Mataram

Mataram is the fertile country south of Mount Merapi in central Java, around the old court of Kotagede. It gave its name to two great Javanese realms: an early Hindu-Buddhist kingdom and, centuries later, an Islamic sultanate. The latter began as an inland domain under Pajang and grew to command much of Java and Madura.

In the 1570s the ruler of Pajang granted Mataram to Ki Ageng Pamanahan. His son Sutawijaya, known as Panembahan Senapati, broke free of Pajang and established a new dynasty. Sultan Agung brought Mataram to its greatest extent, taking Surabaya in 1625, though his attacks on Dutch Batavia failed. In 1677 Trunajaya's revolt devastated the court; Agung's successor Amangkurat II sought Dutch East India Company help to regain power, granting concessions in return. A succession of wars weakened the dynasty. The agreement of Giyanti in 1755 divided its lands between the courts of Yogyakarta and Surakarta. Further conflict came with the Java War of 1825–1830, after which Dutch authority over the surviving courts deepened.

The later city of Yogyakarta lies here.