Sultan Agung’s Policy in Creating Religious Moderation in the Islamic Mataram Kingdom (1613-1645)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21111/tsaqafah.v22i2.65Keywords:
Sultan Agung, policy, religious moderation, Islamic Mataram KingdomAbstract
The change of power from the Demak Bintara Kingdom to the Islamic Mataram Kingdom affected the religious pattern of the Javanese people. The Demak Sultanate was a coastal kingdom with a purer Islamic style, while Mataram was an inland kingdom with a strong local culture. As a result, in the Mataram Kingdom there were two religious sects, namely pure Islam and syncretic Islam. The emergence of this phenomenon, coupled with the interests of political power, caused prolonged internal conflicts. The purpose of this study is to understand the political policy of Sultan Agung in creating religious moderation in the Islamic Mataram kingdom in the 17th century. Therefore, this study uses a historical approach. The primary sources used are the Babad Tanah Jawi manuscript and various related secondary sources. Source criticism is carried out to obtain valid and authentic historical data. The next step is interpretation and analysis using the theory of cultural acculturation. This research found that the Sultan Agung's religious moderation policy was carried out by integrating Islam and local culture in the royal order. By accommodating local culture, the Islamic King of Mataram succeeded in building political legitimacy in the lives of people with different religious understandings. The Sultan Agung's policy also succeeded in uniting all the people so that Mataram succeeded in becoming the largest Islamic kingdom in the archipelago in the 17th century. Sultan Agung's religious moderation policy can inspire people around the world who face similar challenges in maintaining religious harmony.
References
Achmad, Noor, and Nanang Nurcholis. “States and Local Legal Cultures in Medieval Islam: A Comparative Study of Akbar’s Mughal Rule and Sultan Agung’s Mataram in 16th and 17th Century.” Al-Jami’ah 54, no. 1 (2016): 33–57. https://doi.org/10.14421/ajis.2016.541.33-57.
Alifah. “Jejak Kraton Sultan Agung (Rekonstruksi Awal Berdasarkan Data Arkeologis dan Historis).” Berkala Arkeologi 29, no. 2 SE-Articles (April 5, 2024): 73–88. https://doi.org/10.30883/jba.v29i2.380.
Askuri, and Joel Corneal Kuipers. “The Politics of Arabic Naming and Islamization in Java: Processes of Hybridization and Purification.” Al-Jami’ah 56, no. 1 (2018): 59–94. https://doi.org/10.14421/ajis.2018.561.59-94.
Babad Jaka Tingkir, Sana Pistaka Surakarta MS SP 124 Ca. “No Title,” n.d.
Babad Mentawis, RM. Sajid Hadiwijajana Nomor 23. “No Title.” Surakarta, n.d.
Bahri, Media Zainul. “Indonesian Theosophical Society (1900—40) and the Idea of Religious Pluralism.” Southeast Asian Studies 6, no. 1 (2017): 139–65. https://doi.org/10.20495/seas.6.1_139.
Berg. “The Javanese Historiography.” In DGE Historian s of South East Asia. London, 1963.
Burawoy, Michael. “Skocpol versus Trotsky,” 1989, 759–805.
Burdah, Ibnu. “The Politics of Mataram Kingdom during the Reign of Sultan Agung.” Journal of Indonesian Islam 11, no. 1 (2017): 267–306. https://doi.org/10.15642/JIIS.2017.11.1.267-306.
Burhanudin, Jajat. “Two Islamic Writing Traditions in Southeast Asia.” Al-Jami’ah 60, no. 1 (2022): 1–28. https://doi.org/10.14421/ajis.2022.601.1-28.
Dolan, Paddy, Stephen Vertigans, and John Connolly. “Theorising Political Legitimisation: From Stasis to Processes.” European Journal of Social Theory, 2023, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1177/13684310231184600.
Fathurahman, Oman. “Sejarah Pengkafiran Dan Marginalisasi Paham Keagamaan Di Melayu Dan Jawa.” Analisis: Jurnal Studi Keislaman 11, no. 2 (2011).
Hernawan, Wawan, Irma Riyani, and Busro Busro. “Religious Moderation in Naskah Wawacan Babad Walangsungsang: A Sundanese Religious Diversity Wisdom.” HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies 77, no. 4 (2021): 1–13. https://doi.org/10.4102/HTS.V77I4.6773.
