Amangkurat II of Mataram

Who was Amangkurat II of Mataram?

Amangkurat II was the sultan of Mataram from 1677 to 1703.

Amangkurat II became sultan in 1677 when his father Amangkurat I died in Tegal after being expelled from Plered, his capital by Raden Trunajaya, a prince from Madura that captured the court in 1677. Like his father, Amangkurat II was nearly helpless, having fled without an army nor a treasury to build one. In an attempt to regain his kingdom, he made substantial concessions to the Dutch East India Company, who then went to war to reinstate him. For the Dutch, a stable Mataram empire that was deeply indebted to them would help ensure continued trade on favorable terms. They were willing to lend their military might to keep the kingdom together. The multinational Dutch forces, consisting of light-armed troops from Makasar and Ambon, in addition to heavily equipped European soldiers, first defeated Trunajaya in Kediri in November 1628, and Trunajaya himself was captured in 1679 near Ngantang west of Malang. Then, in 1681, the alliance of VOC and Amangkurat II forced Pangeran Puger, his younger brother, who styled himself Susuhunan ing Alaga when he seized the throne, to relinquish it. Since the fallen Plered was considered inauspicious, Amangkurat II moved the capital to Kartasura in the land of Pajang.