In February 1292 the Mongol emperor of China,
Kublai Khan, ordered the preparation of a punitive naval expedition directed against Java.
It was partly an act of retaliation for King Kertanagara's refusal to pay tribute to
China, and especially for the cruel and contemptuous way in which the Javanese ruler had
disfigured the face of an imperial envoy.
A
portrait statue of Kertarajasa Jayawardhana, founder of Mojopahit, from candi Sumberjati,
near Blitar. The statue is now preserved in the national Museum, Jakarta.
The fleet, which is reported to have consisted of 1000 ships, manned with 20,000 soldiers,
was ready to leave by November. The journey was hazardous and beset with ill- fortune.
Almost immediately after departure the convoy was hit by a typhoon; it was refused entry
into Champa, where the loading of fresh supplies had been anticipated, and consequently by
the time it approached the harbour at Tuban on Java's north coast the force was already
demoralized, many of the soldiers suffering from starvation and dysentery.
The Chinese army was greeted by representatives from the new settlement at Majapahit, who
explained that Kertanagara had been defeated and killed a few months previously and that
his throne had been seized by a usurper, Jayakatwang of Kediri. The rightful heir, Raden
Wijaya, son-in-law of Kertanagara, had established a stronghold at Majapahit and was
asking for assistance in the annihilation of their common enemy, in return for official
tribute.
An alliance was formed and on 15 March 1293 the combined force launched an attack on Daha
(Kediri). The final assault on the capital was made five days later, resulting in the loss
of 5000 Kediri lives and the surrender of Jayakatwang. Raden Wijaya then returned to
Majapahit, ostensibly to prepare his tribute settlement, leaving his allies to celebrate
their victory. Quickly mobilizing his forces again, however, he turned on the Chinese army
in a surprise attack, killing many and sending the rest running back to their ships. In
this way Raden Wijaya established the kingdom of Majapahit. Seven months later, in
November 1293, he was officially enthroned, bearing the royal title Kertarajasa
Jayawardhana.
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