Formation and growth

During the Majapahit period circa the 13th century, the eastern realm was regarded as a peripheral area of the Javanese kingdom, which centered in Trowulan, Majapahit, and surrounding Brantas River basin, whereas eastern salient areas such as Lumajang were regarded as the outlying provinces.^[5]

The Majapahit kingdom was established in 1293 by Raden Wijaya with the help of cunning and able Arya Wiraraja, the Regent of Madura. As a reward of Wiraraja's support, in 1295, Raden Wijaya agreed to give the eastern salient of Java, which includes Blambangan areas with Lumajang as its capital.

The Nagarakretagama, composed in 1365, mentioned that the central part of the eastern corner of Java was visited by King Hayam Wuruk in his royal tour in 1359. The poem contains interesting information about the region.^[6]

The eastern realm becomes the vassal or mancanagara (provinces) of Majapahit. However, it seems that the Eastern realm steadily has grown quite independently. The eastern salient become the host of the Eastern court which rival Majapahit central authority. The rivalry erupted in the Regreg war (1404-1406), which was fought as a contest of succession between the Western court led by Wikramawardhana, against the Eastern court led by Bhre Wirabhumi. In 1406 the Western troops led by Bhre Tumapel, the son of Wikramawardhana, penetrated the eastern palace and defeated Bhre Wirabhumi.^[7]

After the collapse of Majapahit in the late 15th century, Blambangan stood alone as the sole Javanese Hindu polity in Java. The kingdom subsequently was contested and harassed by successive expansive Javanese Islamic states to the west, from Demak to Pajang and Mataram.^[1] On the eastern side across the strait, the Balinese courts of Gelgel and Mengwi also have invested their political interest in the region, as the Balinese regarded Blambangan as a buffer state to ward off Islamic expansive influences.^[1]

In the first decades of the 16th century, Tomé Pires' informants reported that the "heathen" Blambangan kingdom was the most powerful Javanese kingdom east of Surabaya.^[6] At that time, the port of Panarukan was the commercial as well as the political center of the kingdom.

For almost three centuries, Blambangan was situated between two different political factions, the Islamic state of Mataram in the west, and various Hindu realms in Bali (Gelgel, Buleleng, and Mengwi) in the east. Both neighbouring powers simultaneously contested the territory of Blambangan to appease their own political and religious ambitions.

Decline

The Balinese used Blambangan as a buffer against the Islamic expansion initiated by Mataram from the west and also found it useful to bolster the economy of Bali which was heavily overshadowed by endemic warfare.

In the second half of the 16th century, a few Roman Catholic missionaries from the Portuguese colony in Malacca arrived in East Java to try to convert the local people. They visited Panarukan and Blambangan and reported that the port of Panarukan was contested between the Muslim rulers of Pasuruan allied with Surabaya, against the Hindu King of Blambangan and Panarukan.^[6] The Balinese chronicle Babad Gumi, which was first composed around the early 1700s, ascribed the fall of Blambangan around this period in the year 1520 śaka or 1598 AD. This is one of the first dates within the babad that can be positively proved to be correct by comparison with European materials of the same period. When the Dutch visited Bali in February 1597 a large expedition was being collected by the king of Gelgel in Bali to help the lord of Blambangan from the Pasuruan attack. The expedition must have been a failure, as another Dutch report from early 1601 mentioned that the Pasuruan army had taken Blambangan some years ago and exterminated the royal family therein.^[8]

Other accounts asserted that the conquest of Blambangan by the forces of Sultan Agung of Mataram took place in 1639, which was also the end of Panarukan's independence.^[6] With the loss of its important port, Panarukan, the center of the Blambangan kingdom was receded to inland south to present day Blambangan area, with its port in Banyuwangi. In 1665, Tawang Alun II Danureja, the 8th king of Blambangan, opened the forest of Sudiamara and established a new capital in Macan Putih, Kabat district (Kecamatan Kabat) located about 10 kilometres from Banyuwangi.^[1]

Of the nine rulers who once ruled Blambangan, Tawang Alun II (1665-1691) is considered one of the greatest kings of Blambangan. During his reign, Blambangan's territory reached Jember, Lumajang, Situbondo, and Bali. Blambangan society at that time lived peacefully and prosperous, after all time engaged in various warfare against the expansionist neighboring kingdoms to the west and east.^[1] The VOC archive mentioned the spectacular ngaben (cremation) ceremony of Tawang Alun II, that among his 400 wives, 271 of them performed suttee (self-immolation).^[1]

In 1697, the Balinese Kingdom of Buleleng sent its expedition to Blambangan, which established Balinese influence in the region.^[9]

In the early 18th century, the Dutch and British contested each other’s political and economic power in the region. Internal disputes about the succession at the court of Blambangan impaired the kingdom, making it vulnerable to foreign intervention.