History Of Banten
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Banten ( id, Banten;
Sundanese Sundanese may refer to: * Sundanese people * Sundanese language * Sundanese script Standard Sundanese script (''Aksara Sunda Baku'', ) is a writing system which is used by the Sundanese people. It is built based on Old Sundanese script (' ...
: , romanized ''Banten'') is the westernmost
province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...
on the island of
Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
,
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
. Its capital city is
Serang Serang ( id, Kota Serang, , Sundanese: ) is a city and the capital of Banten province and was formerly also the administrative center of Serang Regency in Indonesia (the Regency's capital is now at Baros). The city is located towards the north ...
. The province borders
West Java West Java ( id, Jawa Barat, su, ᮏᮝ ᮊᮥᮜᮧᮔ᮪, romanized ''Jawa Kulon'') is a province of Indonesia on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten ...
and the
Special Capital Region of Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...
on the east, the
Java Sea The Java Sea ( id, Laut Jawa, jv, Segara Jawa) is an extensive shallow sea on the Sunda Shelf, between the Indonesian islands of Borneo to the north, Java to the south, Sumatra to the west, and Sulawesi to the east. Karimata Strait to its nort ...
on the north, the
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
on the south, and the
Sunda Strait The Sunda Strait ( id, Selat Sunda) is the strait between the Indonesian islands of Java island, Java and Sumatra. It connects the Java Sea with the Indian Ocean. Etymology The strait takes its name from the Sunda Kingdom, which ruled the weste ...
(which separates Java from the neighbouring island of
Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...
) on the west. The province covers an area of . It had a population of over 11.9 million in the 2020 census, up from about 10.6 million in
2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. The estimated mid-2021 population was 12.06 million.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2022. Formerly part of the province of
West Java West Java ( id, Jawa Barat, su, ᮏᮝ ᮊᮥᮜᮧᮔ᮪, romanized ''Jawa Kulon'') is a province of Indonesia on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten ...
, Banten was declared a separate province in 2000. The region is the homeland of the
Bantenese people The Bantenese people (Sundanese: ᮅᮛᮀ ᮘᮔ᮪ᮒᮨᮔ᮪ romanized: ''Urang Banten'') are an indigenous ethnic group native to Banten in the westernmost hemiphere of Java island, Indonesia. The area of Banten province corresponds more o ...
, whose culture differs slightly from that of West Java's Sundanese people. The northern half (particularly the areas near Jakarta and the Java Sea coast) has recently experienced rapid rises in population and
urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly t ...
, and the southern half (especially the region facing the
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
) has a more traditional character. Present-day Banten was part of the Sundanese
Tarumanagara kingdom Tarumanagara or Taruma Kingdom or just Taruma is an early Sundanese Indianised kingdom, located in western Java, whose 5th-century ruler, Purnawarman, produced the earliest known inscriptions in Java, which are estimated to date from around ...
from the fourth to the seventh centuries AD. After the fall of Tarumanegara, it was controlled by
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
-
Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
kingdoms such as the
Srivijaya Srivijaya ( id, Sriwijaya) was a Buddhist thalassocratic empire based on the island of Sumatra (in modern-day Indonesia), which influenced much of Southeast Asia. Srivijaya was an important centre for the expansion of Buddhism from the 7th t ...
Empire and the
Sunda Kingdom The Sunda Kingdom ( su, , Karajaan Sunda, ) was a Sundanese Hindu kingdom located in the western portion of the island of Java from 669 to around 1579, covering the area of present-day Banten, Jakarta, West Java, and the western part of Centra ...
. The
spread of Islam The spread of Islam spans about 1,400 years. Muslim conquests following Muhammad's death led to the creation of the caliphates, occupying a vast geographical area; conversion to Islam was boosted by Arab Muslim forces conquering vast territorie ...
in the region began in the 15th century; by the late 16th century,
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
had replaced Hinduism and Buddhism as the dominant religion in the province, with the establishment of the
Banten Sultanate The Banten Sultanate (كسلطانن بنتن) was a Bantenese Islamic trading kingdom founded in the 16th century and centred in Banten, a port city on the northwest coast of Java; the contemporary English name of both was Bantam. It is said ...
. European traders began arriving in the regionfirst the
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
, followed by the
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
and the
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
. The
Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...
(VOC) finally controlled the regional economy, gradually weakening the Banten Sultanate. On 22 November 1808, Dutch
Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
Herman Willem Daendels Herman Willem Daendels (21 October 1762 – 2 May 1818) was a Dutch revolutionary, general and politician who served as the 36th Governor General of the Dutch East Indies between 1808 and 1811. Early life Born in Hattem, Netherlands, on 21 Octob ...
declared that the Sultanate of Banten had been absorbed into the
Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...
. This began the
Bantam Residency Bantam Residency ( nl, Residentie Bantam), sometimes spelled Banten Residency, was an administrative division (Residency) of the Dutch East Indies which existed from 1817 to 1942; it was located at the western point of Java and its capital was at ...
, 150 years of direct Dutch rule. In March 1942, the
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
invaded the Indies and occupied the region for three years before their August 1945
surrender Surrender may refer to: * Surrender (law), the early relinquishment of a tenancy * Surrender (military), the relinquishment of territory, combatants, facilities, or armaments to another power Film and television * ''Surrender'' (1927 film), an ...
. The region was returned to Dutch control for the next five years before the Dutch left and it was ruled by the
Indonesian government The term Government of Indonesia ( id, Pemerintah Indonesia) can have a number of different meanings. At its widest, it can refer collectively to the three traditional branches of government – the executive branch, legislative branch and ju ...
. Banten then became part of the province of West Java, and separatist efforts led to the creation of the province of Banten in 2000. Banten is diverse, inhabited by many
ethnic groups An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
; the most dominant is the
Bantenese people The Bantenese people (Sundanese: ᮅᮛᮀ ᮘᮔ᮪ᮒᮨᮔ᮪ romanized: ''Urang Banten'') are an indigenous ethnic group native to Banten in the westernmost hemiphere of Java island, Indonesia. The area of Banten province corresponds more o ...
. The
Sundanese language Sundanese (: , ; Sundanese script: ) is a Malayo-Polynesian language spoken by the Sundanese. It has approximately 40 million native speakers in the western third of Java; they represent about 15% of Indonesia's total population. Classifica ...
is the province's
lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...
, although
Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...
is the official language. Javanese is also spoken by many Javanese migrants from
Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
and
East Java East Java ( id, Jawa Timur) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia located in the easternmost hemisphere of Java island. It has a land border only with the province of Central Java to the west; the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean bord ...
. The semi-isolated
Baduy people Baduy people (sometimes spelled as Badui or Kanekes) are an indigenous Sundanese ethnic group native to the southeastern part of Banten specifically Lebak Regency on western hemisphere of Java island in Indonesia. Etymology The term is a short ...
, who speak the
Baduy language Baduy (or sometimes spelled as Badui) is one of the Sundanese-Baduy languages spoken predominantly by the Baduy people. Native speakers of the Baduy language are spread in regions around the Mount Kendeng, Rangkasbitung district of Lebak Regency, ...
(an archaic form of Sundanese), live in the
Lebak Regency Lebak Regency is a regency of Banten province, Indonesia. It is located on the island of Java. The regency has an area of 3,305.072 km2 and had a population of 1,204,095 at the 2010 census and 1,386,793 at the 2020 census; the official estima ...
. Most of the population is fluent in Indonesian as a second language.


