East Java in the 10th and 11th Century
The East Javanese period starts with King Sindok who was to found a dynastry that would rule through 1222. Sindok's dynasty was first called Ishana, and later Dharmawangsa after a late 10th C king. King Sindok ruled from 929 through 947. The years of his rule were recorded in an old prasasti that is kept in Calcultta. Sindok's daughter Sri Ishanatunggawijaya married King Lokapala and of their union Makutawangsawardhana was born. We know little about these two rulers, but more is known about the latter's successor King Dharmawangsa who ruled from 991 - 1016. Dharmawangsa composed a legal code (the Shivashasana, known on Bali as Poerwadigama), and ordered the first Old Javanese version of the Mahabharata.
Dharmawangsa attacks Srivijaya, but the Kingdom had not weakened to the extent that the attack went unchallenged. In return Srivijaya mounts a counter attack. Dharmawangsa died and his son in law, Airlangga proclaims himself King. Airlangga was the eldest son of Makutawangawardhana's daughter Gunapriyadharmapatni and Udayana, a Balinese prince. Airlangga's youngest brother, Anak Wungsu, was to rule on Bali. He is buried at Tampaksiring.
In 1024 a war ensued between Srivijaya and the South Indian King Rajendracola. In 1035 Airlangga succeeds in establishing himself as King, and he unifies Java.
Airlangga was an illustrous ruler. He commissioned the Arjunawiwaha - Javanised Indian epic, started waterworks and encouraged the sea trade through Tuban. The royal seat was not in Tuban, however, but in Kahuripan. He tightened ties with Bali and Borneo, that later became his most important vassal.
In 1042 before retiring as a hermit, Airlangga split his kingdom between his two sons. Of the two kingdoms Daha (at Kediri) and Janggala (near Surabaya) the former was to thrive through 1222.
Gunung Penanggungan, located north of the Arjuna Welirang complex has been the site of extensive temple construction throughout the East Javanese period. The mountain bears a close resemblance to Mount Meru, the sacred mountain of Hinduism, and this is believed to account for the large number of temples there.