Prince Antasari ( Jawi: ; 1797 – 11 October 1862), also known by his Indonesian name Pangeran Antasari, was a sultan of Banjar and is a

National Hero of Indonesia National Hero of Indonesia ( id, Pahlawan Nasional Indonesia) is the highest-level title awarded in Indonesia. It is posthumously given by the Government of Indonesia for actions which are deemed to be heroic, defined as "actual deeds which can b ...

. His son Prince Hijrah is one of The Navy leader.

Biography

Antasari was born in 1797. He was son of Prince Mashud and grandson of Prince Amir. He was a prince from a line of the royal family whose power had been usurped in the 18th century. Antasari was concerned about the coronation of Sultan Tamjid (or Tamjidillah), instead of Prince Hidayat (or Hidayatullah), as the replacement to Sultan Adam in Banjar in 1859; Tamjidillah's coronation was backed by the Dutch colonials, who were looking to sow unrest and discord to make their attempts to take over

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

easier. As Antasari wanted to repel the Dutch, he cooperated with the leaders of Martapura, Kapuas, Pelaihari, Barito, and Kahayan. He was also aided by Hidayatullah and Demang Leman. On 18 April 1859, the

Banjarmasin War The Banjarmasin War (in old spelling ''Bandjermasin War'', Dutch: ''Bandjermasinse Oorlog'', or formally ''Expeditie naar de Zuider- en Oosterafdeling van Borneo'') (1859–1863) was a war of succession in the Sultanate of Banjarmasin, as w ...

broke out between Antasari's alliance, which was able to field some 6,000 armed men, and the Dutch. The war took place mainly in

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

Central Kalimantan Central Kalimantan ( id, Kalimantan Tengah) is a province of Indonesia. It is one of five provinces in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo. Its provincial capital is Palangka Raya and in 2010 its population was over 2.2 million, while the 2 ...

. Antasari's forces attacked the Dutch in Gunung Jabuk and also the Dutch coal mines in Pengaron. Meanwhile, his allies attacked other Dutch posts. They also attacked Dutch ships, killing Lieutenants Van der Velde and Bangert when they sank the ship ''Onrust'' in December 1859. Antasari rejected Dutch attempts to negotiate an end to the war, in which they offered him wealth and power in exchange for his surrender. In early August 1860, Antasari's forces were in Ringkau Katan. They were defeated in a battle on 9 August, after Dutch reinforcements had arrived from Amuntai. Hidayatullah was exiled to

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 ...

, but Antasari, who succeeded him as Sultan, together with Prince Miradipa and Tumenggung Mancanegara, defended Tundakan fort on 24 September 1861. He also defended a fort in Mount Tongka on 8 November 1861 with Gusti Umar and Tumenggung Surapati. Makam Pahlawan Nasional Pangeran Antasari

Makam Pahlawan Nasional Pangeran Antasari

In October 1862, Antasari was planning a big attack. However, an outbreak of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

led to his death on 11 October 1862. He was buried in

Banjarmasin ) , translit_lang1 = Other , translit_lang1_type1 = Jawi , translit_lang1_info1 = بنجر ماسين , settlement_type = City , motto = ''Kayuh Baimbai'' ( Banjare ...

; and several other resistance leaders, from different periods, were later buried there; the place was later named the Antasari Heroes' Cemetery. After Antasari's death, his son, Muhammad Seman, continued his struggle against the Dutch. The resistance ended with Seman's death in 1905. His son pangeran Hijrah has 10 granddaughters with his daughters, and has 20 great granddaughters with his granddaughter.

Legacy

Antasari was given the title 'Panembahan Amiruddin Khaliful Mukmin' on 14 March 1862 by his people, which made him a religious leader for his people. He was declared a

in 1968 by President

Suharto Suharto (; ; 8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was an Indonesian army officer and politician, who served as the second and the longest serving president of Indonesia. Widely regarded as a military dictator by international observers, Suharto ...

through presidential decree No. 06/TK/1968. In the mid-1990s a documentary on Antasari's life was made. Antasari is featured on the obverse of the 2009 series 2,000

rupiah The rupiah (symbol: Rp; currency code: IDR) is the official currency of Indonesia. It is issued and controlled by Bank Indonesia. The name "rupiah" is derived from the Sanskrit word for silver, (). Sometimes, Indonesians also informally use the ...

bill, which shows traditional Bornean dancers on the reverse.

References

Bibliography

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