Etymology

The name "Banten" has several possible origins. The first is from the
Sundanese Sundanese may refer to: * Sundanese people * Sundanese language * Sundanese script Standard Sundanese script (''Aksara Sunda Baku'', ) is a writing system which is used by the Sundanese people. It is built based on Old Sundanese script (' ...
phrase ''katiban inten,'' which means "struck down by diamonds". The phrase comes from the history of the
Bantenese people The Bantenese people (Sundanese: ᮅᮛᮀ ᮘᮔ᮪ᮒᮨᮔ᮪ romanized: ''Urang Banten'') are an indigenous ethnic group native to Banten in the westernmost hemiphere of Java island, Indonesia. The area of Banten province corresponds more o ...
, who were
animists Animism (from Latin: ' meaning 'breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, huma ...
before adopting
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
and
Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
. After
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
began to spread in Banten, the community began to recognize and embrace Islam. The spread of Islam in Banten is described as being "struck down by diamonds". Another origin story is that the Indonesian Hindu god
Batara Guru Batara Guru (also called Bhattara Guru, Debata Batara Guru and Batara Siwa) is the name of a supreme god in Indonesian Hinduism. His name is derived from Sanskrit ''Bhattaraka'' which means “noble lord".R. Ghose (1966), Saivism in Indonesia dur ...
traveled from east to west, arriving at Surasowan (present-day
Serang Serang ( id, Kota Serang, , Sundanese: ) is a city and the capital of Banten province and was formerly also the administrative center of Serang Regency in Indonesia (the Regency's capital is now at Baros). The city is located towards the north ...
). When he arrived, Batara Guru sat on a stone which became known as ''watu gilang''. The stone glowed, and was presented to the king of Surasowan. Surasowan was reportedly surrounded by a clear, star-like river, and was described as a ring covered with diamonds (
Sundanese Sundanese may refer to: * Sundanese people * Sundanese language * Sundanese script Standard Sundanese script (''Aksara Sunda Baku'', ) is a writing system which is used by the Sundanese people. It is built based on Old Sundanese script (' ...
: ''ban inten''). This evolved into "banten". Another possibility is that "Banten" comes from the
Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...
word ''bantahan'' (rebuttal), because the local Bantenese people resisted the Dutch colonial government. The word "Banten" appeared before the establishment of the
Banten Sultanate The Banten Sultanate (كسلطانن بنتن) was a Bantenese Islamic trading kingdom founded in the 16th century and centred in Banten, a port city on the northwest coast of Java; the contemporary English name of both was Bantam. It is said ...
as the name of a river. The high plains on its banks were called ''Cibanten Girang'', shortened to ''Banten Girang'' (Upper Banten). Based on research in Banten Girang, the area has been settled since the 11th and 12th centuries. During the 16th century, the region developed rapidly towards Serang and the northern coast. The coastal area later became the Sultanate of Banten, founded by
Sunan Gunung Jati Sunan Gunungjati (1448–1568) was one of the Wali Songo, or nine saints of Islam revered in Indonesia. He founded the Sultanate of Banten, as well as the Sultanate of Cirebon on the north coast of Java. Gunungjati was born Syarif Hidayatullah ...
, which controlled almost all of the former
Sunda Kingdom The Sunda Kingdom ( su, , Karajaan Sunda, ) was a Sundanese Hindu kingdom located in the western portion of the island of Java from 669 to around 1579, covering the area of present-day Banten, Jakarta, West Java, and the western part of Centra ...
in West Java.
Sunda Kelapa Sunda Kelapa ( su, , Sunda Kalapa) is the old port of Jakarta located on the estuarine of Ciliwung River. "Sunda Kalapa" (Sundanese language, Sundanese: "Coconut of Sunda") is the original name, and it was the main port of the Sunda Kingdom. The ...
(
Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...
) was captured by the Dutch, and
Cirebon Cirebon (, formerly rendered Cheribon or Chirebon in English) is a port city on the northern coast of the Indonesian island of Java. It is the only coastal city of West Java, located about 40 km west of the provincial border with Central Java ...
and the Parahiyangan region were captured by the
Mataram Sultanate The Sultanate of Mataram () was the last major independent Javanese kingdom on the island of Java before it was colonised by the Dutch. It was the dominant political force radiating from the interior of Central Java from the late 16th centu ...
. The Banten Sultanate was later converted into a
residency Residency may refer to: * Domicile (law), the act of establishing or maintaining a residence in a given place ** Permanent residency, indefinite residence within a country despite not having citizenship * Residency (medicine), a stage of postgrad ...
by the Dutch.


History


Early history

During the fifth century, Banten was part of the kingdom of
Tarumanagara Tarumanagara or Taruma Kingdom or just Taruma is an early Sundanese Indianised kingdom, located in western Java, whose 5th-century ruler, Purnawarman, produced the earliest known inscriptions in Java, which are estimated to date from around ...
. The fourth-century Lebak inscription, discovered in 1947 in a lowland village on the Cidanghiyang River in , contains two lines of
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
poetry in
Pallawa script The Pallava script or Pallava Grantha, is a Brahmic script, named after the Pallava dynasty of South India, attested since the 4th century AD. As epigrapher Arlo Griffiths makes clear, however, the term is misleading as not all of the relevant sc ...
which describe life in the kingdom under the reign of
Purnawarman Purnawarman or Purnavarman is the 5th-century king of Tarumanagara, a Hindu Indianized kingdom, located in modern-day West Java, Jakarta and Banten provinces, Indonesia. Purnawarman reigned during the 5th century, and during his reign he create ...
. The kingdom collapsed after an attack by
Srivijaya Srivijaya ( id, Sriwijaya) was a Buddhist thalassocratic empire based on the island of Sumatra (in modern-day Indonesia), which influenced much of Southeast Asia. Srivijaya was an important centre for the expansion of Buddhism from the 7th t ...
, and western Java became part of the
Kingdom of Sunda The Sunda Kingdom ( su, , Karajaan Sunda, ) was a Sundanese Hindu kingdom located in the western portion of the island of Java from 669 to around 1579, covering the area of present-day Banten, Jakarta, West Java, and the western part of Centra ...
. In the Chinese ''
Chu-fan-chi ''Zhu Fan Zhi'' (), variously translated as '' A Description of Barbarian Nations'', ''Records of Foreign People'', or other similar titles, is a 13th-century Song Dynasty work by Zhao Rukuo. The work is a collection of descriptions of countrie ...
'', written ,
Chou Ju-kua Zhao Rukuo (; 1170–1231), also read as Zhao Rugua, or misread as Zhao Rushi, was a Chinese historian and politician during the Song dynasty. He wrote a two-volume book titled ''Zhu Fan Zhi''. The book deals with the world known to the Chinese in t ...
wrote that
Srivijaya Srivijaya ( id, Sriwijaya) was a Buddhist thalassocratic empire based on the island of Sumatra (in modern-day Indonesia), which influenced much of Southeast Asia. Srivijaya was an important centre for the expansion of Buddhism from the 7th t ...
still ruled Sumatra, the Malay peninsula, and western Java during the early 13th century. ''Chu-fan-chi'' identifies the port of Sunda as strategic and thriving, with
pepper Pepper or peppers may refer to: Food and spice * Piperaceae or the pepper family, a large family of flowering plant ** Black pepper * ''Capsicum'' or pepper, a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae ** Bell pepper ** Chili ...
from Sunda among the highest in quality. The population were farmers, and their houses were built on wooden poles (''rumah panggung''). Robbery, however, was common. According to Portuguese explorer
Tome Pires A tome or codex is a large book, especially one volume of a multi-volume scholarly work. Tome may also refer to: Places * Tome, Miyagi, city in Japan (formerly Tome District) *Tome, New Mexico, an unincorporated community and census-designated ...
, Bantam (Banten) was an important early-16th-century port in the Kingdom of Sunda along with the ports of
Pontang Pontang is a district in the Banten province on the island of Java, Indonesia. Location The Ciujung, a river, enters the sea at Pontang. The Ciujung discharges into the Banten Bay. Historical Pontang port and the Ciujung river used to be impor ...
, Cheguide (Cigede), Tangaram (
Tangerang Tangerang (Sundanese: , ) is a city in the province of Banten, Indonesia. Located on the western border of Jakarta, it is the third largest urban centre in the Greater Jakarta metropolitan area after Jakarta and Bekasi; the sixth largest city pro ...
), Calapa (
Sunda Kelapa Sunda Kelapa ( su, , Sunda Kalapa) is the old port of Jakarta located on the estuarine of Ciliwung River. "Sunda Kalapa" (Sundanese language, Sundanese: "Coconut of Sunda") is the original name, and it was the main port of the Sunda Kingdom. The ...
) and Chimanuk (on the
Cimanuk river The Manuk River (, means: ''Bird River'' in Sundanese) is a river in West Java, Indonesia, about 170 km east of the capital Jakarta. Hydrology The whole parts of this river is located within West Java province. The river runs from south to ...
estuary). In 1527, as the Portuguese fleet arrived off the coast, newly-converted Javanese
Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...
under
Sunan Gunungjati Sunan Gunungjati (1448–1568) was one of the Wali Songo, or nine saints of Islam revered in Indonesia. He founded the Sultanate of Banten, as well as the Sultanate of Cirebon on the north coast of Java. Gunungjati was born Syarif Hidayatullah ...
captured the port of Banten and the surrounding area from the Sundanese and established the
Sultanate of Banten The Banten Sultanate (كسلطانن بنتن) was a Bantenese Islamic trading kingdom founded in the 16th century and centred in Banten, a port city on the northwest coast of Java; the contemporary English name of both was Bantam. It is said ...
. According to Portuguese historian
João de Barros João de Barros () (1496 – 20 October 1570), called the ''Portuguese Livy'', is one of the first great Portuguese historians, most famous for his ''Décadas da Ásia'' ("Decades of Asia"), a history of the Portuguese in India, Asia, and southea ...
,
Banten Banten ( id, Banten; Sundanese: , romanized ''Banten'') is the westernmost province on the island of Java, Indonesia. Its capital city is Serang. The province borders West Java and the Special Capital Region of Jakarta on the east, the Java Se ...
was the center of the sultanate and a major
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
n port (rivaling
Malacca Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site si ...
and
Makassar Makassar (, mak, ᨆᨀᨔᨑ, Mangkasara’, ) is the capital of the Indonesian province of South Sulawesi. It is the largest city in the region of Eastern Indonesia and the country's fifth-largest urban center after Jakarta, Surabaya, Med ...
). The town of Banten was in the middle of the bay, which is about across. It was 850
fathom A fathom is a unit of length in the imperial and the U.S. customary systems equal to , used especially for measuring the depth of water. The fathom is neither an International Standard (SI) unit, nor an internationally-accepted non-SI unit. Hi ...
s in length. A river, navigable by
junks A junk (Chinese: 船, ''chuán'') is a type of Chinese sailing ship with fully battened sails. There are two types of junk in China: northern junk, which developed from Chinese river boats, and southern junk, which developed from Austronesian ...
, flowed through the center of the town; a small tributary extended to the town's edge. The present-day river is smaller, and only navigable by small boats. A fortress near the town had brick walls seven palms thick. Armed, wooden defence buildings were two stories high. The town square was used for military activities and folk art, with a market in the morning. The palace was on the south side of the square. Next to the palace is a tall, flat-roofed building known as Srimanganti, which was used by the king to meet his subjects. West of the square is the
Great Mosque of Banten Great Mosque of Banten ( id, Masjid Agung Banten) is a historic mosque in Old Banten, 10 km north of Serang, Indonesia. The 16th-century mosque was one of the few surviving remnants of what used to be the port city of Banten, the most prosper ...
.


