Sultan Agung (r.
1613-1645)
Gateway to the
burial compund of Ki Ageng Pandanaran at
Tembayat
Senopati's successors, Raden Mas Jolang (r.
1601-1613) and Sultan Agung (r. 1613-1645),
continued the effort to extend Mataram's
authority over all Java. It elevated its
port at Jepara to the status of a major
commercial center and declared a monopoly
over the export of rice. It also launched
attacks against other ports on the north
coast. Several episodes of warfare erupted
in which Matararn succeeded in conquering
and in many cases destroying important
coastal cities on the north-central and
northeast coasts.
The seemingly destructive and aggressive
territorial expansion, in which most of the
flourishing coastal trading centers were
successfully conquered and destroyed, has
introduced a confusing element to the
endeavour to describe Sultan Agung's reign.
It is assumed that Sultan Agung, following
the advice of his political, military, and
spiritual advisors attempted to establish a
kind of 'splendid isolation' aimed at
keeping outside influences as far removed as
possible from the center of the realm.
However, many modern day Solonese
acknowledge the great cultural impact of
this period: Sultan Agung consolidated
Mataram's political independence, he
strongly and actively supported the
development of Islam in the regions under
Mataram's control, and he succeeded in
formulating a strong sense of Javanese
identity.
At the same time as Mataram under Sultan
Agung was expanding, Dutch merchants
established a powerful, armed foothold in
the northwest of Java. This later became the
city of Batavia, modern-day Jakarta. They
were united in the 'Vereenigde Oost-Indische
Compagnie', better known by its initials,
VOC (or, in Indonesia simply as Kumpeni),
founded in 1602. Sultan Agung's troops
launched several attacks against the Dutch
stronghold in Batavia (in 1628 and 1629),
but they were unsuccessful in conquering it,
not in the least because it was well
fortified and supported by strategically
positioned weaponry. During the attacks the
European merchants moved to the port of
Jepara, on Javas north coast, but returned
when Mataram failed to achieve victory.
One reason for its failure to defeat the
Dutch garrison was that the Sultan of Banten,
in whose territory Batavia was formally
situated, did not support Sultan Agung's
efforts and refused to sell food to
Mataram's army. The demoralized (and
underpaid) Mataram troops retreated, after
which Sultan Agung seems to have given up
his strategy of trying to evict the Dutch
from Java. At the end of his reign he had to
contend with an ever-expanding Dutch
influence, both geographically,
economically, and politically. However, even
though various Dutch emissaries were sent to
his court at Kerto, they never succeeded in
meeting him.
Banten, Batavia and Mataram coexisted in a
tense relationship of relative equilibrium
for the next 50 years. It was a period
during which the Dutch were mainly concerned
with expanding their control over the trade
in spices, from the Moluccas, with Batavia
assuming the role of a transfer port rather
than a center of trade. But in the late 17
1h century a series of events began which
were to lead to a gradual Dutch domination
of Java.
After Sultan Agung's death (1645) he was
succeeded by his son, Amangkurat I (r.
16451677). The end of the latter's reign was
characterized by several years of court
intrigue and intense sibling rivalry. The
conflicts culminated when one of Arnangkurat
I's sons launched a rebellion (in 1677), in
alliance with Trunojoyo, a prince from the
neighbouring island of Madura.
The rebels besieged Mataram's capital and
succeeded in capturing it. Amangkurat I was
forced to flee, accompanied by some of his
children, his wives, and some of the regalia
they managed to take from the palace. On
their way northwards, near the town of Tegal,
the old king became ill and died; his
rebel-son ascended to the throne, taking the
title Amangkurat 11 (r. 1677-1703). His
brothers however continued to oppose his
reign, and in many places armed clashes
broke out. To make matters worse, soon after
his ascension the new ruler quarreled with
Trunojoyo, who threatened to depose him and
take the throne.
Trunojoyo had many allies and was supported
by the rulers of some of Java's
semiautonomous Islamic centers of power,
some of whom, such as Raden Kajoran, had
repeatedly contested Mataram's authority.
Raden Kajoran governed an area in the Klaten
region, near modern-day Surakarta. Besides
being one of Trunojoyo's strongest
supporters, he was also his father-in-law
and a well-known religious and spiritual
leader. Raden Kajoran's influence was based
on kinship ties with Sunan Bayat, the
founder of a well-known sacred place
(hermitage) known as Tembayat, which is
still much visited today. Despite marriage
links, the rulers of Kajoran had opposed
Matararn from its beginnings. Supported by
Kajoran, Trunojoyo staged a revolt against
Amangkurat 11.
Amangkurat 11, facing the combined forces of
his former ally and Raden Kajoran, requested
Dutch military support. The Dutch complied
with this plea and a successful expedition
was launched against Trunojoyo. Meanwhile
the war between Mataram and Kajoran, which
had erupted since 1677, ended with Raden
Kajoran's defeat, in 1679; hereafter its
rulers were to assume a more spiritual role.
After Kajoran's defeat Trunojoyo fled
eastwards, to Kediri, where he was still
able to rally support from some of the heads
of Java's other Islamic regions. However,
the war ended shortly afterwards, when
Trunojoyo was stabbed to death by Amangkurat
11 during a combined Dutch-Javanese military
campaign in East Java (1679).
Upon his return to the ruined court at
Plered, and in return for its decisive
military support, Amangkurat 11 gave the VOC
an extensive area of land in West Java,
stretching all the way from the north to the
south coast, separating Batavia and Mataram.
The Kumpeni also obtained the monopoly over
the trade in and first rights to the
purchase of rice in Java. Furthermore, in
the same year (1677) it obtained the
monopoly over the imports of textiles and
opium, the export of sugar from Semarang and
Jepara, and the right to administer and levy
duties in the ports of north Java.
Bahasa Indonesia
