Mataram
This great Javanese kingdom was centered in present-day Central Java in Indonesia. Its history divides into Hindu and Islamic Mataram periods, with a long interregnum between. The history of Hindu Mataram is obscure, and this kingdom is mainly known for building numerous candi (temples) in Java. The earliest records of this kingdom date from 732 CE, but by the tenth century Mataram's glory faded for unknown reasons. The center of power in Java moved to the east to what eventually became several great kingdoms, most notably Majapahit.
Islamic Mataram was the last great Javanese kingdom in modern Java, lasting from 1587 until its breakup in 1745. This reborn Mataram resulted from integrating various small principalities that remained following Majapahit's fall. Its court, initially located in Kota Gede, on the outskirts of present-day Yogyakarta, moved several times in the agricultural area between Yogyakarta and Surakarta—the heartland of Javanese civilization.
Islamic Mataram actually started as a Hindu kingdom led by Panembahan (Prince) Senopati. Contacts with Islam came immediately after the court's establishment, especially with the small Islamic sultanates on Java's northern coast, which led Islamic propagation in the island. In 1641, the greatest Mataram lord, Sultan Agung, embraced Islam, making Mataram an Islamic sultanate. While pious in carrying out Muslim practices, Sultan Agung did not order the abandonment of existing Hindu practices. Islamic rituals did not replace previous traditions, but were regarded as complementary. Many attributes and rituals of the Mataram court remained, but glossed over by Islamic words and titles. Because of Mataram practice, Islam in Java was embraced in a manner syncretic with previous traditions. This still remains true.
Mataram peaked during the reigns of Sultan Agung and his successor, Amangkurat I (1645–1677). Its influence extended to all of Java, parts of Sumatra, and even present-day Malaysia. A legal code, taxation, and bureaucracy were all established at this time. While basically agricultural, Mataram traded with other kingdoms in the archipelago and with European traders— especially the Dutch East India Company—who ventured into the region.
In the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, relations between Mataram and the expansionist Dutch administration grew tense. The Dutch took advantage of court sibling rivalries over the issue of succession, as conflicting noblemen each sought backing from the now-dominant Dutch. Fearing rivalry might get out of hand, the Dutch brokered a deal among the lords, which led to the disintegration of the Mataram court. Through the Treaty of Giyanti (1755), Mataram was divided into the Sunanate of Surakarta under Pakubuwono I, and the Sultanate of Yogyakarta under Hamengkubuwono I. Later, these two kingdoms would be split again: the court of Mangkunegaran was established in Surakarta in 1757, and Pakualaman was established in Yogyakarta in 1813.
Though Mataram no longer exists, its successor courts in Yogyakarta and Surakarta remain active cultural centers, though without political or legal functions after the Republic of Indonesia was established. Mataram's legacy remains salient to this day, especially for Indonesia's political culture and bureaucracy.
Further Reading
Hall, Kenneth R. (1999) "Economic History of Early Southeast Asia." In The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia, vol. 1, pt. 1, edited by Nicholas Tarling. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.
Koentjaraningrat. (1985) Javanese Culture. Singapore: Oxford University Press.
Lombard, Denys. (1990) Le Carrefour Javanais. Paris: Éditions de l'École des hautes études en sciences sociales.
Taylor, Keith W. (1999) "The Early Kingdoms." In The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia, vol. 1, pt. 1, edited by Nicholas Tarling. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.
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