The successive wars that ravaged the land had led to the rise of dissension among the ruling class and territorial chiefs who were thenceforth divided into factions. In 1881, prompted by his dwindling authority both within Pahang and among his counterparts in the western Malay states, Tun Wan Ahmad took upon the title of Sultan Ahmad al-Muadzam Shah and formally proclaimed as Sultan by his chiefs two years later. The event marked the revival of Pahang as a Sultanate after more than two centuries of union with the crown of Johor.[1] Ahmad gained formal recognition from the British Straits Settlements government in 1887, in return for signing a treaty with the British which compelled him to accept a British Agent in his court.