Gajah Mada

c. 1290 – c. 1364

Gajah Mada (c. 1290 - c. 1364) was the powerful mahapatih (prime minister) of the Javanese Majapahit Empire, credited with bringing the empire to its greatest extent. He is famed for the Palapa oath, in which he vowed to abstain from worldly pleasures until he had unified the Indonesian archipelago under Majapahit. In modern Indonesia he is celebrated as a national symbol of unification.

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Life events

Born in Java, of obscure and commoner origins
c. 1290

Gajah Mada's birth is placed around 1290; little is reliably recorded about his family or early life.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Birth ✓
Served as commander of the Bhayangkara royal guard
c. 1313

Gajah Mada began his career in the elite palace guard protecting the Majapahit king and royal family.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Saved King Jayanegara during the Kuti rebellion
1319

In 1319 he smuggled the king out of the capital during Ra Kuti's revolt and then engineered the rebellion's suppression, making his reputation.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Appointed patih (minister) of Kahuripan and later Daha
c. 1321

As reward for his services he was made patih of the province of Kahuripan around 1321 and subsequently of Daha.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Elevated to mahapatih of Majapahit and swore the Palapa oath
c. 1334

On becoming prime minister under Queen Tribhuwana around 1334-1336, he reportedly vowed not to taste palapa (worldly pleasure) until the archipelago was subdued; the oath is recorded in the later Pararaton chronicle.

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Directed the conquest of Bali
1343

In 1343 Majapahit forces under Gajah Mada's direction defeated the Balinese kingdom, bringing Bali under Majapahit control.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Oversaw Majapahit's expansion across the archipelago under Hayam Wuruk
1350

During the reign of King Hayam Wuruk (from 1350), Majapahit claimed suzerainty over much of maritime Southeast Asia, an expansion attributed largely to Gajah Mada's statecraft.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Fell from favor after the Battle of Bubat
1357

In 1357 the killing of the Sundanese royal party at Bubat, blamed on Gajah Mada's actions, led to his removal from the center of power.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Died in retirement
c. 1364

Gajah Mada is recorded as dying around 1364, after which King Hayam Wuruk found no single minister able to replace him.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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