Javanese years to obtain corresponding Christian years, the agreement between Javanese sources themselves is also less than perfect. The Javanese sources are very selective in putting dates to events. Events such as the rise and fall of kratons (palaces), the deaths of important princes, great wars, etc. are the only kind of events deemed important enough to be dated, by using a poetic formula chronogram called candrasengkala, which can be expressed verbally and pictorially, the rest being simply described in narrative succession without dates. Again these candrasengkalas do not always match the annals. Therefore, the following rule of thumb is suggested: the dates from de Graaf and Ricklefs for the period before the Siege of Batavia can be accepted as best-guesses. For the period after the Siege of Batavia (1628–29) until the first War of Succession (1704), the years of events in which foreigners participated can be accepted as certain, but – again – are not always consistent with Javanese versions of the story. The events in the period 1704–1755 can be dated with greater certainty since, in this period, the Dutch interfered deeply in Mataram affairs but events behind kraton walls are, in general, difficult to date precisely. History Formation and Growth Establishment of the Kingdom Details in Javanese sources about the early years of the kingdom are limited, and the line is unclear between the historical record and myths since there are indications of the efforts by later rulers, especially Agung, to establish a long line of legitimate descent by inventing predecessors. However, by the time more reliable records begin in the mid-17th century the kingdom was so large and powerful that most historians concur it had already been established for several generations. According to Javanese records, the kings of Mataram were descended from one Ki Ageng Sela (Sela is a village near the present-day Demak). In the 1570s, one of Ki Ageng Sela's descendants, Kyai Gedhe Pamanahan was awarded rule of the land of Mataram by the King of Pajang, Sultan Hadiwijaya, as the reward for his service of defeating Arya Panangsang, Hadiwijaya's enemy. Pajang was located near the current site of Surakarta, and Mataram was originally a vassal of Pajang. Pamanahan was often referred to as Kyai Gedhe Mataram. A kyai is a Muslim cleric who is well educated and tend to be well-respected. Meanwhile, in Pajang, there were major power struggles that took place after