Yogyakarta Sultanate

The sultanate is located on the southern coast of the island of Java. In the south it is bordered by the Indian Ocean, with land surrounded by the province of Central Java. The area is 3,133 km², while the population in 2010 was about three and a half million people. The special district of Yogyakarta, along with Jakarta, has the largest population density among the provinces of Indonesia.[7]

Not far from the city of Yogyakarta is the volcano Merapi, the most active volcano in Indonesia which has erupted regularly since 1548, resulting in great damage to the population of the district. In October–November 2010, there was a strong volcanic eruption, forcing about a hundred thousand people to temporarily leave their homes.[8][9]

After Sultan Agung, the Sultanate of Mataram was declining due to power struggle within the sultanate itself.[10] To make things worse, VOC (Dutch East India Company) exploited the power struggle to increase its control. At the peak of the conflict, the Mataram Sultanate was split in two based on the Treaty of Giyanti of 13 February 1755: Yogyakarta Sultanate and Surakarta Sunanate.[10][11][1]

The Giyanti Treaty mentioned Pangeran Mangkubumi as Sultan of Yogyakarta with the title of:

ꦔꦂꦱꦢꦊꦩ꧀ꦱꦩ꧀ꦥꦺꦪꦤ꧀ꦢꦊꦩ꧀ꦲꦶꦁꦏꦁꦱꦶꦤꦸꦮꦸꦤꦏꦁꦗꦼꦁꦱꦸꦭ꧀ꦠꦤ꧀ꦲꦩꦼꦁꦏꦸꦨꦸꦮꦤꦱꦺꦤꦥꦠꦶꦲꦶꦁꦔꦭꦒꦔꦧ꧀ꦢꦸꦭ꧀ꦫꦏ꦳꧀ꦩꦤ꧀ꦱꦪꦶꦢꦶꦤ꧀ꦥꦤꦠꦒꦩꦏ꦳ꦭꦶꦥ꦳ꦠꦸꦭ꧀ꦭꦃ Ngarsa Dalem Sampeyan Dalem Ingkang Sinuwun Kangjeng Sultan Hamengkubuwana Senopati-ing-Ngalaga Ngabdulrakhman Sayyidin Panatagama Khalifatullah[lower-alpha 1]

Translates as:[13][3]

His Highness the Sultan, Commander in the Battlefield, Servant of the Most Gracious, Cleric and Caliph that Safeguards the Religion.

As the result of further colonial intervention within the ruling family of the former Mataram Sultanate, the area which today is Special Region of Yogyakarta was divided into the Sultanate of Yogyakarta (Kasultanan Yogyakarta) and the Principality of Pakualam (Kadipaten Pakualaman).[11]

The Dutch Colonial Government arranged for the carrying out autonomous self-government, arranged under a political contract. When the Indonesian independence was proclaimed, the rulers, the Sultan of Yogyakarta and Prince of Pakualaman made a declaration supporting the newly founded Republic of Indonesia, and they would unite with the Republic. After the republic's independence is formally recognised by International public, the former royal realms were formally unified on 3 August 1950 into the Yogyakarta Special Region, with the Sultan of Yogyakarta became the hereditary Governor of Yogyakarta Special Region & the Prince of Pakualaman become its hereditary Vice Governor of Yogyakarta Special Region, formally on 30 August 2012 (article 18 paragraph 1c);[14] both were responsible to the President of Indonesia.[15][11]

Princes and princesses of the Yogyakarta Sultanate (1870)

In carrying out the local government administration it considers three principles: decentralisation, concentration and assistance. The provincial government carries out the responsibilities and authorities of the central government, while on other hand carrying out its autonomous responsibilities and authorities. The Regional Government consists of the Head of the Region and the Legislative Assembly of the Region. Such construction guarantees good co-operation between the Head of Region and the Legislative Assembly of Region to achieve a sound regional government administration. The Head of the Special Region of Yogyakarta has got responsibility as the Head of the Territory and titled as a Governor.[11]

The first Governor was the late Hamengkubuwono IX, Sultan of Yogyakarta and continued by Paku Alam VIII as acting governor until Hamengkubuwono X ascended in 1998.[16] Unlike the other heads of regions in Indonesia, the governor of the Special Region of Yogyakarta has the privilege or special status of not being bound to the period of position nor the requirements and way of appointment (article 25 paragraph 1 & 2).[17] However, in carrying out their duties, they have the same authority and responsibilities.[11]

