Abdul Jalil Shah III

Abdul Jalil Shah III was the 7th Sultan of Johor who reigned from 1623 to 1677. Known as "Raja Bujang" before his accession, he was a son of the 5th Sultan, Alauddin Riayat Shah III and a nephew of the 6th Sultan, Abdullah Ma'ayat Shah.^[1]

Ruler of Pahang and Sultan of Johor-Pahang

In 1615, Alauddin Riayat Shah III signed a peace treaty with the Portuguese Malacca, and as a sign of gratitude, the Portuguese recognised Raja Bujang as the ruler of Pahang, replacing Alauddin Riayat Shah who was deposed earlier in 1615 by the Acehnese. However, the appointment was not recognised by Sultan Iskandar Muda of Acheh, which later invaded Pahang and forced Raja Bujang to flee to the islands of Lingga. At the same time, the Achehnese waged war with the new Sultan of Johor, Abdullah Ma'ayat Shah who was also forced to flee to Lingga. As the Achehnese attacks continued, Raja Bujang and Sultan Abdullah fled once again to Tambelan archipelago. When Sultan Abdullah died in 1623, Acheh reconcile with Raja Bujang and appoint him as the new Sultan of Johor and Pahang.^[2]

Invasion of Malacca

The strength of Acheh was brought to an end with a disastrous campaign against Malacca in 1629, when the combined Portuguese and Johor forces managed to destroy the fleet and 19,000 Achehnese troops according to Portuguese account.^[3][4] Johor later grew stronger and formed an alliance with the Dutch to attack the Portuguese Malacca and conquered it on January 14, 1640, ending the triangular war. The following year in 1641, Iskandar Thani of Acheh died and succeeded by Queen Taj ul-Alam. Her reign marks the beginning of decline of Acheh position as a regional power.

In 1641, Sultan Abdul Jalil Shah III moved to the mainland Johor and established his new capital in Makam Tauhid. He spent two years of his reign in Makam Tauhid before he crossed the Damar river to establish his new capital in Pasir Raja (also known as Batu Sawar) in October 1642.

In 1666, Jambi, a vassal of Johor Empire emerged as a regional economic and political power and decided to break free from the empire. Between 1666-1673, a civil war erupted and Jambi successfully sacked the Johor capital in Batu Sawar in 1673. Sultan Abdul Jalil Shah III fled to Pahang and made it as his administration centre for four years before he died in Kuala Pahang in 1677.

References

Notes

Sources

• R.O. Winstedt (1992). A History of Johore. The Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (MBRAS). ISBN 983-99614-6-2.