The Battle of Genter, also known as the Battle of Ganter, was a military engagement fought between two rival Javanese rulers in the early 13th century. The battle resulted in one ruler,

Ken Arok Ken Arok (or Ken Angrok), Rajasa (died c. 1227), was the founder and first ruler of Singhasari (also spelled Singosari), a medieval Indianized Hindu–Buddhist kingdom in the East Java area of Indonesia. He is considered the founder of the Rajas ...

, defeating his rival and routing their army. The battle cemented Arok's control over Eastern Java, and resulted in the ruler founding the

Rajasa dynasty Rajasa was the ruling dynasty of Singhasari kingdom and later Majapahit empire in 13th to 15th century eastern Java. The rulers of Singhasari and Majapahit trace their origins back to the mysterious figure of Ken Arok or Sri Ranggah Rajasa, who foun ...

History

From the 8th to the 12th century, the island of Java was ruled by a number of kings and noble families. In the eastern part of the island, agriculture-centric feudal nations (namely the

Sailendra The Shailendra dynasty (, derived from Sanskrit combined words ''Śaila'' and ''Indra'', meaning "King of the Mountain", also spelled Sailendra, Syailendra or Selendra) was the name of a notable Indianised dynasty that emerged in 8th-century ...

, Kediri,

Tumapel Tumapel was the capital city of Singhasari (1222 - 1292) near the modern city of Malang. Prior to Singhasari, it was under Kediri Kingdom Kediri Kingdom (also known as Panjalu) Javanese script : ꧋ꦥŋꦗꦭꦸ, was a ''Hindu-Buddhist'' Jav ...

, and

Majapahit Majapahit ( jv, ꦩꦗꦥꦲꦶꦠ꧀; ), also known as Wilwatikta ( jv, ꦮꦶꦭ꧀ꦮꦠꦶꦏ꧀ꦠ; ), was a Javanese people, Javanese Hinduism, Hindu-Buddhism, Buddhist thalassocracy, thalassocratic empire in Southeast Asia that was ba ...

kingdoms) intermittently fought over

arable land Arable land (from the la, arabilis, "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for the ...

on which to grow

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

. In the early 13th century, these combatants were challenged by the emergence of a new political force in the region. This challenger came in the form of

, a peasant-turned village chief who sought to increase his political power; later Javanese folklore surrounding the figure would add that Arok was endowed with a great sense of personal ambition. Arok succeeded in aligning his village with the Kingdom of

, and in doing so became an important adviser the nation's king,

Tunggul Ametung Umbul-umbul, also called rérontek or, archaically, tunggul, are a type of flag or pennant made of a strip of cloth whose longer side is attached to a pole. They are used in the traditional culture of Java and Bali, Indonesia, where they are car ...

. After a series of machinations, Arok became king himself after he avenged Tunggul by killing the latter's assassin; some stories speculate that Arok arranged this same assassination or killed Ametung himself. Having replaced Ametung as King of Tumapel, Arok began to consolidate his military and political power to make war against the

Kingdom of Kediri Kediri Kingdom (also known as Panjalu) Javanese script : ꧋ꦥŋꦗꦭꦸ, was a ''Hindu-Buddhist'' Javanese Kingdom based in East Java from 1042 to around 1222. This kingdom is centered in the ancient city ''Dahanapura'', despite the lack o ...

, Tumapel's longtime rival. The king of Kediri,

Kertajaya Kertajaya or Kritajaya also called Dandhang Gendhis was the last king of the Kediri Kingdom who ruled around 1194–1222. At the end of his reign he declared that he wanted to be worshiped as a god. Kertajaya was killed by Ken Arok from Tumapel o ...

, likewise marshaled his forces and prepared to meet Arok in battle. The climactic engagement of the conflict took place in either 1221 or 1222 at a place called Genter (also called Ganter) in eastern Kediri. During the battle, Arok defeated Kertajaya (either by killing him or forcing him to surrender), causing the rout of the Kedirian army. Cœdès, George (1968). ''The Indianized states of Southeast Asia''. University of Hawaii Press. . pp. 185–187,199 The battle fought at Genter marked the end of the Kingdom of Kediri. On the opposing side, the victory of his forces at the Battle of Genter allowed for Arok to establish his own royal line; this linage became the

, which ruled over the Kingdom of Singhasari.

References

{{reflist Genter Genter History of Java