Banten: An attraction for history buffs

The tropical heat may put off people going to this province, but if you are a history or architecture buff, it would mean missing out on getting a closer look at the region's rich array of historical architecture.

Just 100 kilometers away, or a two-hour drive, west of Jakarta via the toll road, the province is home to 87 archaeological sites, 44 historical buildings and 42 devotional visit sites.

So, Banten is definitely the place to go for those with a passion for Islamic ruins or for the beauty of colonial buildings.

Banten -- or Bantam according to ancient European texts -- was one of the most important shipping ports in the region between the 16th and 17th centuries, because of its hold on the pepper trade and as an international entrept and supply port along the main sea trade route.

According to experts, before falling to Muslim influence from an attack by Sunan Gunung Jati of the Demak kingdom at the end of 1526, Banten was under the control of the Hindu Sunda Kingdom. The king of Banten was then known as Prabu Pucuk Umun, with the capital at Banten Girang, approximately five kilometers south of modern-day Serang.

In the 1530s Gunung Jati's son, Maulana Hasanuddin, was ordered to move nearer to the port, on the mouth of the Banten River -- now known as Old Banten -- and established Keraton (palace) Surosowan as his capital. Hasanuddin became the new kingdom's sultan between 1552 and 1570.

His son and successor, Maulana Yusuf, expanded further the territory of the Banten sultanate, by incorporating the lands formerly owned by the Pajajaran kingdom -- whose capital, Pakuwan (now Bogor), he captured in 1579.

The first Dutch group to enter Banten was led by Cornelis de Houtman in 1596. Today's description of old Banten during this time was largely thanks to the literary work of some of de Houtman's passengers.

One of them, Willem Lodewijcks, described the busy port of Banten thus: ""East of the town (Karang Antu) are many foreign tradesmen, such as Portuguese, Arabs, Chinese, Turks, Kelings, Pegunese, Malays, Benggalis, Gujaratis and people from the Malabar and Abessina,"" according to Hasan Muarif Ambary in the No. 11, 1977, edition of Bulletin of the Research Center of Archaeology of Indonesia.

The Dutch capture of Jayakarta, which it renamed Batavia, in 1619, gradually shifted the majority of trade from Banten. Battles of supremacy with the growing power of the Dutch in Batavia weakened Banten further.

A rift in 1680 between Banten ruler Sultan Agung and his son, Prince Haji, precipitated the collapse of Bantenese hegemony in West Java and resulted in the establishment of full Dutch protection there in 1684.

When the Netherlands formerly took over the overseas possessions of the VOC, a good part of the sultanate of Banten was brought under direct control of Herman Willem Daendels, who, in 1807, was appointed governor general of the Netherlands East Indies in Batavia (nowadays Jakarta).

Daendels ruled with an iron hand, and one of his achievements was construction of a road spanning almost the entire length of Java, from Anyer on the western tip of Java to Panarukan, near its easternmost point.

Public works projects had a heavy toll on human lives. The Bantenese revolted under the burden.

""Daendel's messenger, Komandeur Philip Pieter du Puy, was killed in front of Surosowan Palace, giving Daendels the perfect excuse to obliterate the kingdom in 1808,"" head of the Banten Archaeological Office Endjat Djaenuderadjat said.

Keraton Surosowan was destroyed and its building material was used to build Daendel's new city in Serang -- modern-day Banten's provincial capital -- including that of the State Building.

""In 1814 he created a new capital in Serang, with a city plan resembling that of traditional Muslim cities in Java, but he put all the government offices into buildings surrounding the town square,"" Endjat said, explaining that a traditional Muslim city had a keraton to the south of the town square, and a mosque to the west.

Afterwards, Banten lost its competitive edge to Batavia. The old city center, once busy with the traffic of multinational traders, has now become quiet.

The hustle and bustle revived only briefly just before Ramadhan -- the Muslim fasting month -- when thousands of devotees come to visit the many devotional sites in the area, including that of Sunan Gunung Jati, one of the nine leaders responsible for the spread of Islam in Java.

During Chinese New Year, hundreds of Chinese -- both Chinese-Indonesians and those from other countries -- pay their respects to the Kwan Im goddess at the Kelenteng (Chinese temple) Avalokitesvara.

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta