The Majapahit Empire (1343-1520)

The decisive event in Bali's history was the conquest by the Javanese Majapahit Empire in 1343 under the legendary commander Gajah Mada. The Majapahit Empire was the most powerful Hindu empire in Southeast Asia — it controlled large parts of present-day Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

The Majapahit brought Javanese court culture, art, literature, and a sophisticated caste system to Bali. Javanese nobles, priests, craftsmen, and artists settled on the island and founded the dynasties that would rule until the colonial era. Balinese high culture — the dances, temple architecture, gamelan music, shadow play tradition (Wayang) — is essentially a development of Javanese-Hindu culture.

As Java converted to Islam in the 15th and 16th centuries, thousands of Hindu priests, nobles, artists, and scholars fled to Bali — the last bastion of Hinduism in the region. This exodus greatly enriched Balinese culture and made the island what it is today: a Hindu enclave in the world's largest Muslim nation.

From the Majapahit successor states emerged the Balinese kingdoms: Gelgel (15th-17th century) and its successor Klungkung (1686-1908) were the nominal overlords, alongside eight other kingdoms (Badung, Tabanan, Gianyar, Bangli, Karangasem, Buleleng, Jembrana, and Mengwi), which often waged war against each other.