History of The Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat Sultanate

Yogyakarta Sultanate Palace (Photo Source: Kemdikbud)

INDEPHEDIA.com - The Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat Sultanate at that time was an independent state in the form of a kingdom in Indonesia. This Islamic Mataram Kingdom was centered in the Kotagede area or southeast of the City of Yogyakarta.

During this time, this kingdom had experienced a move to Plered, Kartasura and Surakarta. At that time, the sovereignty and powers of the government of this country were regulated and implemented according to an agreement in a political contract made by the mother country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands together with the dependent state of the Sultanate of Ngayogyakarta.

With the signing of the Giyanti Agreement (13 February 1755) between Prince Mangkubumi and the VOC under Governor-General Jacob Mossel, the Kingdom of Mataram was divided into two.

Prince Mangkubumi was appointed as Sultan with the title Sultan Hamengku Buwono I and ruled over half of the Mataram Kingdom. Meanwhile, Sunan Pakubuwana III continued to rule over the other half of the area under the new name Kesunanan Surakarta and the coastal areas remained under VOC control.

Sultan Hamengku Buwono I then made a new royal capital and palace by opening a new area in the Paberringan Forest which is located between the Winongo River and the Code River. The capital city and its palace were named Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat and the main landscaping was completed on 7 October 1756.

Over time, the Sultanate of Yogyakarta experienced ups and downs, especially related to the influence of the colonial government, both Dutch and British. On June 20, 1812, Sultan Hamengku Buwono II was required to abdicate when the British succeeded in attacking and entering the palace.

As a result, part of the territory belonging to Sultan Hamengku Buwono III was forced to be given to Prince Notokusumo (son of Hamengku Buwono I) who was appointed as Duke of Paku Alam I by the British as a substitute for this.

The territory of this authority covers a small part of the State Capital in Kulon Progo which is an autonomous region and can be passed on to Prince Notokusumo's generation. Therefore, since March 17, 1813, the Duke of Paku Alam I declared the establishment of the Pakualaman Duchy.

The next major change occurred after the birth of the Republic of Indonesia on August 17, 1945. As king, after the founding of the new Republic, Hamengku Buwono IX then greeted and congratulated the nation's proclaimers.

When Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono IX and Sri Paduka Paku Alam VIII issued their mandate on 5 September 1945, the support for the republic grew. The mandate contains a statement that its territory is part of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI).

Accepting this mandate, the first President of the Republic of Indonesia, Ir Soekarno, appointed the dual holders of authority for the Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY) to be Sultan Hamengku Buwono and also the Duke of Paku Alam.

Sultan Hamengku Buwono IX and Sri Paduka Paku Alam VIII later became Heads of the Special Region and Deputy Heads of the Special Region and were directly responsible to the President of the Republic of Indonesia.

In 1950 officially the Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat Sultanate, together with the Pakualaman Duchy, became the Special Region of Yogyakarta, a province-level special autonomous region as part of the Unitary State of Indonesia.

Thus, the status of the Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat Sultanate as a state ended and transformed into a special autonomous regional government. Meanwhile, the institution of the palace was then separated from the 'state' and continued by the Yogyakarta Sultanate Palace.

The name Yogyakarta changes form from Yodyakarta. Yodyakarta comes from the words Ayodya and Karta. Ayodya is taken from the name of the kingdom in the Ramayana story, while karta means peace. (US/IND)