On 5 May 2015, following a Royal Decree issued by the Sultan, Princess Mangkubumi (previously known as Princess Pembayun) received the new name Mangkubumi Hamemayu Hayuning Bawana Langgeng ing Mataram. This denotes her as the heiress presumptive to the Sultanate.[18] The title Mangkubumi was formerly reserved for senior male princes groomed for the throne, including the reigning Sultan. The decree thus admits female royals into the line of succession for the first time since the founding of the Sultanate. According to the current Sultan, this was in line with his prerogatives; his action was nonetheless criticised by more conservative male family members such as his siblings, who were thus displaced in the line of succession.[19]

Pagelaran, the front hall of The Royal Palace of Yogyakarta

The principal residence of the sultan is the kraton (palace), sometimes called the keraton but otherwise known in formal terms Karaton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat, Javanese script: ꦏꦫꦠꦺꦴꦤ꧀​ꦔꦪꦺꦴꦒꦾꦏꦂꦡ​ꦲꦢꦶꦤꦶꦔꦿꦠ꧀.

List of sultants of Yogyakarta:

Name	Birth-Death	Start of Reign	End of Reign	Description	Portrait
Hamengkubuwono I Raden Mas Sujana	6 August 1717 – 4 March 1792 (aged 74)	1755	1792	Son of Amangkurat IV
Hamengkubuwono II Raden Mas Sundoro	7 March 1750 – 3 January 1828( aged 77)	1792	1810	Son of Hamengkubuwono I
Hamengkubuwono III Raden Mas Surojo	20 February 1769 – 3 November 1814 (aged 45)	1810	1811	Son of Hamengkubuwono II
Hamengkubuwono II Raden Mas Sundoro	7 March 1750 – 3 January 1828 (aged 77)	1811	1812	Son of Hamengkubuwono I
Hamengkubuwono III Raden Mas Surojo	20 February 1769 – 3 November 1814 (aged 45)	1812	1814	Son of Hamengkubuwono II
Hamengkubuwono IV Raden Mas Ibnu Jarot	3 April 1804 – 6 December 1822 (aged 18)	1814	1822	Son of Hamengkubuwono III
Hamengkubuwono V Raden Mas Gathot Menol	20 August 1821 – 1855	1822	1826	Son of Hamengkubuwono IV
Hamengkubuwono II Raden Mas Sundoro	7 March 1750 – 3 January 1828 (aged 77)	1826	1828	Son of Hamengkubuwono I
Hamengkubuwono V Raden Mas Gathot Menol	20 August 1821 – 1855	1828	1855	Son of Hamengkubuwono IV
Hamengkubuwono VI Raden Mas Mustojo	1821 - 20 July 1877	1855	1877	Brother of Hamengkubuwono V
Hamengkubuwono VII Raden Mas Murtejo	1839 - 1931	1877	1921	Son of Hamengkubuwono VI
Hamengkubuwono VIII Raden Mas Sujadi	3 March 1880 – 22 October 1939 (aged 59)	1921	1939	Son of Hamengkubuwono VII
Hamengkubuwono IX Raden Mas Dorodjatun	12 August 1912 – 2 October 1988 (aged 76)	1939	1988	Son of Hamengkubuwono VIII
Hamengkubawono X Raden Mas Herjuno Darpito	2 April 1946	1988	Current Sultan	Son of Hamengkubuwono IX

• List of Sunni Muslim dynasties
• Hamengkubuwono, including list of sultans
• List of monarchs of Java
• Kraton Yogyakarta

• Brotodiningrat, K. P. H. (1975), The Royal Palace (Karaton) of Yogyakarta: Its Architecture and Its Meaning, Yogyakarta: Karaton Museum Yogyakarta, OCLC 12847099.
• Dwiyanto, Djoko (2009), Kraton Yogyakarta: Sejarah, Nasionalisme & Teladan Perjuangan (in Indonesian), Yogyakarta: Paradigma Indonesia, ISBN 978-979-17834-0-8.

Official site of Sultanate of Yogyakarta