Agung, Sultan (?-1646), was the greatest ruler of Mataram, a kingdom in Central Java in what is now Indonesia. He reigned from 1613 to 1646. Sultan Agung means Great Sultan. His real name is not known.
Under Sultan Agung, the boundaries of the kingdom were extended. In 1624, the island of Madura was conquered. In 1625, Surabaya was besieged and had to surrender. Wishing to conquer Bantam in west Java, Sultan Agung sought to win over the Dutch, who had settled in nearby Batavia (now Jakarta) in 1619. When the Dutch refused to help, Sultan Agung attacked Batavia in 1628, and again in 1629, but without success. He was also hostile toward the Portuguese, who had trading posts in the area.
Sultan Agung was a devout Muslim. In 1633, he introduced the Islamic, Arabic-Javanese calendar to his kingdom, in place of the Hindu calendar based on the sun. From this time, Islamic lunar years of 354 or 355 days were used. In 1641, he became sultan.
By the time of his death in 1646, Sultan Agung had become the greatest conqueror in Indonesia since the time of Majapahit (see Majapahit ). He was overlord of all central and east Java. He was succeeded by his son Amangkurat I, who reigned from 1646 to 1677.
