Shahbandar

Shahbandar, was an official of the ports in Safavid Persia and one also known on other shores of the Indian Ocean. The Shahbandar was in charge of the traders and the collection of taxes.
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, Pengiran Shahbandar or Pengiran Indera Mahkota was the highest honour for a politician, reserved for the royal house family.

Malacca Sultanate

During the era of the Malacca Sultanate, 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 . 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, Bengal, Burma, and Pasai Sultanate|Pasai].
The third Shahbandar was responsible for traders from Maritime Southeast Asia.
The fourth Shahbandar handled traders from Annam, China, and the Ryukyu Islands.

In the Malay nobility system, the Shahbandar held ranks below the Laksamana and the Temenggung. They were part of the Pembesar Berlapan, one of the tiers within the Pembesar Empat Lipatan, the hierarchical structure of Malacca’s nobility.