Sultan of Pahang | |
---|---|
Provincial/State
|
|
Incumbent | |
Ahmad Shah | |
Details | |
Style | His Royal Highness |
Heir apparent | Tengku Abdullah |
First monarch | Muhammad Shah |
Formation | 1470 |
Sultan of Pahang is the title of the hereditary constitutional head of Pahang, Malaysia. The current sultan is Ahmad Shah. He is the Head of the Islam in the state and the source of all titles, honours and dignities in the state. Historically, the tile was also used by rulers of the Old Pahang Sultanate.
After the Srivijaya empire collapsed, around the 1000, Pahang was claimed first by Majapahit, Siam, and then by Sultanate of Malacca. Pahang was fought over by the Portuguese, the Dutch, Johor, and Aceh for most of the 16th century. During this time, its population was mostly killed or enslaved, its rulers murdered and its economy ruined.
After the decline of Aceh in the mid-17th century, Pahang came under the rule of Johor. However, Sultans of Pahang, descended from the Malacca and the Bendahara Johor royal dynasties, have ruled the state almost continuously from 1470, and gradually recovered a great degree of autonomy.
As the Johor Empire was falling apart with the loss of the Riau-Lingga territories, Temenggung Ibrahim of Johor understood this situation and quickly signed a treaty with Bendahara Tun Mutahir of Pahang in 1861. The treaty recognizes the territories of Johor (mainland), the Temenggung and his descendent's right to rule it, mutual protection and mutual recognitions of Pahang and Johor. With the signing of this treaty, the remnants of the Empire became 2 independent states, Johor and Pahang.
From 1858 to 1863, Pahang was fought over in a civil war between the two sons of the reigning Bendahara of Pahang. The war ended when Wan Ahmad was proclaimed the new sultan in 1887, but his role from that point onward was largely ceremonial, as the British forced him to sign a treaty bringing the country under control of a British Resident.