Nusantara (Great Empires)

Nusantaran Empire
मजापहित साम्राज्य
Kekaisaran Nusantara
Timeline: Great Empires
OTL equivalent: Indonesia


Flag	Coat of Arms

Motto
Bhinneka Tunggal Ika
("Unity in Diversity")

Capital

Jakarta

Largest city

Jakarta

Language
official

Indonesian, Javanese, Malay,

Sanskrit

others

Sundanese, Madurese ...

Religion
main

Hinduism,Buddhism

others

Islam, Christianity

Ethnic Group

Indonesians

Demonym

Nusantaran, Indonesian

Government

Absolute monarchy

Emperor

Sugatuwardhana

Imperial house:

Rajasa Dynasty

Prime Minister

Megawati Sukarnoputri

Area
main

2,100,000 km²

water (%)

5%

Population

300,000,000

GDP
Total:

$7,000,000,000,000

per capita

$23,333.33

Established

1293

Independence

from Singhasari

declared

1293

Currency

Indonesian rupiah

Organizations

United Nations

Nusantara is a thalassocratic archipelagic empire situated in South East Asia and is an important nation.

Name[]

The Empire of Nusantara was previously known as the Majapahit Empire and is still commonly called so. The official name of Nusantara is "The Great Majapahit Empire of Nusantara". Others names include Nusantaran Empire, Indonesia, Indonesian Empire, Indonesia, Rajasa Empire ...

History[]

Beginnings[]

The Majapahit Empire was established when Raden Wijaya declared independence from Singhasari and repelled the Mongol invasion of Java in 1293. Raden Wijaya was known as a firm and capable ruler. Aria Wiraraja who had been so useful during the period of the establishment of the kingdom, was given Madura, which was granted a special status. He was also given an autonomous region around Lumajang and the Blambangan Peninsula, and his son, Nambi, was appointed Prime Minister. The next rulers continued to expand the empire slowly.

Golden Age[]

The Empire's Golden Age came when Tribhuwana Wijayatunggadewi was crowned queen regnant of the empire. She began a massive expansion of the empire into Sumatra and Borneo. She conquered the remnants of the Srivijaya Empire and made Jakarta and Trowulan turn into great cities with great monuments. She appointed Gajah Mada is Prime Minister of the empire to help her managing the empire. She established good relations with the Khmer Empire and established a alliance with them. In 1340 Emperor Vizalavarman I of the Khmer Empire made a proposal to merge the Khmer and Majapahit Empires into one empire by marriage of state,with them as co-rulers. Tribhuwana considered it, but Gajah Mada suggested to refuse the offer and she followed his advice. She changed the title of the empire "Raja (king)" to "Samrata (emperor)" Tribhuwana was forced to abdicate because her son Hayam Wuruk reached the age of majority. The empire's greatest blooming came when Hayam Wuruk ascended the throne.With help of Gajah Mada the empire reached its zenith under Hayam Wuruk. He conquered all of the Nusantaran archipelago and unified it for the first time in history. He further improved the capital of Trowulan and improved the health and life expectancy of the citizens.

Stagnation-present[]

His successors did not have plans to expand the empire any further (expanding it into the north would lead to a conflict with the Khmer Empire,south and east was unknown land and west was the Indian Ocean). However, the empire continued to prosper. The empire resisted colonization attempts of the European Empires and modernized itself over the time.Today the Empire of Nusantara is a major nation and the fifth largest economy on Earth.

Politics[]

Government[]

Nusantara is an absolute,hereditary monarchy,the emperor has almost unlimited power.Many people have made a call for a democracy and participation in the governance.The emperor has the power to declare war,but his power is not unlimited. The emperor can not declare war on many countries at the same time and he can not demand taxes from the people at any time. The emperor may appoint governors to exercise the law and his decisions in the provinces.

Foreign relations[]

Indonesia has foreign relations with most countries. Indonesia first established relations with Europe when attempts were made to colonize Nusantara. Nusantara repelled any attempt at colonizing and resents Europe for this, but has now better relations with Europe. Nusantara's most trusted ally is the Khmer Empire, they have the same state religions and trade often with each other. At one point the Empire of Nusantara was almost merged with the Khmer Empire, but ultimately it was not realized due to the fact that Empress Tribhuwana rejected the marriage proposal of Emperor Vizalavarman I of the Khmer Empire.

Economy[]

Nusantara has a mixed economy in which both the private sector and government play significant roles.The industry sector is the economy's largest and accounts for 46.4% of GDP (2010), this is followed by services (37.1%) and agriculture (16.5%). Nusantara is the sixth largest economy on Earth. Tourism in an important sector and factor of the economy contributing more than 15% to the GDP. Nusantara is currently the fifth largest economy on Earth with a GDP of 700 trillion USD and a GDP growth of 3%.

