Surakarta Sunanate

Surakarta Sunanate(Indonesian:Kasunanan Surakarta;Javanese:ꦟꦒꦫꦶꦑꦱꦸꦤꦤ꧀ꦤꦤ꧀ꦯꦸꦫꦏꦂꦠꦲꦢꦶꦤꦶꦁꦫꦠ꧀,romanized:Kasunanan/Karaton Surakarta Hadiningrat) is a Javanesemonarchycentred in the city ofSurakarta,in the province ofCentral Java,Indonesia.

Sunanate of Surakarta ꦑꦱꦸꦤꦤ꧀ꦤꦤ꧀ꦯꦸꦫꦏꦂꦠꦲꦢꦶꦤꦶꦁꦫꦠ꧀ Kasunanan Surakarta Hadiningrat
1745–present
Flag Royal coat of arms (Sri Radya Laksana)
The realm ofSurakarta Sunanate(red) in 1830
Capital	Surakarta
Common languages	Javanese
Religion	Sunni Islam,Kejawen
Government	Absolute monarchy(until 1945) Devolved Constitutional monarchywithin theunitarypresidential republic(from 1945)
Susuhunan
• 1745–1749	Pakubuwana II
• 1893–1939	Pakubuwana X
• 1945–2004	Pakubuwana XII
• 2004–present	Pakubuwana XIII
History
• Hadeging Nagari Surakarta (establishment)	17 February 1745 1745
•Treaty of Giyanti	13 February 1755
• Integration with Indonesia	19 August 1945
• Disestablished	present
Preceded by Succeeded by Mataram Sultanate Yogyakarta Sultanate Mangkunegaran Special Region of Surakarta
Today part of	Indonesia

The SurakartaKratonwas established in 1745 byPakubuwono II.Surakarta Sunanate andYogyakarta Sultanateare together the successors ofMataram Sultanate.Unlike their counterparts in Yogyakarta, who use the title ofsultan,the rulers of Surakarta use the title ofsunan.The Dutch name was used duringDutch colonial ruleuntil the 1940s. The title is sometimesanglicizedas thePrincipality of Solo,from the location of their palace.

History

Serimpidancers, circa 1910

After the death ofSultan Agung Iin 1645, 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) exploited the power struggle to increase its control on Java, and manage to gain concessions of Mataram's former colony inPrianganandSemarang.The Mataram seat inPlerednearKotagedecollapsed after theTrunojoyorevolt in 1677. Sunan Amral (Amangkurat II) relocated the palace toKartasura.During the reign of SunanPakubuwono 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 inPonorogo.With the help of AdipatiCakraningrat IVthe ruler of westernMadura,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 fromRaden Mas Said,and later from his own younger brother, PrinceMangkubumiwho 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 theTreaty of Giyantiof 13 February 1755: Yogyakarta Sultanate under the rule of Prince Mangkubumi who was later stylised asHamengkubuwono Iand Surakarta Sunanate under Pakubuwono III.

The Surakarta Sunanate today comprisesSurakarta,Boyolali Regency,Karanganyar Regency,Klaten Regency,Sragen Regency,Sukoharjo Regency,andWonogiri Regency,forming the Southern (Kedu) Residency ofCentral Java.

The Giyanti Treaty namedPangeran MangkubumiasSultan of Yogyakarta.During the era of Dutch rule, there were recognised two main principalities ofVorstenlandenMataram,the Surakarta Sunanate and The Yogyakarta Sultanate. Then a few years later Surakarta was divided further with the establishment of theMangkunegaranPrincedom after theTreaty of Salatiga(17 March 1757). TheMangkunegaranPrincedom was led by notorious rebelRaden Mas Saidwho was stylised as Mangkunegara I. The territory of Surakarta Sunanate were reduced much further after theJava War(1825–1830) led by PrinceDiponegoro.SusuhunanPakubuwono VIwas 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.

JavanesedragoonsfromPekalonganon the way to Surakarta, 1866.

Throughout theDutch East Indiesera, the Sunanate of Surakarta enjoyed autonomous status under theVorstenlanden Mataramarrangements. Together with the Sultanate of Yogyakarta, the Sunanate of Surakarta was considered as a vassal state of theDutch Empireunder royal patronage of Netherlands crown. The peak of the Surakarta Sunanate's prestige and power were during the reign ofPakubuwono X(1893–1939) when the Sunan renovated and enlarged the Surakarta palace and constructed many infrastructure projects and buildings in Surakarta city. The kingdom faced an era of strife and uncertainty duringWorld War IIand theJapanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies.

After the declaration of independence of the Republic of Indonesia on 17 August 1945, followed byIndonesian National Revolution,the Surakarta Sunanate with Mangkunegaran Princedom sent a letter of confidence toSukarnoto demonstrate their support for the Indonesian Republic. As the reward the Republic awarded the status ofDaerah Istimewa(Special Region, similar to today Yogyakarta Sultanate) within the Republic of Indonesia. However, because the political agitation and opposition fromIndonesian communiststhat 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 intoCentral Javaprovince.

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 traditionalJavanese 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 thekraton(palace), sometimes called theSurakarta KratonorKraton Solobut otherwise known in formal terms asKaraton Surakarta Hadiningrat.As is the case with a number of otherkratonsin 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.

SusuhunanPakubuwono Xand his queen consort (c. 1920)

See also

• SusuhunanofSurakarta,including list of sunans
• List of monarchs of Java

Further reading

• Miksic, John(2004),Karaton Surakarta,Jakarta: Yayasan Pawiyatan Kabudayaan Karaton Surakarta
• Sri Winarti P, R.Ay. (2004),Sekilas Sejarah Keraton Surakarta,Surakarta: Cendrawasih

External links

• Karaton Surakarta HadiningratRoyal Surakarta Sunanate official website(in Indonesian)(archived fromhttp://kratonsurakarta.com/)