Fort Somba Opu

Fort Somba Opu (Makassarese Baruga Somba Opu, Indonesian Benteng Somba Opu) was a fortified commercial center of the Gowa Sultanate. Its remnants is located in Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The fort was one of the center of the Gowa Sultanate in the 16th-century until its destruction by the Dutch East India Company in 1669. The conquest of Somba Opu citadel was one of the most difficult campaigns the Company had ever undertaken in the East.

Somba Opu grew on one of the two oldest area in Makassar, the Kale Gowa (Tamalate) and the Tallo'. The Kale Gowa was located on elevated ground on the north bank of the Jeneberang River, around six kilometers from its mouth. Both areas feature walls which encompass a very large area; the perimeter totals about two kilometer. Within the walls were sacred coronation stone on which new rulers (karaeng) took their oaths of office, a sacred spring, and the tombs of the rulers. Many Chinese and Sawankhalok porcelain were discovered around these sites, possibly from the 16th century. For Kale Gowa, the walls were built by King Tumapa'risi' Kallonna (1512–1548)

In the 16th century, the karaeng Tunipalangga (1548–1566) gave permission to the Malay merchants to establish a trading port in the port of Makassar. They were allocated a site at Mangallekana, on the coast just south of Jeneberang river. The area quickly became a trade center, which is confirmed by the title of the Shahbandar (port master) of that period, I Daeng ri Mangallekana. The importance of this Malay fort means that a new capital is required near the trade center. So Tunipalangga instructed the construction of a new fortress to the north bank of Jeneberang river, about a kilometer away from the mouth of the Jeneberang at that time.

Somba Opu became the heart of Makassar during the long duumvirate of Sultan Alauddin of Gowa Kingdom and Karaeng Matoaya of Tallo Kingdom (1590–1637). During their reign, there are another additional brick forts around Makassar: at Tallo', at Panakukkang just south of the Jeneberang mouth, and at Ujung Pandang, which later became the Fort Rotterdam; all of these were built to prepared Makassar against the expected Dutch attack in 1615. Somba Opu was the commercial capital of Makassar, while the old Gowa was a ceremonial center for inaugurations or burials. In the 1630s, kings and nobles established their residence in Somba Opu, staying in a house built on thick pillars. According to Dutch maps drawn on a model from the 1630s, a number of detached houses were located in rear (east) and northern side of the fort. They were grouped around the royal complex in the southwest side of Somba Opu, which consisted of two enormous wooden palaces, storehouses, and a mosque. Outside Somba Opu fort were two major markets each to the north and south, and houses of the commoners. The quarters of the Portuguese, the Indians, and some European factories were located along the north coast.

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