Queen of Bali

Who he is

Name

Sri Arjayadengjayaketana

Title

Queen (ratu) of Bali

Since

fl. 1200 (Saka 1122); reigning on 1 January 1200 is an inference

Born

not known

Family

Mother of Haji Ekajayalancana, her co-ruler; husband and parents not known to me.

Confidence

medium

Listed in en.wikipedia's List of monarchs of Bali as fl. 1200, a queen. The list warns its dates are 'not always securely documented'. The plate's own reading and month did not open.

What it holds

• The royal ridge between the Pakerisan and the Petanu, with the shrines of Goa Gajah, Gunung Kawi and Tirta Empul
• Rights to the tax and corvee of the island's villages and the duties at the landings

How it was acquired

Not recorded; the list shows a long gap in plates between 1181 and 1200.

Allies and rivals

Her son and co-ruler; the priestly colleges; Kediri across the strait is a stronger neighbour with ties of descent.

How things stand that morning

If the list is right she reigns by the spring of 1200; no event is dated.

Wealth

Rice, salt, shipping duties; no figures.

Military

Senapati; no strength.

Threats

• Succession between a queen and a son
• Eruptions

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

1. 1204 (Saka 1126)Bhatara Guru Sri Adikuntiketana is listed.Depends on: The list being right. Stopped by: A different succession.

Places of note

• Bedulu: Royal country.

Where the sources disagree

• The campaign board entry bedulu-pejeng: 'In January 1200 the throne is held by the queen ... with her son beside her.' That is an inference; if the plate is Saka 1122 it is after the date.

Evidence: One published list; plate not read.

"The campaign board" is OMNIA's working map. These notes record where its earlier claims were checked against the sources.

On the map: The ridge only; the rest of the island is in the realm record.

Primary sources for Bali

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

• Old Javanese Charters (the Brandes and Krom corpus), including the Kediri inscriptions of Kamesvara and Srngga, Various (the Kediri kings and their officers), edited by J. L. A. Brandes and N. J. Krom (inscriptions of the 8th to 15th centuries; edited 1913). Kediri (Panjalu) in 1200 is known from a few royal charters on stone and copper, which this corpus first printed: the records of Kamesvara (about 1182 to 1194) and of Srngga, that is Kertajaya (from about 1194 to 1222), among them the Kamulan charter of 1194 and the Palah (Panataran) record of 1197, with the king's titles, his seal, the officials of the court and the villages freed from tax.
• The Description of the Country, called the Nagarakretagama, Mpu Prapanca (1365 at the Majapahit court). A Majapahit court poem of 1365 listed here only for its retrospect. Read online