COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Kraton van de Sultan van Ternate TMnr 10021083

Kraton or keraton ( jv, ꦏꦿꦠꦺꦴꦤ꧀ or ꦏꦼꦫꦠꦺꦴꦤ꧀) is a type of royal palace in

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. Its name is derived from the Javanese ''ka-ratu-an'', meaning residence of the ''

ratu ''Ratu'' () is an Austronesian title used by male Fijians of chiefly rank. An equivalent title, ''adi'' (pronounced ), is used by females of chiefly rank. In the Malay language, the title ''ratu'' is also the traditional honorific title to re ...

'', the traditional honorific title for a monarch. In Java, the palace of a prince is called ''pura'' or ''dalem'', while the general word for palace is ''

istana ''Istana'' is an Indonesian language, Indonesian and Malay language, Malay word meaning "palace". Notable Istanas *Istana Alam Shah, the official palace of the Sultan of Selangor *Istana Besar, 19th- and early 20th-century residence of the Sultan o ...

'', identical to

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

Specific palaces

Kraton that function as the residence of a royal family include: ;

Yogyakarta Yogyakarta (; jv, ꦔꦪꦺꦴꦒꦾꦏꦂꦠ ; pey, Jogjakarta) is the capital city of Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by a monarchy, ...

(Jogja) region: * Kraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat (Palace of Sultan Hamengkubuwono). * Pura Pakualaman (Palace of Adipati Pakualam). ; Surakarta (Solo) region: * Kraton Surakarta Hadiningrat (Palace of Susuhunan

Pakubuwono Susuhunan, or in short version Sunan, is a title used by the monarchs of Mataram and then by the hereditary rulers of Surakarta, Indonesia. Additionally in Bali and Yogyakarta, so-called " Kings of kings" reigned with this title, while their k ...

). *

Pura Mangkunegaran The Pura Mangkunegaran (, ) is a palace complex in the city of Surakarta, Central Java, Indonesia. It is the official palace and residence of the Duke of Mangkunegara and his family. The palace complex is one of the centers of Javanese culture a ...

(Palace of Adipati Mangkunegara). ;

Cirebon Cirebon (, formerly rendered Cheribon or Chirebon in English) is a port city on the northern coast of the Indonesian island of Java. It is the only coastal city of West Java, located about 40 km west of the provincial border with Central J ...

area: *

Kraton Kasepuhan The Kraton Kasepuhan is the oldest kraton (sultan's palace) in the Indonesian city of Cirebon. It is the residence of the Sultan of Kasepuhan and the royal palace of Sultanate of Cirebon. History It was built in 1447 and its architecture an ...

(Palace of Sultan Sepuh). *

Kraton Kanoman Kraton Kanoman is a palace in the Indonesian city of Cirebon in West Java. It was founded by Sultan Anom I in 1677. In the outer area of the palace, the ''siti inggil'', are masonry versions of the classic Javanese ''pendopo'' form, as opposed to ...

(Palace of Sultan Anom). *

Kraton Kacirebonan The Kraton Kacirebonan is the oldest Kraton (sultan's palace) in the Indonesian city of Cirebon. It has existed since 1807. This colonial building has housed many historical relics such as Keris, Wayang puppets, war equipment, Gamelan instrumen ...

(Palace of Sultan Cirebon). *

Kraton Kaprabonan Kraton may refer to: *Kraton (Indonesia), an Indonesian name for ''palace'' * Kraton, East Java, a subdistrict located in Pasuruan Regency, East Java, Indonesia * Kraton, Yogyakarta, a subdistrict located in Yogyakarta, Special Region of Yogyakart ...

( id) (Palace of Sultan Prabon).

