Saleh Asad Djamhari (12 March 1938 – 26 May 2017) was an Indonesian military historian and army officer. He served for thirty years in the

Indonesian Army The Indonesian Army ( (TNI-AD), ) is the army, land branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. It has an estimated strength of 300,400 active personnel. The history of the Indonesian Army has its roots in 1945 when the (TKR) "People's Se ...

as a military historian, reaching the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

, and later became a lecturer of history at the

University of Indonesia The University of Indonesia (UI; ) is a public university in Depok, West Java and Salemba, Jakarta, Indonesia. It is one of the oldest tertiary-level educational institutions in Indonesia (known as the Dutch East Indies when UI was established) ...

Early life

Saleh As'ad Djamhari was born in

Malang Malang (; , ), historically known as Tumapel, is an inland List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city in the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of East Java. It has a history dating back to the age of the Singhasari, Singhasari K ...

on 12 March 1938. His father, Djamhari, was a

Nahdlatul Ulama Nahdlatul Ulama (, , NU) is an Islamic organization in Indonesia. Its membership numbered over 40 million in 2023, making it the largest Islamic organization in the world. NU is also a charitable body funding schools and hospitals as well as or ...

member who was recruited into the

Defenders of the Homeland The Defenders of the Homeland (; , PETA) was a volunteer army established on 3 October 1943 in the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia) by the occupying Japanese. The Japanese intended PETA to assist their forces in opposing a possible inv ...

militia, and fought in the

Indonesian National Revolution The Indonesian National Revolution (), also known as the Indonesian War of Independence (, ), was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between the Republic of Indonesia and the Dutch Empire and an internal social revolution during A ...

as a company commander. After Indonesian independence, Djamhari graduated from high school in Malang and studied literature at

Gadjah Mada University Gadjah Mada University (; , abbreviated as UGM) is a public research university located in Sleman, Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Officially founded on 19 December 1949, Gadjah Mada University is one of the oldest and largest institut ...

, receiving a bachelor's degree in 1962.

Career

He continued his studies at the

(UI), where he graduated with a master's of literature in 1965. At that time of his graduation, he was working in UI's history and anthropology department as a staffer. According to Djamhari in a 2014 interview, his inspiration to work as a historian came from his graduation ceremony in 1965, which

Sukarno Sukarno (6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967. Sukarno was the leader of the Indonesian struggle for independenc ...

presided over. Djamhari stated that he noticed Untung Syamsuri, who three days later would launch a coup attempt, standing next to Sukarno, and Djamhari became inspired to work in military history after the coup. In 1967, Djamhari enlisted in the

due to an invitation by military academic Nugroho Notosusanto. Djamhari had been Notosusanto's assistant. He took a course in military history within the army in 1974, and eventually reached the rank of

. His time in the army ended in 1997, after which he resumed his studies at UI, receiving a doctorate in 2002. His dissertation focused on the

Java War The Java War (; ; ), also known in Indonesia as the Diponegoro War (; ), was an armed conflict in central and eastern Java from 1825 to 1830, between native Javanese rebels headed by Prince Diponegoro and the Dutch East Indies supported by J ...

, in particular the Dutch ''bentengstelsel'' plan during the war, and was later published as a book in 2004. He later became a lecturer of history at UI, along with giving special lectures in other universities. He died on 26 May 2017 at Mayapada Hospital,

South Jakarta South Jakarta (; ), abbreviated as Jaksel, is one of the five administrative cities which form the Special Capital Region of Jakarta, Indonesia. South Jakarta is not self-governed and does not have a city council, hence it is not classified as a ...

, and was buried at the Tanah Kusir Cemetery.

Personal life

Djamhari married , who also served in the military and reached the colonel rank, in 1967.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Djamhari, Saleh 1938 births 2017 deaths Gadjah Mada University alumni University of Indonesia alumni Academic staff of the University of Indonesia Indonesian military personnel 21st-century Indonesian historians People from Malang