Perpustakaan Sono Pusoko

When Amangkurat II died in 1703, one of his sons ascended the throne as Amangkurat II, or Sunan Mas (r.1703-08). However, one of the late Amangkurat 11's brothers, Pangeran Puger, who was also a son of Amangkurat I (t 1677) and thus an uncle of Amangkurat III, almost immediately challenged the latter's right to succeed. The rebellious Pangeran Puger requested Dutch support as rightful ruler of Mataram. The Dutch decided to assist Pangeran Puger in his attempts to replace the new sunan, for they believed that Amangkurat III, who had teamed up with a powerful, charismatic Balinese leader named Suropati, was plotting against them.

Pangeran Puger was supported by most of the Mataram aristocracy. He had another ally in Panembahan Wijil of Kadilangu, another wellrespected religious and spiritual leader in the northern Javanese region of Kadilangu. With Dutch arms Pangeran Puger and his forces were able to capture the court, after which Amangkurat III fled; Surapati and his troops retreated to the area near Surabaya. Here they initially put up a fierce resistance against a combined Dutch-Javanese military force. However, they were eventually defeated and

Surapati died in captivity, allegedly of wounds sustained in battle. Pangeran Puger meanwhile was crowned in Semarang, by the Dutch (in 1703). Upon his return to Kartasura in 1704, he was formally installed as Paku Buwono 1. In return for Dutch assistance the new ruler of Mataram surrendered several districts in Parahyangan (the hinterland of West Java), Cirebon, and Madura, and agreed to provide a certain amount of rice annually to the VOC. Amangkurat III was finally captured in 1707 and exiled to Sri Lanka. Thus ended what western historians call the 'First Javanese War of Succession'.