Colonial era

When the Dutch arrived in Indonesia, the Portuguese had long been in Banten. The English established a
factory A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. T ...
in Banten, and were followed by the Dutch. The
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
and the
Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...
also came to trade in Banten. In the competition among European traders, the Dutch emerged as the winners. The Portuguese fled Banten in 1601 after their fleet was destroyed by the Dutch off the coast during the
Dutch–Portuguese War The Dutch–Portuguese War (; ) was a global armed conflict involving Dutch Republic, Dutch forces, in the form of the Dutch East India Company and the Dutch West India Company, as well as their allies against the Iberian Union, and after 1640, t ...
. Although the Dutch won the war, they preserved the Banten Sultanate. The maritime sultanate relied on trade, and the pepper monopoly in
Lampung Lampung (Lampung: ), officially the Province of Lampung ( id, Provinsi Lampung) is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the southern tip of the island of Sumatra. It has a short border with the province of Bengkulu to the northwest, and a ...
made the Banten authorities intermediaries. The sultanate grew rapidly, becoming a commercial center. As sea trade increased throughout the archipelago, Banten became a multi-ethnic region. Assisted by the British, Danish and Chinese people, Banten traded with
Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
Siam Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 mi ...
,
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
,
the Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
,
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. The reign of Sultan
Ageng Tirtayasa Tirtayasa (1631–1695), complete stylized name Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa, also known as Ageng and Abulfatah Agung, was the sixth sultan of Banten (on Java in modern Indonesia) and reigned during the kingdom's golden age. Overview Ageng built a str ...
(1651–1682) was the sultanate's golden era. Under his reign, Banten had one of the strongest navies in the region (built to European standards with help from European shipbuilders) and attracted Europeans to the sultanate.Hasan Muarif Ambary, Jacques Dumarçay, (1990), ''The Sultanate of Banten'', Gramedia Book Pub. Division, . To secure its shipping lanes, Banten sent its fleet to
Sukadana Sukadana () is a town and regency seat of North Kayong Regency (Kabupaten Kayong Utara), on the island of Borneo. North Kayong regency is one of the regencies of West Kalimantan province in Indonesia. The nearest airport is Rahadi Osman-Ketapang K ...
(the present-day
Ketapang Regency Ketapang Regency is a regency in the south of the province of West Kalimantan, on the island of Borneo in Indonesia. Ketapang Regency occupies an area of 31,588 km2, and at the census in 2010 it had 427,460 inhabitants following the splitting ...
in
West Kalimantan West Kalimantan ( id, Kalimantan Barat) is a province of Indonesia. It is one of five Indonesian provinces comprising Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo. Its capital city is Pontianak, Indonesia, Pontianak. The province has ...
) and conquered it in 1661.Atsushi Ota, ''Banten Rebellion, 1750–1752: Factors behind the Mass Participation'', Modern Asian Studies (2003), 37: 613-651, DOI: 10.1017/S0026749X03003044. Banten also tried to escape the pressure of the
Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...
(VOC), which had blockaded incoming merchant ships. A power struggle for power developed around 1680 between
Ageng Tirtayasa Tirtayasa (1631–1695), complete stylized name Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa, also known as Ageng and Abulfatah Agung, was the sixth sultan of Banten (on Java in modern Indonesia) and reigned during the kingdom's golden age. Overview Ageng built a str ...
and his son, Abu Nashar Abdul Qahar (also known as Sultan Haji). The disagreement was exploited by the VOC, who supported Haji and made civil war inevitable. Strengthening his position, Haji sent two envoys to meet King
Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest surviving child of ...
in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
in 1682 to obtain support and weapons.Titik Pudjiastuti, (2007), ''Perang, dagang, persahabatan: surat-surat Sultan Banten'', Yayasan Obor Indonesia, . In the ensuing war, Ageng withdrew from his palace to Tirtayasa (present-day
Tangerang Tangerang (Sundanese: , ) is a city in the province of Banten, Indonesia. Located on the western border of Jakarta, it is the third largest urban centre in the Greater Jakarta metropolitan area after Jakarta and Bekasi; the sixth largest city pro ...
); on 28 December 1682, the region was seized by Haji with Dutch assistance. Ageng and his other sons, Pangeran Purbaya and Syekh Yusuf from
Makassar Makassar (, mak, ᨆᨀᨔᨑ, Mangkasara’, ) is the capital of the Indonesian province of South Sulawesi. It is the largest city in the region of Eastern Indonesia and the country's fifth-largest urban center after Jakarta, Surabaya, Med ...
, retreated to the southern Sunda interior. On 14 March 1683, Sultan Ageng was captured and imprisoned in
Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...
. The VOC continued to pursue and suppress Sultan Ageng's followers, led by Prince Purbaya and Sheikh Yusuf. On 5 May 1683, the VOC sent Lieutenant
Untung Surapati Untung Suropati also Untung Surapati (1660 – December 5, 1706) was an Indonesia war fighter who led a few rebellions against the Dutch East India Company (VOC). Some of his exploits were written in Babad Tanah Jawi. Early life Surapat ...
and his Balinese troops (joining forces led by VOC Lieutenant Johannes Maurits van Happel) to subdue the and
Dayeuhluhur Dayeuhluhur is a district within the Cilacap Regency of Central Java. History Dayeuhluhur began as a '' Kadipaten'' or Duchy of Daya Luhur under Gagak Ngampar. Dayeuhluhur is place the popular Sondanese epic of Ciung Wanara in Cijolang River a ...
regions; on 14 December 1683, they captured Sheikh Yusuf. Heavily outnumbered, Prince Purbaya surrendered. Surapati was ordered by Captain Johan Ruisj to pick up Purbaya and bring him to Batavia. They met with VOC forces led by Willem Kuffeler, but a dispute between them destroyed Kuffeler's forces; Surapati and his followers became fugitives from the VOC.
Lampung Lampung (Lampung: ), officially the Province of Lampung ( id, Provinsi Lampung) is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the southern tip of the island of Sumatra. It has a short border with the province of Bengkulu to the northwest, and a ...
was given to the VOC on 12 March 1682 by Sultan Haji as compensation for the company's support, and a 22 August 1682 letter gave the VOC the province's pepper monopoly. The sultanate also had to reimburse the VOC for losses caused by the war. After Sultan Haji's death in 1687, the VOC's influence in the sultanate began to increase; the appointment of a new sultan required the approval of the governor-general in Batavia. Sultan Abu Fadhl Muhammad Yahya ruled for about three years before he was replaced by his brother, Pangeran Adipati (Sultan Abul Mahasin Muhammad Zainul Abidin). The civil war in Banten left instability for the next government, due to dissatisfaction with the VOC's interference in local affairs. Popular resistance peaked again at the end of the reign of Sultan Abul Fathi Muhammad Syifa Zainul Arifin. The sultan again sought VOC assistance against the resistance, and Banten became a
vassal state A vassal state is any state that has a mutual obligation to a superior state or empire, in a status similar to that of a vassal in the feudal system in medieval Europe. Vassal states were common among the empires of the Near East, dating back to ...
of the company in 1752.Atsushi Ota, (2006), ''Changes of the regime and social dynamics in West Java: society, state, and the outer world of Banten, 1750–1830'', BRILL, . In 1808, at the peak of the
Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
, Governor-general
Herman Willem Daendels Herman Willem Daendels (21 October 1762 – 2 May 1818) was a Dutch revolutionary, general and politician who served as the 36th Governor General of the Dutch East Indies between 1808 and 1811. Early life Born in Hattem, Netherlands, on 21 Octob ...
ordered the construction of the
Great Post Road The Great Post Road ( id, Jalan Raya Pos or nl, De Grote Postweg) is the name for the historical road that runs across Java that connects Anyer and Panarukan. It was built during the reign of Herman Willem Daendels (1808–1811), governor-ge ...
to defend Java from British attack. Daendels ordered the sultan of Banten to move his capital to
Anyer Anyer, also known as Anjer or Angier, is a coastal town in Banten, formerly West Java, Indonesia, west of Jakarta and south of Merak. A significant coastal town late 18th-century, Anyer faces the Sunda Strait. History The town was a consider ...
and provide labor to build a port in
Ujung Kulon Ujung Kulon National Park is at the westernmost tip of Java (island), Java, in Banten province of Indonesia. It includes the volcanic island group of Krakatoa in Lampung province, and other islands including Panaitan, as well as smaller offshore ...
. The sultan defied Daendels' order, and Daendels ordered an attack on Banten and the destruction of Surosowan Palace. The sultan and his family were held in the palace before their imprisonment in Fort Speelwijk. Sultan Abul Nashar Muhammad Ishaq Zainulmutaqin was then exiled to Batavia. On 22 November 1808, Daendels announced from his
Serang Serang ( id, Kota Serang, , Sundanese: ) is a city and the capital of Banten province and was formerly also the administrative center of Serang Regency in Indonesia (the Regency's capital is now at Baros). The city is located towards the north ...
headquarters in that the sultanate had been absorbed by the
Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...
. The sultanate was abolished in 1813 by the British government after the invasion of Java. That year, Sultan Muhammad bin Muhammad Muhyiddin Zainussalihin was disarmed and forced to abdicate by
Thomas Stamford Raffles Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles (5 July 1781 – 5 July 1826) was a British statesman who served as the Lieutenant-Governor of the Dutch East Indies between 1811 and 1816, and Lieutenant-Governor of Bencoolen between 1818 and 1824. He is ...
; this ended the sultanate. After the British returned Java to the Dutch in 1814 as part of the
Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 The Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 (also known as the Convention of London; nl, Verdrag van Londen) was signed by the United Kingdom and the Netherlands in London on 13 August 1814. The treaty restored most of the territories in Java that B ...
, Banten became a ''residentie'' (residency) of the Dutch East Indies.