Demographics[]

Nusantara has a population of 300 million and a population growth of 1%. Its main religions are Hinduism 70%, Buddhism 15%, Islam 12%, Christianity 2% and others 1% . Its main ethnic groups are Javanese people, Sundanese, Malay and others which form the Indonesian people.The main languages spoken are Indonesian, Malay, Javanese, Sundanese and many others.

Geography[]

Nusantara is situated in South East Asia. Nusantara borders (in clockwise from north) the Khmer Empire (oversea), the Oceanian Empire and Australia (oversea). The climate of Nusantara is almost entirely tropical. The uniformly warm waters that make up 81% of Nusantara's area ensure that temperatures on land remain fairly constant, with the coastal plains averaging 28° C, the inland and mountain areas averaging 26° C, and the higher mountain regions, 23° C. Temperature varies little from season to season and Nusantara experiences relatively little change in the length of daylight hours from one season to the next. The difference between the longest day and the shortest day of the year is only forty-eight minutes. This allows crops to be grown all year round.

The main variable of Nusantara's climate is not temperature or air pressure, but rainfall. The area's relative humidity ranges between 70 and 90%. Winds are moderate and generally predictable, with monsoons usually blowing in from the south and east in June through September and from the northwest in December through March. Typhoons and large scale storms pose little hazard to mariners in Nusantaran waters; the major danger comes from swift currents in channels, such as the Lombok and Sape Straits.

Military[]

The Nusantaran Empire has a standing army comprising of infantry, tanks, submarines, helicopters, destroyers, carriers and atomic weapons. The Nusantaran Empire has a large military budget of 600 billion USD.

Culture[]

Arts[]

Architecture[]

For centuries, the most dominant influences on Nusantaran architecture were Indian, although European influences have been particularly strong since the nineteenth century and modern architecture in Indonesia is international in scope. As in much of South East Asia, traditional buildings in Indonesia are built on stilts, with the significant exceptions of Java and Bali. Notable stilt houses are those of the Dayak people in Borneo, the Rumah Gadang of the Minangkabau people in western Sumatra, the Batak people in northern Sumatra, and the Tongkonan of the Toraja people in Sulawesi. Oversized saddle rooves with large eaves, such as the homes of the Batak and the Tongkonan of Toraja, are often bigger than the house they shelter. The fronts of Torajan houses are frequently decorated with buffalo horns, stacked one above another, as an indication of status. The outside walls also frequently feature decorative reliefs. The eighth-century Borobudur temple near Yogyakarta is the largest Buddhist temple in the world, and is notable for incorporating about 160 relief panels into its structure, telling the story of the life of the Buddha. As the visitor ascends through the eight levels of the temple, the story unfolds, the final three levels simply containing stupas and statues of the Buddha. The building is said to incorporate a map of the Buddhist cosmos and is a masterful fusion of the didactic, the monumental and the serene. The nearby ninth-century temple complex at Prambanan contains some of the best preserved examples of Hindu temple architecture in Java. The temple complex comprises eight main shrines, surrounded by 250 smaller shrines. The Indian influence on the site is clear, not only in the style of the monument, but also in the reliefs featuring scenes from the Ramayana which adorn the outer walls of the main temples, and in the votive statuary found within.

Dance[]

Indonesian dance reflects the diversity of culture from ethnic groups that composed the nation of Nusantara. Austronesian roots and Melanesian tribal dance forms are visible, and influences ranging from neighboring Asian countries; such as India, China, and Middle East to European western styles through colonization. Each ethnic group has their own distinct dances; makes total dances in Indonesia are more than 3000 Indonesian original dances. However, the dances of Indonesia can be divided into two eras: the Prehistoric Era and the Hindu/Buddhist Era, and into two genres: court dance and folk dance. There is a continuum in the traditional dances depicting episodes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata from India, ranging through Thailand, all the way to Bali. There is a marked difference, though, between the highly stylized dances of the courts of Yogyakarta and Surakarta and their popular variations. While the court dances are promoted and even performed internationally, the popular forms of dance art and drama must largely be discovered locally. During the last few years, Saman from Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam has become rather popular and is often portrayed on TV. Reog Ponorogo is also a dance that originated from the district Ponorogo, East Java, which is a visualization of the legendary story Wengker Kingdom and the Kingdom of Kediri.

