In 1289,
Kublai Khan sent a demand for tribute to the Kingdom of
Singhasari, although the demand was refused by
Kertanagara,
King of Singhasari and the messenger was humiliated with his ear cut off. Shortly after, there was a
rebellion against Singhasari in the duchy of Gelang-Gelang (modern day
Madiun) led by
Jayakatwang. Kertanagara was killed in the attempt to put down the rebellion in 1292, and Raden Wijaya fled to
Sumenep,
Madura, along with the governor of that region,
Arya Wiraraja. There, Raden Wijaya made a plan to establish a new kingdom. Wijaya promised that he would divide Java with Arya Wiraraja if Arya Wiraraja could help him overthrow Jayakatwang's
Kediri kingdom . When he was young, Wiraraja served Narasingamurti, Raden Wijaya's grandfather. So, he was willing to help the prince to overthrow Jayakatwang. Raden Wijaya vowed that if he succeeded in reclaiming his father in law's throne, his power would be divided into two, namely for himself and for Wiraraja. In 1293 the
Mongol army came to punish Kertanagara who dared to harm Kublai Khan's envoy in 1289. Raden Wijaya as Kertanagara's heir was ready to hand over himself as long as he is first helped to liberate himself from Jayakatwang. So the Mongol and Majapahit troops joined forces to
invade the capital city of Kadiri. At that time, the Kingdom of Kediri collapsed. Next, Raden Wijaya based on Wiraraja's input attacked the Mongol army who were experiencing the euphoria of victory against the Kediri Kingdom. Inevitably, Wiraraja with his various tactics brought victory to Raden Wijaya to defeat the Mongol army. This was the starting point for Raden Wijaya to come to power and make Tarik (
Trowulan,
Mojokerto) the center of power which later became the Majapahit Kingdom. The term Majapahit emerged because in the Tarik forest area there are many
maja (mojo) fruits which taste bitter. Raden Wijaya became the first king of Majapahit which became independent in 1293. Arya Wiraraja was appointed as the
pasangguhan/ senapati (warlord) of Majapahit with the title
Rakryan Mantri Arya Wiraraja Makapramuka. Arya Wiraraja's son served as one of Wijaya's
adipati/
duke but in later days he would rebel against the new king. Other famous officers were Lembu Sora and Nambi, but both also rebelled against Wijaya after the founding of the
Majapahit kingdom. The trigger for the rebellion appears to have been dissatisfaction with positions granted to key nobles. The Ranggalawe rebellion was the first, recorded in 1295. Ranggalawe lost in his battle against the Majapahit Kingdom and died at the hands of Mahisa Anabrang while fighting at the Tambak Beras river. The Lembu Sora rebellion occurred in 1301. Lembu Sora and his followers Juru Demung and Gajah Biru died in this conflict. The Nambi rebellion occurred during the reign of King
Jayanegara, and was suppressed in 1316. ==Reign (1293–1309)==