{{Short description|Javanese Muslim military commander}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}} {{Infobox person |name = Sentot Prawirodirdjo |image = Sentot, opperbevelhebber der rebellen.jpg |caption = Drawing {{circa}} 1900 |birth_date = 1808 |birth_place = [[Maospati]], Yogyakarta Sultanate |death_date = 17 April {{death year and age|1855|1808}} |death_place = [[Bengkulu]], Dutch East Indies }} [[Pasha|Ali Basah]] '''Abdul Mustapa Prawirodirdjo''' (1808 – 17 April 1855), also known as '''Sentot Ali Pasha''' or '''Sentot Prawirodirdjo''', was a Javanese [[Muslim]] military commander during the [[Java War]]. He joined [[Diponegoro]]'s rebel forces at the age of seventeen, and became a renowned commander in the war, and later became overall commander. He surrendered to the Dutch in October 1829. In Dutch service, Prawirodirdjo was given command of a Javanese unit under Dutch command during a [[Purwakarta Chinese riot|1832 Chinese riot in Purwakarta]] and then in the [[Padri War]], when he was accused of collusion with Padri leaders. He was exiled to [[Bengkulu]] and died there.
==Early life== Prawirodirdjo was born in 1808 in [[Maospati]] to [[Rongga Prawirodirdjo III]], the ''bupati'' of [[Madiun]], through a concubine.<ref name="careyborn">{{cite book |last1=Carey |first1=Peter B. R. |authorlink = Peter Carey (historian)|title=The Power of Prophecy: Prince Dipanagara and the End of an Old Order in Java, 1785-1855 |date=20 March 2015 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-6718-303-1|pages=79, 191 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mND7EAAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref> Rongga was killed after initiating a [[Rongga rebellion|revolt in 1810]] against the colonial government of [[Herman Willem Daendels]].{{sfn|Carey|2015|p=259}} His mother was likely Dayawati, Rongga's concubine who died in 1810.<ref name="careyborn"/> During Prawirodirdjo's childhood, [[Yogyakarta Sultanate|Yogyakartan]] Prince [[Diponegoro]] made an effort to educate him as a ''[[santri]]'', but this failed, as Prawirodirdjo showed a "violent dislike" for the education.{{sfn|Carey|2015|p=649}}
==Java war== Upon the outbreak of Diponegoro's rebellion in 1825, seventeen-year-old Prawirodirdjo joined his rebel forces. In the ensuing [[Java War]], he was initially a cavalry commander of the rebels,{{sfn|Carey|2015|p=192}} and he gained "Sentot" ([[Javanese language|Javanese]] for "to dash", also spelled as "Senthot") as a [[nom de guerre]].{{sfn|Carey|2015|p=649}} Diponegoro awarded him the title "Ali Basah" (derived from [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] "[[Pasha|Ali Pasha]]", also spelled as "Alibasyah"<ref name="kisah"/> or "Ali Basya"<ref name="hamka"/>).{{sfn|Carey|2015|pp=152–153}} He developed a tactic involving the camouflaging of his horsemen behind bamboo fences in order to ambush Dutch columns.{{sfn|Carey|2015|p=608}} Throughout early and mid 1826, Sentot and Diponegoro won a series of victories against the Dutch, including at [[Battle of Lengkong (1826)|Lengkong]], [[Battle of Kejiwan|Kejiwan]], and [[Battle of Delanggu|Delanggu]], before suffering a major defeat at the [[Battle of Gawok]] in October.{{sfn|Carey|2015|p=642}}
As the war transitioned into guerilla campaigns, Sentot led a series of ambushes against Dutch column, such as one in [[Battle of Kroya|Kroya]] in 1828 which annihilated a full column. Dutch commanders experiencing these ambushes praised Sentot's battlefield command, with [[H. J. J. L. de Stuers]] describing him as a "young, fiery and in every respect a brilliant Javanese ... who knew how to blaze a trail for himself by virtue of his energy and shrewdness". According to Diponegoro's account, Sentot was frequently injured, having eight different horses he rode killed throughout the war.{{sfn|Carey|2015|p=649}} Throughout the war, Sentot and Diponegoro discussed the idea of conquering the [[Lesser Sunda Islands]] should they defeat the Dutch.{{sfn|Carey|2015|p=590}}
In December 1828, Diponegoro agreed to Sentot's request to take over overall military command, and also grant him the authority to levy taxes from rebel-controlled territories.{{sfn|Carey|2015|pp=650–651}} The illiterate{{sfn|Carey|2015|p=649}} Sentot became overwhelmed with rebel finances and reports, and became slow to react to Dutch actions. In one case, this led to rebel defeat at the [[Battle of Nanggulon]].{{sfn|Carey|2015|pp=650–651}} As the rebel situation deteriorated, and food supplies for rebel troops became scarce, Sentot began to enter tentative talks with his Dutch counterparts.{{sfn|Carey|2015|p=652}} By late 1829, the rebels had lost much popular support, and after a major defeat at the [[Battle of Siluk]] in September 1829, Sentot became separated with Diponegoro and surrendered to the Dutch on 16 October 1829.<ref name="djamharip268">{{cite thesis|authorlink=Saleh Djamhari|last1=Djamhari |first1=Saleh A. |title=Stelsel benteng dalam pemberontakan Diponegoro 1827-1830: suatu kajian sejarah perang |date=2002 |url=https://lib.ui.ac.id/detail?id=82372&lokasi=lokal |publisher=[[University of Indonesia]] |language=id|pages=268–269}}</ref>{{sfn|Carey|2015|p=652}}
