Part of a series on the
History of Indonesia
Timeline
Prehistory Paleolithic Java Man 1,000,000 BP Flores Man 94,000–12,000 BP Neolithic Toba catastrophe 75,000 BP Buni culture 400 BCE
Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms Kutai Kingdom 350–1605 Tarumanagara Kingdom 400s–500s Kantoli 400s-500s Kalingga Kingdom 500s–600s Melayu Kingdom 600s–1347 Srivijaya Empire 600s–1025 Shailendra dynasty 600s–900s Mataram Kingdom 716–1016 Bali Kingdom 914–1908 Sunda Kingdom 932–1579 Kahuripan Kingdom 1019–1045 Kediri Kingdom 1045–1221 Dharmasraya Kingdom 1183–1347 Pannai Kingdom 1000s–1300s Singhasari Empire 1222–1292 Majapahit Empire 1293–1527
Islamic sultanates Spread of Islam 800–1600 Peureulak Sultanate 840–1292 Aru Kingdom 1225–1613 Ternate Sultanate 1257–1914 Samudera Pasai Sultanate 1267–1521 Pagaruyung Kingdom 1347–1833 Brunei Sultanate 1368–1888 Malacca Sultanate 1400–1511 Sulu Sultanate 1405–1851 Cirebon Sultanate 1445–1677 Demak Sultanate 1475–1554 Aceh Sultanate 1496–1903 Sultanate of Ternate 1486–1914 Sultanate of Bacan 1515–1946 Sultanate of Tidore 1500s–1967 Sultanate of Jailolo 1496–1903 Banten Sultanate 1526–1813 Banjar Sultanate 1526–1863 Kalinyamat Sultanate 1527–1599 Mataram Sultanate 1500s–1700s Johor Sultanate 1528s–1877 Kingdom of Kaimana 1600s–1926 Palembang Sultanate 1659–1823 Siak Sultanate 1725–1946 Surakarta Sunanate 1745–1946 Yogyakarta Sultanate 1755–1945 Deli Sultanate 1814–1946 Riau-Lingga Sultanate 1824–1911
Christian kingdoms Larantuka Kingdom 1515–1904 Kingdom of Bolaang Mongondow 1670–1950
Chinese Kongsi federations Heshun Confederation 1776–1854 Lanfang Republic 1777–1884 Santiaogou Republic 1777–1853
European colonization Portuguese 1512–1850 Spanish 1521–1677 Dutch East India Company 1602–1799 British 1685–1824 French and British interregnum 1806–1816 Dutch East Indies 1800–1942 1945–1949
Emergence of Indonesia National Awakening 1908–1942 Japanese occupation 1942–1945 National Revolution 1945–1949 United States of Indonesia 1949–1950
Republic of Indonesia Liberal democracy 1950–1959 Guided Democracy 1959–1966 Transition 1966–1967 New Order 1967–1998 Reform era 1998–present
Regions Jakarta Bali Bogor Bandung
By topic Agriculture Archaeology Currency Economy Education Religion Buddhism Christianity Hinduism Islam Judaism Mass media Military Sport Women
Indonesia portal
v t e

Dalem Ketut was a king (Dalem) of Bali who ruled at an uncertain time during the age of the Javanese Majapahit Empire (1293-c. 1527). While first a vassal ruler under the Majapahit kings, he later emerged as the king of a separate island realm. He was also known under the names Sri Smara Kepakisan or Tegal Besung. Dewa Tegal Besung is the earliest deified ruler who is honoured at the Pura Padharman Dalem Gelgel, the most important shrine at the central Balinese temple Pura Besakih.^[1]

Shift of royal seat

According to the 18th-century chronicle Babad Dalem, Dalem Ketut was the youngest son of the immigrant Javanese Sri Aji Kresna Kepakisan, who was established as Majapahit vassal after the Javanese conquest of Bali in 1343. When his father died he was succeeded in his palace in Samprangan by his eldest son Dalem Samprangan, while Ketut spent his time as a gambler. Since Dalem Samprangan quickly proved incompetent to rule, Ketut was persuaded to take royal titles and establish a new palace (puri) in Gelgel, close to the south coast. The old Samprangan palace lapsed into obscurity, while the power and prestige of Gelgel rose. The late text Babad Bhumi alleges that he was established in Bali in the Saka year 1378 (AD 1456).^[2] However, a charter from Badung mentions another lord, a sang adipati (Majapahit regent) called Sang Arya Gajah Wengker who received tributes from drylands and taxes from the sawah fields in the year 1468.^[3]

Reign

The Babad Dalem chronicle relates that Dalem Ketut twice visited Majapahit, at the first occasion meeting the king Hayam Wuruk (1350–1389).^[4] The account is anachronistic, since it is also asserted that Dalem Ketut was alive at the time when Majapahit collapsed, an event historically dated in the early 16th century. Through this event, Bali remained as a daughter kingdom of Majapahit, a condition which still has a deep symbolic significance for the self-perception of the Balinese. At the end of his life Dalem Ketut was visited by a Brahmin from Kling (India) who recognized the face of the king as the same as the countenance of Mahadewa, the God of the mountain Gunung Agung. The priest prophesied the death of Dalem Ketut, which occurred in a supernatural way; the king disappeared without leaving a trace.^[5]

Family and succession

Dalem Ketut left six sons:

• Dalem Baturenggong
• Dewa Gedong Arta
• Dewa Nusa
• Dewa Anggungan, later banished from his caste
• Dewa Bangli
• Dewa Pagedangan

Of these offspring, the last five are mentioned in the Babad Dalem as being sons of Dewa Tegal Besung, whom the scholar C.C. Berg identified with Dalem Ketut, but who is sometimes held to be the ruler's half-brother.^[6] The eldest son Dalem Baturenggong succeeded to the throne and inaugurated a period of major political expansion in this part of Indonesia.^[7] The anachronisms in the traditional accounts makes it difficult to establish the historical status of Dalem Ketut, but if he survived the fall of Majapahit he would have flourished in the early 16th century.^[8]