Kuningan Regency

Kuningan Regency is a regency (kabupaten) of West Java province, Indonesia. It covers an area of 1,196.71 km2, and had a population of 1,035,589 at the 2010 Census; the latest official estimate (as at 2015) is 1,055,417. The subdistrict of Kuningan is its administrative capital. Kuningan Regency is located in the east of the province.EtymologyThe area of eastern slopes and valley of Mount Cereme has been known as the Kuningan Duchy since the Hindu period as part of the Galuh Kingdom circa 14th century. The name Kuningan is believed to have come from the Sundanese word kuning meaning "yellow". Alternate theory suggests the name proliferated from the Sundanese word kuningan, a local name for brass, the metal which have been produced and used for hundreds of years in this area. While according to the local tradition, the name Kuningan derived from the Prince Arya Kuningan or Adipati Kemuning, a local hero and ruler of this region circa 1498.HistoryPrehistoric eraThe oldest archaeological findings in the region were found in 1972, objects such as sherds, stone tools, gravestones and ceramics were unearthed in the Cipari megalithic site with evidences from the bronze and iron metallurgical culture, assumes it belonged to the Old Megalithicum age, from around 3500 BC to 1500 BC.Hindu-Buddhist periodThe area around Kuningan was originally under the control of Tarumanagara Kingdom. After the split of Galuh and Sunda kingdom, Galuh came into ruling the region, the reference to which were found in the story of Parahyangan (Carita Parahyangan).