CONFLICT THAT HAPPENED IN ANCIENT KINGDOM OF MATARAM IN CENTRAL JAVA

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Not all kings who reigned in ancient Mataram were legitimate heirs. The inscription notes that there was an unusual change of power. There are at least two inscriptions containing the names of Mataram rulers. The Mantyasih Inscription (907 AD) and the Wanua Tengah III Inscription (908 AD), both were issued during the Balitung period.

Based on the list of kings written in the Mantyasih Inscription (907 AD) there were nine rulers in the Ancient Mataram Kingdom before Balitung. Starting from Rakai Mataram the Queen Sanjaya, Śrī Maharaja Rakai Panangkaran, Śrī Maharaja Panunggalan, Śrī Maharaja Rakai Warak, Śrī Maharaja Rakai Garung, Śrī Maharaja Rakai Pikatan, Sri Maharaja Rakai Kayuwangi, Śrī Maharaja Rakai Watuhumalang. Lastly is the king who wrote the inscription, Śrī Maharaja Rakai Watukura Dyah Balitung.

Meanwhile, based on the Wanua Tengah III Inscription, in Mataram there were 13 kings who ruled before the Balitung era. Unlike the Mantyasih Inscription, the Wanua Tengah III Inscription mentions kings along with the day and year they ascended the throne.

Mentioned, Rakai Panangkaran ascended the throne in 746 M. Thirty-eight years later (784 AD), he was replaced by Rakai Panaraban. In 803 AD, he was replaced by Rakai Warak Dyah Manara, who served 24 years. In 827 AD, he was replaced by Dyah Gula who only lasted three years. In 829 AD, Rakai Garung succeeded him. Eighteen years later, in 847 AD Rakai Pikatan Dyah Saladu ascended to the throne.

Rake Kayuwangi Dyah Lokapala was enthroned eight years later in 855 AD. He lasted 30 years before being replaced by Dyah Tagwas in 885 AD. Based on the inscription information, Dyah Tagwas did not last long. After only seven months in power, he was banished (kādəh) from the palace. His replacement is Rake Panumwangan Dyah Dawendra. However, he only lasted two years then was expelled from the palace. Rake Gurunwangi Dyah Bhadra succeeded him in 887 AD. This new king apparently had difficulty staying on the throne. Less than a month later, he fled (mińgat) from the palace. There was a power vacuum for approximately seven years. Only in 894 AD, Rakai Wungkalhumalang Dyah Jəbań reigned for four years. Rakai Watukura Dyah Balitung was crowned in 898 AD.

The sills in “The Kings of Ancient Mataram from Sanjaya to Balitung, A Reconstruction Based on the Wanua Tengah III Inscription” published in the 1994 Archaeological Periodical, observe the different number of kings listed in the Mantyasih and Wanua Tengah III inscriptions. The difference is due to the background on which the inscription was issued.

The Mantyasih inscription was published to legitimize Balitung as the legitimate heir to the throne. The kings listed in the inscriptions are kings who are fully sovereign over the entire kingdom. "Dyah Gula, Dyah Tagwas, Dyah Dewendra, and Dyah Bhadra have never had full sovereignty, as can be seen from the short duration of their reign," wrote Kusen.

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