The British leading historian said that during the Public Lecture on Religion and Politics in Java in 19th Century at the Graduate School of Universitas Gadjah Mada, Friday (9/3). The event held by Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICSR) was supported by UGM Yogyakarta, UIN and UKDW and was attended by dozens of graduate students.
Besides having a unique personality, Diponegoro (1785-1855) in the view of Peter Carey is known as a reliable strategy expert in the history of Indonesia. Although very popular in Indonesia, but up to now there is no comprehensive study of the history of Diponegoro’s life, who was born in the Sultan's Palace on 11 November 1785 and was named Bandoro Raden Mas Ontowiryo.
The lecturer of history at Trinity College Oxford said, when he learned the Diponegoro’s character, he was directly interested in writing the history of the eldest son of Raden Ayu Mangkorowati (daughter of the Regent of Pacitan) and the concubine of Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono the 3rd (HB III). Peter did research on Diponegoro Chronicle version of Surakarta Palace which describes Diponegoro preparing himself to be the leader of the war in Java and called himself the Messiah.
Peter said that Diponegoro Chronicle is an autobiography written by Diponegoro in Pegon Arabic during his exile in Manado. Through the autobiography, Diponegoro answers allegations of his defiance to the Sultan, but his fate made him a person that creates a stir in Java.