While the invasions of Japan are the
most famous of the failed Mongol naval expeditions of the thirteenth century, it
was not the only one. In the early 1290s, Mongol ruler and Emperor of the
Yuan Dynasty, Khubilai Khan, ordered a fleet to sail from southern
China to Java in modern Indonesia; a campaign which resulted in a humiliating
retreat.The expedition against Java was one of the last military campaigns ordered by Khubilai in his
long life, and like many of these later invasions, cost the Yuan heavily in men and resources for
little gain. In this part of our series on how to defend against the Mongols, we look at how
the inhabitants of Java were able to prevent their islands from becoming part of the Mongol
Empire, with little damage to their own people. This video is sponsored by our
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us. We couldn’t be doing it without your help! In the thirteenth century, Eastern Java and parts
of the neighbouring islands of Sumatra and Borneo came under the influence of the Kingdom of
Tumapel, named for the city of the same name on the island of Java; it was also known as
the Kingdom of Singhasari, thanks to its King Jaya Wisnuhardhana, who changed it to. The Tumapel
kings were not absolute rulers, as much of their kingdom was made up of loosely controlled vassal
kings and chiefs. But they controlled a lucrative position along the maritime trade routes through
Indonesia and across the southern coastline of the Eurasian landmass. By the twelfth century, Java
was a leading exporter of goods from China to India, especially rice, pepper and safflower
dye, while In turn, importing gold, silver, lacquerware, iron goods and ceramics from China.
The southeast Asian sea trade was a valuable market which had been expanding considerably
since the ninth century, and one which attracted the attention of a man hungry for world conquest.
By the 1280s, the Mongol Great Khan Khubilai had successfully conquered China, but other victories
were frustratingly eluding him in Central Asia, Japan, Vietnam and Burma. As he advanced in
years, the knowledge that he was failing to bring the rest of the world under Mongol authority
weighed heavily on him. Now in his seventies, with his poor health, depression, deaths of
his friends and family, increasing removal from affairs of state and awareness of his own
impending mortality, Khubilai became desperate for victories to console his aching spirit.
Economic aspects too, were not to be overlooked, and were simply a factor in the inevitable
universal domination. Khubilai’s Yuan dynasty, while influenced by China’s Confucian norms and
traditions, maintained the Mongolian practicality regarding merchants. Rather than treat them
as inherently lower class, they were invited and rewarded, and trade encouraged. The Yuan
government partook in this with the conquest of the southern Chinese coastline, establishing
a Bureau of Maritime Trade at the major port of Quanzhou. The Bureau not only oversaw and
taxed the trade in and out of Quanzhou, but sought to actively encourage it
while settling foreign traders there. Contacts were made across the region, from the
Southeast Asian coast through the Philippines, Indonesia including Java and Sumatra, to India
and the Iranian coastline. There is evidence for south Indian-style Hindu temples with Tamil
transcriptions in Quanzhou from this period, a significant Muslim population and resettled
Persians who called the city Zayton, by which Marco Polo recorded the name. Speaking of Polo,
there is also evidence for an Italian trading community in Quanzhou. It was an entry point
for the world; it was the port that Ibn Battuta, during his journeys in the 1340s arrived at.
The Yuan Dynasty had a keen interest in trade, and sought to extend their control over
it throughout the region— at the same time extending the Mongols’ heavenly
Mandate to rule the whole of the world. With these considerations, Khubilai Khan increased
diplomatic missions across the seas of southern Asia, from Malabar to Sri Lanka, ordering the
monarchs and peoples across the sea to submit to the Great Khan. As it was an old tradition
to send a yearly tribute for the privilege of trading with China, most regional states already
undertook a nominal submission in order to have greater access to Chinese ports. While traditional
Chinese dynasties were generally content to accept the trade and maintain the image of themselves
as the centre of the world even if they did not exercise actual authority in these states, the
Mongols were often not quite as lenient. To be a vassal to the Great Khan meant the potential
of making all resources and peoples available to the Khan’s desires, measured through census
and Mongol-appointed overseers. When Khubilai sent his diplomatic missions over the seas,
they often were sent to not just reaffirm or increase the tribute, but to increase the extent
to which these overseas monarchs needed to comply with the will of the house of Chinggis Khan.
