Ancient history

Mataram | historical kingdom, Indonesia

Mataram , great kingdom in Java lasting from the late 16th to the 18th centuries when the Dutch in Indonesia came into power . Mataram was originally a vassal of Pajang, but it grew powerful under Senapati (later known as Adiwijoyo) who defeated Pajang and became the first king of Mataram. Senapati tried to unify East and Central Java without much success.

Below Sultan Agung who came to power in 1613 when the Dutch invaded the region, Mataram was able to control most of its territory extend from Java. After conquering several port cities in northern Java, particularly Surabaya and Madura he tried Batavia from the Dutch East India Company . He launched two unsuccessful attacks, one in 1628 and one in 1629. The sultan also launched a "holy war" against Bali and against Balambangan in far eastern Java. He then focused on Mataram's internal development. He moved the residents of Central Java to the less populated Krawang (in West Java) and encouraged interisland trade. He also matched the Islam an to the Hindu-Javanese tradition and in 1633 introduced a new calendar based on the Islamic and Javanese Practice based . The arts during the reign of Sultan Agung were a mixture of Islamic and Hindu-Javanese elements.

Mataram began to decline after the death of Sultan Agung (1645), losing both power and dominion in the mid-18th century Territory to the Dutch East India Company. By 1749 it had become a vassal state of the Enterprise. Wars of succession took place in Mataram, leading to the division of the eastern and western regions in 1755 ( see Gianti Accords ). two years later, Mataram was divided into three regions.