Decline of the Majapahit Empire (1430s)

Timeline

1. 1431–1434Trowulan · East JavaThe Majapahit court was consumed by internal strife among royal princes such as Wirabumi, and its ability to restrain local vassals declined. The royal ritual and administrative systems still functioned but could no longer effectively unify all of Java.
2. 1434–1438Trading ports on Java's north coast · JavaPorts on Java's north coast grew in wealth and autonomy thanks to the prosperity of Malacca Strait trade, and local Muslim merchants and chieftains increasingly neglected their tributary obligations to Majapahit. The Islamic forces in towns such as Demak accumulated strength that would later enable them to become independent sultanates.
3. 1438–1440Island of Java · IndonesiaBy around 1440, Majapahit's actual control over the eastern and western ends of Java and its outer-island vassals had shrunk dramatically, and the grand empire depicted in the traditional Kakawin Nagarakretagama no longer matched reality. The rise of new trading centers such as Malacca further diverted Java's commercial and political influence.