Hilmy, Masdar. “Towards a Religiously Hybrid Identity? The Changing Face of Javanese Islam.” Journal of Indonesian Islam 12, no. 1 (2018): 45–68. https://doi.org/10.15642/JIIS.2018.12.1.45-68.
Hudayana, Bambang. “Identity Shift: From Javanese Islam to Shariah-Centric Muslims in the Trah, a Kinship-Based Social Organisation.” Contemporary Islam 16, no. 2–3 (2022): 401–26. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11562-022-00487-5.
Joebagio, Hermanu. “Politik Islam dalam Pusaran Sejarah Surakarta.” Millah: Journal of Religious Studies 13, no. 1 SE-Articles (August 31, 2013): 155–78. https://doi.org/10.20885/millah.vol12.iss3.art7.
Kartakusuma, Richadiana Kadarisman. “Kondisi Kehidupan Keagamaan Masamajapahit Berdasarkan Sumber Tertulis dan Data Arkeologi.” AMERTA 26, no. 1 (2008): 32–44.
KhanafiIn, Imam., et al. “The Contribution of Ahlussunnah Waljamaah s Theology in Establishing Moderate Islam in Indonesia Research Methods.” HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies ISSN: (Online) 2072-8050, (Print) 0259-9422 Page, 2021, 1–10.
Kuntowijoyo, Pengantar Ilmu Sejarah. Bentang Pustaka, 2005.
Kusumayudha, Sari Bahagiarti, Helmy Murwanto, Sutarto, and Siti Umiyatun Choiriyah. Volcanic Disaster and the Decline of Mataram Kingdom in the Central Java, Indonesia. Sustainable Civil Infrastructures. Springer International Publishing, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02032-3_8.
Maharsi. Upacara Grebeg. Yogyakarta: Dinas Pariwisata Yogyakarta, 2009.
Makin, Al. “Unearthing Nusantara’s Concept of Religious Pluralism: Harmonization and Syncretism in Hindu-Buddhist and Islamic Classical Texts.” Al-Jami’ah 54, no. 1 (2016): 1–30. https://doi.org/10.14421/ajis.2016.541.1-30.
Margana, Sri, Ahmad Athoillah, Satrio Dwicahyono, Yuanita Wahyu Pratiwi, and Muhammad Asyrafi. “Sejarah Kebudayaan Maritim Mataram, 1600-1755,” 2021.
McDoom, Omar Shahabudin. “Ethnic Inequality, Cultural Distance, and Social Integration: Evidence from a Native-Settler Conflict in the Philippines.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 45, no. 9 (2019): 1532–52. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2018.1427566.
Meinsma, JH. Babad Tanah Jawi. ’s Gravenhage, 1941.
Moedjanto. Konsep Kekuasaan Jawa. Yogyakarta: Kanisius, 1987.
MS Leiden Cod. Or, 1928. “No Title,” n.d.
Munawar, Zaid. “Organisasi Pemerintahan Kerajaan Mataram Islam Pada Masa Sultan Agung (1613-1645 M).” FIHROS: Jurnal Sejarah Dan Budaya 9 (August 30, 2025): 108–19. https://doi.org/10.63915/fihros.v9i02.191.
Murdiyastomo, Herman Yoseph. “State and the Statecract of the Centrals of Government Mataram Islam Kingdom in Java.” Journal of Social Studies (JSS) 12 (September 1, 2016): 31–42. https://doi.org/10.21831/jss.v12i2.11634.
Na’im, Aldila Syarifatul. “Serat Sastra Gendhing Dalam Kajian Strukturalisme Semiotik.” Universitas Negeri Semarang, 2010.
Nashir, Haedar, Mutohharun Jinan, and Bambang Setiaji. “Muhammadiyah: The Political Behavior of Modernist Muslim Elite in Indonesia.” Humanities and Social Sciences Reviews 7, no. 4 (2019): 837–44. https://doi.org/10.18510/hssr.2019.74111.
Nashuddin. “Islamic Values and Sasak Local Wisdoms: The Pattern of Educational Character at Nw Selaparang Pesantren, Lombok.” Ulumuna 24, no. 1 (2020): 155–82. https://doi.org/10.20414/ujis.v24i1.392.
Pajarianto, Hadi, Imam Pribadi, and Puspa Sari. “Tolerance between Religions through the Role of Local Wisdom and Religious Moderation.” HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies 78, no. 4 (2022): 1–8. https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v78i4.7043.