Japanese occupation and independence

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
invaded the East Indies, expelled the Dutch, and occupied Banten in March 1942. During their three years of occupation, the Japanese built the Saketi–Bayah railway in southern
Lebak Lebak, officially the Municipality of Lebak ( hil, Banwa sang Lebak; tl, Bayan ng Lebak; mdh, Inged nu Libak, Jawi Alphabet, Jawi: ايڠايد نو ليبق), is a 1st class municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Pr ...
to transport
brown coal Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible, sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35%, and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat ...
from the Bayah mines. The project involved a workforce of about 1,000
rōmusha is a Japanese language word for Corvée. The U.S. Library of Congress estimates that in Java (island), Java, between 4 and 10 million ''rōmusha'' were forced to work by the Japanese military during the Japanese occupation of Indonesia in World Wa ...
(local forced labourers) and a few engineers and technicians (mainly Dutch), supervised by a Japanese. The rōmusha working in the mines were imported from
Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
and
East Java East Java ( id, Jawa Timur) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia located in the easternmost hemisphere of Java island. It has a land border only with the province of Central Java to the west; the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean bord ...
, the railway rōmusha were primarily from Banten. The construction took 12 million person-days over 14 months. Working conditions were harsh due to food shortages, lack of medical care, and the tropical climate. Casualties are estimated at 20,000 to 60,000, not including mine workers. After the Japanese surrendered in August 1945, the Dutch East Indies declared independence as the Republic of Indonesia. This was opposed by the returning Dutch, resulting in the
Indonesian war of independence The Indonesian National Revolution, or the Indonesian War of Independence, was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between the Republic of Indonesia and the Dutch Empire and an internal social revolution during postwar and postcoloni ...
. During the war, Banten remained under Indonesian control. On 26 February 1948, the State of West Java ( id, Negara Jawa Barat, su, Negara Jawa Kulon) was established; on 24 April 1948, it was renamed
Pasundan The State of Pasundan (Indonesian language, Indonesian and su, Negara Pasundan) was a federated state, federal state ''(negara bagian)'' formed in the western part of the Indonesian island of Java by the Netherlands in 1948 following the Linggad ...
. Pasundan became a
federal state A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-governi ...
of the
United States of Indonesia The United States of Indonesia ( nl, Verenigde Staten van Indonesië, id, Republik Indonesia Serikat, abbreviated as RIS), was a short-lived federal state to which the Netherlands formally transferred sovereignty of the Dutch East Indies (except ...
in 1949, and was incorporated into the
Republic of Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guinea. Ind ...
(part of the USI) on 11 March 1950. After Indonesian independence, Banten became part of the province of
West Java West Java ( id, Jawa Barat, su, ᮏᮝ ᮊᮥᮜᮧᮔ᮪, romanized ''Jawa Kulon'') is a province of Indonesia on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten ...
. Separatist sentiment led to the creation of the province of Banten in 2000.


Geography

Banten lies between 5°7'50" and 7°1'11" south latitude and 105°1'11" and 106°7'12" east longitude. The province has an area of . It is near the
Sunda Strait The Sunda Strait ( id, Selat Sunda) is the strait between the Indonesian islands of Java island, Java and Sumatra. It connects the Java Sea with the Indian Ocean. Etymology The strait takes its name from the Sunda Kingdom, which ruled the weste ...
's sea lanes, which link
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
with
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
. Banten also links
Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
and Sumatra. The region has a number of industries; its seaports handle overflow cargo from the seaport in
Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...
, and are intended to be an alternative to the
Port of Singapore The Port of Singapore refers to the collective facilities and terminals that conduct maritime trade and handles Singapore's harbours and shipping. It has been ranked as the top maritime capital of the world since 2015. Currently the world's se ...
. Its location on the western tip of Java makes Banten the gateway to Java,
Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...
and the adjacent areas of Jakarta, Indonesia's capital. Bordering the
Java Sea The Java Sea ( id, Laut Jawa, jv, Segara Jawa) is an extensive shallow sea on the Sunda Shelf, between the Indonesian islands of Borneo to the north, Java to the south, Sumatra to the west, and Sulawesi to the east. Karimata Strait to its nort ...
on the north, the
Sunda Strait The Sunda Strait ( id, Selat Sunda) is the strait between the Indonesian islands of Java island, Java and Sumatra. It connects the Java Sea with the Indian Ocean. Etymology The strait takes its name from the Sunda Kingdom, which ruled the weste ...
on the west and the
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
on the south, the province has abundant marine resources.


Topography

The province ranges in altitude from sea level to . Banten is primarily lowland (below 50 metres above sea level) in
Cilegon Cilegon (Indonesian: ''Kota Cilegon'', Sundanese: ) is a major coastal industrial city in Banten province, Indonesia, covering . It is located on the island of Java. The city had a population of 374,464 at the 2010 Census and 434,896 at the 2020 Ce ...
,
Tangerang Tangerang (Sundanese: , ) is a city in the province of Banten, Indonesia. Located on the western border of Jakarta, it is the third largest urban centre in the Greater Jakarta metropolitan area after Jakarta and Bekasi; the sixth largest city pro ...
,
Pandeglang Regency Pandeglang Regency (Sundanese script, Sundanese: ) is a Regency (Indonesia), regency of Banten province, Indonesia. It is mainly located on the west and south coasts of the island of Java, and is the most westerly regency on Java Island, but it als ...
, and most of
Serang Regency Serang Regency (Sundanese language, Sundanese: ) is a Regencies of Indonesia, regency of Banten province, Indonesia. It is located in the northwest corner of the island of Java. The administrative center of the regency is at Ciruas, while the capit ...
. The central
Lebak Lebak, officially the Municipality of Lebak ( hil, Banwa sang Lebak; tl, Bayan ng Lebak; mdh, Inged nu Libak, Jawi Alphabet, Jawi: ايڠايد نو ليبق), is a 1st class municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Pr ...
and Pandeglang Regencies range from , and the eastern Lebak Regency ranges in altitude from at the summit of
Mount Halimun Mount Halimun ( id, Gunung Halimun) is a mountain in the island of Java, Indonesia. It is protected by the Mount Halimun Salak National Park. It is Banten's highest point. Location Mount Halimun is in the volcanic belt of the Bandung Zone. It i ...
. Banten's
geomorphology Geomorphology (from Ancient Greek: , ', "earth"; , ', "form"; and , ', "study") is the scientific study of the origin and evolution of topographic and bathymetric features created by physical, chemical or biological processes operating at or n ...
generally consists of lowlands and sloping and steep hills. The lowlands are generally in the north and south. The sloping hills have a minimum height of above sea level. Mount Gede, north of Cilegon, has an altitude of above sea level; there are also hills in the southern Serang Regency, in the Mancak and Waringin Kurung Districts. The southern Pandeglang Regency is also hilly. In eastern Lebak Regency, bordering
Bogor Regency Bogor Regency (Indonesian: ''Kabupaten Bogor'') is a landlocked regency (''kabupaten'') of West Java, Indonesia, south of DKI Jakarta. Covering an area of 2,986.20 km2, it is considered a bedroom community for Jakarta, and was home to 5,427, ...
and
Sukabumi Regency Sukabumi Regency ( id, Kabupaten Sukabumi; Sundanese: ) is a regency ''(kabupaten)'' in southwestern Java, as part of West Java province of Indonesia. The regency seat is located in Palabuhan Ratu, a coastal district facing the Indian Ocean. The ...
in
West Java West Java ( id, Jawa Barat, su, ᮏᮝ ᮊᮥᮜᮧᮔ᮪, romanized ''Jawa Kulon'') is a province of Indonesia on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten ...
, most of the region consists of steep hills of old
sedimentary rock Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles ...
interspersed with igneous rocks such as
granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...
,
granodiorite Granodiorite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock similar to granite, but containing more plagioclase feldspar than orthoclase feldspar. The term banatite is sometimes used informally for various rocks ranging from gra ...
,
diorite Diorite ( ) is an intrusive igneous rock formed by the slow cooling underground of magma (molten rock) that has a moderate content of silica and a relatively low content of alkali metals. It is intermediate in composition between low-silic ...
and
andesite Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predomi ...
. It also contains valuable
tin Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal. Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...
and
copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
deposits.


