The Kingdom of Pajang or Sultanate of Pajang (; 1568–1586) was a short-lived

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

state in

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

. It was established by Adiwijaya or Jaka Tingkir, Lord of

Boyolali Boyolali () is a regency () in the eastern part of Central Java province in Indonesia. It covers an area of 1,096.61 km2, and had a population of 930,531 at the 2010 censusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 1,062,713 at the 2020 census; ...

, after a civil war and was a successor to

Sultanate of Demak The Demak Sultanate () was a Javanese Muslim state located on Java's north coast in Indonesia, at the site of the present-day city of Demak. A port fief to the Hindu-Buddhist Majapahit kingdom thought to have been founded in the last quarter of ...

. Adiwijaya claimed to be a descendant of Brawijaya V, the last king of the

Majapahit Majapahit (; (eastern and central dialect) or (western dialect)), also known as Wilwatikta (; ), was a Javanese people, Javanese Hinduism, Hindu-Buddhism, Buddhist thalassocracy, thalassocratic empire in Southeast Asia based on the island o ...

empire, and Trenggana, the sultan of Demak. Pajang is based in

Central Java Central Java (, ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia, located in the middle of the island of Java. Its administrative capital is Semarang. It is bordered by West Java in the west, the Indian Ocean and the Special Region of Yogya ...

as a continuation of the Demak Sultanate. The palace complex at this time only remains in the form of the boundaries of its foundations which are on the border of -

Surakarta Surakarta (Javanese script, Javanese: , Pegon script, Pegon: ), known colloquially as Solo (Javanese script, Javanese: ; ), is a major List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city in Central Java, Indonesia. The city adjoins Karanganyar Reg ...

and ,

Kartasura Kartasura (, also spelled Kartosuro) is a district ''(kecamatan)'' in Sukoharjo Regency, Central Java, Indonesia. Kartasura is considered Surakarta's satellite city and a junction of highways to Yogyakarta and Semarang. It can be reached within ...

Sukoharjo Sukoharjo Regency is a regency () in the Central Java province in Indonesia. It covers an area of 493.23 km2 and had a population of 824,238 at the 2010 CensusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 907,587 at the 2020 Census;Badan Pusat Statisti ...

. In the last battle against the last claimant of Demak, the vicious

Arya Penangsang Arya Penangsang was king of the Sultanate of Demak between 1549 and 1554. In 1521 the husband of Raden Patah's first daughter, Pati Unus attacked the Portuguese in Malacca but died in the war. It is said that Trenggana, the younger brother, ...

, Jaka Tingkir commissioned his greatest vassal, Ki Ageng Pamanahan, and his son,

Sutawijaya Panembahan Senapati, formally styled Panembahan Senapati ing Ngalaga Sayyidin Panatagama (died in Jenar (now Purwodadi, Purworejo), 1601), was the founder of the Mataram Sultanate. Origin Born Danang Sutawijaya, known as Dananjaya, he was the s ...

, to destroy Arya Penangsang's army. The two managed to defeat and kill Arya Penangsang and were thus awarded a

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

in a forest called Alas Mentaok, now

Kotagede Kotagede () is a city district (''kemantren'') and a historic neighborhood in Yogyakarta, Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Kotagede contains the remains of the first capital of Mataram Sultanate, established in the 16th century. Some of th ...

, on which they founded their base for the future capital of Mataram Kingdom. Legend says King Adiwijaya was so fond of Sutawijaya, that he adopted him as the playmate of his heir, Prince Banawa. Adiwijaya's rule was supposed to be succeeded by this weak-minded heir, but a rebellion by a vassal named Ario Pangiri forced the prince to seek asylum from his childhood friend Sutawijaya. Pledged to help, Sutawijaya gathered his army defeated Ario Pangiri, and seized the Pajang Palace. Prince Banawa then submitted his crown to Sutawijaya and thus ended the Kingdom of Pajang in 1586, when Sutawijaya founded the greatest Islamic kingdom in Java:

Mataram Sultanate The Sultanate of Mataram () was the last major independent Javanese people, Javanese kingdom on the island of Java (island), Java before it was Dutch Empire, colonised by the Dutch. It was the dominant political force radiating from the inte ...

Origin

The name of the land of Pajang has been known since the time of the

Majapahit Empire Majapahit (; (eastern and central dialect) or (western dialect)), also known as Wilwatikta (; ), was a Javanese Hindu-Buddhist thalassocratic empire in Southeast Asia based on the island of Java (in modern-day Indonesia). At its greatest ...

. According to

Nagarakretagama The ''Nagarakretagama'' or ''Nagarakṛtāgama'', also known in Bali as ''Desawarnana'' or ''Deśavarṇana'', is an Old Javanese eulogy to Hayam Wuruk, a Javanese king of the Majapahit Empire. It was written on lontar as a ''kakawin'' by ...

