Syahbandar
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Shahbandar (), was an official of the ports in
Safavid The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...
Persia and one also known on other shores of the
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...
. The Shahbandar (Port Master) was in charge of the traders and the collection of
taxes A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to regulate and reduce negative externalities. Tax co ...
. The office of shahbandar first appeared in Persia, and from there spread throughout the Indian Ocean basin. Later on, having become obsolete for the port towns of Persia, the term shahbandar was now used for the official who represented the interests of the Turkish merchants operating within Persia. In the Brunei Sultanate, or was the highest honour for a politician, reserved for the royal house family.


Malacca Sultanate

During the era of the
Malacca Sultanate The Malacca Sultanate (; Jawi script: ) was a Malay sultanate based in the modern-day state of Malacca, Malaysia. Conventional historical thesis marks as the founding year of the sultanate by King of Singapura, Parameswara, also known as I ...
, the ''Shahbandar'', also spelt ''Syahbandar'', played a crucial role in managing port affairs. In addition to overseeing traders and collecting taxes from international merchants, the ''Shahbandar'' was responsible for enforcing maritime laws in accordance with the ''Undang-undang Laut Melaka'' ( Jawi: ) (Maritime Laws of Malacca). At the height of the sultanate's power, four ''Shahbandars'' were appointed, each overseeing specific trading communities within the bustling port of Malacca: * The first ''Shahbandar'' managed the affairs of Gujarati traders. * The second ''Shahbandar'' oversaw traders from
Southern India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...
,
Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...
,
Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...
, and
Pasai The Samudera Pasai Sultanate (), also known as Samudera or Pasai or Samudera Darussalam or Pacem, was a Muslim kingdom on the north coast of Sumatra from the 13th to the 16th centuries. Little evidence has been left to allow for historical ...
. * The third ''Shahbandar'' was responsible for traders from
Maritime Southeast Asia Maritime Southeast Asia comprises the Southeast Asian countries of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and East Timor. The terms Island Southeast Asia and Insular Southeast Asia are sometimes given the same meaning as ...
. * The fourth ''Shahbandar'' handled traders from Annam,
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, and the
Ryukyu Islands The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Geography of Taiwan, Taiwan: the Ryukyu Islands are divided into the Satsunan Islands (Ōsumi Islands, Ōsumi, Tokara Islands, Tokara and A ...
. In the Malay nobility system, the ''Shahbandar'' held ranks below the '' Laksamana'' (admiral) and the ''
Temenggung Temenggong or Tumenggung ( Jawi: تمڠݢوڠ; ''Temenggung'', Hanacaraka: ꦠꦸꦩꦼꦁ​ꦒꦸꦁ​; ''Tumenggung'') is an old Malay and Javanese title of nobility, usually given to the chief of public security. Responsibilities The Te ...
'' (chief of public security). They were part of the ''Pembesar Berlapan'' (), one of the tiers within the ''Pembesar Empat Lipatan'' (), the hierarchical structure of Malacca’s nobility.


See also

* Shahbandar (Pakistan)


References


Further reading

* {{EI2, last1=Raymond, first1=A., last2=Hooker, first2=M.B., title=S̲h̲āh Bandar, url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/shah-bandar-COM_1023, volume=9 Nautical terminology Marine occupations Maritime history Government of Safavid Iran Malay culture Persian words and phrases