Protohistory Manikliyu, burial and Pejeng-type drum In Manikliyu (west side of Bangli Regency), a burial site was excavated in 1997 and 1998 which revealed two large sarcophagi and a bronze kettle drum, representing a unique burial system thus far unknown in Indonesia. The largest sarcophagus (length 206 cm, width 70 cm) is well preserved; the other sarcophagus (length 172 cm, width 69 cm) is partly broken. The bronze kettle drum (height 120 cm, diameter of the tympanon 77 cm) is decorated with eight stars on the tympanon, and human masks on the body. It contained human bones in flexed position that belonged to a young man of Mongoloid type, between 20 and 35 years old; the broken part of his upper face shows that he was killed by the impact of a sharp tool. The burial site also contained
carnelians, beads, bronze spirals and bronze finger protectors. Some remnants broken pottery and pottery shards were also found beside the burial site and near the containers. The drum is very similar to the Pejeng type,
Taman Bali and Bunutin sarcophagi At Taman Bali and Bunutin, two villages close to each other about 5 km south of Bangli, five sarcophagi were known before 1973. Two more were signalled in 1973, one of which buried 3 m deep in a rice field with its lid lying nearly 1.5 m away and partly broken, and containing various bronze objects including a small shovel, a ring, arm and ankle-rings and a number of spirals different from any formerly found in sarcophagi in Bali. The other sarcophagus signalled in 1973 was found by the villagers in Bunutin in 1971, buried nearly 1.5 m deep; its lid is absent and no associated artefacts were found. One of the five sarcophagi known before 1973 is kept in
Gedong Arca Museum in
Bedulu; as of 1974, the others were still in their place of discovery.
Establishment of the Bangli Kingdom The story of the establishment of the
Bangli Kingdom can be traced from the palm leaves in the
Puri Agung Bangli and the King Purana Batur. It is said that the Bangli Kingdom was founded by I Dewa Gede Den Bencingah in the 15th century or around 1600 AD. Initially, this kingdom was founded after the fall of the Majapahit Kingdom which had an impact on the
Gelgel Kingdom (the
Bali and
Lombok regions).
Dewa Agung Ketut, the ruler of Bali and Lombok divided his territory into vassal kingdoms. Bangli became one of the vassal kingdoms under the direct government center of
Gelgel Kingdom with the appointment of
I Gusti Wija Pulada as Anglurah in Bali in 1453. Then, in 1686 Bangli separated from
Gelgel Kingdom and became a sovereign kingdom along with the rebellion of
I Gusti Agung Maruti in
Gelgel. Puri Bangli was founded as the center of the Bangli kingdom city by
I Dewa Gde Bencingah around 1576 AD.
I Dewa Gde Bencingah was the eldest son of the king of the Bhresika Kingdom (
Klungkung),
I Dewa Gede Anom Oka with his consort
Dewa Ayu Mas Dalem. Initially, the Bangli area was the Jarak Bang forest area.
I Dewa Gede Anom Oka ordered his son to build a palace/city in the Jarak Bang forest which would later be named Bangli. The area covered the west of the
Sungai Melangit and gathered people from the northwest, east, north, to the mountainous areas. In addition,
I Dewa Gede Anom Oka also ordered to establish a sthana for the gods and Betara Toya Mas Arum. Currently, the sthana in question is known as Pura Penataran Agung Bangli. In accordance with his father's order,
I Dewa Gede Den Bencingah began to organize the Jarang Bang forest together with his followers. He then built a palace named Puri Rum, which was also used as the center of government. This area continued to be developed, until it became Bangli as it is known today. In the early 1800s AD, the
Dutch began to enter Bali and had a major impact on the existence of kingdoms in Bali. Intervention from the Dutch disrupted the governments in Bali so that several kingdoms began to face their decline.
The Fall of the Bangli Kingdom On 26 April 1848, the King of Bangli at that time submitted a request to
General Michiels to expand his power to the areas of
Buleleng Kingdom,
Karangasem,
Mengwi, and
Gianyar. The request was not immediately granted by the Dutch. On 25 June 1849,
I Dewa Gede Tangkeban was crowned King of Bangli and given power by the Dutch to rule Bangli and Buleleng. 5 years later, precisely on 15 February 1854, the king returned the
Buleleng region to the Dutch on the grounds that the King of Bangli could concentrate more on securing his kingdom from attacks by the
King of Gianyar and
Karangasem. The division between the kingdoms in Bali was inseparable from the intervention of the Dutch East Indies Government at that time. There were many rebellions against the Dutch such as Puputan Badung in 1906 and Puputan Klungkung in 1909. Shortly after, the Bangli Kingdom declared its submission to the Dutch, until finally the entire region in Bali was controlled by the Dutch East Indies Government. The list of kings in the Bangli Kingdom is as follows: •
Dewa Gede Tangkeban I (from
Nyalian-1804) •
God Rahi (1804–1815) •
Dewa Gede Tangkeban II (1815–1833) [son of
Dewa Gede Tangkeban I] •
Dewa Gede Tangkeban III (1833–1875) [son of
Dewa Gede Tangkeban II] •
Dewa Gede Oka (1875–1880) [son of *
Dewa Gede Tangkeban III] •
Dewa Gede Ngurah (1881–1892) [brother of
Dewa Gede Oka] •
Dewa Gede Cokorda (1894–1911) [brother of
Dewa Gede Ngurah] •
Dewa Gede Rai (regent 1913–1925) [brother of
Dewa Gede Cokorda] •
Dewa Gede Taman (regent 1925–1930) [grandson of
Dewa Gede Tangkaban III] •
Dewa Putu Bukian (caretaker 1930–1931) [grandson of
Dewa Gede Tangkaban III] •
Anak Agung Ketut Ngurah (ruler, used the title Anak *Agung, 1931–1950; died 1961) [son of
Dewa Gede Cokorda] Bangli joined the
Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia in 1950. == Government and politics==