Massacre of ulema by Sultan Amangkurat I was a

mass killing Mass killing is a concept which has been proposed by genocide scholars who wish to define incidents of non-combat killing which are perpetrated by a government or a state. A mass killing is commonly defined as the killing of group members withou ...

that was committed in the territory of the

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 ...

at one afternoon in the year 1648. Around 5,000-6,000

ulema In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...

s and their family members were slain within less than thirty minutes. This massacre was ordered by Sultan

Amangkurat I Amangkurat I (Amangkurat Agung; 1619–1677) was the ''susuhunan'' of the Mataram Sultanate from 1646 to 1677. He was the son of Sultan Agung of Mataram. He experienced many rebellions during his reign. He died in exile in 1677, and buried in T ...

in order to exact revenge, since two days before his own younger brother Prince Alit tried to overthrow him. Although this coup failed and Prince Alit was killed during the ensuing chaos, Amangkurat intended to eradicate all groups who were allegedly conspiring with his younger brother.Ivan Aulia Ahsan
Saat 6.000 Ulama dan Keluarga Dibantai Sultan Mataram Islam
Tirto.id, 24 October 2017, retrieved 26 May 2018 During the planning of this massacre, the Sultan wanted to ensure that the real mastermind behind the massacre would not be discovered. He instructed four of his right-hand men to carry out the plan; they were Prince Aria, Tumenggung Nataairnawa, Tumenggung Suranata and Ngabehi Wirapatra. According to historian H. J. de Graaf, Amangkurat wanted the ulema to be completely purged. H. J. de Graaf, ''De Regering van Sunan Mangku-Rat I Tegal-Wangi, vorst van Mataram, 1646-1677'' (Brill 1962), hlm. 38 The commencement of the massacre itself was signaled by a cannon fire from the palace. Local sources have failed to document the details of this massacre and the only reliable source that is available is a note made by an officer from the

VOC VOC, VoC or voc may refer to: Science and technology * Open-circuit voltage (VOC), the voltage between two terminals when there is no external load connected * Variant of concern, a category used during the assessment of a new variant of a virus ...

Rijcklof van Goens Rijcklof Volckertsz. van Goens (24 June 1619 – 14 November 1682) was the Governor of Zeylan and Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies. He was the Governor of Zeylan from 12 May 1660 to 1661, then in 1663 and finally from 19 November 16 ...

, who was being dispatched to Mataram at that time. Amangkurat tried to cover up his involvement in this massacre. The day after the killings, he pretended to be angry and surprised. He alleged the ulema to be responsible for the death of Prince Alit and forced eight leaders to confess to their "crime" of plotting the overthrow of the Sultan. These eight men were slaughtered together with their family members.

References

{{coord missing, Indonesia Massacres in Indonesia History of Indonesia Conflicts in 1648