Banten

Banten stands on a bay of northwestern Java, close to the strait separating the island from Sumatra. Known to Europeans as Bantam, it grew into one of Southeast Asia's great ports through the pepper trade. A river ran through the town, where the palace and the Great Mosque stood beside a square used for markets and public gatherings. Its harbour brought together merchants from across the Indian Ocean and the island world.

In the early sixteenth century Banten was a port of the Sundanese kingdom. Around 1527 Muslim forces associated with Sunan Gunungjati took it, and an independent sultanate developed there. Control over pepper from Lampung in southern Sumatra made Banten an important intermediary for foreign merchants. Portuguese, English and Dutch traders arrived in turn, while Chinese junks also frequented the port. Under Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa in the seventeenth century the sultanate reached a high point, but conflict between Ageng and his son allowed the Dutch East India Company to intervene. Ageng was captured in 1683, and the company gained decisive influence over the court. Banten declined as nearby Batavia grew; the sultanate was eventually absorbed into the Dutch East Indies in the early nineteenth century.

The later city of Serang lies here.