Sultan Agung

The most powerful ruler of the Sultanate of Mataram, who twice besieged the Dutch at Batavia.

Life

Unifying Java

Sultan Agung inherited the throne of Mataram in 1613. Over the next twenty years he conquered most of the port city-states of eastern and central Java, captured Surabaya, and unified most of Java.

Siege of Batavia

He regarded the Dutch East India Company's Batavia as a mortal threat and sent armies to besiege it twice, in 1628 and 1629, but both attempts failed after the Dutch burned his supplies.

Javanese calendar

He introduced a new calendar combining the Islamic calendar with the Javanese calendar. He died in 1645 and was buried in the Imogiri royal cemetery he had built.

Legacy

Sultan Agung is a national hero of Indonesia, and his resistance to the Dutch was a precursor of the modern anti-colonial struggle.

Did you know? The Javanese calendar he created is still used in traditional ceremonies on Java today.

Key dates

• 1613Succession
• 1625Captured Surabaya
• 1628First Siege of Batavia
• 1629Second Siege of Batavia
• 1633Promulgated the Javanese calendar
• 1645Died