Java ( ) is an island of Indonesia and the site of its capital city, Jakarta. Once the centre of powerful Hindu kingdoms and the core of the colonial Dutch East Indies, Java now plays a dominant role in the economic and political life of Indonesia. Housing a population of 130 million in 2006, it is the most populous island in the world, ahead of Honshū, the main island of Japan. Java is also one of the most densely populated regions on Earth.

Formed mostly as the result of volcanic events, Java is the 13th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in Indonesia. A chain of volcanic mountains forms an east-west spine along the island. It has three main languages, and most residents are bilingual, with Indonesian as their second language. While the majority of Javanese are Muslim, Java has a diverse mixture of religious beliefs and cultures.

Etymology

The origins of the name 'Java' are not clear. One possibility is that early travellers from India named the island after the jáwa-wut plant, which was said to be common in the island during the time, and that prior to Indianization the island had different names. There are other possible sources: the word jaú and its variations mean "beyond" or "distant". And, in Sanskrit yava means barley, a plant for which the island was famous. Other source states that the "Java" word is derived from a Proto-Austronesian root word, meaning 'home'.

Outsiders often referred to Java and the neighboring islands by the same name, or use names inconsistently for different islands. For example, Marco Polo refers to neighbouring Sumatra as "little Java" and Ptolemy refers to Sumatra as Jaba-diu.

History

Java is known for several important finds of early hominid specimens. In particular, the 1891 discovery of cranial fossil remains commonly known as "Java man" (now designated as Trinil 2, after the Trinil site on the Bengawan Solo River) is notable as the first early hominid specimen found outside Europe. In the following course of human history, several kingdoms existed on Java. The first kingdoms ruled there were Indianized kingdoms like Tarumanagara and Sunda, influenced by Hinduism and Buddhism. Sailendra (8–9th century), Mataram (752–1045), Kediri (1045–1221), Singhasari (1222–1292) and Majapahit (1293–1500) were among them, leaving evidence of their existence throughout Java. Among many other temples in Java, Borobudur (a Buddhist temple) and Prambanan (a Hindu temple) are the most famous relics of the old Javanese kingdoms, both of which are listed in the UNESCO world heritage site.

Islam spread into the Indonesian archipelago, including Java, in the thirteenth century. At the time, the Wali Songo (the "nine ambassadors") were the most prominent Muslim evangelists in the region. The spread of Islam (1200–1600) took place first in coastal cities, which developed into Muslim states, such as Sultanate of Demak (1475–1518) and Mataram Sultanate (1500s–1700s).