Pahang
Etymology
The Khmer word for tin is and it is phonetically identical to . Since the tin mines at Sungai Lembing had been known since ancient times and that the Malay Peninsula was within the sphere of influence of Khmer civilisation, William Linehan hypothesized that the name of the state was named after the Khmer word for tin.This lexemic starting point can be used to explain other derivatives terms such as the Pahang River, Mahang the place, Mahang the tree. The Proto-Malays of Sungai Bebar who interacted with Trito-Malays likely acquired the term from their city counterparts. The theories that the state was named after the river or tree are unsatisfactory as they do not explain how the river or the tree got their names.
There were many variations of the name Pahang outside the Malay world. For examples, Song dynasty author Zhao Rukuo wrote in Zhufanzhi that Phong-hong was a dependency of Srivijaya. The transition from Inderapura to Pahang, approximately around the Song period indicates that Khmer influence on the state was weakened and displaced by that of Srivijaya and Majapahit.
During the Yuan dynasty, Pahang was known as Phenn-Khenn in Daoyi Zhilue , and in Ming Shilu , it was transliterated as Pen-Heng, and in Haiguo Wenjianlu , compiled in the Qing period, Pahang was transliterated as .
Arabs and Europeans, transliterated Pahang to ''Pam, Pan, Paam, Paon, Phaan, Phang, Paham, Pahan, Pahaun, Phaung, Phahangh.''
History
Prehistory
Archaeological evidence shows that humans have inhabited the area that is now Pahang since as early as the Paleolithic. Relics of a of Mesolithic civilisation that used using paleolithic implements have been found at Gunung Senyum. Chipped Paleolithic artefacts without traces of polishing have been discovered at Sungai Lembing, Kuantan, from the remains of a 6,000 years old civilisation. Traces of Hoabinhian culture are represented by a number of limestone cave sites. Late Neolithic relics are abundant, including polished tools, quoit discs, stone ear pendants, stone bracelets and cross-hatched bark pounders. By around 400 BCE, the development of bronze casting led to the flourishing of the Đông Sơn culture, notably for its elaborate bronze war drums.The early iron civilisation in Pahang that began around the beginning of Common Era is associated by prehistorians with the late neolithic culture. Relics from this era, found along the rivers are particularly numerous in the Tembeling Valley, which served as the old main northern highway of communication. Ancient gold workings in Pahang are thought to date back to this early Iron Age as well.
Hindu-Buddhist Era
The Kra Isthmus region of the Malay Peninsula and its peripheries are recognised by historians as the cradle of Malayic civilisations. Primordial Malayic kingdoms are described as tributaries to Funan by the 2nd century Chinese sources. Ancient settlements in Pahang can be traced from Tembeling to as far south as Merchong. Their tracks can also be found in the deep hinterland of Jelai, along the Chini Lake, and up to the head-waters of the Rompin. One such settlement was identified as Koli in Geographia or Kiu-Li, centred on the estuary of Pahang River south of Langkasuka, that flourished in the 3rd century CE. It possessed an important international port, where many foreign ships stopped to barter and resupply. In common with most of the states in the Malay Peninsula during that time, Kiu-Li was in contact with Funan. The Chinese records mention that an embassy sent to Funan by the Indian King Murunda sailed from Kiu-Li's port. Murunda presented to the Funanese King Fan Chang four horses from the Yuezhi stud farms.By the middle of the 5th century, a polity suggested to be ancient Pahang, was described in the Book of Song as Pohuang or Panhuang. The king of Pohuang, She-li Po-luo-ba-mo, was recorded to have sent an envoy to the Liu Song court in 449–450. In 456–457, another envoy of the same country arrived at the Chinese capital, Jiankang. This ancient Pahang is believed to had been established later as a mueang to the mandala of Langkasuka-Kedah centred in modern-day Patani region that rose to prominence with the regression of Funan from the 6th century. By the beginning of the 8th century, Langkasuka-Kedah came under the military and political hegemony of Srivijaya. In the 11th century, the power vacuum left by the collapse of Srivijaya was filled by the Nakhon Si Thammarat Kingdom, commonly known in Malay tradition as 'Ligor'. During this period, Pahang, designated as Muaeng Pahang was established as one of the twelve naksat city states of Ligor.
In the 14th century, Pahang began consolidating its influence in the southern part of the Malay Peninsula. The kingdom, described by Portuguese historian, Manuel Godinho de Erédia as Pam, was one of the two kingdoms of Malayos in the peninsula, in succession to Pattani, that flourished before the establishment of the Malacca Sultanate. The Maharaja of Pahang, was also the overlord of countries of , on the southern part of the peninsula including Temasek. The Majapahit chronicle, Nagarakretagama even used the name Pahang to designate the Malay Peninsula, an indication of the importance of this kingdom. The History of Ming records several envoy missions from Pahang to the Ming court in the 14th and 15th centuries. In 1378, Maharaja Tajau sent envoys with a letter on a gold leaf and sent six foreign slaves and products of the country as tribute. In 1411, during the reign of Maharaja Pa-la-mi-so-la-ta-lo-si-ni, he also sent envoys carrying tribute.
Old sultanate
The Old Pahang Sultanate centred in modern-day Pekan was established in the 15th century. At the height of its influence, the sultanate was an important power in Southeast Asia and controlled the entire Pahang basin, bordering the Pattani Sultanate to the north and the Johor Sultanate to the south. To the west, its jurisdiction extended over parts of modern-day Selangor and Negeri Sembilan.The sultanate has its origin as a vassal to the Malacca Sultanate, with its first sultan, Muhammad Shah having been a Malaccan prince, and was the grandson of Dewa Sura, the last pre-Malaccan ruler of Pahang. Over the years, Pahang grew independent from Malaccan control and at one point even established itself as a rival to Malacca until the latter's demise in 1511. In 1528, the last Sultan of Malacca, Mahmud Shah died. Pahang joined forces with his successor, Alauddin Riayat Shah II who established himself in Johor to expel the Portuguese from the Malay Peninsula. Two attempts were made in 1547 at Muar and in 1551 at Portuguese Malacca. However, in the face of superior Portuguese arms and vessels, the Pahang and Johor forces were forced to retreat on both occasions.
