UGM Experts Recommend 23 August as Kudus Anniversary Date

A national seminar on the historical reconstruction of the anniversary of Kudus Regency, Central Java, has recommended that the founding date be set on 23 August 1549, based on the latest reading of the mihrab inscription at the Al-Aqsha Mosque. The seminar, held at the Kudus Regency Pendopo on Monday, featured experts including UGM archaeologist Prof Dr Inajati Adrisijanti Romli and Drs Musadad, UGM Arabic literature expert Abdul Jawat Nur, S.S., M.Hum, Islamic University of Indonesia (UII) architecture expert Ir Revianto Budi Santoso, M.Arch, and astronomy expert Kiai Saifuddin Luthfi. UII architecture expert Revianto Budi Santoso stated that Kudus is one of the most complete cities in terms of historical heritage supporting the revelation of its founding date, including the presence of an inscription. UGM Arabic literature expert Abdul Jawat Nur emphasised that the mihrab inscription of the Al-Aqsha Mosque is a primary source for reconstructing Kudus’s history and its validity is beyond doubt. The inscription, he noted, is dated 19 Rajab 956 Hijriah, or 23 August 1549, and was made on the initiative of Al-Qadhi Ja’far ash-Shadiq, also known as Sunan Kudus. Epigraphic research shows the inscription is written in Khat Tsuluts Qodim on andesite stone and contains valid and complete chronological data. Philologically, the inscription reveals institutional identity, ideology, and the strategy for legitimising Islamic authority in Kudus through the phrases Khalīfatullāh fil-Arḍ and imādan bikitābihi wa ittibā’an li sunnati rasūl. Astronomy expert Kiai Saifuddin Luthfi confirmed the conversion of the Hijri date 19 Rajab 956 to 23 August 1549 as the basis for the mosque’s establishment. Archaeologist Prof Dr Inajati Adrisijanti supported using the inscription as the foundation, explaining that a settlement does not emerge suddenly but develops in stages. The seminar recommended that the Kudus Regency Government follow up on the finding that the mihrab inscription was built on 19 Rajab 956 Hijriah, corresponding to 23 August 1549, in accordance with prevailing regulations. Bupati Kudus Sam’ani Intakoris stressed that the historical reconstruction is not meant to dispute previous studies but to strengthen the historical foundation through accountable academic inquiry. He stated that the results would be compiled into an academic recommendation for discussion with the Regional People’s Representative Council, the Mosque, Tower, and Tomb of Sunan Kudus Foundation, and other stakeholders before formal establishment. Under Regional Regulation No. 11 of 1990, the Kudus anniversary is currently commemorated every 23 September, based on the year 1549, as previously only the year on the mihrab inscription was clearly legible while the exact date was not.