Solo’s role as a royal capital traces back to the Islamic kingdom of Mataram that flourished near present-day Yogyakarta in the 17th century. Under Sultan Agung (r. 161346) it conquered most of Central and East Java, and for the next 100 years the dynasty ruled as the undisputed power in the area. The court moved several times as the result of wars and intrigues, finally settling at Kartasura, 12 km (7 mi) west of Solo, in 1680.

In 1740, a massacre of Chinese in Batavia resulted in a long and complex series of battles that soon engulfed Central Java. Chinese who escaped the massacre fled here, where they besieged Dutch outposts and received assistance from Pakubuwana II (r. 1726-49). The Dutch responded by allying themselves with the ambitious ruler of Madura, Cakraningrat IV, who promptly invaded and sacked Kartasura in 1742.

Restored to his throne by the Dutch, Pakubuwana II was forced to grant them considerable territory and influence. In 1743 he abandoned Kartasura and erected a new palace at the village of Solo, which he then renamed Surakarta.

Why was Solo chosen as the site for the new court? Perhaps its location on the banks of Java’s longest river, the Bengawan Solo, was a major consideration. Until the 19th century, river travel was far easier and quicker than travel by land, and although it is now silted up and impassable, the Solo River at this time provided access all the way to the coast near Surabaya.

Traditional stories about the founding of Surakarta stress the miraculous way in which the site was chosen. Neither the king nor his Dutch advisors considered the swampy town, it is said, until certain divine portents pointed to it. Even then, the swamps could be cleared only after the spring which fed them had been stanched through divine intervention.

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