Podcast with Herald van der Linde, author of “Majapahit: Intrigue, Betrayal and War in Indonesia’s Greatest Empire”

Majapahit was Indonesia, and Southeast Asia’s, largest empire. Centered on the island of Java, Majapahit commanded loyalty from vassals across the archipelago: on Sumatra, Borneo, Sulawesi, and even the Malay Peninsula, including a tiny village called Tumasik—known today as Singapore. The empire lasted for around 230 years, from its founding in 1292 to its fall to the Sultanate of Demak in 1527.

 

 

Majapahit: Intrigue, Betrayal and War in Indonesia’s Greatest Empire, Herald van der Linde (Monsoon, August 2024)
Majapahit: Intrigue, Betrayal and War in Indonesia’s Greatest Empire, Herald van der Linde (Monsoon, August 2024)

Today, the Hindu-Buddhist kingdom of Majapahit is an important source of national pride in today’s Muslim-majority Indonesia: Even the Indonesian coat of arms, with its garuda and the motto “Unity in Diversity”, is rooted in the Majapahit era.

But the tale of Majapahit—as told in Herald van der Linde’s book, Majapahit: Intrigue, Betrayal and War in Indonesia’s Greatest Empireis a story of mythical kings, conquest, betrayal, and intrigue, as Indonesian royals jostled for position… and at times fought off external enemies like the Mongols.

Herald van der Linde has traveled, lived and worked in Indonesia and Hong Kong since the 90s. He is also the author of Jakarta: History of a Misunderstood City (Marshall Cavendish International, 2022).


Nicholas Gordon has an MPhil from Oxford in International Relations and a BA from Harvard. He is a writer, editor and occasional radio host based in Hong Kong.