One such mission led by an envoy named Meng Qi, arrived in the court of Kertanagara, the king
of Tumapel, sometime in the 1280s. Kertanagara had been the King since the 1260s, and had shown
himself a haughty individual and firm adherent to Tantric Buddhism. Since his ascension he had
expanded his kingdom over eastern Sumatra and most of Java. By all accounts, Kertanagara was
quite keen to solidify his control of trade and spice routes, and much less keen on sharing it
with the distant Khan. In the various sources, after feeling offended by the envoy Meng Qi and
his demands, Kertanagara’s either insulted him, branded his face with a hot iron, cut his nose
off or outright killed him. In either case, he had committed a grievous insult on
an envoy of the Great Khan, which as you may have heard, was not something taken lightly.
Kertanagara’s calculation was likely a simple one. He did not want to increase the share of tribute
sent to China for the privilege of trading, but still wanted that Chinese trade. It was a
reasonable assumption that the island of Java was well outside the range of an actual
attack from China, leaving him physically secure from any repercussions. Once tensions
had cooled, Kertanagara could hypothetically send an apology mission and resume trade.
These were reasonable assumptions, but Khubilai Khaan was not feeling reasonable. By the later
1280s, the deaths of Khubilai’s closest confidant, his wife Chabi, chosen heir Jingim and his most
important advisers, as well as alcoholism and depression had clouded his judgement. Khubilai’s
earliest campaigns against the Dali Kingdom and Song Dynasty were marked by thorough preparation
and intelligence gathering, taking advantage of weaknesses within the enemy to bring the final
victory. Decades later, isolated and depressed, surrendered by yes-men who lacked the ability
to stand up to him and desperate for victory, Khubilai had come to rely on throwing manpower
at a problem, hoping tactical successes would lead automatically to strategic victories.
Khubilai’s knowledge of Java was minimal, but he did not care. The ruler of some island in
the sea had no right to insult the Master of the World. Thus, Khubilai ordered an attack upon the
Kingdom of Tumapel and bring Kertanagara to heel. At least, this is the understanding from the
Chinese language sources of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties. In the medieval Javanese and Balinese
sources, the incident with Meng Qi the envoy is unmentioned. Instead, Khubilai was a friend of the
minister Madura Wiraraja, who requested Khubilai provide military assistance to the royal family of
Tumapel. In this version, Kertanagara was usurped by a man named Jayakatwang, and Khubilai’s forces
quite respectfully came, defeated the usurper, placed the rightful heir, Kertanagara’s
son-in-law Raden Vijaya, on the throne and took in exchange only a beautiful princess
for Khubilai to marry. Generally speaking, most reconstructions rely on the Chinese account,
though the Javanese sources are interesting for how they justify and depict the Yuan presence.
Regardless, an invasion fleet and army were prepared in 1292. 20,000 men, mainly from southern
China, were mobilized aboard 1,000 vessels. The army was led by the former Song commander
Gao Xing, the navy by an Uighur named Yiqmis, and all were under the overall command of a Mongol
called Shibi. The commanders prepared carefully, having learned from the disastrous naval assaults
on Japan and Đại Việt. They had onboard a year’s supply of grain and 40,000 ounces of silver
to purchase more supplies. The commanders met with Khubilai himself before their departure: the
Khan of Khans told Shibi to leave naval matters to Yiqmis’ expertise, and that they must proclaim
on their arrival they were not an invasion force, but merely there to punish Kertanagara
for harming a Yuan envoy. If true, it may reflect an understanding that facing battle
in unknown lands, against a foe they did not know, was not ideal; the strategy it seems was to
simply overawe the Javanese, the mere threat of their presence anticipated to be enough to earn
a victory. The fleet set out in winter 1292-93, making a short stopover in Champa, now paying
tribute and at peace with the Mongols. There, officers were dispatched on diplomatic missions
to Lamuri, Samudra, Perlak and Mulayu in Sumatra, seeking tribute and submission. By March
1293 the fleet was off the coast of Java, and preparing to make landfall. It was decided to
send a diplomatic force ahead of the main fleet, to convince Kertanagara to submit and avoid having
to make landfall at all. If there was no progress on the diplomatic front in a week, then the
fleet was to follow up as a show of force. The diplomatic mission found no success, for
matters had changed considerably in Java by the time of their arrival. The haughty
king of Tumapel, Kertanagara, was dead, slain by his vassal, Jayakatong of Gelang, based
in the city of Kediri. Kertanagara’s son-in-law, Raden Vijaya, based in Majapahit, was
resisting him, and the Yuan had arrived in the midst of a civil war. A week after the
envoys were sent, the armada landed at Tuban, where part of the army under Gao Xing and Yiqmis
disembarked and marched to Pachekan. The rest of the army was to follow aboard the ships under the
command of Tuqudege, sailing through the Straits of Madura and rendezvous with the land force. At
Pachekan, Jayakatong’s navy blocked the Brantas River, but made no move against the Yuan. The
Yuan commanders landed and set up a banquet, inviting the Javanese to come over and discuss
terms. No response was made by the Javanese, and after a while the Yuan fleet and army
advanced. Jayakatong’s navy retreated before them and after garrisoning Pachekan, the Yuan
forces made their way inland along the Brantas. As they moved inland, they were greeted by
envoys of Raden Vijaya, begging Yuan help: the young prince had only a small force, and
Jayakatong of Gelang’s army was on its way to attack Vijaya’s base at Majapahit. In exchange,
Vijaya would submit to the Great Khan. Seeing supporting Vijaya as the key to gaining the
submission of Java, Yiqmis ordered Gao Xing to take a part of the army and intercept Jayakatong,
while Yiqmis took the rest of the force to reinforce Majapahit. Jayakatong managed to evade
Gao Xing and reached Majapahit, only to find Yiqmis had already assembled his forces to meet
Jayakatong's tired troops. After a night of stand, the next day Gao Xing arrived with the rest
of the Yuan troops, and altogether they drove off Jayakatong’s army. Raden Vijaya once again
promised his total submission to the Great Khan if the Yuan forces helped him defeat Jayakatong for
good, and after providing them maps, a week later they set off for Jayakatong’s capital at Kediri.
