The Majapahit Empire: Java's Golden Age
13th-15th century – Indonesia. A powerful maritime empire and world center of the spice trade, the kingdom of Majapahit, on the island of Java, ruled the Indonesian archipelago for nearly three centuries.
Some great powers owe their existence to chance. Such is the case of Majapahit, the largest empire ever to exist in Southeast Asia. Its birth in the late 13th century resulted from the total failure of a punitive expedition sent by Kubilay Khan, grandson of the famous conqueror Genghis Khan, who ruled China from 1260 to 1294.
By this time, the Mongols had built the largest empire in history. It stretched from the China Sea to Russia. Kubilay Khan had even declared himself Emperor of China in 1271. Only at sea was success lacking: his two attempts to conquer Japan, in 1274 and 1281, ended in failure. Nevertheless, Kubilay Khan again dispatched a large fleet in 1293, this time bound for Java, an island located between Sumatra and Bali.
The reason for this expedition: King Kertanagara of Singasari (reigned from 1268 to 1292) refused to pay tribute. Worse still, the recalcitrant sent back the emperor's emissaries after mutilating their faces. “The khan was so furious at this presumption that he sent a thousand warships to Java to punish him,” writes historian Nicholas Tarling.
However, when his troops landed in Java, the situation deteriorated
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