Mataram Sultanate - The Rise of Mataram

The Rise of Mataram

Details in Javanese sources about the early years of the kingdom are limited, and the line is unclear between the historical record and myths since there are indications of the efforts of later rulers, especially Agung, to establish a long line of legitimate descent by inventing predecessors. However, by the time more reliable records begin in the mid-17th century the kingdom was so large and powerful that most historians concur it had already been established for several generations.

According to Javanese records, the kings of Mataram were descended from one Ki Ageng Sela (Sela is a village near the present-day Demak). In the 1570s one of Ki Ageng Sela's descendants, Kyai Gedhe Pamanahan became the ruler of the Mataram area with the support of the kingdom of Pajang to the north, near the current site of Surakarta (Solo). Pamanahan was often referred to as Kyai Gedhe Mataram.

Pamanahan's son, Sutawijaya or Panembahan Senapati Ingalaga, replaced his father around 1584. Under Panembahan Senapati the kingdom grew substantially through regular military campaigns against Mataram's overlord of Pajang and Pajang's former overlord, Demak. After the defeat of Pajang, Senopati assumed royal status by wearing the title "Panembahan" (literally "one who is worshipped/sembah"). He began the fateful campaign to the East along the course of Solo River (Bengawan Solo) that was to bring endless conflicts and eventual demise of his kingdom. He conquered Madiun in 1590-1 and turned east from Madiun to conquer Kediri in 1591, and perhaps during the same time also conquered Jipang (present day Bojonegoro), Jagaraga (north of present day Magetan) and Ponorogo. His effort to conquer Banten in West Java in 1597 – witnessed by Dutch sailors – failed, perhaps due to lack of water transport. He reached east as far as Pasuruan, who may have used his threat to reduce pressure from the then powerful Surabaya.

The reign of Panembahan Seda ing Krapyak (circa 1601–1613), the son of Senapati, was dominated by further warfare, especially against powerful Surabaya, already a major center in East Java. He faced rebellion from his relatives who were installed in the newly conquered area of Demak (1602), Ponorogo (1607–8) and Kediri (1608). The first contact between Mataram and the Dutch East India Company (VOC) occurred under Krapyak. Dutch activities at the time were limited to trading from limited coastal settlements, so their interactions with the inland Mataram kingdom were limited, although they did form an alliance against Surabaya in 1613. Krapyak died that year.