Raden Mas Said was the eldest son of Sunan Amangkurat IV (Paku Buwana I), the ruler of Mataram-Kartasura. As a descendant of the king, he had the second right after his father, as heir to the throne. However, his father, who politically, openly showed an anti-VOC attitude, the same attitude as his younger brother, Prince Mangkubumi, had made him an enemy of the VOC. In fact, his father was exiled to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) by the VOC. Raden Mas Said's struggle began at the same time as the rebellion of the Chinese troops in Kartasura in 1742 led by Raden Mas Garendi. This rebellion had caused the Kartasura palace to be badly damaged. Raden Mas Said, by Raden Mas Garendi or Sunan Kuning, was appointed as a war commander with the title of Pangeran Perang Wedana Pamot Besur.

At the age of 22, Raden Mas Said was married to Raden Ayu Inten, the daughter of Prince Mangkubumi. Since then, Raden Mas Said has a new title, namely Pangeran Adipati Mangkunegara Senapati Panata Baris Lelana Adikareng Nata. The name Mangkunegara is taken from the name of his father, Pangeran Arya Mangkunegara Kartasura, who was exiled by the Dutch to Sri Lanka. Raden Mas Said was a true fighter. He continued to fight against injustice both against the Dutch and Mataram itself. He considered Mataram's power to be a puppet of the VOC. After the Giyanti Agreement in 1755, he had a disagreement with his brother, Pangeran Mangkubumi. At that time, Pangeran Mangkubumi had received a land quota in Yogyakarta and appointed himself king with the title Sultan Hamengku Buwana I. Feeling abandoned, he fought alone. He fought three great powers in Java, namely the VOC, the troops of Paku Buwana III, and Hamengku Buwana I.

Raden Mas Said was a skilled fighter. He had the motto tiji tibeh, which is short for mati siji, mati kabeh; mukti siji, mukti kabeh (fall one, fall all; prosper one, prosper all). This motto has boosted the morale of the troops, so that out of 250 wars, he often won and his troops were difficult to defeat. Of the hundreds of wars he led, three terrible wars occurred in the period 1752-1757. He and his militant troops were called the death-spreading troops. This is where the nickname Pangeran Sambernyawa apparently came from.

Not far from Astana Mangadeg, is Astana Girilayu. In Javanese, Giri means mountain or hill, while wilt means dead. This complex is the burial complex of the Mangkunegaran rulers, starting from Mangkunegara IV, V, VII, and VIII. Each has its own museum. However, among the four figures, the Mangkunegara IV building looks the most prominent and magnificent.

MMangkunegara IV was the greatest ruler of Mangkunegaran after its founder, Mangkungara I. His real name was Raden Mas Sudiro. Since childhood, he was known as an intelligent and clever child. After receiving the title of Prince, his name was changed to Kangjeng Pangeran Harya Gandakusuma. After Mangkunegara III died in 1853, he was appointed as Mangkunagara IV. During his time, Mangkunegaran experienced glory. He is said to have founded a sugar factory in Colomadu. In fact, he also initiated the establishment of Solo Balapan Station. Apart from being a ruler, he was also known as an accomplished Javanese cultural figure. He was productive in creating piwulang and several gamelan music compositions. One of his very popular serat piwulang works is Serat Wedhatama, while one of his popular gendhing works is Ketawang Puspawarna.