Riau-Lingga Sultanate

Riau-Lingga Sultanate (Malay/Indonesian: کسلطانن رياوليڠݢ, Kesultanan Riau-Lingga), also known as the Lingga-Riau Sultanate, Riau Sultanate or Lingga Sultanate was a Malay sultanate that existed from 1824 to 1911, before being dissolved following Dutch intervention. The sultanate came into existence as a result of the partition of the Johor-Riau Sultanate that separated Peninsular Johor, together with the island of Singapore, from the Riau archipelago. This partition followed the succession dispute following the death of Mahmud III of Johor, when Abdul Rahman was crowned as the first Sultan of Riau-Lingga. The maritime kingdom was recognised by both the British and the Dutch following the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824. Its historical territory is almost parallel to the present-day Riau Islands Province, Indonesia. The Riau Archipelago became a part of the Malaccan Sultanate after the expansion by Tun Perak in the 15th century, following the decline of the Srivijaya Empire. After the fall of Malacca at the hands of the Portuguese, the axis of regional power was inherited by the Johor Sultanate. During the golden age of Johor, the kingdom stretched across half of the Malay Peninsula, eastern Sumatra, Singapore, Bangka, Jambi and the Riau Islands. According to the 1849 Johor Annals, on 27 September 1673 the Laksamana (admiral) of Johor, Tun Abdul Jamil, was ordered by Abdul Jalil Shah III to found a settlement in Sungai Carang, Ulu Riau, on Bintan Island. The settlement in Sungai Carang was later known as Riau Lama. Initially a fortress to protect the Johor Empire, Riau Lama then prospered and became an increasingly prominent entrepôt for regional trade in the Strait of Malacca. Ulu Riau became the capital of Johor during the reign of Sultan Ibrahim when he relocated the capital from Batu Sawar, Kota Tinggi in Peninsular Johor after the old capital was sacked by Jambi forces on 4 October 1722. Riau Lama then became the capital of the empire for 65 years, from 1722 to 1787. The importance of Lingga began during the reign of Mahmud Shah III.