The Yuan moved in three columns: the fleet on the Brantas River under Tuqudege, with Gao Xing
and Yiqmis taking their forces up either bank, while behind them traveled a large force from
Majapahit under Raden Vijaya. The army made good time and reached Kediri within a few days, finding
Jayakatong prepared with a large force. The next day, from the morning until early afternoon,
Jayakatong’s force advanced three times, and three times they were repulsed with heavy
losses by the arms of the Yuan Dynasty and Majapahit. By the end of the day, Jayakatong’s
army broke, fleeing across the river or into Kediri with Jayakatong. An assault on the city
followed, and by nightfall Jayakatong surrendered. For the next week, the Yuan were the masters
of Java. Raden Vijaya’s promised submission now had to come: for this, he desired to return to
Majapahit with a small, unarmed Yuan escort to properly witness his formal submission. While
that force departed for Majapahit, Shibi sent most of the army back to Pachekan, while he
stayed in Kediri with a small force, thinking he had handily conquered Java for the Khan.
Once Raden Vijaya saw that the Yuan troops had let their guard down, at the end of the day
he killed the Yuan escorts who followed him back to Majapahit, rallied his armies and urged the
people of Java to repel the foreign invaders. Only narrowly did Shibi escape the trap for him
at Kediri. He fought his way back to Pachekan, losing up to 3,000 men. Back aboard the
ships the commanders argued over whether to counter attack or to retreat, ultimately
choosing the latter. Not knowing the country, outnumbered and unlikely to find local support,
they understood further combat would likely only have one disastrous outcome. With that,
Shibi ordered a withdrawal back to homeport. While they did bring back some trophies, maps of
Java, population registers, spices, gold, silver, rhino horn and prisoners, this did not offset
the costs of the campaign. Not as disastrous as the invasions of Japan or Vietnam, even this
tactically well-executed campaign could not be turned into a strategic victory, and resulted
in a humiliating retreat. Khubilai was furious, punishing the commanders, stripping them of a
third of their property and rewarding them with 50 blows from the rod. Once Khubilai Khan died in
early 1294, there was no stomach to avenge that defeat, or those others suffered in Southeast
Asia. By contrast, Raden Vijaya established a powerful empire based in Majapahit that came
to rule most of modern Indonesia and Malaysia, founded in part with Mongol assistance. By
the end of the 1290s, after Khubilai’s death, Vijaya sent missions to the Yuan Dynasty
to resume valuable trade contacts. Despite their reputation for destruction across much of
Eurasia, in the Javanese chronicle there is but a single reference to the Mongols destroying
towns and sending people running in flight: reflective of the hope for a less-destructive
campaign, perhaps helping with the memory of the invasion becoming that of Khubilai coming to
assist his friends in exchange for a beautiful princess. It was a rather different view than
their forces earned in many other places. In the end, Java successfully defended the
Mongols with perhaps the most minimal amount of destruction to their own lands; through
guile, they took advantage of a well-prepared, but hesitant, Yuan army, and were thereby able
to not only use Mongol troops to their advantage, but inflict upon them a defeat with
relatively little bloodshed. In many ways, it was the most effective, least cost-intensive
and most beneficial resistance put up by any of the states we have looked at over this series. Our
series on how the various peoples defended against the Mongols will continue in the near future, so
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