The Dutch East India Company, VOC (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie), finally controlled the regional economy, gradually weakening the Banten Sultanate.

[10] Another origin story is that the Indonesian Hindu god Batara Guru traveled from east to west, arriving at Surasowan (present-day Serang).

Surasowan was reportedly surrounded by a clear, star-like river, and was described as a ring covered with diamonds (Sundanese: ban inten).

[10] Another possibility is that "Banten" comes from the Indonesian word bantahan (rebuttal), because the local Bantenese people resisted the Dutch colonial government.

The coastal area later became the Sultanate of Banten, founded by Sunan Gunung Jati, which controlled almost all of the former Sunda Kingdom in West Java.

The fourth-century Lebak inscription, discovered in 1947 in a lowland village on the Cidanghiyang River in Munjul, Pandeglang [id], contains two lines of Sanskrit poetry in the Pallawa script[12] which describes life in the kingdom under the reign of Purnawarman.

In the Chinese Chu-fan-chi, written around 1225, Chou Ju-kua wrote that Srivijaya ruled Sumatra, the Malay peninsula, and western Java during the early 13th century.

According to Portuguese historian João de Barros, Banten was the center of the sultanate and a major Southeast Asian port (rivaling Malacca and Makassar).

[citation needed] In 16th century, Chinese junk ships regularly traded with Jambi, Patani, Siam and Cambodia.

Assisted by the British, Danish and Chinese, Banten traded with Persia, India, Siam, Vietnam, the Philippines, China and Japan.

[21] A power struggle developed around 1680 between Ageng Tirtayasa and his son, Abu Nashar Abdul Qahar (also known as Sultan Haji).

Strengthening his position, Haji sent two envoys to meet King Charles II of England in London in 1682 to obtain support and weapons.

[23] In the ensuing war, Ageng withdrew from his palace to Tirtayasa (present-day Tangerang); on 28 December 1682, the region was seized by Haji with Dutch assistance.

[citation needed] The VOC continued to pursue and suppress Sultan Ageng's followers, led by Prince Purbaya and Sheikh Yusuf.

The civil war in Banten left instability for the next government, due to dissatisfaction with the VOC's interference in local affairs.

[28] In 1808, at the peak of the Napoleonic Wars, Governor-general Herman Willem Daendels ordered the construction of the Great Post Road to defend Java from British attack.

[29] Daendels ordered the sultan of Banten to move his capital to Anyer and provide labor to build a port in Ujung Kulon.

During their three years of occupation, the Japanese built the Saketi–Bayah railway in southern Lebak to transport brown coal from the Bayah mines.

The project involved a workforce of about 1,000 rōmusha (local forced labourers) and a few engineers and technicians (mainly Dutch), supervised by the Japanese.

Bordering the Java Sea on the north, the Sunda Strait on the west and the Indian Ocean on the south, the province has abundant marine resources.

Mount Gede, north of Cilegon, has an altitude of 553 m (1,814 ft) above sea level; there are also hills in the southern Serang Regency, in the Mancak and Waringin Kurung Districts.

[43] Banten's climate is influenced by the South and East Asian Monsoons and the alternating La Niña or El Niño.

The dry season is dominated by an east wind which gives Banten severe droughts, especially on the northern coast during El Niño.

The heaviest rainfall ranges from 2,712 to 3,670 mm (106.8 to 144.5 in) during the rainy season from September to May, covering half of the western Pandeglang Regency.

The province also has other ethnicities and religions, including the Benteng Chinese community in Tangerang and the Baduy people who practice Sunda Wiwitan in Kanekes, Leuwidamar, Lebak Regency.

Based on archaeological data, early Banten society was influenced by the Hindu-Buddhist Tarumanagara, Sriwijaya and Sunda Kingdoms.

[59] Pencak silat is a group of martial arts, rooted in Indonesian culture, which reportedly existed throughout the archipelago since the seventh century.

[61] The uniqueness of the Banten community, especially the Baduy people who still maintain their ancestral customs, is also interesting to explore, as well as the rare Javan rhinoceros sanctuary in the Ujung Kulon National Park which has been designated as a world heritage site.

Found in Serang Regency, it is believed to have originated in the Arabian Peninsula and was brought by Arab traders during the spread of Islam in Indonesia.

The series was removed from the schedule, and the track was used for local motorsports before it was dismantled for the Lippo Village expansion; the paddock area was reclaimed by Pelita Harapan University.