Mahmud Ri’ayat Shah Zilu’llah fil’Alam Khalifat ul-Muminin ibni al-Marhum Sultan ‘Abdu’l Jalil Shah (, 24 March 1756 – 1811) was the 17th

Sultan of Johor The Sultan of Johor (Malay language, Malay: ''Sultan Johor''; Jawi script, Jawi: ) is a hereditary seat and the sovereign ruler of the Malaysian state of Johor. In the past, the sultan held absolute power over the state and was advised by a '' ...

and Johor's dependencies who reigned from 1770 to 1811. Exercising little power over the sultanate where actual power was held under the Bugis court faction, the '' Tuhfat al-Nafis'' nevertheless mentions him as an able statesman who did what he could against insurmountable odds, while Abdullah Abdul Kadir attests to his good character.

Early life

Born on 24 March 1756, Mahmud Shah III was the younger son of the 13th Sultan of Johor, Abdul Jalil Muazzam Shah by his second wife, Tengku Puteh binti Daeng Chelak. To maintain their de facto control of the Johor Empire, the Bugis continued to install puppet rulers on the throne, including the infant grandson of Sulaiman Badrul Alam Shah, Mahmud Shah III, who became Sultan on the death of his elder brother, Ahmad Riayat Shah in 1770.

Treaty with the Dutch

During the early part of his reign, the office of Yamtuan Muda was held by the powerful Bugis chief, Daeng Kemboja. Mahmud Shah III came of age at a time when Bugis-Dutch trade rivalry was intensifying. He exploited the rivalry by concluding a treaty of protection with

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( ; VOC ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered company, chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States Ge ...

on board the ''Utrecht'' on 10 November 1784 in which he was accorded the style of 'Most Serene Prince' (''Doorlugtigen Vorst''). The treaty called for the end of the Bugis monopoly over the office of Yamtuan Muda and prohibited other Bugis from holding office within Johor's administration. It also demanded the expulsion of all Bugis not born or bred in Riau. Additionally, the treaty allowed the Dutch to post a

Resident Resident may refer to: People and functions * Resident minister, a representative of a government in a foreign country * Resident (medicine), a stage of postgraduate medical training * Resident (pharmacy), a stage of postgraduate pharmaceut ...

in Johor. Shortly thereafter. Mahmud Shah III retreated to Pahang. All-out conflict soon erupted between the Dutch and the Bugis. Hostilities continued until 1795, when the Dutch succeeded in ousting the Bugis chief, Raja Ali from Riau, allowing Mahmud Shah III to return to his capital.

Return of the Bugis dominance

The same year, the Netherlands came under French occupation and the Dutch allowed the British to temporarily take over their territories in the

Malay world The Malay world or Malay realm (Indonesian language, Indonesian/Malay language, Malay: or ) is a concept or an expression that has been used by different authors and groups over time to denote several different notions, derived from varied in ...

. This enabled Raja Ali to make a comeback. After the Bugis ousted Tengku Muda, the Malay Yamtuan Muda of Johor, Mahmud Shah III had no choice but to accept Raja Ali's return in 1803. To appease both the Bugis and Tengku Muda, the Sultan married his son, Tengku Hussein, to Tengku Muda's daughter, while his other son, Tengku Abdul Rahman, was made Raja Ali's ward. To maintain his distance from the Bugis, Mahmud Shah III established his capital at

Daik Daik ( Jawi: ; ) is the main village (''kelurahan'') on the island of Lingga of Lingga Regency, in the Riau Islands in Indonesia. It is located at . History Daik was the capital of the Lingga Sultanate for almost 100 years, from 1819 to 1911. ...

, Lingga.

Dissolution of Johor

By the early 19th century, Pahang and Riau-Lingga began to break away from Johor. Based in Lingga, Mahmud Shah III exercised little power over the Johor Sultanate. This enabled the emergence of a number of powerful chiefs from the same family, such as

Temenggong Abdul Rahman Temenggong Tun Daeng Abdul Rahman bin Almarhum Temenggong Tun Daeng Abdul Hamid Al-Aidaroos (1755 – 8 December 1825) was the Temenggong of Johor during the Bendahara dynasty of the Johor Sultanate. He was best known of being instrumental ...

(great great grandson of Abdul Jalil Shah IV, second cousins once removed to Mahmud Shah III) and Tun Abdul Majid (grandson of Abdul Jalil Shah IV and first cousins once removed to Mahmud Shah III). Installed in 1806, the Temenggong had de facto control over the Johor mainland, Singapore and the islands in the

Riau Archipelago The Riau Archipelago is a ''geographic'' term (as opposed to administrative region) for the core group of islands within the Riau Islands Province in Indonesia, and located south of Singapore and east of Riau on Sumatra. Before the province of Ri ...

. While in

Pahang {{Infobox political division , name = Pahang , official_name = Pahang Darul Makmur , native_name = , settlement_type = States and federal territories of Malaysia, State , image_skyline = , imagesize ...

, Bendahara Tun Abdul Majid became increasingly independent and began carrying the title 'Raja Bendahara' ('King Grand Vizier') of the dominion, following the weakening control from the capital. This development had resulted in the sultanate's constituent parts effectively becoming principalities, and the cultural unity that had existed between the

Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula is located in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area contains Peninsular Malaysia, Southern Tha ...

and the islands of Riau-Lingga gradually being destroyed.

Death

Mahmud Shah III died at Fort Tanna, Bukit Chengah, Lingga on 12 January 1811 and was buried at Masjid Jamie', Daik, Lingga. He died without having named a successor. A succession dispute arose between his sons which later ended when the Bugis seized the throne for his younger son, Tengku Abdul Rahman and crowned him in Riau as the next sultan.

References

Bibliography

* {{National Heroes of Indonesia 1756 births 1811 deaths Sultans of Johor 18th-century monarchs in Asia 19th-century monarchs in Asia House of Bendahara of Johor National Heroes of Indonesia Sons of sultans