Yogyakarta also spelled DJOKJAKARTA, JOGJAKARTA, JOKYAKARTA, or JOKJAKARTA, kotamadya
(municipality) and capital, Yogyakarta daerah istimewa (special district), Java,
Indonesia. It lies 18 miles (29 km) inland from the southern Java coast and near Mount
Merapi (2,911 m).
In the 7th century the locality formed part of the Buddhist kingdom of Shailendras,
which was contemporaneous with the Shrivijaya empire of Palembang (Sumatra). It was
probably included in the later Kadiri and Singhasari kingdoms that ruled the region
successively. At the end of the 13th century the Hindu Majapahit empire rose in eastern
Java, and what is now Yogyakarta passed under its rule. In the early 16th century, central
Java had two Muslim kingdoms, Demak and Pajang, which were incorporated into the powerful
Muslim kingdom of Mataram by Senapati Ingalaga (reigned 1584-1601). The Dutch became
established in the region in 1602. After numerous conflicts, Mataram subdued the state of
Surabaya in eastern Java in 1625 and gained general supremacy in the territory.
In rebellion against Dutch intervention in Javanese politics, Sultan Hamengkubuwana I
moved his court from Kuta Gede to Yogya in Mataram in 1755 and renamed the town
Yogyakarta. The British captured Yogyakarta in 1811, and Sultan Hamengkubuwana II was
deposed and exiled. In 1816 the Dutch repossessed the island of Java, and by 1830 Dutch
colonial rule was firmly established in the sultanate. After the period of Japanese
occupation during World War II, the Republic of Indonesia was formed. The national capital
was removed to Yogyakarta when the Dutch occupied Jakarta in 1946; it was moved back to
Jakarta in 1950 upon independence, and Yogyakarta was given the status of a special
district in the Republic of Indonesia.
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