Drama and Theatre[]

Wayang, the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese shadow puppet theatre shows display several mythological legends such as Ramayana and Mahabharata, and many more. Wayang Orang is Javanese traditional dance drama based on wayang stories. Various Balinese dance drama also can be included within traditional form of Indonesian drama. Another form of local drama is Javanese Ludruk and Ketoprak, Sundanese Sandiwara, and Betawi Lenong. All of these drama incorporated humor and jest, often involving audiences in their performance.

Randai is a folk theatre tradition of the Minangkabau people of West Sumatra, usually performed for traditional ceremonies and festivals. It incorporates music, singing, dance, drama and the silat martial art, with performances often based on semi-historical Minangkabau legends and love story.

Modern performing art also developed in Indonesia with their distinct style of drama. Notable theatre, dance, and drama troupe such as Teater Koma are gaining popularity in Indonesia as their dramas often portray social and political satire of Indonesian society.

Sculpture[]

Nusantara has a long history of stone, bronze and iron ages arts. The megalithic sculptures can be found in numerous archaeological sites in Sumatra, Java to Sulawesi. The native Indonesians tribes have their own distinct tribal sculpture styles, usually created to depict ancestors, deities and animals. The pre-Hindu-Buddhist sculptures can be traced in the artworks of indigenous Indonesian tribes. The most notable sculptures are those of Asmat wooden sculpture of Papua, the Dayak wooden mask and sculpture, the ancestral wooden statue of Toraja, also the totem-like sculpture of Batak and Nias tribe. The stone sculpture art form particularly flourished in the eighth to tenth centuries Java and Bali, which demonstrate the influences of Hindu-Buddhist culture, both as stand-alone works of art and also incorporated into temples. Most notable sculpture of classical Hindu-Buddhist era of Indonesia are the hundreds of meters of relief and hundreds of stone Buddhas at the temple of Borobudur in central Java. Approximately two miles of exquisite relief sculpture tell the story of the life of Buddha and illustrate his teachings. The temple was originally home to 504 statues of the seated Buddha. This site, as with others in central Java, show a clear Indian influence. The examples of notable Indonesian Hindu-Buddhist sculptures are; the statues of Hindu deities; Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma, Durga, Ganesha and Agastya enthroned in rooms of Prambanan temples, the Vishnu mounting Garuda statue of king Airlangga, the exquisite statue of Eastern Javanese Prajnaparamita and 3.7 meters tall Dvarapala dated from Singhasari period, and also the grand statue of Bhairava Adityawarman discovered in Sumatra. Today, the Hindu-Buddhist style stone sculptures are reproduced in villages in Muntilan near Borobudur also in Bali, and sold as garden or pool ornament statues for homes, offices and hotels. Today in Indonesia, the richest, most elaborate and vivid wooden sculpture and wood carving traditions can be found in Bali and Jepara, Central Java. Balinese handicrafts such as sculptures, masks, and other carving artworks are popular souvenir for tourist that have visited Indonesia. On the other hand the Jepara wood carving are famous for its elaborately carved wooden furniture, folding screens also pelaminan gebyok (wedding throne with carved background).

Martial arts[]

The art of silat was created and firstly developed in the islands of Java and Sumatra. It is an art for survival and practiced throughout Indonesian archipelago. Centuries of tribal wars in Indonesian history had shaped silat as it was used by the ancient warriors of Indonesia. Silat was used to determine the rank and position in old Indonesian kingdoms.

Contacts with Indians and Chinese was further enriched silat. Silat reached areas beyond Indonesia mainly through diaspora of Indonesian people. People from various regions like Aceh, Minangkabau, Riau, Bugis, Makassar, Java, Banjar, etc. moved into and settled in Malay Peninsula and other islands. They brought silat and passed it down to their descendants.

Cuisine[]

The cuisine of Indonesia has been influenced by Chinese culture and Indian culture, as well as by Western culture. However in return, Indonesian cuisine has also contributed to the cuisines of neighboring countries, notably Malaysia and Singapore, where Padang or Minangkabau cuisine from West Sumatra is very popular. Also Satay (Sate in Indonesian), which originated from Java, Madura and Sumatra, has gained popularity as a street vendor food from Singapore to Thailand. In the fifteenth century, both the Portuguese and Arab traders arrived in Indonesia with the intention of trading for pepper and other spices. During the colonial era, immigrants from many different countries have arrived in Indonesia and brought different cultures as well as cuisines. Most native Indonesians eat rice as the main dish, with a wide range of vegetables and meat as side dishes. However, in some parts of the country, such as Irian Jaya and Ambon, the majority of the people eat sago (a type of tapioca) and sweet potato.