sanskrit. This inscription also mentions the erection of a phallus on Sthirangga Hill by King Sanjaya in 654 AD.
5. Majapahit Kingdom – 13 AD
Known as one of the largest kingdoms in the archipelago, the Majapahit Kingdom was the last Hindu-Buddhist kingdom in the archipelago. This kingdom was born on the coronation day of Raden Wijaya as king in 1293.
Initially, Majapahit was based in Mojokerto, East Java, but in the Jayanegara era (1309-1328), the capital was moved to Trowulan since Girindrawardhana came to power and the center of Majapahit moved again to Kediri.
Majapahit reached the peak of glory assisted by its mahapatih, namely under the command of Gajah Mada (1313-1364) by controlling more of the eastern region of the archipelago