Pakubuwono II
Who was Pakubuwono II?
Founder of the Sunanate of Surakarta; Susuhunan of Surakarta, 1726-1742
Biographical data adapted from Wikipedia’s article on Pakubuwono II (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Biography
Pakubuwono II, also known as Pakubuwana II, was born in 1711 and is regarded as a significant monarch in Javanese history. He was the last ruler of the Mataram Sultanate and the first Sunan of the Surakarta Sunanate, marking a key moment in Java's political history. His reign saw fierce conflict, colonial involvement, and changes that shaped central Java's political landscape for the future.
He began his rule in 1726 when he took the throne of Mataram at the Kartasura court. His leadership faced challenges right away, especially due to the Third Javanese War of Succession. This war involved rival Javanese princes, Chinese communities, and the Dutch East India Company (VOC). The conflict caused severe instability, leading to the sacking of the Kartasura palace by rebels in 1742, known as the Geger Pecinan, temporarily forcing Pakubuwono II from power.
With the VOC's help, he regained control and decided to leave the damaged Kartasura palace. In 1745, he moved the royal court to Surakarta, selected for spiritual and practical reasons, to escape the calamities associated with Kartasura. Surakarta, also called Solo, became the center of a new Sunanate, officially ending the Mataram Sultanate in its old form and starting a new state.
Pakubuwono II's dealings with the VOC were complex. He needed Dutch military support to secure his throne, but this reliance had major political costs. Agreements with the VOC involved territorial losses and acceptance of Dutch control over much of Java. Within the Javanese court, some saw these deals as damaging to sovereignty, while others viewed them as essential for the dynasty's survival amid internal conflicts.
Pakubuwono II died in 1749, leaving a changed political setting. The Surakarta Sunanate he created was further divided in 1755 by the Treaty of Giyanti, which established the rival Sultanate of Yogyakarta. His reign began the division of Mataram power into smaller states, each maintaining Javanese royal traditions under growing VOC and later Dutch colonial influence. His name and titles were passed down through Javanese kings, keeping his legacy alive in the royal naming traditions.
Before Fame
Pakubuwono II was born in 1711 into the royal family of Mataram, a major Javanese sultanate that had controlled much of central and eastern Java since the late 1500s. He grew up in a court filled with elaborate Javanese ceremonies, Islamic religious practices, and the constant influence of the Dutch East India Company, which had been deeply involved in Javanese politics since the mid-1600s.
The political scene he was born into was already divided by succession disputes and court rivalries. The Mataram Sultanate had gone through several succession wars before his rule, each of which had weakened royal power and increased the Dutch East India Company's control over Javanese affairs. When Pakubuwono II took the throne in 1726, he inherited a kingdom whose independence was greatly limited by earlier treaties and whose internal unity was still shaky.
Key Achievements
- Founded the Surakarta Sunanate, establishing a successor state to the Mataram Sultanate
- Relocated the royal court from Kartasura to Surakarta in 1745, creating the city that remains a major Javanese cultural center
- Survived and recovered from the Geger Pecinan rebellion of 1742, reasserting royal authority over central Java
- Served as both the last ruler of Mataram and the first Sunan of Surakarta, bridging two distinct eras of Javanese political history
- Established a new palace complex, the Keraton Surakarta, which became a lasting center of Javanese courtly arts and culture
Did You Know?
- 01.The sacking of his Kartasura palace in 1742, known as the Geger Pecinan, was partly triggered by a broader uprising among Chinese communities in Java following a massacre of Chinese residents in Batavia by the VOC in 1740.
- 02.The relocation of the royal court from Kartasura to Surakarta in 1745 was not merely political but carried deep spiritual significance, as the old palace was considered ritually contaminated after being occupied by rebel forces.
- 03.The city of Surakarta, also widely known as Solo, owes its founding directly to Pakubuwono II's decision to build a new palace complex following the collapse of Kartasura.
- 04.Pakubuwono II's title follows Javanese honorific conventions in which certain appellations are inherited by each successive monarch, embedding his name within a continuous chain of royal nomenclature.
- 05.The Surakarta Sunanate he founded was divided just six years after his death by the Treaty of Giyanti in 1755, which established the separate Sultanate of Yogyakarta under Hamengkubuwono I.