Note 61 — Chapter XII · THE SPREAD OF ISLAM IN THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO.

Meanwhile Raden Patah married a granddaughter of Raden Raḥmat, and formed an establishment in a place of great natural strength called Bintara, in the centre of a marshy country, to the west of Gresik. As soon as the King of Majapahit heard of this new settlement, he sent Raden Ḥusayn to persuade his brother to come to the capital and pay homage. This Raden Ḥusayn prevailed upon him to do, and he went to the court, where his likeness to the king was at once recognised, and where he was kindly received and formally appointed governor of Bintara. Still burning for revenge and bent on the destruction of his father’s kingdom, he returned to Ampel, where he revealed his plans to Raden Raḥmat. The latter endeavoured to moderate his anger, reminding him that he had never received anything but kindness at the hands of the king of Majapahit, his father, and that while the prince was so just and so beloved, his religion forbade him to make war upon or in any way to injure him. However, unpersuaded by these exhortations (as the sequel shows), Raden Patah returned to Bintara, which was now daily increasing in importance and population, while great numbers of people in the surrounding country were being converted to Islam. He had formed a plan of building a great mosque, but shortly after the work had been commenced, news arrived of the severe illness of Raden Raḥmat. He hastened to Ampel, where he found the chief missionaries of Islam gathered round the bed of him they looked upon as their leader. Among them were the two sons of Raden Raḥmat mentioned above (p. 382), Raden Paku of Giri, and five others. A few days afterwards Raden Raḥmat breathed his last, and the only remaining obstacle to Raden Patah’s revengeful schemes was thus removed. The eight chiefs accompanied him back to Bintara, where they assisted in the completion of the mosque,61 and bound themselves by a solemn oath to assist him in his attempt against Majapahit. All the Muhammadan princes joined this confederacy, with the exception of Raden Ḥusayn, who with all his followers remained true to his master, and refused to throw in his lot with his rebellious co-religionists.