==Dutch service and exile== [[File:Makam Sentot Bengkulu.jpg|thumb|Sentot's grave in [[Bengkulu]]]] After Sentot's surrender, he was given command of a native Javanese unit of 450 men, financed by the Dutch colonial government.{{sfn|Carey|2015|p=652}}<ref name="rendang">{{cite news |title=Legiun Sentot "Direndang" Belanda di Padang |url=https://historia.id/militer/articles/legiun-sentot-direndang-belanda-di-padang-PeM09 |access-date=21 March 2025 |work=Historia |date=12 March 2025 |language=id-ID}}</ref> The unit was deployed to [[Batavia, Dutch East Indies|Batavia]] in 1831 and saw action in suppressing a [[Purwakarta Chinese riot|1832 riot of Chinese migrants]] in [[Purwakarta Regency|Purwakarta]], earning praise from Dutch commanders.<ref name="rendang"/> During the crackdowns, Sentot's unit engaged a mob of 800 rioters and crushed the group. After the engagement, Sentot's unit reportedly beheaded 600 killed rioters and sent their heads to Batavia.<ref>{{cite web |title=Wawacan Carita Perang Cina di Tanjungpura Kabupaten Purwakarta |url=https://repositori.kemdikbud.go.id/4397/1/Wawacan%20Carita%20Perang%20Cina%20di%20Tanjungpura%20Kabupaten%20Purwakarta%202000.pdf |publisher=[[Ministry of Education and Culture (Indonesia)|Ministry of Education and Culture]] |access-date=21 March 2025 |pages=16–17, 24 |language=id |date=2000}}</ref>
The unit was then sent to [[West Sumatra]] in 1833, to take part in the [[Padri War]].<ref name="rendang"/> Governor-General [[Johannes van den Bosch]] planned to create a Javanese-held principality in the [[Tanah Datar Regency#Administrative districts|Lintau]] region under Sentot to create a permanent auxiliary presence there. To this end, Sentot was provided with an appanage of around 5,000 people in Lintau.<ref name="graves2009">{{cite book |last1=Graves |first1=Elizabeth E. |title=The Minangkabau Response to Dutch Colonial Rule in the Nineteenth Century |date=2009 |publisher=Equinox Publishing |isbn=978-602-8397-32-2 |pages=66–67 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tAZoI-7qWicC |language=en}}</ref> However, Sentot began colluding with the Minangkabau religious leaders,{{sfn|Carey|2015|p=652}} reportedly meeting in secret with Padri leader [[Tuanku Imam Bonjol]].<ref name="hamka">{{cite news |title=Buya Hamka: Saat Sentot Ali Basya Insaf Perangi Kaum Paderi |url=https://islamdigest.republika.co.id/berita/q9kodu430/buya-hamka-saat-sentot-ali-basya-insaf-perangi-kaum-paderi |access-date=21 March 2025 |work=Republika Online |date=30 April 2020 |language=id}}</ref> He also made trips to the [[Pagaruyung kingdom|Pagaruyung]] area outside of his jurisdiction, and broke protocol with Dutch officials in the region (addressing them as "brother" instead of "father").<ref name="graves2009"/>
Upon the outbreak of continued fighting in the [[Bonjol]] area, Sentot was blamed and arrested by the Dutch.<ref name="graves2009"/> He was removed from command, his unit later being absorbed by the [[Royal Netherlands East Indies Army|KNIL]].<ref name="rendang"/> After being sent back to Batavia, Sentot was allowed to go on a [[hajj]] before he was exiled to [[Bengkulu]], where he died on 17 April 1855.{{sfn|Carey|2015|p=652}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Kunjungan Laseda 2019: Dari Masjid Jamik ke Malborough |url=https://kebudayaan.kemdikbud.go.id/bpnbsumbar/kunjungan-laseda-2019-dari-masjid-jamik-ke-malborough/ |publisher=[[Ministry of Education and Culture (Indonesia)|Ministry of Education and Culture]] |access-date=21 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191106083625/https://kebudayaan.kemdikbud.go.id/bpnbsumbar/kunjungan-laseda-2019-dari-masjid-jamik-ke-malborough/ |archive-date=6 November 2019 |language=id |date=27 June 2019}}</ref> His grave is located in what is today downtown Bengkulu, surrounded by a public cemetery.<ref name="kisah">{{cite news |last1=Sudibyo |first1=Triono Wahyu |title=Sepotong Kisah di TPU Peristirahatan Terakhir Pangeran Sentot Alibasyah |url=https://news.detik.com/berita/d-3042173/sepotong-kisah-di-tpu-peristirahatan-terakhir-pangeran-sentot-alibasyah |access-date=21 March 2025 |work=detiknews |date=12 October 2015 |language=id-ID}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Prawirodirdjo, Sentot}} [[Category:1808 births]] [[Category:1855 deaths]] [[Category:Indonesian exiles]] [[Category:Indonesian revolutionaries]] [[Category:Java War]] [[Category:Javanese people]] [[Category:People from East Java]]