Surakarta Sunanate ( id, Kasunanan Surakarta; jv, ꦟꦒꦫꦶꦑꦱꦸꦤꦤ꧀ꦤꦤ꧀ꦯꦸꦫꦏꦂꦠꦲꦢꦶꦤꦶꦁꦫꦠ꧀, ''Kasunanan/Karaton Surakarta Hadiningrat''; nl, Soerakarta) was a Javanese
monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic ( constitutional monar ...
centred in the city of
Surakarta
Surakarta ( jv, ꦯꦸꦫꦏꦂꦠ), known colloquially as Solo ( jv, ꦱꦭ; ), is a city in Central Java, Indonesia. The 44 km2 (16.2 sq mi) city adjoins Karanganyar Regency and Boyolali Regency to the north, Karanganyar Regency and Su ...
, in the province of
Central Java,
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 Gui ...
.
The Surakarta
Kraton was established in 1745 by
Pakubuwono II. Surakarta Sunanate and
Yogyakarta Sultanate are together the successors of
Mataram Sultanate. Unlike their counterparts in Yogyakarta, who use the title of
sultan
Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it c ...
, the rulers of Surakarta use the title of
sunan. The Dutch name was used during
Dutch colonial rule until the 1940s. The title is sometimes
anglicized as the , from the location of their palace.
History
After
Sultan Agung I, the power and prestige of Sultanate of Mataram was declining due to a power struggle and conflict of succession within the royal family. The VOC (
Dutch East India Company
The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...
) exploited the power struggle to increase its control on Java, and manage to gain concessions of Mataram's former colony in
Priangan and
Semarang
Semarang ( jv, ꦏꦸꦛꦯꦼꦩꦫꦁ , Pegon: سماراڠ) is the capital and largest city of Central Java province in Indonesia. It was a major port during the Dutch colonial era, and is still an important regional center and port today ...
. The Mataram seat in
Plered near
Kotagede collapsed after the
Trunojoyo revolt in 1677. Sunan Amral (
Amangkurat II) relocated the palace to
Kartasura. During the reign of Sunan
Pakubuwono II, in 1742 Raden Mas Garendi (
Sunan Kuning) led Chinese mercenaries and launched a revolt against the crown and also VOC. Raden Mas Garendi was the son of Prince Teposono and also the grandson of Amangkurat II. The rebels managed to take control of the Kartasura capital and ousted Pakubuwono II who fled and sought refuge in
Ponorogo. With the help of Adipati
Cakraningrat IV
Cakraningrat IV was a ruling prince (1718-1745) from West Madura,
and a member of the Cakraningrat dynasty which was the subordinate ruler of the Mataram Sultanate.
During his reign, he tried to expand his authority to include all Madura Island a ...
the ruler of western
Madura, Pakubuwono II regained the capital and cracked down on the rebellion. However the palace of Kartasura was destroyed and considered inauspicious since the bloodbath took place there. Pakubuwono II decided to build a new palace and capital city in Sala (Solo) village. The transfer of the capital to Sala village is commemorated in chandrasengkala (
chronogram) ''"Kombuling Pudya Kepyarsihing Nata"'' which corresponds to Wednesday 12 Sura 1670 Javanese year (17 February 1745). The date is considered the day that the Surakarta Sunanate was established.
Pakubuwono II faced numerous rebellions, among other from
Raden Mas Said
Mangkunegara I, also known as Pangeran Sambernyawa ("''Life Reaping Prince''"), (born Raden Mas Said, 7 April 1725 – 1796) was the first ruler of Mangkunegaran in Java in the eighteenth century.
Personal life
Mangkunegara was given the nic ...
, and later from his own younger brother, Prince
Mangkubumi who joined Mas Said's rebellion in 1746. Pakubuwono II died from illness in 1749, but before he died, he entrusted the royal affairs of Surakarta to his trusted protector,
Baron von Hohendorff, a VOC officer. On behalf of the successor of Pakubuwono II,
Pakubuwono III, the VOC manage to broker a peace negotiation with Prince Mangkubumi. The peace deal was reached with Mataram Sultanate being split in two based on the
Treaty of Giyanti of 13 February 1755: Yogyakarta Sultanate under the rule of Prince Mangkubumi who was later stylised as
Hamengkubuwono I and Surakarta Sunanate under Pakubuwono III.
