Kangjeng Gusti Pangeran Adipati Arya Mangkunegara I, also known as Pangeran Sambernyawa ("Soul Reaping Prince"), his birth name was Raden Mas Said (April 7, 1725 – December 28, 1795), established the Puro Mangkunegaran, in Surakarta, Java Island. Thus, he was the first ruler of The Principality of Mangkunegaran.

Personal life 

Mangkunegara was given the nickname "Soul Reaping Prince" by Nicolaas Hartingh, because the prince had brought his enemies to death during the war. Hatingh was Dutch East India Company's Governor of the Northeast Coast of Java, located in Batavia.

He was born on 7 April 1726 in Kartasura. Mangkunegara was brought up by his mother, Raden Ayu Wulan and his father, Prince Mangkunegara Kartasura. His maternal grandfather was Prince Sambernyawa Balitar and his paternal grandfather was Amangkurat IV, King of Mataram.

War Against Dutch East India Company
Raden Mas Said (RM Said) war against Dutch East India Company started with the rebellion in Kartasura Palace in June 30, 1742 which was led by Raden Mas Garendi (a.k.a Sunan Kuning) and destroyed the four meters of Kartasura’s castle wall. Pakubuwono II, was the ruler of Kartasura Palace at that time, evacuated himself to Ponorogo Regency.
RM Said was 19 years old when he join his brother, Mangkubumi, to defend the people of Mataram which oppressed by the Dutch Company, and their own king, Pakubuwono II. The two brothers siege the Kartasura Palace, which called in as the Dutch puppet Kingdom. When the army sieged the palace, the nobles left the Kartasura Palace to evacuate themselves. RM Said built a fortress in Randuwalang, to the north of Surakarta, and merged his army with Sunan Kuning forces to fight against the Dutch Company. RM Said was promoted and become the warlord.
Their army managed to destroy the Surakarta Palace. When Pakubuwono II died, Mangkubumi ran to Semarang to meet the ruler of the Dutch East India Company, and asked him so Mangkubumi become the king of Mataram. Of course the Dutch East India Company did not grant Mangkubumi’s wish. Then, Mangkubumi join with Prince Puger in Sukowati, a district in Surakarta. With the help of the Dutches, all of the Chinese armies drove out from Kartasura Palace, but six months later, Pakubuwono II went back to Kartasura just to found out that his palace has been destroyed.

But the king’s request for reinforcement from the Dutches is not for free, and must be paid in an expensive way; the north region of Java, from Rembang, Pasuruan, Surabaya, and Madura Island must be handed over to the Dutch East India Company. Also, every coronations and promotions in the palace must be receive the approval from the Dutch Company first.
When Prince Mangkubumi declared that he join army with RM Said, he chose to guerrilla against the Dutch Company in the jungle in Jogjakarta. RM Said married with Ray. Kusumapatahati, the daughter of Kyai Kasan Nuriman. Then, at the age of 22, married again for the second time with Raden Ayu Inten (Kangjeng Ratu Bandara), the daughter of Prince Mangkubumi. When RM Said separate his army from Raden Mas Garendi, and built a headquarter in Panambangan, then declare himself as Price Mangkunegara I. Not long after his declaration, his throne was struck by lightning. This means that RM Said cannot be the king or act like the king in the palace.
When the news of the death of Pakubuwono II heard, RM Said met Prince Mangkubumi and asked his parent in law to declare himself as a king of Mataram before the coronation of the son of Pakuwubono II. Prince Mangkubumi declared himself as "Sultan Hamengkubuwono", and RM Said promoted to become the warlord. His wife, Raden Ayu Inten, changed her name into “Kanjeng Ratu Bandara”. But of course the reign of Mangkubumi wasn’t approved by the Dutch East India Company.

So many events happened, after fighting against the Dutch Company, Prince Mangkubumi and Prince Mangkunegara had a conflict about politics. RM Said had to fight the Dutch East India Company alone. And finally, Mataram divided into two by the Treaty of Giyanti in February 13, 1755. This treaty was rejected by RM Said because it could ruin the unity of Mataram people. Over the 16 years, RM Said fought 250 marvelous battles against the Dutch Company. From that, the Dutches called RM Said as “The Soul Reaper” because he is the nightmare for his enemies. RM Said greatness in war strategy not just praised by his followers, but also feared by his enemies. Even the Dutch governor of East Java, Baron van Hohendorff, admit RM Said’s brilliance in war.

Duke of Mangkunegara Kartasura

During the reign of the fourth amangkurat, the Kingdom of Mataram in Java was not free from the turmoil of civil war. Prince Mangkunegara replaced Pakubuwono I as King of Mataram, when the king had to face the uprising carried out by his two brothers, the prince and Prince Purbaya Blitar.

During this conflict, the Dutch gave full support to Prince Mangkunegara so that the two brothers could no longer carry out their rebellion.

The presence of Prince Mangkunegara instead of Pakubuwono had been prepared long before the death of the king. In March 1715, Mangkunegara Prince Arya (son of Pakubuwono I) was officially announced as the crown prince of the Kingdom of Mataram. In the same year, the appointment of crown prince was accompanied by the cannon shots of Gunturgeni, along with the ritual of cutting of the hair of the crown king.

Mangkunegara became the fourth amangkurat to rule Mataram. The title "mangkunegara" was later inherited by the eldest son, R.M. Suro who was then titled Prince Arya Mangkunegara Kartasura.

To quarantine the rivals, the king intended to marry his son to Prince Purbaya. The will of the king did not prevail due to resistance by Queen Amangkurat (his wife). His marriage was on condition of divorce from children Prince Prince Mangkunegara Blitar.

Amangkurat's story continues with the death due to poisoning and possible successor positions shifted to the younger brother of King RM Prabasuyasa.

References

Sources

 Soekanto, Dr., "About Djogjakarta" 1755-1825, Djakarta: Mahabharata, Amsterdam, 1952
 Anderson, BRO’G. The Idea of Power in Javanese Culture dalam Anderson, BRO’G. Language and Power: Exploring Political Cultures in Indonesia. Cornell University Press. 1990.
 
 Miksic, John N. (general ed.), et al. (2006) Karaton Surakarta. A look into the court of Surakarta Hadiningrat, central Java (First published: 'By the will of His Serene Highness Paku Buwono XII'. Surakarta: Yayasan Pawiyatan Kabudayan Karaton Surakarta, 2004) Marshall Cavendish Editions Singapore
 

Princes of Mangkunegaran
1725 births
1796 deaths
People from Surakarta
18th-century Indonesian people