Anglurah Agung(died 31 October 1686), also known asGusti Agung Di MadeorGusti Agung Maruti,was a king ofGelgel,the paramount kingdom onBali,who ruled at a time when the political unity of the island began to break down. This process led to the permanent division of Bali into several minor kingdoms by the late 17th century.
Background and rise
editAnglurah Agung belonged to a hereditary line of chief ministers in theBalinesekingdom, the Agung family, which claimed descent from the ancient kings ofKedirionJava.He was the son of Gusti Agung Kalanganyar, and was adopted as an infant by his uncle Gusti Agung Kedung, whom he succeeded asminister.He is also known by the names Gusti Agung Di Made or Gusti Agung Maruti. He governed in the age of the Gelgel kingDalem Di Made.CertainBalinesetexts indicate that he was involved inwarfareonLombokin 1645; this island was a bone of contention between Bali and theMakassarkingdom ofSouth Sulawesi.[1]After the death of a Balinese king in 1651, internal wars flared up on Bali. Eventually Anglurah Agung usurped power in Gelgel, and is documented as ruler from 1665. According to Balinese sources he took command at a point when the old king had lost his grip on state affairs and was deserted by his grandees; "Kyayi (Anglurah) Agung's statemanship had captured the hearts of many people with his sweet voice and fine words".[2]He briefly entertained contacts with theDutch East Indies Company(Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie or VOC) in 1665–1667. Balinesehistoriographyholds a negative view of Anglurah Agung and portrays him as a power-hungryusurper.
Death in battle
editIt seems that he was unable to maintain authority over entire Bali, since other small kingdoms arose at the time, foremost among themBuleleng.In the 1680s a number of aristocrats loyal to the olddynastyof Gelgel, includingGusti Panji Saktiof Buleleng and Gusti Jambe Pule ofBadung,attacked the rule of Anglurah Agung. According to Balinese as well as Dutch sources, his end came in 1686, when he fought abattlein Gelgel against the nobleman Batu Lepang. In the heat of the battle, both combatants fell.[3]After his death, the scion of the old Gelgel line, Dewa Agung Jambe I (r. 1686-c. 1722), was established as Balinese paramount king inKlungkung,north of Gelgel. However, the new Klungkung kingdom proved unable to wield power over Bali in the way that its predecessor in Gelgel had done.[4]Bali therefore remained split in a number of princedoms (Karangasem,Buleleng,Badung,etc.). One of these new dynasties, that ofMengwi,claimed descent from Anglurah Agung.[5]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^H. Hägerdal, 'From Batuparang to Ayudhya; Bali and the Outside World, 1636-1656',Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde154 1998, pp. 70-5.
- ^P. Worsley,Babad Buleleng; A Balinese Dynastic Genealogy.The Hague: M. Nijhoff 1972, p. 169.
- ^H.J. de Graaf, 'Goesti Pandji Sakti, vorst van Boeleleng',Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde83 1949; A. Vickers,Bali, A Paradise Created.Singapore: Periplus 1989, pp. 56-8.
- ^H. Creese, 'Sri Surawirya, Dewa Agung of Klungkung',Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde147 1991.
- ^H. Creese, 'Balinese Babad as Historical Sources; A Reinterpretation of the Fall of Gelgel',Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde147 1991; H. Schulte Nordholt,The Spell of Power; A History of Balinese Politics 1650-1940.Leiden: KITLV Press 1996, pp. 19-22.
Further reading
edit- C.C. Berg (1927),De middeljavaansche historische traditië.Santpoort: Mees.