king's order, and Blitar and Purbaya was dislodged from their stronghold in Mataram in November. In 1720, these two princes ran away to the still rebellious interior of East Java. Luckily for the VOC and the young king, the rebellious regents of Surabaya, Jangrana III and Jayapuspita died in 1718–20 and Pangeran Blitar died in 1721. In May and June 1723, the remnants of the rebels and their leaders surrendered, including Surengrana of Surabaya, Pangeran Purbaya and Dipanagara, all of whom were banished to Ceylon, except Purbaya, who was taken to Batavia to serve as "backup" to replace Amangkurat IV in case of any disruption in the relationship between the king and VOC since Purbaya was seen to have equal "legitimacy" by the VOC. It is obvious from these two Wars of Succession that even though the VOC was virtually invincible in the field, mere military prowess was not sufficient to pacify Java. Court intrigues in 1723–1741 After 1723, the situation seemed to stabilise, much to the delight of the Dutch. Javanese nobility had learned that the alliance of the VOC's military with any Javanese faction made them nearly invincible. It seemed that the VOC's plan to reap the profit from a stable Java under a kingdom which was deeply indebted to the VOC would soon be realised. In 1726, Amangkurat IV fell to an illness that resembled poisoning. His son assumed the throne as Pakubuwana II, this time without any serious resistance from anybody. The history for the period of 1723 until 1741 was dominated by a series of intrigues which further showed the fragile nature of Javanese politics, held together by Dutch's effort. In this relatively peaceful situation, the king could not gather the support of his "subjects" and instead was swayed by short-term ends siding with this faction for a moment and then to another. The king never seemed to lack challenges to his "legitimacy". The descendants of Amangkurat III, who were allowed to return from Ceylon, and the royal brothers, especially Pangeran Ngabehi Loring Pasar and the banished Pangeran Arya Mangkunegara, tried to gain the support of the Dutch by spreading gossips of rebellion against the king and the patih (vizier), Danureja. At the same time, the patih tried to strengthen his position by installing his relatives and clients in the regencies, sometimes without king's consent, at the expense of other nobles’ interests, including the powerful