It was also assumed that the people of Cirebon were a mixture of native merchants and Chinese merchants who had become Muslims. As the story goes. There was a group of Chinese families that landed and settled in Gresik.
The most outstanding of them was Cu-cu. The family of Cu-cu who had professed Islam then landed in Demak to build a village in the west. As a result of their hardwork, they could successfully build a village which was named Cirebon. It belonged to the territory of Demak.
Cirebon Kingdom was first ruled by Pengeran Pasarean. He was one of the sons of Fatahillah who was assigned to be the sultan of Cirebon. But when Pangeran Pasarean died in 1522, the leadership of Cirebon was taken back by Fatahillah and he himself became the sultan of Cirebon. Meanwhile, the government of Banten which was under his control was handed over his other son, Sultan Hasanuddin.
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| Kasepuhan Palace of Cirebon which was built in 16th century |
Cirebon Kingdom reached its golden period during the reign of Fatahillah, then it was split into two paris as follows :
1. Kasepuhan, the first king was Pangeran Martawijaya who was titled Sultan Raja Syamsudin and assisted by Panembahan Toh Pati.
2. Kanoman, the first king was Pangeran Kartawijaya who was titled Sultan Muhammad Bahrudin.
Finally, in the 17th century, Cirebon was put the control of this Dutch.
In 1570, Fatahillah died at the age of 80. He was buried at Gunung Jati kill. After the death of Fatahillah, Islam continued to spread all over West Java. In honour of his role in propagating Islam, many people still visit his grave up to now.
Next article : The development of Islamic in Banten Kingdom