Climate

Banten's climate is influenced by the
South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
and
East Asian Monsoon The East Asian Monsoon is a monsoonal flow that carries moist air from the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean to East Asia. It affects approximately one-third of the global population, influencing the climate of Japan, the Korean Peninsula, Taiwan, Ch ...
s and the alternating
La Niña La Niña (; ) is an oceanic and atmospheric phenomenon that is the colder counterpart of as part of the broader El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) climate pattern. The name ''La Niña'' originates from Spanish for "the girl", by an ...
or
El Niño El Niño (; ; ) is the warm phase of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and is associated with a band of warm ocean water that develops in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific (approximately between the International Date L ...
. During the rainy season, the weather is dominated by a west wind (from
Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...
and the
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
south of the
Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
) joined by winds from
Northern Asia North Asia or Northern Asia, also referred to as Siberia, is the northern region of Asia, which is defined in geographical terms and is coextensive with the Asian part of Russia, and consists of three Russian regions east of the Ural Mountains: ...
crossing the
South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...
. The dry season is dominated by an east wind which gives Banten severe droughts, especially on the northern coast during El Niño. Temperatures on the coast and in the hills range from , and temperatures in the mountains from above sea level range from . The heaviest rainfall ranges from during the rainy season from September to May, covering half of the western
Pandeglang Regency Pandeglang Regency (Sundanese script, Sundanese: ) is a Regency (Indonesia), regency of Banten province, Indonesia. It is mainly located on the west and south coasts of the island of Java, and is the most westerly regency on Java Island, but it als ...
. Rainfall from covers half of
Tangerang Regency Tangerang Regency is a regency of Banten province, Indonesia. It is located on the island of Java. The current regent is Ahmed Zaki Iskandar. Though commonly misunderstood as being a part of Jakarta, Tangerang is actually outside Jakarta City but ...
, the northern
Serang Regency Serang Regency (Sundanese language, Sundanese: ) is a Regencies of Indonesia, regency of Banten province, Indonesia. It is located in the northwest corner of the island of Java. The administrative center of the regency is at Ciruas, while the capit ...
, and the cities of
Cilegon Cilegon (Indonesian: ''Kota Cilegon'', Sundanese: ) is a major coastal industrial city in Banten province, Indonesia, covering . It is located on the island of Java. The city had a population of 374,464 at the 2010 Census and 434,896 at the 2020 Ce ...
and
Tangerang Tangerang (Sundanese: , ) is a city in the province of Banten, Indonesia. Located on the western border of Jakarta, it is the third largest urban centre in the Greater Jakarta metropolitan area after Jakarta and Bekasi; the sixth largest city pro ...
. In the dry season (from April to December), the peak rainfall of covers half of the northern Serang and Tangerang Regencies and the cities of Cilegon and Tangerang. The lowest dry-season rainfall, from June to September, covers half of the southern Tangerang Regency and 15 percent of southeastern Serang Regency.


Administrative divisions

Banten consists of four
regencies A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state ''pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy, ...
(''kabupaten'') and four autonomous
cities A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
(''kota''), listed below with their populations in the 2010 and 2020 censuses and in official mid-2021 estimates.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2022. The cities and regencies are subdivided into 140 districts, 262 urban villages and 1,242 villages. Tangerang was incorporated as a city on 27 February 1993 from the Tangerang Regency, where it was the administrative capital. It was replaced by Cipasera. Cilegon was incorporated as a city on 10 April 1999 from the Serang Regency, where it was the administrative capital. It was replaced by Serang. Serang was incorporated as a city in November 2007 from the Serang Regency, where it was the administrative capital. It was replaced by Ciruas. South Tangerang (formerly Cipasera) was incorporated as a city on 29 October 2008 from the Tangerang Regency. Where it was the administrative capital. It was replaced by Tigaraksa.


Demographics

The 2006 population of Banten was 9,351,470, with 3,370,182 children (36.04 percent), 240,742 elderly people (2.57 percent), and the remaining 5,740,546 people aged between 15 and 64. It was Indonesia's fifth-most-populous province, after
West Java West Java ( id, Jawa Barat, su, ᮏᮝ ᮊᮥᮜᮧᮔ᮪, romanized ''Jawa Kulon'') is a province of Indonesia on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten ...
,
East Java East Java ( id, Jawa Timur) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia located in the easternmost hemisphere of Java island. It has a land border only with the province of Central Java to the west; the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean bord ...
,
Central Java Central Java ( id, Jawa Tengah) is a province of Indonesia, located in the middle of the island of Java. Its administrative capital is Semarang. It is bordered by West Java in the west, the Indian Ocean and the Special Region of Yogyakarta in t ...
and
North Sumatra North Sumatra ( id, Sumatra Utara) is a province of Indonesia located on the northern part of the island of Sumatra. Its capital and largest city is Medan. North Sumatra is Indonesia's fourth most populous province after West Java, East Java and ...
. By mid-2021, the estimated total had risen to 12,061,475.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2022.


Ethnic groups

The
Bantenese people The Bantenese people (Sundanese: ᮅᮛᮀ ᮘᮔ᮪ᮒᮨᮔ᮪ romanized: ''Urang Banten'') are an indigenous ethnic group native to Banten in the westernmost hemiphere of Java island, Indonesia. The area of Banten province corresponds more o ...
are the largest group in the province, forming 47% of the total population. They mostly inhabit the central and southern part of the province. The origins of the Bantenese people; which are closely related to the
Banten Sultanate The Banten Sultanate (كسلطانن بنتن) was a Bantenese Islamic trading kingdom founded in the 16th century and centred in Banten, a port city on the northwest coast of Java; the contemporary English name of both was Bantam. It is said ...
, are different from the
Cirebonese people The Cirebon or Cirebonese (''Wong Cirebon''; ''Urang Cirebon'') are an indigenous ethnic group native to Cirebon in the northeastern region of West Java, Indonesia. With a population of approximately 1.9 million, Cirebonese population, they ...
whom are not part of the
Sundanese people The Sunda or Sundanese ( id, Orang Sunda; su, ᮅᮛᮀ ᮞᮥᮔ᮪ᮓ, Urang Sunda) are an indigenous ethnic group native to the western region of Java island in Indonesia, primarily West Java. They number approximately 42 million and form ...
nor the
Javanese people The Javanese ( id, Orang Jawa; jv, ꦮꦺꦴꦁꦗꦮ, ''Wong Jawa'' ; , ''Tiyang Jawi'' ) are an ethnic group native to the central and eastern part of the Indonesian island of Java. With approximately 100 million people, Javanese people ...
(unless it is from the result of a mixture of two major cultures, namely Sundanese and Javanese). The Bantenese people along with the
Baduy people Baduy people (sometimes spelled as Badui or Kanekes) are an indigenous Sundanese ethnic group native to the southeastern part of Banten specifically Lebak Regency on western hemisphere of Java island in Indonesia. Etymology The term is a short ...
(Kanekes) are essentially sub-ethnics of the
Sundanese people The Sunda or Sundanese ( id, Orang Sunda; su, ᮅᮛᮀ ᮞᮥᮔ᮪ᮓ, Urang Sunda) are an indigenous ethnic group native to the western region of Java island in Indonesia, primarily West Java. They number approximately 42 million and form ...
that occupies the former region of the
Banten Sultanate The Banten Sultanate (كسلطانن بنتن) was a Bantenese Islamic trading kingdom founded in the 16th century and centred in Banten, a port city on the northwest coast of Java; the contemporary English name of both was Bantam. It is said ...
(region of Bantam Residency after the abolishment and annexation by the
Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...
). After the formation of the
Banten Province Banten ( id, Banten; Sundanese: , romanized ''Banten'') is the westernmost province on the island of Java, Indonesia. Its capital city is Serang. The province borders West Java and the Special Capital Region of Jakarta on the east, the Java Se ...
only did people began to regard the Bantenese as a group of people with a culture and language of their own. Most of the north Banten population is Javanese. Most of the Javanese are migrants from central and eastern Java. The
Betawi people Betawi may refer to: *Betawi people *Betawi language * Betawi cuisine *Betawi mask dance See also * Batavia (disambiguation) * Batavi (disambiguation) Batavi may refer to: *Batavi (Germanic tribe) **Revolt of the Batavi *Batavi (military unit) *Ba ...
live in
greater Jakarta The Jakarta metropolitan area or Greater Jakarta, known locally as Jabodetabek (an acronym of Jakarta–Bogor–Depok–Tangerang–Bekasi), and sometimes extended to Jabodetabekjur (with the acronym extended to include part of Cianjur Regency) ...
, including
Tangerang Tangerang (Sundanese: , ) is a city in the province of Banten, Indonesia. Located on the western border of Jakarta, it is the third largest urban centre in the Greater Jakarta metropolitan area after Jakarta and Bekasi; the sixth largest city pro ...
.
Chinese Indonesians Chinese Indonesians ( id, Orang Tionghoa Indonesia) and colloquially Chindo or just Tionghoa are Indonesians whose ancestors arrived from China at some stage in the last eight centuries. Chinese people and their Indonesian descendants have l ...
may also be found in urban areas, also primarily in the greater Jakarta area. The
Benteng Chinese Benteng people (Indonesian: Orang Cina Benteng or Orang Tionghoa Benteng) are a Chinese Indonesian community of 'Peranakan' or mixed descent, native to the historic Tangerang area in the modern-day Indonesian provinces of Jakarta, Banten and We ...
(a subgroup of Chinese Indonesians) lives in Tangerang and the surrounding area, and are distinct from other Chinese Indonesians.


