Mataram kingdom

The Mataram kingdom (, Javanese: ꦩꦠꦫꦩ꧀, Javanese pronunciation: [mətaram]), also known as the Medang kingdom, was a Javanese Hindu-Buddhist kingdom that flourished between the 8th and 11th centuries AD. It was based in Central Java, and later in East Java. Established by King Sanjaya, the kingdom was ruled by members the Shailendra dynasty during the late eighth century, and by the Ishana dynasty from 929 to 1017. During most of its history the kingdom seems to have relied heavily on agriculture, especially extensive rice farming, and later also benefited from maritime trade. According to foreign sources and archaeological findings, the kingdom seems to have been well populated and quite prosperous. The kingdom developed a complex society, had a well developed culture, and achieved a degree of sophistication and refined civilisation. In the period between the late 8th century and the mid-9th century, the kingdom saw the blossoming of classical Javanese art and architecture reflected in the rapid growth of temple construction. Temples dotted the landscape of its heartland in Mataram. The most notable of the temples constructed in Mataram are Kalasan, Sewu, Borobudur and Prambanan, all quite close to the present-day city of Yogyakarta. At its peak, the kingdom had become a powerful state that exercised influence not only in Java, but also in Sumatra, Bali, southern Thailand, Indianised kingdoms of the Philippines, and the Khmer in Cambodia. The Mataram kingdom went through various periods of unity and division. Political conflict occurred during the 840s, involving Salaḍū and his opponent Balaputra, and during the late 880s in the aftermath of Lokapāla I's death. Scholars disagree about whether this conflict was internal to a single ruling dynasty, or whether it was the result of the separate Shailendra dynasty and Sanjaya dynasty. Hostilities reemerged in 1017, when the reigning king Dharmawangsa Teguh...