From Giyanti to DIY: The Long Journey of Yogyakarta’s Territory

Imagine being a king, but instead of ruling in glory, you’re pressured into signing contracts as if mortgaging your own land to a loan shark. That was basically what happened to Pakubuwana II in the 18th century. In the Babad Giyanti, he even confided to his brother, Prince Mangkubumi, about the suffocating pressure from the VOC Governor-General, who demanded Mataram’s coastal regions.

Well, VOC was like that: sharp-nosed traders with the cunning of modern insurance agents. No wonder Mangkubumi decided to take up arms. From that resistance came the Treaty of Giyanti (1755), splitting Mataram into two: Surakarta in the east of the Opak River and Yogyakarta in the west. This was the birth of the Yogyakarta we know today.

Mandala Concept: Javanese Spatial Philosophy

Forget modern city planning—back then, Yogyakarta followed the mandala system. The king stood at the center, and layers of power rippled outward like concentric circles.

The four main layers were:

1. Kraton – the royal core, home of the Sultan and inner court government.

2. Nagara (kutha negara) – the capital, filled with princes and top officials.

3. Negaragung – the royal heartland surrounding the capital, mostly land for officials.

4. Mancanegara – the outer regions, ruled by regents appointed by the Sultan.

Boundaries weren’t drawn with GPS coordinates back then—power lines blurred, and authority often overlapped.

The British and the Geger Sepehi

Fast forward to the early 19th century: the Dutch lost Java, the British took over. Sultan Hamengkubuwono II staged a “comeback,” reclaiming the throne. But negotiations with Raffles fell apart. By 1812, the British stormed Yogyakarta in what’s remembered as Geger Sepehi—a Javanese-style coup. The Sultan was captured, and Pakualaman was born as a new polity carved out of the Sultanate’s land.

After the Java War (1825–1830)

Stability didn’t last. Prince Diponegoro led a massive rebellion known as the Java War. It drained the Dutch treasury, but when it ended, the Sultanate and Pakualaman were forced to give up all their mancanegara territories (1831). Their domains shrank even more.

Agrarian Reforms and Mapping

In the early 20th century, the colonial government enforced agrarian reforms. Lands were measured, marked, and registered to clear up ownership. Reluctantly, the Sultanate followed. Ironically, this was the moment Yogyakarta finally had clear territorial boundaries.

Becoming a Special Region

Then came 1945. Indonesia declared independence. Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX and Paku Alam VIII immediately pledged loyalty to the Republic. From that union, the Special Region of Yogyakarta was born.

Looking back, Yogyakarta’s territory has been cut, carved, and reshaped countless times. Yet out of all those losses and partitions emerged a region that, to this day, remains truly special.