Banten

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Banten is one of the provinces of Indonesia and located at the western end of the island of Java.

Banten was known as a region which has been recognized since 14th century. Originally Banten is a port city which merchant ships from various regions visited. Arabs, Chinese, and European merchants were a regular trader in the region.

In the year 1330, people have acknowledged a sovereign state which referred as Panten. In the following years the region was conquered by the Kingdom of Majapahit. At that period of time two strong empires ruled peacefully sharing regions of Indonesian archipelago; the well established and powerful Kingdom of Majapahit and the emerging Sultanate of Demak. During 1524 - 1525, merchants from Islamic regions were coming to Banten to spread the teaching of Islam while trading to make a living. These preachers have penetrated and introduced people the peaceful way of life of Islam and as result many people in the region embraced Islam as their belief.

Two centuries later, Regency of Banten (Kadipaten Banten) was established at Surasowan on 8 October 1526. Then during 1552 - 1570 Sultan Maulana Hasanudin ruled as the first Sultan of Banten.

In the present day, the area of Sultanate of Banten is a province. The Province of Banten was established on 17 October 2000 through the Bill No. 23/2000, but the peak of celebration to the establishment in fact happened on 4 October 2000 when tens of thousands of Bantenese came to the Parliament of the Republic Of Indonesia (DPR RI) building at Senayan, Jakarta, at the same time as the plenary meeting of the parliament to authenticate the bill of forming the Province of Banten. Therefore the society of Banten mutually agree to set 4 October 2000 as day of the establishment of Banten Province.

Banten has an area of 8,651.2 km². It is subdivided into four regencies (kabupaten) and two administrative cities. The regencies are Serang, Pandeglang, Lebak, and Tangerang. The two cities are Cilegon and Tangerang. The population of the province is 8,052,312 (2000 census).

External link

• Provincial Government of Banten - official web site, in Indonesian and English

Provinces of Indonesia

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Sumatra (Sumatera) DI Aceh | North Sumatra (Sumatera Utara) | West Sumatra (Sumatera Barat) | Bengkulu | Riau | Riau Islands (Kepulauan Riau) | Jambi | South Sumatra (Sumatera Selatan) | Lampung | Bangka-Belitung Java (Jawa) DKI Jaya | West Java (Jawa Barat) | Banten | Central Java (Jawa Tengah) | DI Yogyakarta | East Java (Jawa Timur) Kalimantan West Kalimantan (Kalimantan Barat) | Central Kalimantan (Kalimantan Tengah) | South Kalimantan (Kalimantan Selatan) | East Kalimantan (Kalimantan Timur) The Lesser Sunda Islands (Nusa Tenggara) Bali | West Nusa Tenggara (Nusa Tenggara Barat) | East Nusa Tenggara (Nusa Tenggara Timur) Sulawesi West Sulawesi (Sulawesi Barat) | North Sulawesi (Sulawesi Utara) | Central Sulawesi (Sulawesi Tengah) | South Sulawesi (Sulawesi Selatan) | South East Sulawesi (Sulawesi Tenggara) | Gorontalo The Maluku Islands and New Guinea (Irian) Maluku | North Maluku (Maluku Utara) | West Irian Jaya (Irian Jaya Barat) | Papua

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