Pahang Civil War information

Pahang Civil War
Sultan Ahmad al-Muadzam Shah and his personal attendants. Circa 1897.
Date 1857 – 1863 Location Pahang Kingdom Result Tun Ahmad victory and the formation of modern Pahang sultanate Territorial changes Pahang loses south Endau River basin, and southern islands including Aur, Tinggi, and others to Johor.
Belligerents
Tun Ahmad loyalists Terengganu Sultanate Rattanakosin Kingdom	Tun Mutahir loyalists Johor  United Kingdom  Straits Settlements
Commanders and leaders
Tun Ahmad Baginda Omar King Mongkut	Tun Mutahir Temenggong Tun Daeng Ibrahim Abu Bakar William Orfeur Cavenagh

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The Pahang Civil War (Malay: Perang Saudara Pahang, Jawi: ڤرڠ ساودارا ڤهڠ), also known as the Brothers War or the Bendahara War was a civil war fought from 1857 to 1863, between forces loyal to the reigning Raja Bendahara Tun Mutahir, and forces loyal to his brother Tun Ahmad, over the succession to the throne of Pahang.^[1][2]

When the Johor Empire waned in the early nineteenth century, the Bendahara in Pahang, Tun Ali, asserted his autonomy in Pahang, just as the Temenggong had in the state of Johor.^[3] Peace and prosperity reigned in Pahang under his rule which lasted until 1857. After his death that year, his eldest son, Tun Mutahir, succeeded him as Bendahara, but did not execute his father's wish of granting tax revenues of Kuantan and Endau provinces to his younger brother, Wan Ahmad. Wan Ahmad resented and, along with his supporters, moved to Tekong Island just outside Singapore, planning his attack.^[4][5][6]

Tun Mutahir received the backing of Johor ruler Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim, and his son Abu Bakar, who, because of their close ties with Singapore's business community, convinced many of them that British commercial interests lay with Tun Mutahir. On the other hand, Wan Ahmad enlisted the support of Sultan Ali, based in Muar, a rival claimant to the Johor throne, who saw an opportunity for revenge against the Johor Temenggong. The Siamese Rattanakosin Kingdom also weighed in on the side of Wan Ahmad, viewing the disorder as an opportunity to exercise greater control over their southern provinces and extend their influence farther south into Pahang. Sultan Baginda Omar of Terengganu also supported Wan Ahmad, seeing him as a tool to counter the rise of the Temenggong.^[7][8] The province of Kemaman in southern Terengganu was the primary base for many of Wan Ahmad's offensives into Pahang.^[9]

Hostilities began in November 1857, when Wan Ahmad forces attacked Pekan town and nearby Ganchong, but failed to make significant permanent gains.^[10] In the second campaign, carried out in March 1861, the invading forces managed to fortify their position in Endau in southern Pahang, after overrunning Kuala Pahang and Kuantan. They also made significant incursion further inland, occupying more provinces further upstream on the Pahang River. However, in November, their advances were again halted by the Johor/Bendahara coalition. Wan Ahmad and his men retreated to Terengganu, rallying his disarrayed forces for another invasion.^[11]

At the early stage of the war, Major General William Orfeur Cavenagh, the Governor of the British Straits Settlements, offered to mediate but was rejected by both sides. Wan Ahmad felt that Cavenagh was biased in favor of his older brother due to the influence of the Temenggung and Singapore merchants. Tun Mutahir rejected the mediation because he was winning the war.^[12]

In 1862, Wan Ahmad launched a full-scale offensive from Terengganu, when he crossed the border from Kemaman to Ulu Tembeling (Jerantut). With the support of more Pahang chiefs who switched sides, he successfully overran the Bendahara's positions at Temerloh, Batu Gajah and Chenor. Wan Ahmad emerged victorious, with a successful final offensive against the state capital Pekan. Tun Mutahir retreated to Temai and in May 1863, he fled to Kuala Sedili in Johor, where he died with his son Wan Koris.^[13]

The six year-long conflict had destroyed much of the modicum of prosperity which Pahang had enjoyed in the heyday of Bendahara Tun Ali's rule. As noted by Sir Hugh Clifford, prior to the war, Pahang was far more populated than in modern times, but warfare which ravaged the land caused thousands of Pahang Malays to leave their country. The valley of the Lebir river in southern Kelantan, and the mountainous regions in western Pahang, near the Perak and Selangor borders, became inhabited by many Pahang Malays.^[14] As a result of the conflict, Pahang also permanently lost the area south of Endau River (corresponding to modern day Mersing province) and several islands off the coast of Endau including Aur and Tinggi, that were ceded by Tun Mutahir to Johor in return to military assistance.^[15]