The Mataram Kingdom – Great history of Java island
The history of the Mataram Kingdom cannot be separated from the existence of the island of Java
because this kingdom holds a great history of the island of Java
hello friends, previously I wrote about the Javanese and their culture, today I will write about the kingdom of Mataram
why do I have to write about the kingdom of Mataram?
because this kingdom brought the Javanese become an ethnic that has a long history in Indonesia to this day
History of the Mataram Kingdom
This history of the kingdom was divided into two, namely ancient Mataram and Islamic Mataram
If you like history then stories about this powerful empire will give you information about the island of Java and Indonesia
Ancient Mataram
The ancient Mataram kingdom was called the Medang kingdom
was a Hindu–Buddhist kingdom that existed in southern Central Java in the 8th century, then moved to East Java in the 10th century.
The location of this kingdom is on the slopes of Mount Merapi or in the Yogyakarta area for the present
This kingdom had to move several times due to the eruption of Mount Merapi
and finally settled in the area of East Java
The religions adopted by the people of this ancient Mataram era were Hinduism and Buddhism
many historical relics that you can see as evidence of this theory, for example, are the temples scattered in various places and the most famous are the Borobudur temple and Prambanan temple
The ancient Mataram kingdom split in two
The split occurred in the mid-8th century, King Sanjaya died and was succeeded by his son, Rakai Panangkaran.
After Rakai Panangkaran died, the Ancient Mataram was split into two.
The Sanjaya dynasty ruled the Hindu-style Ancient Mataram in northern Central Java.
Meanwhile, the Syailendra dynasty ruled the ancient Buddhist Mataram kingdom in southern Central Java.
The heyday of ancient Mataram and the reunification of the kingdom
The first king of the Ancient Mataram Kingdom from the Syailendra Dynasty was Sri Dharmatungga.
During his reign, it is said that his territory reached the Malacca Peninsula.
Sri Dharmatungga was replaced by Indra (Syailendra), who succeeded in conquering Chenla (Cambodia).
later, the Ancient Mataram was led by Samaratungga. In this period, the science of art greatly developed, and the Borobudur Temple was built.
The ancient Mataram was finally reunited after the marriage of Rakai Pikatan from the Sanjaya dynasty and Pramodhawardani from the Syailendra dynasty.
Moved to East Java
In 929 AD, the capital city of Ancient Mataram was moved by Mpu Sindok to East Java with the seat of government between Mount Semeru and Mount Wilis.
There are several reasons that are thought to be the cause of this move, such as natural disasters, politics, and threats from other kingdoms
Mpu Sindok was then crowned the first king of the Isyana Dynasty.
The reign of the Ancient Mataram Kingdom in East Java did not last long.
Islamic Mataram Kingdom
After the entry of Islam into Java and the collapse of the Majapahit empire, the political map in Java changed
Javanese people who used to be Hindus and Buddhists turned to Islam and the kingdom turned into an empire led by a Sultan, not a king
The Islamic Mataram Kingdom was first established and also centered in Yogyakarta
This dynasty was established during the Dutch colonial period in the land of Java
The founder of Mataram Islam was Panembahan Senopati at the end of the 16th century
During the Dutch occupation, there were frequent wars
both the war against the Dutch army and the civil war between royal princes
The collapse of Mataram Islam
Due to frequent civil wars, Mataram Islam finally collapsed in the 18th century,
After being split into two into the Sultanate of Yogyakarta and Surakarta Sunanate through the Giyanti Agreement.
The Giyanti Agreement was agreed upon in 1755, which was followed by the Salatiga Agreement in 1757.
The Salatiga Agreement officially divided the Islamic Mataram Kingdom into three,
namely the Sultanate of Yogyakarta, Kasunanan Surakarta, and Praja Mangkunegaran.
Islamic Mataram today
After being divided into 3, the remnants of the Islamic Mataram kingdom still exist today
The Yogyakarta Sultanate is now led by Sultan Hamengkubuwono X and the Surakarta Sultanate is led by Pakubuwono XIII
while the Mangkunegaran was led by Mangkunegara X
By the way, Mangkunegara X is still 26 years old and not yet married
Culture and Art of the Islamic Mataram Era
The Islamic Mataram Kingdom left a lot of culture and art for the life of the Javanese people
The most famous is Batik
But there are also other cultural arts such as silver crafts
The Sekaten tradition, namely the people‘s market to commemorate the birth of the Prophet Muhammad
To this day the influence of these Javanese kingdoms is powerful in Indonesia
In terms of politics, almost all presidents of Indonesia are of Javanese origin
This cannot be separated from political and historical experiences in the past both in the era of the ancient Mataram-Majapahit-Islamic Mataram
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