The earliest recorded history date from the 9th century, when Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms were the dominant civilizations in the region. During this early period, magnificent religious structures such as Ratu Boko, Borobudur and Prambanan were erected.

Yogyakarta was founded in 1755 when the Dutch East India Company came along. It was the capital of Mataram kingdom and was also the scene of Indonesia’s most successful rebellions against the Dutch East India Company. The exiting Sultanate of Mataram was divided in two by the Dutch East India Company under the Treaty of Giyanti. Two regions namely Surakarta Hadiningrat kingdom under Sunan Pakubuwono III rule, and Nyayogyakarta Hadiningrat kingdom under Sultan Hamengku Buwono I rule. In the next 37 years, the Sultan Hamengkubuwono I build a new capital with the Kraton as the centerpiece and the court at Sukararta as the blueprint model.

Yogyakarta was temporarily capital of the newly-declared Indonesian republic during the Indonesian National Revolution against the Dutch that has reoccupied Jakarta from 1946 until 1950.

In 1945, Indonesia declared independence from the Dutch and Japanese occupation. Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX and Sri Paku Alam VIII declared their sultanates to be part of the Republic of Indonesia and launched a statement that the Kasultanan and Kadipaten (the two royal regions), belonged to Republic of Indonesia as a part of the whole area of Indonesia Republic. Yogyakarta played a major role in Indonesia’s quest for independence and since then, it was given a provincial status in 1950 and has been known as Yogyakarta Special Region (Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta) and enjoying a high level of self-governance.