Historical palaces

The locations of former ''kraton'' have been determined by historical records or archaeological efforts. Former ''kraton'' include: * Kraton Ratu Boko, east of Yogyakarta in the

Prambanan Prambanan ( id, Candi Prambanan, jv, ꦫꦫꦗꦺꦴꦁꦒꦿꦁ, Rara Jonggrang) is a 9th-century Hindu temple compound in Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia, dedicated to the Trimūrti, the expression of God as the Creator (Brahma), the P ...

area. The structure dates from 9th century and is thought to belong to the

Sailendra The Shailendra dynasty (, derived from Sanskrit combined words ''Śaila'' and ''Indra'', meaning "King of the Mountain", also spelled Sailendra, Syailendra or Selendra) was the name of a notable Indianised dynasty that emerged in 8th-century ...

Mataram Kingdom The Mataram Kingdom (, jv, ꦩꦠꦫꦩ꧀, ) was a Javanese Hindu–Buddhist kingdom that flourished between the 8th and 11th centuries. It was based in Central Java, and later in East Java. Established by King Sanjaya, the kingdom was rule ...

, however local inhabitants named this site after ''King Boko'', the legendary king in Loro Jongrang folklore. *Kraton of Majapahit in

Trowulan Trowulan is an archaeological site in Trowulan Subdistrict, Mojokerto Regency, in the Indonesian province of East Java. It includes approximately 100 square kilometres and has been theorized to be the site of the eponymous capital city of the ...

, Mojokerto, the capital of the former Majapahit. Sites such as Pendopo Agung Majapahit are thought to be remnants of the Kraton of Majapahit. In

Banten Banten ( id, Banten; Sundanese: , romanized ''Banten'') is the westernmost province on the island of Java, Indonesia. Its capital city is Serang. The province borders West Java and the Special Capital Region of Jakarta on the east, the Ja ...

region there are remnants of the

Sultanate of Banten The Banten Sultanate (كسلطانن بنتن) was a Bantenese Islamic trading kingdom founded in the 16th century and centred in Banten, a port city on the northwest coast of Java; the contemporary English name of both was Bantam. It is said ...

's palaces: *Kraton Surosowan, Banten, former royal palace of Sultanate of Banten. *Kraton Kaibon, the former palace of queen mother. In Surakarta and Yogyakarta region, there is the remnants of

Sultanate of Mataram The Sultanate of Mataram () was the last major independent Javanese kingdom on the island of Java before it was colonised by the Dutch. It was the dominant political force radiating from the interior of Central Java from the late 16th cent ...

palaces: *

Kota Gede Kotagede (Javanese: ꦏꦸꦛꦒꦼꦝꦺ ''Kuthagedhé'') is a city district (''kemantren'') and a historic neighborhood in Yogyakarta, Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Kotagede contains the remains of the first capital of Mataram Sultanat ...

remains of a palace from the 16th century. *Karta and

Plered Plered (also Pleret) was the location of the palace of Amangkurat I of Mataram (1645–1677). Amangkurat moved the capital there from the nearby Karta in 1647. During the Trunajaya rebellion, the capital was occupied and sacked by the rebels, a ...

, there are remains of palaces from the 17th century. *Kraton Kartasura on the outskirt of Surakarta, remains of palace and city wall, also dated from 17th century.

Metonymic use

The term kraton 'palace' is also used as a way to refer to the court which it houses. This is especially the case for native Indonesian states where the succession is disputed, giving issue to two or more branches of the dynasty, or even rivaling dynasties, each setting up an alternative court, while competing for the same state, but generally only controlling part of it. An example is the West-Javan state of

, which was founded in 1478 and since 1662 was ruled from three Kraton (palaces): * Kraton Kasepuhan, using as the ruler's style Sultan * Kraton Kanoman, style Sultan * Kraton Kacirebonan, style Sultan

Notes

References

* Miksic, John N. (general ed.), et al. (2006) ''Karaton Surakarta. A look into the court of Surakarta Hadiningrat, central Java'' (First published: 'By the will of His Serene Highness Paku Buwono XII'. Surakarta: Yayasan Pawiyatan Kabudayan Karaton Surakarta, 2004) Marshall Cavendish Editions Singapore

External links