Languages

The province's dominant language is
Sundanese Sundanese may refer to: * Sundanese people * Sundanese language * Sundanese script Standard Sundanese script (''Aksara Sunda Baku'', ) is a writing system which is used by the Sundanese people. It is built based on Old Sundanese script (' ...
.Language maps of Indonesia (Java and Bali)
/ref> Its indigenous people speak a dialect derived from archaic Sundanese, classified as informal in modern Sundanese. The
Mataram Sultanate The Sultanate of Mataram () was the last major independent Javanese kingdom on the island of Java before it was colonised by the Dutch. It was the dominant political force radiating from the interior of Central Java from the late 16th centu ...
tried to control West Java, including Banten; the Sultanate of Banten defended its territory except for Banten. In the mountains and most of present-day Banten, the "loma" version of the Sundanese language is dominant; this version is considered "harsh" by people from Parahyangan. Bantenese is commonly spoken, especially in the southern
Pandeglang Pandeglang Regency (Sundanese: ) is a regency of Banten province, Indonesia. It is mainly located on the west and south coasts of the island of Java, and is the most westerly regency on Java Island, but it also includes a number of offshore islands ...
and Lebak Regencies. Near Serang and Cilegon, the Javanese
Banyumasan dialect Banyumasan (), also known as the autoglottonym Ngapak (), is a dialect of Javanese spoken mainly in three areas of Java that is the Banyumasan, located in westernmost Central Java province and surrounding the Slamet mountain and Serayu River; ...
is spoken by about 500,000 people. In northern Tangerang, Betawi is spoken by Betawi immigrants.
Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...
is also widely spoken, especially by urban migrants from other parts of Indonesia. The
Baduy people Baduy people (sometimes spelled as Badui or Kanekes) are an indigenous Sundanese ethnic group native to the southeastern part of Banten specifically Lebak Regency on western hemisphere of Java island in Indonesia. Etymology The term is a short ...
speak the
Baduy language Baduy (or sometimes spelled as Badui) is one of the Sundanese-Baduy languages spoken predominantly by the Baduy people. Native speakers of the Baduy language are spread in regions around the Mount Kendeng, Rangkasbitung district of Lebak Regency, ...
, also an archaic form of Sundanese.


Religion

Most residents are Muslims, and the Banten Sultanate was one of the largest Islamic kingdoms on the island of
Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
. The province also has other ethnicities and religions, including the Benteng Chinese community in
Tangerang Tangerang (Sundanese: , ) is a city in the province of Banten, Indonesia. Located on the western border of Jakarta, it is the third largest urban centre in the Greater Jakarta metropolitan area after Jakarta and Bekasi; the sixth largest city pro ...
and the
Baduy people Baduy people (sometimes spelled as Badui or Kanekes) are an indigenous Sundanese ethnic group native to the southeastern part of Banten specifically Lebak Regency on western hemisphere of Java island in Indonesia. Etymology The term is a short ...
who practice
Sunda Wiwitan (from su, ᮞᮥᮔ᮪ᮓ ᮝᮤᮝᮤᮒᮔ᮪, Sunda Wiwitan, aboriginal Pasundan) Sunda Wiwitan is a folk religion and ancient beliefs adhered to by the Sundanese (including Baduy people, Bantenese, Cirebonese) in the western part of Java. ...
in Kanekes, Leuwidamar,
Lebak Regency Lebak Regency is a regency of Banten province, Indonesia. It is located on the island of Java. The regency has an area of 3,305.072 km2 and had a population of 1,204,095 at the 2010 census and 1,386,793 at the 2020 census; the official estima ...
. Based on archaeological data, early Banten society was influenced by the
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
-
Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
Tarumanagara Tarumanagara or Taruma Kingdom or just Taruma is an early Sundanese Indianised kingdom, located in western Java, whose 5th-century ruler, Purnawarman, produced the earliest known inscriptions in Java, which are estimated to date from around ...
,
Sriwijaya Srivijaya ( id, Sriwijaya) was a Buddhist thalassocratic empire based on the island of Sumatra (in modern-day Indonesia), which influenced much of Southeast Asia. Srivijaya was an important centre for the expansion of Buddhism from the 7th t ...
and
Sunda Kingdom The Sunda Kingdom ( su, , Karajaan Sunda, ) was a Sundanese Hindu kingdom located in the western portion of the island of Java from 669 to around 1579, covering the area of present-day Banten, Jakarta, West Java, and the western part of Centra ...
s. According to the ''Babad Banten'',
Sunan Gunung Jati Sunan Gunungjati (1448–1568) was one of the Wali Songo, or nine saints of Islam revered in Indonesia. He founded the Sultanate of Banten, as well as the Sultanate of Cirebon on the north coast of Java. Gunungjati was born Syarif Hidayatullah ...
and Maulana Hasanuddin spread Islam extensively in the region.
Maulana Yusuf Maulana Yusuf (also spelled Molana Yusup) was the second sultan of Banten, and reigned from c. 1570 to 1580. About 1579, he conquered Pajajaran, which was the last significant Hinduism, Hindu-Buddhism, Buddhist kingdom on Java. With this conquest ...
reportedly engaged in ''
da'wah Dawah ( ar, دعوة, lit=invitation, ) is the act of inviting or calling people to embrace Islam. The plural is ''da‘wāt'' (دَعْوات) or ''da‘awāt'' (دَعَوات). Etymology The English term ''Dawah'' derives from the Arabic ...
'' in the interior, and conquered
Pakuan Pajajaran Pakuan Pajajaran (or ᮕᮊᮥᮝᮔ᮪ᮕᮏᮏᮛᮔ᮪/ Dayeuh Pakuan/Pakwan or Pajajaran) was the fortified capital city of Sunda Kingdom. The location is roughly corresponds to modern Bogor city in West Java, Indonesia, approximately around t ...
. The sultan of Banten's genealogy reportedly traced back to
Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
, and the ''
ulama In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...
s'' were influential.
Tariqa A tariqa (or ''tariqah''; ar, طريقة ') is a school or order of Sufism, or specifically a concept for the mystical teaching and spiritual practices of such an order with the aim of seeking ''haqiqa'', which translates as "ultimate truth". ...
Sufism Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...
developed in the region.


