After the treaty of Giyanti (Palihan Nagari) in 1775, the Javanese Mataram Kingdom was divided into two parts, the Surakarta Hadiningrat Sultanate and the Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat Sultanate. Prince Mangkubumi, the brother of Susuhunan Pakubuwono II, was crowned king of the Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat. He was then called Sultan Hamengku Buwono I. In 1813, under the English domination, a separation in the Mataram Kingdom occurred for the third time, when Prince Noto Kusumo created the Pakualaman Princedom.

After the proclamation of the Indonesian independence on the 17^th of August 1945, Sultan Hamengku Buwono IX reunited both the Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat and the Pakualaman Princedom. In the struggle for independence (1947-1949) Sultan Hamengku Buwono IX and his province Yogyakarta played an active role.

Nowadays, Yogyakarta is well known as an outstanding domicile for traditional and modern arts as well as higher education. The estimated number of students studying at the numerous universities, colleges and academies is exceeding 100,000; a third of them take their lessons at the Gadjah Mada University, the country's largest campus site.