Kraton (Indonesia)

Kraton (Javanese: ꦏꦿꦠꦺꦴꦤ꧀)[1] or keraton is a type of royal palace in Java, Indonesia.

Its name is derived from the Javanese ka-ratu-an meaning residence of the ratu, the traditional honorific title for a monarch.

Former kraton include: In the Banten region, there are remnants of the Sultanate of Banten's palaces: In Surakarta and Yogyakarta regions, there are remnants of the Sultanate of Mataram palaces: The term kraton 'palace' is also used as a way to refer to the court which it houses.

This is especially the case for native Indonesian states where the succession is disputed, giving issue to two or more branches of the dynasty, or even rivaling dynasties, each setting up an alternative court while competing for the same state, but generally only controlling part of it.

An example is the West-Javan state of Cirebon, which was founded in 1478 and since 1662 was ruled from three Kraton (palaces):[7]