Sites & cities that bear the name of Surabaya

Surabaya

Today in : Indonesia
First trace of activity : ca. 10th century C.E
Last trace of activity : today
Recorded names : Jung-ya-lu, Hujung Galuh, Sidoarjo, Soerabaja, Su-pa-erh-ya

Description : Surabaya (older spelling: Soerabaja) is the capital of the Indonesian province of East Java and the second-largest city in Indonesia after Jakarta. Located on northeastern border of Java island, on the Madura Strait, it is one of the earliest port cities in Southeast Asia. According to the National Development Planning Agency, Surabaya is one of the four main central cities of Indonesia, alongside Jakarta, Medan, and Makassar.The city has a population of 2.89 million within its city limits in 2019 and 9.5 million in the extended Surabaya metropolitan area, making it the second-largest metropolitan area in Indonesia. The city was settled in 10th century by the Kingdom of Janggala, one of the two Javanese kingdoms that was formed in 1045 when Airlangga abdicated his throne in favor of his two sons. In the late 15th and 16th centuries, Surabaya grew to be a duchy, a major political and military power as well as a port in eastern Java, probably under Majapahit empire. At that time, Surabaya was already a major trading port, owing to its location on the River Brantas delta and the trade route between Malacca and the Spice Islands via the Java Sea. During the decline of Majapahit, the lord of Surabaya resisted the rise of the Demak Sultanate and only submitted to its rule in 1530. Surabaya became independent after the death of Sultan Trenggana of Demak in 1546. From the 18th century until the mid-20th century, Surabaya was the largest city in the Dutch East Indies, and the center of trading in the Indonesian archipelago, which was then a competitor to Shanghai and Hong Kong. The city is known as Kota Pahlawan (the city of heroes) due to the importance of the Battle of Surabaya during the Indonesian National Revolution. The city is one of the important financial, commercial, industrial, transportation, and entertainment hub of the archipelago, arguably second only to Jakarta, and the Port of Tanjung Perak is Indonesia's second-busiest seaport located on northern Surabaya. The city is also known for being one of the cleanest and greenest in Indonesia. The Kingdom of Janggala was one of the two Javanese kingdoms that was formed in 1045 when Airlangga abdicated his throne in favor of his two sons. The earliest historical record of Surabaya was in the 1225 book Zhu fan zhi written by Zhao Rugua, in which it was called Jung-ya-lu. The name Janggala was probably originated from the name "Hujung Galuh" (Old Javanese lit: "Cape Diamond" or "Cape Gemstone"), or "Jung-ya-lu" according to Chinese source. Hujung Galuh was located on the estuarine of Brantas River and today is the part of modern Surabaya city and Sidoarjo Regency. By the 14th to 15th centuries, Surabaya seems to be one of the Majapahit ports or coastal settlements, together with Tuban, Gresik, and Hujung Galuh (Sidoarjo). Ma Huan documented the early 15th-century visit of Zheng He's treasure ships in his 1433 book Yingya Shenglan: "after travelling south for more than 20 li, the ship reached Sulumayi, whose foreign name is Surabaya. At the estuary, the outflowing water is fresh".Tomé Pires mentioned that a Muslim lord was in power in Surabaya in 1513, though likely still a vassal of the Majapahit. Ma Huan visited Java during Zheng He's fourth expedition in 1413, during the reign of Majapahit king Wikramawardhana. He describes his travel to the Majapahit capital. He first arrived at the port of Tu-pan (Tuban) where he saw large numbers of Chinese settlers migrated from Guangdong and Chou Chang. Then, he sailed east to thriving new trading town of Ko-erh-hsi (Gresik), Su-pa-erh-ya (Surabaya), and then sailing inland into the river by smaller boat to the southwest until reached the Brantas river port of Chang-ku (Changgu). Continuing to travel by land to the southwest, he arrived in Man-che-po-I (Majapahit), where the Javanese king stayed.

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