Amangkurat IV of Mataram

Amangkurat IV was the son of Pakubuwono I, and Susuhunan Mataram between 1719 and 1726. His son was ruler of Mataram, Pakubuwono II.

Sunan Amangkurat IV, also known as Sunan Jawi, was born as Raden Mas Suryaputra. He was the son of Pakubuwana I and his queen consort, Ratu Mas Balitar (a descendant of Pangeran Juminah, who was the son of Panembahan Senapati and Ratna Dumilah).

Amangkurat IV had several wives and concubines, including:

1. Kanjeng Ratu Ageng: The chief queen consort (garwa padmi) and mother of Pakubuwana II.
2. Ratu Kencana (also known as Ratu Mas Kadipaten): A queen consort.
3. Mbok Ajeng Kamudewati: A secondary wife.
4. Mas Ayu Tejawati: A concubine (garwa ampil) who was previously a wife of Pakubuwana I.
5. Mas Ayu Karoh: A concubine.

Like other Mataram monarchs, Amangkurat IV fathered several children who became prominent historical figures:

• By RA. Ratna Susilawati (daughter of Untung Surapati): Kiai Nur Iman Mlangi, a prominent religious scholar (ulama) in Mlangi, Sleman Regency, Special Region of Yogyakarta.
• By GKR. Kencana: Pakubuwana II, the founder of the Surakarta Sunanate.
• By Mas Ayu Tejawati: Pangeran Mangkubumi, who later reigned as Hamengkubuwono I, the founder of the Yogyakarta Sultanate.
• By Mas Ayu Karoh: Pangeran Mangkunagara, the father of Mangkunegara I, the founder of the Duchy of Mangkunegaran.

In 1703, Amangkurat II died and was succeeded by his son, Raden Mas Sutikna, who took the title Amangkurat III.

The severe impact of the Trunajaya rebellion in Plered had previously forced Amangkurat II to move the court to the village of Wanakarta, establishing a new palace named Kartasura in 1680. The Kartasura Palace became the primary seat of the Mataram Sultanate following the destruction of the Plered Palace. However, Pangeran Puger (Amangkurat II's brother) remained in Plered and initially refused to recognize his brother's authority. Following a period of friction, Pangeran Puger eventually surrendered and recognized his brother's sovereignty in 1681.

Despite this, Pangeran Puger maintained significant support among the royal family. In 1704, Amangkurat III dispatched troops to arrest him. Alerted by Cakrajaya (Danureja)—who acted as a spy disguised as a grass cutter—Pangeran Puger fled to Semarang to seek assistance from the Dutch East India Company (VOC). The Dutch agreed to support him under various conditions. One year later, in 1705, a joint force of Dutch, Semarang, West Madura, and Surabaya troops launched an attack on Kartasura.

On the advice of Arya Mataram, Amangkurat III was forced to flee to Ponorogo, taking the royal heirlooms (pusaka) with him. Pangeran Puger and his coalition successfully occupied Kartasura, where he ascended the throne with the title Pakubuwana I. As compensation for Dutch military support, Pakubuwana I was forced to cede the coastal territory of Semarang and its surroundings to the VOC under a mortgage status.^[1]

Upon the death of Pakubuwana I in 1719, his son Raden Mas Suryaputra succeeded him. However, he did not take the title Pakubuwana, but instead styled himself Amangkurat IV, reclaiming the title used by his cousin, Amangkurat III.

The leadership of Amangkurat IV was quickly challenged by a succession crisis. This struggle for the Mataram throne had profound consequences for the kingdom and its outlying territories (mancanagara). Due to widespread dissatisfaction among the royal family regarding Amangkurat IV’s coronation, the Javanese populace split their loyalties into five factions: the supporters of Amangkurat IV and those of his four rivals—his brothers Pangeran Purbaya, Pangeran Balitar, and Arya Dipanagara, as well as his uncle, Pangeran Arya Mataram.

Pangeran Arya Balitar attempted to restore the former palace of Sultan Agung, naming it Kartasekar, and proclaimed himself Sultan Ibnu Mustafa Pakubuwana. Simultaneously, Pangeran Arya Dipanagara was inaugurated as the leader of the Union of Regents of the East (Bang Wetan), taking the title Panembahan Herucakra and establishing his court in Sukowati (Madiun). Meanwhile, Arya Mataram fled Kartasura for the north coast; after reaching Santenan (Cengkal Sewu), his forces launched attacks on Grobogan, Warung, Blora, and Sesela.^[1]

The civil war for the Mataram throne, referred to by historians as the Second Javanese War of Succession, deeply divided the Javanese people. In October 1719, Mataram forces, supported by the VOC, first moved against Arya Mataram, who was rebelling in Pati. He was subsequently captured and executed by hanging in Jepara.

By November 1720, the joint Mataram and VOC forces turned their attention to Kartasekar. The stronghold was destroyed, forcing Pangeran Balitar’s group to retreat eastward. Pangeran Balitar had previously managed to persuade Jayapuspita (an ally of Arya Dipanagara) to join his side, using forces from Mojokerto to attack Madiun. Arya Dipanagara was defeated and fled to Baturrana before eventually surrendering to Pangeran Balitar and joining him at Kartasekar.

The rebel strength gradually waned as its leaders fell. Jayapuspita died of illness in 1720 shortly before the fall of Kartasekar, and Pangeran Balitar himself died in 1721 due to a disease outbreak while in Malang.

The war finally concluded in 1723 with the capture of the remaining rebel leaders. Pangeran Purbaya was exiled to Batavia, and Arya Dipanagara (Panembahan Herucakra) was exiled to the Cape of Good Hope (though he was returned to Mataram in his old age and buried at the Pajimatan Imogiri Royal Cemetery). Panji Surengrana, the brother of Jayapuspita, was exiled to Sri Lanka.

During his reign, Amangkurat IV experienced friction with Cakraningrat IV, the regent of West Madura. Cakraningrat IV had previously played a significant role in suppressing the Jayapuspita rebellion in Surabaya in 1718. He held the conviction that Madura would achieve greater prosperity under the direct administration of the VOC rather than remaining under the sovereignty of the Mataram Sultanate.

The relationship between the two improved after Cakraningrat IV was taken as Amangkurat IV's son-in-law. However, Cakraningrat IV would later come into conflict with Amangkurat IV's son, Raden Mas Prabasuyasa.

In March 1726, Amangkurat IV fell ill, reportedly due to poisoning. He died on 20 April 1726, before the perpetrator could be identified.^[2]

Amangkurat IV was succeeded by his 15-year-old son, Raden Mas Prabasuyasa, who ascended the throne as Pakubuwana II. The new monarch's reign was later marked by further instability and conflicts with Sunan Kuning (a grandson of Amangkurat III), Pangeran Mangkubumi (his brother), and Pangeran Sambernyawa (his nephew). These internal power struggles eventually led to the decline of Mataram's sovereignty and increased Dutch intervention, culminating in the Treaty of Giyanti and the Treaty of Salatiga.

• Miksic, John N. (general ed.), et al. (2006) Karaton Surakarta. A look into the court of Surakarta Hadiningrat, central Java (First published: 'By the will of His Serene Highness Paku Buwono XII'. Surakarta: Yayasan Pawiyatan Kabudayan Karaton Surakarta, 2004) Marshall Cavendish Editions Singapore ISBN 981-261-226-2
• Ricklefs, M.C. (1998) The seen and unseen worlds in Java, 1726–49: History, literature and Islam in the court of Pakubuwana II. St. Leonards NSW: The Asian Studies Association of Australia in association with Allen and Unwin; Honolulu : The University of Hawai'i Press.