During the reign of Sultan Abdul Kadir, Pahang enjoyed a brief period of cordial relations with the Portuguese. However, this relationship was discontinued by his successor, Sultan Ahmad II. The next ruler, Sultan Abdul Ghafur attacked the Portuguese and simultaneously challenged the Dutch presence in the Strait of Malacca. Nevertheless, in 1607, Pahang not only tolerated the Dutch, but, following a visit by Admiral Matelief de Jonge, even cooperated with them in an attempt to get rid of the Portuguese.
The Sultan tried to reforge the Johor-Pahang alliance to assist the Dutch. However, a quarrel which erupted between Sultan Abdul Ghafur and Alauddin Riayat Shah III of Johor, resulted in Johor declaring war on Pahang in 1612. With the aid of Sultan Abdul Jalilul Akbar of Brunei, Pahang eventually defeated Johor in 1613. Sultan Abdul Ghafur's son, Alauddin Riyat Shah ascended to the throne in 1614. In 1615, the Acehnese under Iskandar Muda invaded Pahang, forcing Alauddin Riayat Shah to retreat into the interior. He nevertheless continued to exercise some ruling powers. His reign in exile is considered to have officially ended after the installation of a distant relative, Raja Bujang to the Pahangese throne in 1615, with the support of the Portuguese following a pact between the Portuguese and Sultan of Johor.
Raja Bujang who reigned as Abdul Jalil Shah was eventually deposed in the Acehnese invasion in 1617, but restored to the Pahangese throne and also installed as the new Sultan of Johor following the death of his uncle, Abdullah Ma'ayat Shah in 1623. This event led to the union of the crown of Pahang and Johor, and the formal establishment of the Johor Empire.
Modern history
The modern Pahang kingdom came into existence with the consolidation of power by the Bendahara family in Pahang, following the gradual disintegration of Johor Empire. Self-rule was established in Pahang in the late 18th century, with Tun Abdul Majid declared as the first raja bendahara. The area around Pahang formed a part of the hereditary domains attached to this title and administered directly by the raja bendahara. The weakening of the Johor Sultanate and the disputed succession to the throne was coupled with the increasing independence of the Bendahara in Pahang, the Temenggong in Johor and Singapore, and the Yamtuan Muda in Riau.In 1853, the fourth raja bendahara Tun Ali, renounced his allegiance to the Sultan of Johor and became the independent ruler of Pahang. He was able to maintain peace and stability during his reign. After his death in 1857 his younger son Wan Ahmad challenged the succession of his half-brother Tun Mutahir, in a dispute that escalated into a civil war. Supported by the neighbouring Terengganu Sultanate and the Siamese, Wan Ahmad emerged victorious, establishing control over important towns and expelled his brother in 1863. He served as the last raja bendahara, and was proclaimed Sultan of Pahang by his chiefs in 1881.
Due to internal strife within Pahang, the British pressured Sultan Ahmad to agree to the presence of a British adviser. Aided by Sultan Abu Bakar of Johor and William Fraser of the Pahang Mining Company, they succeeded in convincing Sultan Ahmad to accept a British agent, Hugh Clifford, in December 1887. In October 1888, Sultan Ahmad reluctantly accepted John Pickersgill Rodger as Pahang's first Resident. Following the intervention, Sultan Ahmad became a Ruler-in-Council and acted in accordance with the advice of the British Resident and the State Council, except in matters pertaining Islam and Malay customs. Taxes were to be collected in the name of the sultan by the Resident, with the assistance of European officers.
Between 1890 and 1895, Dato' Bahaman, the Orang Kaya Setia Perkasa Pahlawan of Semantan, and Imam Perang Rasu, the Orang Kaya Imam Perang Indera Gajah of Pulau Tawar, led a revolt against the British encroachment. Sultan Ahmad appeared to be co-operating with the British, but he was known to be sympathetic to the dissidents. By 1895 the revolt was suppressed by the British and many of the dissidents surrendered. In July 1895, Sultan Ahmad signed the Federation Agreement, which made Pahang, along with Perak, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan, one of the Federated Malay States, a protectorate of the British Empire. This had effectively reduced the Sultan's powers and authority, as did the creation of Federal Council in 1909. The executive and legislative functions of the State Council became increasingly nominal.
Like other Malay States, Pahang suffered during the Japanese occupation of Malaya until 1945. During the Japanese Occupation, the reigning Sultan Abu Bakar opened a large potato plantation behind the Terentang Palace to help ease the food shortage and he personally approved proposals to form the Askar Wataniah, an underground Malay resistance force. The Sultan spent the final days of the occupation in a jungle hideout with members of Force 136, resistance fighters and refugees. In late 1945, to mark the decommissioning of the Askar Wataniah, the troops paraded through Pekan and submitted to a royal inspection, after which they were honoured at the Sa'adah Palace with what has been called 'the first ronggeng of the liberation'.
During his reign, Sultan Abu Bakar revived the office of State Mufti and established the Pahang Islamic and Malay Customs Council. The state's administrative capital, which was established in Kuala Lipis during British intervention, was moved to Kuantan.
After World War II, Pahang formed the Federation of Malaya with the other eight Malay States and two British Crown Colonies, Malacca and Penang in 1948. The semi-independent Malaya was granted independence in 1957, and was then reconstituted as Malaysia with the inclusion the states of Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak in 1963.