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Book review of Majapahit: Intrigue, Betrayal and War in Indonesia’s Greatest Empire (affiliate link) by Duncan Graham on the Australian Institute of International Affairs
As it is with all legends, the more distant the memory, the greater the reverence and the sketchier the details. This pithy observation comes towards the close of Herald van der Linde’s new history Majapahit, the story of East Java’s golden century and its international clout.
The alert should have been at the start, a warning to politicians everywhere prone to parading the imagined successes of yesteryear to stay in office, forgetting their messy failures and hoping voters do the same.
The Majapahit era (1293-1527) named after the bitter maja (stone apple) fruit of the region, thrived under Emperor Hayam Wuruk (1350-1389), a relatively civilised leader. During his time the epic story/poems of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, and the wayang kulit puppets, defined Javanese culture and still do.
