Mataram Kingdom

The Mataram kingdom, also called Medang, was a Javanese Hindu-Buddhist state that flourished in central Java between the 8th and early 11th centuries. Tradition credits its foundation to King Sanjaya around 716, and it was ruled by the Shailendra dynasty in the late eighth century and by the Ishana dynasty from 929. Its heartland lay in the fertile Kedu and Prambanan plains, where rice farming supported a dense population and a court that sponsored some of Indonesia's greatest monuments: Kalasan, Sewu, Borobudur and Prambanan all rise close to modern Yogyakarta. Mataram's rulers extended influence to Sumatra, Bali, southern Thailand and Cambodia, and the kingdom prospered from both agriculture and maritime trade. Its history was punctuated by dynastic disputes, including the conflicts of the 840s and the late 880s. In 1017 the vassal king Wurawari attacked the capital and killed King Dharmawangsa, breaking the state apart. Airlangga, a prince of the Ishana line, rebuilt power in eastern Java and founded the short-lived kingdom of Kahuripan, which in 1045 was divided between Janggala and Kadiri.