Mahmud Ri’ayat Shah Zilu’llah fil’Alam Khalifat ul-Muminin ibni al-Marhum Sultan ‘Abdu’l Jalil Shah (Malay: محمود رعایة شاه ظل الله في العالم خلیفة المؤمنين ابن المرحوم سلطان عبد الجلیل شاه, 24 March 1756 – 1811) was the 17th Sultan of Johor and Johor's dependencies who reigned from 1770 to 1811.
[citation needed] During the early part of his reign, the office of Yamtuan Muda was held by the powerful Bugis chief, Daeng Kemboja.
He exploited the rivalry by concluding a treaty of protection with Dutch East India Company on board the Utrecht[2] on 10 November 1784 in which he was accorded the style of 'Most Serene Prince' (Doorlugtigen Vorst).
Hostilities between the two powers continued until 1795, when the Dutch succeeded in ousting the Bugis chief, Raja Ali from Riau, allowing Mahmud Shah III to return to his capital.
[4] This development had resulted in the sultanate's constituent parts effectively became principalities, and the cultural unity that had existed between the Malay Peninsula and the islands of Riau-Lingga was gradually destroyed.