The royal country of Bali, on the ridge between the Pakerisan and the Petanu, where the island's kings issue their own edicts in Old Balinese and Old Javanese and answer to no Javanese paramount.
The ridge holds the court district and a ring of sanctuaries: the rock-cut hermit's cave of Goa Gajah, the shrines of Gunung Kawi in the Pakerisan gorge, the spring temple of Tirta Empul, the gorge of Yeh Pulu (date argued) and the Moon of Pejeng, a great bronze kettledrum kept at Penataran Sasih and a thousand years older than either ruler. The Javanese conquest of 1343 is later and ends the court (see Bali; it belongs to the likely course, not to 1 January 1200). In January 1200 the throne is held by the queen and her son if the list dated to 1200 is read as they reign by then.
Who holds it
- Name
- Sri Arjayadengjayaketana
- Title
- Queen of Bali, with her son as co-ruler
- Since
- fl. 1200 (Saka 1122); reigning on 1 January 1200 inferred
- Born
- not known
- Confidence
- medium
See the lord records.
Lord in 1200
The queen Sri Arjayadengjayaketana and her son Haji Ekajayalancana (an inference for 1 January).
What the town holds
- The court district
- The Pakerisan and Petanu valleys and their subak
- The ring of royal sanctuaries
How things stand that morning
The royal seat; no event dated.
Charter
Bali is its own kingdom; village privileges are granted by plate.
Council
The king's council, senapati and priestly colleges; the karaman and subak below.
Communities
Shaiva and Buddhist priests, hermits, villagers in the karaman.
Walls and castle
No palace or wall is known; the capital is identified by the ridge.
Trade and crafts
Rice, stone carving, bronze and the royal workshops; no figures.
Where the sources disagree
- The campaign board entry bedulu-pejeng treats the pair's reign in January 1200 as fact; it is an inference from the list's 'fl. 1200'.
Evidence: A run of plates and a list of kings, but the plate of 1200 was not read.
"The campaign board" is OMNIA's working map. These notes record where its earlier claims were checked against the sources.
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
Sources and studies
- Wikipedia (en), List of monarchs of Bali (read in this pass): Jayapangus fl. 1178-1181, Arjayadengjayaketana fl. 1200, Ekajayalancana co-regent fl. 1200, Adikuntiketana fl. 1204; dates 'not always securely documented'
- Wikipedia (en), Warmadewa dynasty (read in this pass): Blanjong pillar, Udayana, Abang Pura Batur A 6 April 1011
- Wikipedia (en), History of Bali (read in this pass): Blanjong pillar 4 February 914, Jayapangus plates, Kertanegara 1284, Gajah Mada 1343
- R. Goris, Prasasti Bali (1954), the Old Balinese charters; recalled, not re-read
- OMNIA board notes for the place (a lead, not a source)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.