Culture

Banten's culture is based on Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam. It includes the pencak silat martial arts, the
Saman dance Saman (or the dance of a thousand hands) is one of the most popular dances in Indonesia. Its origin is from the Gayo ethnic group from Gayo Lues, Aceh province, Indonesia, and is normally performed to celebrate important occasions. The dance is ...
, and . Religious sites include the
Great Mosque of Banten Great Mosque of Banten ( id, Masjid Agung Banten) is a historic mosque in Old Banten, 10 km north of Serang, Indonesia. The 16th-century mosque was one of the few surviving remnants of what used to be the port city of Banten, the most prosper ...
and the Keramat Panjang Tomb. The
Baduy people Baduy people (sometimes spelled as Badui or Kanekes) are an indigenous Sundanese ethnic group native to the southeastern part of Banten specifically Lebak Regency on western hemisphere of Java island in Indonesia. Etymology The term is a short ...
live in central and southern Banten. The Inner Baduy tribes are native Sundanese who are opposed to modernization in dress and lifestyle, and the Outer Baduy tribes are more open to modernization. The Baduy-Rawayan tribe lives in the Kendeng Cultural Heritage Mountains, an area of spanning the Kanekes area, Leuwidamar District,
Lebak Regency Lebak Regency is a regency of Banten province, Indonesia. It is located on the island of Java. The regency has an area of 3,305.072 km2 and had a population of 1,204,095 at the 2010 census and 1,386,793 at the 2020 census; the official estima ...
. Baduy villages are generally located on the Ciujung River in the Kendeng Mountains.


Weapons

The
golok A golok is a cutting tool, similar to a machete, that comes in many variations and is found throughout the Malay archipelago. It is used as an agricultural tool as well as a weapon. The word ''golok'' (sometimes misspelled in English as "gollock" ...
, similar to a
machete Older machete from Latin America Gerber machete/saw combo Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas, Oaxaca">San_Agustín_de_las_Juntas.html" ;"title="Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas">Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San ...
, is Banten's traditional weapon. Formerly a self-defence weapon, it is now a martial-arts tool. The Baduy people use goloks for farming and forest hunting. Other traditional weapons include the
kujang Kujang may refer to: Places * Kujang County, North Pyongan province, North Korea ** Kujang (town) * Kujang, Odisha, India Other uses * Kujang (weapon), a blade weapon native to the Sundanese people of West Java, Indonesia * , a ''Clurit''-class f ...
,
kris The kris, or ''keris'' in the Indonesian language, is an asymmetrical dagger with distinctive blade-patterning achieved through alternating laminations of iron and nickelous iron (''pamor''). Of Javanese origin, the kris is famous for its disti ...
, spear, sledgehammer, machete, sword and bow and arrow.


Traditional housing

Traditional housing in Banten has
thatched Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge (''Cladium mariscus''), rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Since the bulk of ...
roofing, with floors made of split and pounded
bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...
. This type of traditional house is still widely found in areas inhabited by the Kanekes and Baduy peoples.


Clothing

Bantenese men traditionally wear closed-neck shirts and trousers belted with
batik Batik is an Indonesian technique of wax-resist dyeing applied to the whole cloth. This technique originated from the island of Java, Indonesia. Batik is made either by drawing dots and lines of the resist with a spouted tool called a ''ca ...
, perhaps with a golok tucked into the belt. Bantenese women traditionally wear a
kebaya A kebaya is an upper garment traditionally worn by women in Southeast Asia, notably in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Southern Thailand. Outside of Southeast Asia, it is worn by Javanese, Malays and Portuguese Eurasians in Australi ...
, decorated with a hand-crafted brooch at the waist. Hair is tied into a bun, and decorated with a flower.


Islamic architecture

Three-level mosque architecture is symbolic of
tariqa A tariqa (or ''tariqah''; ar, طريقة ') is a school or order of Sufism, or specifically a concept for the mystical teaching and spiritual practices of such an order with the aim of seeking ''haqiqa'', which translates as "ultimate truth". ...
''
ihsan Ihsan ( ar, إحسان , also romanized ''ehsan''), is an Arabic term meaning "to do beautiful things", "beautification", "perfection", or "excellence" (Arabic: , ). Ihsan is a matter of taking one's inner faith ('' iman'') and showing it in b ...
'' (beauty) and
sharia Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...
(law).


Pencak silat

Pencak silat is a group of martial arts, rooted in
Indonesian culture The culture of Indonesia has been shaped by long interaction between original indigenous customs and multiple foreign influences. Indonesia is centrally-located along ancient trading routes between the Far East, South Asia and the Middle East, r ...
, which reportedly existed throughout the archipelago since the seventh century. It began to be recorded when it was influenced by the ''
ulama In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...
s'' during the spread of Islam in the 15th century. At that time, martial arts were taught with religious studies in ''
pesantren ''Pesantren'', or ''pondok pesantren'', are Islamic boarding schools in Indonesia. They consist of pondok, mosque, santri, teaching of classical Islamic texts and Kyai.Zamakhsyari Dhofie''The Pesantren Tradition: A Study of the Role of the Kyai ...
'' (Islamic boarding schools). Religion and pencak silat became intertwined.
Silat is the collective term for a class of indigenous martial arts from the Nusantara and surrounding geocultural areas of Southeast Asia. It is traditionally practised in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Southern Thailand, Southern Philip ...
evolved from folk dancing, becoming part of the region's defense against invaders. Banten is known for its warriors, who are proficient in the martial arts. ''Debus'' (from ar, دَبُّوس, dabbūs) is a Bantenese martial art which was developed during the 16th century.


Transport

Banten is in western
Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
. In 2006, of its national roads were in good condition; were in fair condition, and were in poor condition. At the end of that year, of Banten's provincial road network were in good condition; were in fair condition, and were in poor condition. The province's national roads are congested; provincial roads have less traffic, and congestion is generally localized. Rail transport is declining; 48 percent of Banten's rail network was operational in 2005, with an average of 22 passenger trains and 16 freight trains per day. Most lines were single-track, and the main line was the Merak-
Tanah Abang Tanah Abang is a district of Central Jakarta, Indonesia. The district hosts the biggest textile market in Southeast Asia, Tanah Abang Market. It hosts Bung Karno Stadium, in Kelurahan Gelora, and the western half of the largely skyscraper-domin ...
, Tangerang-Duri and Cilegon-Cigading line.
Soekarno–Hatta International Airport Soekarno–Hatta International Airport ( id, Bandar Udara Internasional Soekarno–Hatta) , abbreviated SHIA or Soetta, formerly legally called Jakarta Cengkareng Airport ( id, Bandar Udara Jakarta Cengkareng) (hence the IATA designator "CGK" ...
is Indonesia's main national airport. Other airports include the general-aviation
Pondok Cabe Airport Pondok Cabe Airport ( id, Bandar Udara Pondok Cabe) is a combined civilian and military airport in Pondok Cabe, Pamulang, South Tangerang. The airport is owned by the state oil company Pertamina and operated by Pelita Air Service, which also ow ...
in South Tangerang, Budiarto Airport in Tangerang (for training), and Gorda Airport in
Serang Serang ( id, Kota Serang, , Sundanese: ) is a city and the capital of Banten province and was formerly also the administrative center of Serang Regency in Indonesia (the Regency's capital is now at Baros). The city is located towards the north ...
(used by the
Indonesian Air Force The Indonesian Air Force ( id, Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Udara (TNI-AU), literally "''Indonesian National Military-Air Force''") sometimes shortened as IDAF / IdAF, is the aerial branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. The ...
). File:Soekarno-Hatta Airport aerial view.jpg, Soekarno–Hatta International Airport in
Tangerang Tangerang (Sundanese: , ) is a city in the province of Banten, Indonesia. Located on the western border of Jakarta, it is the third largest urban centre in the Greater Jakarta metropolitan area after Jakarta and Bekasi; the sixth largest city pro ...
, gateway to Jakarta and Indonesia, alt=Aerial view of Soekarno–Hatta International Airport File:Tokyo Metro 7000 series at Tangerang Station.jpg,
KRL Commuterline KRL Commuterline, or commonly known as Commuterline, is a commuter rail system for Greater Jakarta in Indonesia. It was previously known as KRL Jabodetabek. It is operated by PT KAI Commuter Indonesia (KAI Commuter/KCI), a subsidiary of the In ...
train at the
Tangerang railway station Tangerang Station () is a railway station located in the city of Tangerang, Banten. It is the western terminus of the Duri–Tangerang railway. This station only serves commuter trains operated by Kereta Commuter Indonesia. Passengers are mainly ...
, alt=Red electric train at an outdoor station File:ALS Di Poris.jpg, Bus at Poris terminal in Tangerang, alt=Large green bus File:Pelabuhan Merak Port of Merak.JPG, The
Port of Merak Port of Merak is a seaport located in the Pulo Merak District of the city of Cilegon, Banten, on the northwestern tip of Java, Indonesia. The port and district are named after the green peafowl, which once lived in the region, but now only lives ...
has ferry service to
Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...
., alt=A large boat at a dock


Economy

Banten's 2006 population totaled 9,351,470, with 36.04 percent children, 2.57 percent elderly, and the remainder 15 to 64 years old. The province's 2005 Gross Regional Domestic Product (GDP) was primarily from the manufacturing industry sector (49.75 percent), followed by the trade, hotel and restaurant sector (17.13 percent), transportation and communication (8.58 percent), and agriculture (8.53 percent). Industry had 23.11 percent of jobs, followed by agriculture (21.14 percent), trade (20.84 percent) and transportation and communication (9.5 percent). The northern part of the province is more economically developed than the southern part. It is strategically located between
Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
and
Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...
. Most investment is in
Tangerang Tangerang (Sundanese: , ) is a city in the province of Banten, Indonesia. Located on the western border of Jakarta, it is the third largest urban centre in the Greater Jakarta metropolitan area after Jakarta and Bekasi; the sixth largest city pro ...
,
South Tangerang South Tangerang is a List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city in the province of Banten, Indonesia. Located on the southwestern border of Jakarta, the city forms part of the Jabodetabek, Greater Jakarta metropolitan area. It was administra ...
and the rest of the north because of their infrastructure and proximity to
Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...
. Infrastructure in southern Banten lags behind that of the north, and Banten's development policies have prioritised growth over equality in
Pandeglang Pandeglang Regency (Sundanese: ) is a regency of Banten province, Indonesia. It is mainly located on the west and south coasts of the island of Java, and is the most westerly regency on Java Island, but it also includes a number of offshore islands ...
and
Lebak Lebak, officially the Municipality of Lebak ( hil, Banwa sang Lebak; tl, Bayan ng Lebak; mdh, Inged nu Libak, Jawi Alphabet, Jawi: ايڠايد نو ليبق), is a 1st class municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Pr ...
regencies; investors choose areas with existing infrastructure to ensure competitiveness.


