Rule and His Death
Ken Arok thus founded a new kingdom and started a new dynasty. He took the title Sri Ranggah Rajasa Bhatara Amurwabhumi, and his dynasty was called the Rajasa Dynasty. His new kingdom was centered in Singasari (now in Malang municipality), about 50 kilometres east of Kediri. To legitimate his ascension, he claimed to be a son of Siwa.
Ken Arok's rule however was short. Anusapati, son of Ken Dedes and Tunggul Ametung and thus Ken Arok's stepson, had suspected for a long time that Ken Arok was responsible for his father's death. One day, after finding out the truth, he went after and killed Ken Arok. Legend says that Anusapati used the kris of Mpu Gandring to kill Ken Arok; the same kris that Ken Arok used to kill Tunggul Ametung and thus fulfilling the beginning of Mpu Gandring's curse. In the end, Anusapati was also killed by his stepbrother, Panji Tohjaya with the same kris. Thus, the end of Ken Arok's life and the bloody chapter that ensued are roughly comparable to the end of Julius Caesar's rule in the history of the Roman Empire.
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