Mahmud II of Johor

Paduka Sri Sultan Mahmud Shah II ibni al-Marhum Sultan Ibrahim Shah (1675 or 1680 – 1699) was the Sultan of Johor, Pahang and Lingga (1685 – 3 September 1699). As he was young upon assuming the throne, regents oversaw the affairs of state in Johor until the death of the Bendahara, one of the two regents, in 1697. Upon assuming duties as sultan, Mahmud Shah II undermined Johor's stability due to his erratic behavior. As a result, he was murdered by members of his advisory council in 1699. His death led to a period of upheaval and chaos in the southern Strait of Malacca, as successors fought for control of the state.

Life Mahmud Shah II's year of birth is uncertain. Many sources report that he was born in 1675, while other state that his birth more likely was closer to 1680. Much of this is obscured due to the circumstances of his rule and death. Mahmud Shah II became sultan in 1685, following the death of his father Ibrahim Shah, who had overseen an expansion of territorial control and economic prosperity until Johor encompassed much of the southern reaches of the Strait of Malacca and the Malay Peninsula as well as eastern Sumatra. As Mahmud Shah II was a young child at the time, the state operated under the joint regency of his mother and the Bendahara Paduka Raja until the latter's death on 27 July 1697. Mahmud Shah II then took on all official duties as sultan.

The reign of Sultan Mahmud Shah II was disastrous. He was erratic and – according to contemporary European trade company sources as well as local texts – exhibited a "cruel nature" leading the state to be described as "ungovernable." The Scottish country trader Alexander Hamilton vividly recorded several incidents, including the discharge of a firearm into a "poor fellow" on the street to test its efficacy. This behavior threatened the well-being of the state, as traders and merchants began avoiding the main port. The economic turmoil that ensued, combined with violence directed towards women related to the Orang kaya (Malay nobility), led high officials of the state to decide to act against the Sultan.

Death By August 1699 the Orang kaya enacted a plan to eliminate Sultan Mahmud Shah II. According to both European and local texts, the various officials of state descended upon the young sultan and stabbed him to death. Enraged by this injustice, Megat Sri Rama attacked the Sultan while he was being carried to Friday prayers, resulting in the common appellation "Sultan Mahmud Mangkat Dijulang," in remembrance of the way he was killed (mangkat being the Malay word referring specifically to a royal death) while being carried (dijulang) in a royal litter or dais. This tale was recreated in court texts for the next two centuries, particularly in the Tuhfat al-Nafis and the Hikayat Siak. The supposed connection between Raja Kecil and Sultan Mahmud Shah II was subsequently used to legitimatize the Siak Sultanate, which Raja Kecil founded in 1722, as a Malay state.

The legend of Sultan Mahmud Shah II become the subject matter for popular culture texts in the 1950s and 1960s, including the 1961 film Sultan Mahmud Mangkat Dijulang directed by K.M. Basker starring M. Amin as the Sultan.