Tourism

Ujung Kulon National Park Ujung Kulon National Park is at the westernmost tip of Java, in Banten province of Indonesia. It includes the volcanic island group of Krakatoa in Lampung province, and other islands including Panaitan, as well as smaller offshore islets such as ...
is a national park and nature preserve which includes the island of
Panaitan Panaitan (Prinsen, or Prince's Island; sometimes also Princess Island) (1450 m) is an island in the Sunda Strait, between Java and Sumatra, and in the Indonesian province of Banten. It is the largest island in the strait, and is located near the ...
. Its highest point is Mount Honje. Species protected in the park include the Javan rhino, deer, antelope, buffalo, several primate species, wild boar, jungle cat, sloth, and several species of birds. It can be reached via Labuan in Pandeglang Regency or by boat. The park has telecommunications networks, electricity, clean water, accommodations, information centers, travel guides, and transportation facilities. In 1991, it became a UNESCO
World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
. Pulau Dua, covering about near Serang, is known for its ocean coral, fish and of birds. Between April and August each year, it is visited by about 40,000 birds from 60 species from Australia, Asia and Africa. Originally an island, sedimentation has joined it to mainland Java. Tanjung Lesung Beach, in the Panimbang district of western Pandeglang Regency, covers about . A proposed
special economic zone A special economic zone (SEZ) is an area in which the business and trade laws are different from the rest of the country. SEZs are located within a country's national borders, and their aims include increasing trade balance, employment, increas ...
in 2012, the Tanjung Lesung SEZ became operational on 23 February 2015.


Cuisine

' is a Bantenese food similar to goat or curried
rawon Rawon ( Javanese: ) is an Indonesian beef soup. Originating from East Java, rawon utilizes the black keluak nut as the main seasoning, which gives a dark color and nutty flavor to the soup. Ingredients The soup is composed of a ground mix ...
. Found in
Serang Regency Serang Regency (Sundanese language, Sundanese: ) is a Regencies of Indonesia, regency of Banten province, Indonesia. It is located in the northwest corner of the island of Java. The administrative center of the regency is at Ciruas, while the capit ...
, it is believed to have originated in the
Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...
and was brought by Arab traders during the
spread of Islam in Indonesia The history of the arrival of Islam in Indonesia is somewhat unclear. One theory states that Islam arrived directly from Arabia as early as the 9th century, during the time of the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates. Another theory credits Sufi trav ...
. Other Bantenese foods include ''nasi sumsum'' (from Serang Regency, made of white rice and buffalo-bone marrow), mahbub,
shark fin soup Shark fin soup is a traditional soup or stewed dish served in parts of China, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia. The shark fins provide texture, while the taste comes from the other soup ingredients. It is commonly served at special occasions such as ...
,
milkfish The milkfish (''Chanos chanos'') is the sole living species in the family Chanidae. However, there are at least five extinct genera from the Cretaceous. The repeating scientific name (tautonym) is from Greek ( ‘mouth’). The species has many ...
and duck
satay Satay ( , in USA also , ), or sate in Indonesian spelling, is a Southeast Asian dish of seasoned, skewered and grilled meat, served with a sauce. The earliest preparations of satay is believed to have originated in Javanese cuisine, but ha ...
s, duck soup,
laksa Laksa is a spicy noodle dish popular in Southeast Asia. Laksa consists of various types of noodles, most commonly thick rice noodles, with toppings such as chicken, prawn or fish. Most variations of laksa are prepared with a rich and spicy coco ...
Tangerang,
rice vermicelli Rice vermicelli is a thin form of noodle. It is sometimes referred to as 'rice noodles' or 'rice sticks', but should not be confused with cellophane noodles, a different Asian type of vermicelli made from mung bean starch or rice starch rather ...
, beef jerky and
emping Emping (also known as arifin) are a type of Indonesian chips, a bite-size snack kripik cracker, made of ''melinjo'' or ''belinjo'' (''Gnetum gnemon'') nuts (which are seeds). Emping crackers have a slightly bitter taste. Emping snacks are availa ...
.


Sports


Football

Persita Tangerang Persatuan Sepakbola Indonesia Tangerang ( 'Indonesian Football Association of Tangerang'), commonly known as Persita is an Indonesian professional football club based in Tangerang. They currently compete in the Liga 1. Their nicknames are ''Pen ...
(with its home ground at
Benteng Taruna Stadium Indomilk Arena (formerly Benteng Taruna Stadium) is a multi-purpose stadium in Kelapa Dua, Tangerang Regency, Banten, Indonesia. It is used as the home venue for Persita Tangerang of Liga Indonesia The Indonesian football league system is a series ...
),
Cilegon United RANS Nusantara Football Club (formerly known as Cilegon United and RANS Cilegon FC) is an Indonesian football club and currently based in Bogor, West Java. RANS Nusantara FC's nickname is ''Magenta Force'' and ''The Prestige Phoenix''. The club ...
(with its home ground at
Krakatau Steel Stadium Krakatau Steel Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Cilegon, Banten Banten ( id, Banten; Sundanese: , romanized ''Banten'') is the westernmost province on the island of Java, Indonesia. Its capital city is Serang. The province borders W ...
) and
Perserang Serang Persatuan Sepakbola Serang, commonly known as Perserang, is an Indonesian football club based in Serang Regency, Banten. They play in the Liga 2. History They were founded in 1958. In November 2014, they were promoted to the Liga Indonesia ...
(with its home ground at
Maulana Yusuf Stadium Maulana Yusuf Stadium (Stadion Maulana Yusuf) is the name of a football stadium in the city of Serang, Banten, Indonesia. It was named after the third Sultan of Banten is used as the home venue for Perserang Serang of the Liga Indonesia. The stad ...
) represent Banten in Liga 2.


Motorsports

In 2009, the
Lippo Village International Formula Circuit The Lippo Village International Formula Circuit is a defunct street circuit in Lippo Karawaci, Lippo Village Tangerang, Indonesia. The track was confirmed to host a round of the 2008–09 A1 Grand Prix season, set for the weekend of February 8, 2 ...
was built in a bid to host the
A1 Grand Prix A1 Grand Prix (A1GP) was a "single-make" open-wheel auto racing series that ran from 2005 until 2009. It was unique in its field in that competitors solely represented their nation as opposed to themselves or a team, the usual format in most for ...
. The series was removed from the schedule, and the track was used for local motorsports before it was dismantled for the
Lippo Village Lippo Karawaci or Lippo Village is a multiracial community in Tangerang, 23 km west of Jakarta, Indonesia. The township is within the Jakarta metropolitan area. Previously a swamp area, it opened in 1993 and is today a benchmark for Indonesia's ...
expansion; the paddock area was reclaimed by
Pelita Harapan University Pelita Harapan University ( id, Universitas Pelita Harapan, UPH) is a Private university, private Evangelical coeducational higher education institution run by the Pelita Harapan Education Foundation ( id, Yayasan Pendidikan Pelita Harapan) in ...
. A replacement street circuit, BSD City Grand Prix, was built in
BSD City BSD City, formerly referred to Bumi Serpong Damai is a planned community located within Greater Jakarta in Indonesia. The project was initiated in 1984 by a group of private developers and started in 1989. The town is currently managed by the ho ...
for local motorsports.


References


Further reading


Dinar Boontharm. "The Sultanate of Banten AD 1750-1808: A Social and Cultural History." PhD thesis, University of Hull, 2003.


External links


Sekolah dan Daycare Alam Sutera

Official website

Research and Development Agency

Informasi Tempat Wisata Di Banten
{{Authority control States and territories established in 2000 2000 establishments in Indonesia Provinces of Indonesia 2000 establishments in Southeast Asia