The Giyanti Treaty named
Pangeran Mangkubumi as
Sultan of Yogyakarta. During the era of Dutch rule, there were recognised two main principalities of ''
Vorstenlanden Mataram'', the Surakarta Sunanate and The Yogyakarta Sultanate. Then a few years later Surakarta was divided further with the establishment of the
Mangkunegaran
The Duchy of Mangkunegaran ( id, Kadipaten Mangkunegaran) is a small Javanese princely state located within the region of Surakarta in Indonesia.
It was established in 1757 by Raden Mas Said, when he submitted his army to Pakubuwono III in Fe ...
Princedom after the
Treaty of Salatiga (17 March 1757). The
Mangkunegaran
The Duchy of Mangkunegaran ( id, Kadipaten Mangkunegaran) is a small Javanese princely state located within the region of Surakarta in Indonesia.
It was established in 1757 by Raden Mas Said, when he submitted his army to Pakubuwono III in Fe ...
Princedom was led by notorious rebel
Raden Mas Said
Mangkunegara I, also known as Pangeran Sambernyawa ("''Life Reaping Prince''"), (born Raden Mas Said, 7 April 1725 – 1796) was the first ruler of Mangkunegaran in Java in the eighteenth century.
Personal life
Mangkunegara was given the nic ...
who was stylised as Mangkunegara I. The territory of Surakarta Sunanate were reduced much further after the
Java War (1825–1830) led by Prince
Diponegoro. Susuhunan
Pakubuwono VI was alleged to have secretly supported Diponegoro's rebellion, and as punishment after the Java War the Sunanate was obliged to surrender much of its lands to the Dutch.
Throughout the
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, whic ...
era, the Sunanate of Surakarta enjoyed autonomous status under the ''Vorstenlanden Mataram'' arrangements. Together with Sultanate of Yogyakarta, the Sunanate of Surakarta was considered as a vassal state of the
Dutch Empire under royal patronage of Netherlands crown. The peak of the Surakarta Sunanate's prestige and power were during the reign of
Pakubuwono X (1893–1939) when the Sunan renovated and enlarged the Surakarta palace and construct many infrastructure projects and buildings in Surakarta city. The kingdom faced an era of strife and uncertainty during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
and the
Japanese occupation of Indonesia
The Empire of Japan occupied the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) during World War II from March 1942 until after the end of the war in September 1945. It was one of the most crucial and important periods in modern Indonesian history.
In ...
.
After the declaration of independence of the Republic of Indonesia on 17 August 1945, followed by
Indonesian National Revolution, the Surakarta Sunanate with Mangkunegaran Princedom sent a letter of confidence to
Sukarno to demonstrate their support for the Indonesian Republic. As the reward the Republic awarded the status of ''Daerah Istimewa'' (Special Region, similar to today Yogyakarta Sultanate) within the Republic of Indonesia. However, because the political agitation and opposition from Indonesian communists that led to an anti-monarchy movement and rebellion in early 1946, on 16 June 1946 the Indonesian Republic aborted the special region status; both Surakarta's and Mangkunegara's status were reduced to merely a residence and were later merged into
Central Java province.
In contrast, the Yogyakarta Sultanate has successfully maintained special status. Yogyakarta's historical support and close ties with the founding fathers of the Indonesian Republic during the war of independence and Indonesian national revolution. The Surakarta Sunanate holds no actual political power. Its power is limited to royal prestige and its special position in sustaining traditional
Javanese culture. The prestige still remains, that leading many leaders and political figures in Indonesia to seek affiliations with the Sunanate.
Residences
The principal residence of the sunan is the
kraton (palace), sometimes called the ''Surakarta Kraton'' or ''Kraton Solo'' but otherwise known in formal terms as ''Karaton Surakarta Hadiningrat''. As is the case with a number of other ''kratons'' in various cities in Java, the Surakarta Kraton has become quite neglected over the years. Very little funding is available for maintenance, many parts of the palace have been in an advanced states of decay.
[Ganug Nugroho Adi,]
Falling into disrepair'
''The Jakarta Post'', 12 November 2012.
See also
*
Susuhunan of
Surakarta
Surakarta ( jv, ꦯꦸꦫꦏꦂꦠ), known colloquially as Solo ( jv, ꦱꦭ; ), is a city in Central Java, Indonesia. The 44 km2 (16.2 sq mi) city adjoins Karanganyar Regency and Boyolali Regency to the north, Karanganyar Regency and Su ...
, including list of sunans
*
List of monarchs of Java
Further reading
*
*
External links
Karaton Surakarta HadiningratRoyal Surakarta Sunanate official website (archived from http://kratonsurakarta.com/)
References
{{Authority control
Precolonial states of Indonesia
Former kingdoms
Surakarta
Islamic states in Indonesia
History of Java