Conflict With The Mongol
Following the conquest of the Song Dynasty in China, the Mongol Yuan dynasty sought to extend its power in Southeast Asia. In 1289 Kubilai Khan, Genghis' grandson sent his own ambassadors to Java to ask for tribute. Kertanegara took grave offence to the request and arrested the envoys. He branded their faces, cut their ears and sent them back to China with disfigured faces.
Knowing that the Mongol would send a military expedition to punish him, Kertanegara tried to solidify his power. Around 1290 the Singasari ruler launched the Pamalayu expedition to Sumatra, in order to conquer the Malay kingdom of Jambi in the south, one of successor states to Sriwijaya. Jambi was one of the first Indonesian polities where Islam had established its presence, and it already entertained cordial relationships with Yuan China.
Kubilai Khan ordered that a strong punitive naval expedition be launched against the remote equatorial islands in order to punish Kertanegara.
Read more about this topic: Kertanegara Of Singhasari
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