“Pergolakan Politik Kasultanan Demak Dan Ambisi Arya Penangsang Sebagai Sultan Demak Ke-4 Tahun 1546-1549.” Yupa: Historical Studies Journal 3, no. 2 SE-Articles (n.d.): 69–78. https://doi.org/10.30872/yupa.v3i2.170.
Puji, Rini, and Riza Surya. “The Geopolitics of Java in the 17th Century: A Case Study of Mataram Sultanate.” Paramita Historical Studies Journal 34 (September 30, 2024): 223–30. https://doi.org/10.15294/paramita.v34i2.47748.
Pustaka Raja Purwa, Koleksi Mangkunegaran Surakarta, MS 113. “No Title,” n.d.
Rahmawati, Mila I., Wakit A. Rais, and Prasetyo A.W. Wibowo. “Sêrat Bayanullah: A Study of Raden Panji Nataratas Thoughts on Javanese Sufism through Classical Javanese Literature.” HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies 78, no. 4 (2022): 1–9. https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v78i4.7239.
Redfield, Robert, Ralph Linton, and Melville J Herskovits. “Memorandum for the Study of Acculturation.” American Anthropologist 38, no. 1 (October 16, 1936): 149–52. http://www.jstor.org/stable/662563.
Riyadi, Muhammad, and Ridho Rokamah. “Islamic-Javanese Hybridization in Politic Cultural Mataram After the Weakening of the Politic Role of Santri.” Dialogia 21 (December 24, 2023): 265–86. https://doi.org/10.21154/dialogia.v21i2.6164.
Saddhono, Kundharu, and Siti Supeni. “The Role of Dutch Colonialism in the Political Life of Mataram Dynasty: A Case Study of the Manuscript of Babad Tanah Jawi.” Asian Social Science 10, no. 15 (2014): 1–7. https://doi.org/10.5539/ass.v10n15p1.
Sajid, RM. Sejarah Sekaten. Solo: Reksa Pustaka Mangkunegaran, 1984.
Sugiyarto, and Agustinus Supriyono. “Traditional and Feodal Agricultural Ecology: Land System in the Islamic Kingdom of Mataram.” E3S Web of Conferences 202 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202020207082.
Sulaksono, Aruji, Yasser Ahmed Adas, and Ayad Almaimani. “Islamic Influence on the Local Majapahit Hindu Dwelling of Indonesia in the 15th Century.” Architecture 3, no. 2 (2023): 234–57.
Sutrisno, Herwin, Gagoek Hardiman, E. E. Pandelaki, and Theresia Susi. “Living in Harmony: Acculturation of Balinese and Dayak Ngaju Cultures in Basarang Jaya Village, Central Kalimantan.” Jurnal Ilmiah Peuradeun 7, no. 3 (2019): 401–12. https://doi.org/10.26811/peuradeun.v7i3.279.
Syarif. “Understanding the Teaching of Religious Moderation from a Sufistic Perspective and Its Implications for Student Performance.” Journal of Social Studies Education Research 12, no. 4 (2021): 320–43.
Wahyudi, Deny Yudo, and Agus Aris Munandar. Majapahit: Reflection of the Religious Life (14th—15th AD). Atlantis Press SARL, 2023. https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-058-9_10.
Wain, Alexander. “The Kubrawī and Early Javanese Islam: Re-Assessing the Significance of a 16th-Century Kubrawī Silsila in the Sejarah Banten Ranté-Ranté.” Indonesia and the Malay World 49, no. 143 (2021): 42–62. https://doi.org/10.1080/13639811.2021.1875658.
Wasino, Endah Sri Hartatik, and Fitri Amalia Shintasiiwi. “Wong Cilik in Javanese History and Culture, Indonesia.” Kemanusiaan 28, no. 2 (2021): 31–51. https://doi.org/10.21315/KAJH2021.28.2.2.
Winter, CF. Javaansche Zamenspraken. Leiden, 1911.
Zamzami, Rizal. “Sejarah Agama Islam di Kerajaan Mataram Pada Masa Penembahan Senapati (1584-1601).” JUSPI (Jurnal Sejarah Peradaban Islam) 2, no. 2 (2018): 153–65.
Submitted
Accepted
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Maharsi Sumardi, Moh. Musabai Hakiki, Najma Nazara Labiba
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
All articles in this proceeding are open access, the articles published in them are immediately and permanently free to read, download, copy and distribute. Each volume is published under the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 user license.
