Pahang History
Introduction | Attractions

Evidence of habitation in Pahang dates back to the Mesolithic Era. Long famous for the deposits of tin and gold found along the upper reaches of the Tembeling River, Pahang had attracted the interest of outside powers long before the founding of Malacca in 1400. Under the control of the maritime empire of Srivijaya (centered around Palembang in southeast Sumatra), Pahang had expanded to cover the entire southern portion of the Malay peninsula in the eight and ninth centuries.

With the collapse of Srivijaya power around 1000, Pahang was claimed first by the Siamese and then, in the late fifteenth century, by Malacca. After Malacca fell to the Portuguese in 1511, Pahang became a key part of the territorial struggles between Acheh, Johor, the Portuguese, and the Dutch. Repeated raids, invasions, and occupations devastated the state, until the decline of both Achenese and Portuguese power in the early 17th century allowed Johor (the successor state to Malacca) to reestablish its influence. In the late eighteenth century Pahang gradually gained autonomy, and in the middle of the nineteenth century it had become an independent state.