Gajah Mada was the prime minister to Rajasenegara Hayam Wuruk, who ruled the Majapahit Empire at the zenith of its power. Although he was born a commoner, he was elevated to the status of Prime Minister due to his quick-wit, intelegence and extreme loyalty to the king, Jayanagara. Gajah Mada was instrumental in restoring Jayanagara to power after a boody insurection in the year 1319. The prime minister turned against Jayanagara, after he tried to take possession of Gajah Mada's wife. Gajah Mada arranged to have a surgeon murder the king while performing an operation. Jayanagara was succeeded by his eldest sister, Tribhuwana Wijayatungga Dewi. She appointed Gajah Mada as the commander-in-chief and Prime minister of the Majapahit Empire. Her son, Hayam Wuruk ascended the throne after her in the year 1350. In the solace of the waterfall Madakaripura, Gajah Mada took the Palapa oath, which meant that he would refrain from eating the Palapa spice until he conquered the Indonesian archipelago under the banner of the Majapahit Empire. He and Hayam Wuruk managed to defeat many kingdoms in the Indonesian archipelago, and the Majapahit Empire conquered territories in Indonesia, Malaysia, and even the Philippenes. Gajah Mada became the patron of Prapancha, who wrote the Negara Kertagama, an epic about the power of the Majapahit Empire. Under the leadership of Gajah Mada, Java experienced a golden age. Many classics were written in Kawi, the old Javanese language, some of them being: "Pararaton," "Arjuna Wiwaha," "Ramayana," and "Sarasa Muschaya." Hinduism became more enstrengthened in the Javanese culture as a result of the golden age. Gajah Mada eventually died in the year 1364.