, written in 1365, at that time the younger sister of

Hayam Wuruk Hayam Vuruk ( Indonesian: ''Hayam Wuruk'', Sanskrit: हयम् वुरुक्, Kawi: ꦲꦪꦩ꧀ꦮꦸꦫꦸꦏ꧀) (1334–1389), also called Rajasanagara, Pa-ta-na-pa-na-wu, or Bhatara Prabhu after 1350, was a Javanese Hindu emperor fr ...

(the king of Majapahit at that time) whose real name was Dyah Nertaja served as the ruler of Pajang, had the title ''Bhatara i Pajang'', or abbreviated as Bhre Pajang. Dyah Nertaja is the mother of

Wikramawardhana Vikramavardhana (), often known by his regnal name Bhra Hyang Wisesa was a Javanese emperor and succeeded Hayam Wuruk as the fifth monarch of the Majapahit, reigning from 1389 to 1429. Early life His ksatria name was Raden Gagak Sali as stated i ...

(the heir of Majapahit at the time). Based on the ''babad'' scripts, the country is called the forerunner of Pajang. The legendary folklore mentions that Pengging was an ancient kingdom that was once led by Prabu Anglingdriya, the arch-enemy of Prabu Baka, the king of Prambanan. This story is with the fairy tale of the founding of the Prambanan Temple. When

was led by (the last king written in the ''babad'' texts), the name Pengging reappeared. It is said that 's daughter, Retno Ayu Pembayun, was kidnapped by Menak Daliputih, the king of

Blambangan The Blambangan Kingdom ( Indonesian: ''Kerajaan Blambangan'', Javanese: ꦑꦼꦫꦗꦲꦤ꧀ꦨ꧀ꦭꦩ꧀ꦧꦔꦤ꧀) was the last Javanese Hindu kingdom that flourished between the 15th and 18th centuries, based in the eastern corner of ...

, the son of Menak Jingga. A hero named Jaka Sengara appears who manages to seize the princess and kill the kidnapper. For his services, Jaka Sengara was appointed by as the Pengging

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

(bupati) and married Retno Ayu Pembayun. He then was given the title Andayaningrat.

Early history

The Kingdom of Panjang is seen as the first kingdom that emerged in the interior of

after the collapse of the Muslim kingdom in the

Pasisir ''Pasisir'' is the name given to the northern coastal region of Java. Unlike the agricultural kingdoms of the hinterland, the ''pasisiran'' economy has been based on trade via the Java Sea and its cultural identity has been shaped by foreign con ...

, or the northern coastal region of Java. According to the ''babad'' scripts, Andayaningrat died at the hands of during the war between the

and the

Demak Sultanate The Demak Sultanate () was a Javanese Muslim state located on Java's north coast in Indonesia, at the site of the present-day city of Demak. A port fief to the Hindu-Buddhist Majapahit kingdom thought to have been founded in the last quarter o ...

. He was later replaced by his son, whose name was Raden Kebo Kenanga, with the title Ki Ageng Pengging. Since then Pengging has been the subordinate area of the Demak Kingdom. Several years later Ki Ageng Pengging was sentenced to death because he was accused of trying to rebel against the

. His son, who had the title Jaka Tingkir, when he was an adult, actually served Demak. Jaka Tingkir's brilliant achievements in the army made him appointed as Trenggana's son-in-law and became the

(bupati) of Pajang with the title Adiwijaya. The Pajang area at that time covered the Pengging area (now roughly covering

and

Klaten Klaten is a regency (''kabupaten'') in the Indonesian province of Central Java. Klaten is situated between the two major cities of Yogyakarta to its Southwest and Surakarta (colloqially known as Solo) to its Northeast. It covers an area of and ...

), Tingkir (the

Salatiga Salatiga () is a Cities of Indonesia, city in Central Java province, Indonesia. It covers an area of and had a population of 192,322 at the 2020 Indonesian census, 2020 Census;Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. the official estimate as at m ...

area), Butuh, and its surroundings. After the death of Trenggana in 1546, then took the throne. However, Sultan Prawata was killed by his cousin, Arya Penangsang, the

(bupati) of Jipang in 1547. After that,

tried to kill Adiwijaya but failed. With the support of Ratu Kalinyamat (the

(bupati) of

Jepara Jepara is a town in the province of Central Java, Indonesia. Jepara is on the north coast of Java, northeast of Semarang, not far from Mount Muria, with a population of 85,970 in mid 2024.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2025, ''Kabup ...

and daughter of Trenggana), Adiwijaya and his followers succeeded in defeating Arya Penangsang. Adiwijaya then seized the throne of Demak and founded the Kingdom of Pajang.

External links

A look on former Capital of Mataram
Precolonial states of Indonesia Islamic states in Indonesia Former sultanates {{Indonesia-stub

Origin

Early history

See also

Further reading

External links