<![CDATA[This study examines the socio-economic dynamics of the northern coastal cities of Java, namely Demak, Gresik, Tuban, and Surabaya, during the period 1518–1546. Using the urban sociology framework of Ibn Khaldun's 'ashabiyyah theory and André Raymond's urban historical approach, this research investigates how these port cities functioned as centers of Islamic civilization characterized by the Santri (Puritan) Islam typology as formulated by Clifford Geertz. The method applied is the historical method, consisting of four stages: heuristics, source criticism, interpretation, and historiography. Primary sources include Dutch-language texts by Roo de la Faille (1954), Sutterheim (1952), Mellema (1947), the historiography of H.J. de Graaf, and several Dutch colonial newspapers including De Locomotief (1925), Algemeen Handelsblad (1925), Nijmeegnsch dagblad (1949), and De Volkskrant (1995). The findings are organized into three phases: first, the pre-Demak tribal phase (badawah) in which coastal cities existed as loosely connected trading communities; second, the consolidation of Islamic political power under Sultan Trenggana, driven by the 'ashabiyyah of the santri trading network; and third, the fragmentation phase following Trenggana's death in 1546 and the eventual fall of Demak to Pajang. This study contributes a new urban-sociological reading of northern Javanese coastal history that complements existing economic-history approaches.]]>
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