What's in a name: Surabaya or Curabhaya?

According to official literature, Surabaya was named after a mythic battle between a shark (sura) and a crocodile (baya), and was founded in the late 13th century.

The city's emblem shows these two aquatic monsters in mortal combat. It makes for a nice legend and seems to denote the meeting of fresh water in the form of the croc, and the salty sea in the shark.

What is not revealed is why these quite different creatures should have had a toothy encounter: Surely rivers flow into the ocean, and the waters blend amicably?

Surabaya has been assigned an official birthday -- May 31, 1293. This is supposed to be the day when Raden Wijaya chased the Mogul-Chinese invaders out of Java -- an event that marked the start of the Majapahit dynasty.

The Chinese were on a mission of revenge because King Kertanagara had refused to pay tribute. However, the old man died in 1292 before the Chinese fleet (originally 1,000 ships and 20,000 soldiers) arrived.

The king's son-in-law, Raden Wijaya, had been the rightful heir, but had lost power in a palace coup. He then fled to Madura after a usurper took the top job.

When the Chinese army docked, Raden Wijaya deviously persuaded the invaders to join him, attack Kediri (in East Java) and recover his throne.

But when the victorious Chinese were marching back to the north coast Raden Wijaya turned from ally to enemy. The foreigners were ambushed, and fled.

The Javanese had triumphed over a major international force and were clearly a people to be respected and feared. Java's Golden Age was born; it was to last for almost 200 years.

However, Petra University researchers have come up with another history. Lecturer Agoes Indrianto said the port was known as Hujung Galah in the 11th century and later named Curabhaya ("daring to face threats") by Raden Wijaya.

The name relates to the routing of the Chinese recounted above.

So, on this croc- and shark-free reading of history, the settlement is at least 200 years older than the age determined by modern officials.