What is "priyayi"

Priyayi (former spelling: Prijaji) was the Dutch era class of the nobles of the Robe, as opposed to royal nobility or bangsawan (Indonesian) or ningrat ( Javanese), in Java, Indonesia's most populous island. Priyayi was a Javanese word coined for the descendants of the adipati or governors, the first of whom were appointed in the 17th century by the Sultan Agung of Mataram to administer the principalities he had conquered. Initially court officials in pre-colonial kingdoms, the priyayi moved into the colonial civil service, and then on to administrators of the modern Indonesian republic.