which was at war with the Dutch from 1873. Resistance against the Dutch In February 1878, Sisingamangaraja XII held a religious ceremony to rally the Bataks behind him in a war of resistance against the Dutch. His forces attacked Dutch outposts in Bakal Batu, Tarutung, but were defeated. He regrouped and launched a fresh offensive in 1883–84 with Acehnese aid, attacking the Dutch at Uluan and Balige in May 1883 and in Tangga Batu in 1884. The Dutch mounted a harsh response, torturing and killing Bataks suspected of being followers of Sisingamangaraja XII, as well as burning houses and imposing punitive taxes. They offered rewards for information on his whereabouts but were unable to capture him. In 1904, Dutch forces under Lt Col Gotfried Coenraad Ernst van Daalen attacked Tanah Gayo and some areas around Lake Toba in order to break the Batak resistance. Sisingamangaraja XII's forces resorted to guerrilla warfare and evaded the Dutch troops. The Dutch reinforced their troops and weapons before launching another offensive in 1907 against the remainder of Sisingamangaraja XII's forces in the Toba region. A battle was fought at Pak-pak between the Dutch, led by Captain Hans Christoffel, and Sisingamangaraja's troops. On 17 June 1907 Sisingamangaraja XII was killed in a clash at Dairi along with his daughter Lopian and his sons, Patuan Nagari and Patuan Anggi. He was buried in Tarutung, then moved to Balige, and later moved to Samosir Island. Legacy In 1961 Sisingamangaraja XII was declared a "National Hero of Indonesia" – specifically a "Hero of the Struggle for Freedom" (Pahlawan Perjuangan Kemerdekaan) – by the Indonesian government under Presidential Decree number 590. He's also the namesake of "Sisingamangaraja" road in Jakarta where couple of important buildings are located, such as the ASEAN Secretariat building, and several government owned buildings. It's also shared the name to Jakarta MRT "Sisingamangaraja" station, which were renamed to "ASEAN" station not long after the opening of the mass transit. Silangit International Airport is also named after him. References Bibliography 1849 births 1907 deaths National Heroes of Indonesia People of Batak descent Deaths by firearm in Indonesia