Diponegoro was born on 11 November 1785 in Yogyakarta, and was the eldest son of Sultan Hamengkubowono III of Yogyakarta. During his youth at the Yogyakartan court, major occurrences such as the dissolution of the VOC,the British Invasion of Java, and subsequent return to Dutch rule. During the invasion, the Sultan Hamengkubuwono II, pushed aside in his power on 1810 in favor of Diponegoro's father, used the general disruption to regain control. In 1812 however he was once more removed from the throne and exiled off-Java by the British forces. In this process, Diponegoro acted as an adviser to his father and had apparently provided aid to the British forces to the point where Raffles offered him the Sultan title which he declined, perhaps due to the fact that his father was still reigning.

When the sultan died in 1814, Diponegoro was passed over for the succession to the throne in favor of his younger half brother, Hamengkubuwono IV (1814-1821), who was supported by the Dutch despite the late Sultan's urging for Diponegoro to be the next Sultan. Being a devout Muslim, Diponegoro was alarmed by the relaxing of religious observance at his half brother's court in contrast with his own life of seclusion, as well as by the court's pro-Dutch policy.
In 1821, famine and plague spread in Java. Hamengkubuwono IV died on 1822 under mysterious circumstances, leaving only an infant son as heir. When the year-old boy was appointed as Sultan Hamengkubuwono V, there was a dispute over his guardianship. Diponegoro was again passed over, though he believed he had been promised the right to succeed his half brother - even though such a succession was illegal under Islamic rules.This series of natural disasters and political upheavals finally erupted into full-scale rebellion.
Teta