Sultan Mansur Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Muzaffar Shah (died 1477) was the sixth Sultan of Malacca from 1459 to 1477. He ascended the throne after the death of his father, Muzaffar Shah.

Expansions

Mansur Shah implemented a policy of expansionism during his rule. Many territories in

Peninsular Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia ( ms, Semenanjung Malaysia; Jawi: سمننجڠ مليسيا), or the States of Malaya ( ms, Negeri-negeri Tanah Melayu; Jawi: نڬري-نڬري تانه ملايو), also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, ...

and eastern

Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...

and the surrounding islands, such as Perak, Bernam, while Siak became Malacca's vassal. Several states unsuccessfully asserted their autonomy such as Pahang, Kampar and Inderagiri. This led one of Mansur's son to be leader of Pahang.

Manjung The Manjung District, formerly Dindings, is a district in the southwestern part of the state of Perak, Malaysia. The district is well known for Pangkor Island, an attraction in Perak and the home of the Royal Malaysian Navy (TLDM), Lumut Naval ...

, Rupat,

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

, and

Bintan Bintan Regency (formerly Riau Islands Regency; id, Kabupaten Kepulauan Riau) is an administrative area in the Riau Islands Province of Indonesia. Bintan Regency includes all of Bintan Island (except for the city of Tanjung Pinang which is sep ...

, were under the control of Malacca during his rule.

Marriage alliances

Mansur Shah also used marriage alliances between princesses of Malacca and the rulers of conquered states, such as the marriage between the king of Siak to Mansur Shah's daughter, Princess Mahadewi, to strengthen Malacca’s control over those states. Such alliances were a factor in Islam's expansion in maritime Southeast Asia. Siantan and Indragiri in Sumatra were also given to Malacca as dowry for his marriage to the princess of

Majapahit Majapahit ( jv, ꦩꦗꦥꦲꦶꦠ꧀; ), also known as Wilwatikta ( jv, ꦮꦶꦭ꧀ꦮꦠꦶꦏ꧀ꦠ; ), was a Javanese Hindu-Buddhist thalassocratic empire in Southeast Asia that was based on the island of Java (in modern-day Indonesia ...

. According to historian Tomé Pires, Princess Hang Li Po, daughter of the Ming Dynasty Emperor Yongle (1403–1424), was sent over with her sizable entourage to marry Sultan Mansur Shah. Princess Hang Li Po remains a mystery/myth today because there are no records in Ming Dynasty sources with the surname of Hang or a princess named Li Po. Emperor Yongle had only 5 princesses, Princess Yong'an (永安公主; 1377–1417), Princess Ancheng (安成公主; 1384–1443), Princess Yongping (永平公主; 1379–1444), Princess Xianning (咸寧公主; 1385–1440) and Princess Changning (常寧公主; 1387–1408). During Sultan Mansur's reign of power, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was Emperor Yingzong (1457–1464), instead of Emperor Yongle. Princesses of conquered states, such as Princess Wanang Seri of Pahang and Raden Galoh Candra Kirana, were also married to the Sultan of Malacca.

Economic policy

Mansur Shah reduced taxes on trade items during his reign, which increased the interest of merchants in trading through Malacca. A preferential tariff system was introduced whereby a 6% tax was levied on the trade of merchants from west of Malacca, such as

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Pl ...

and India, and a 3% tax was levied on the trade of merchants from Maritime Southeast Asia. Merchants from China, Japan and

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mo ...

were not taxed at all. Malacca also offered the economic advantage of easy access to laborers.

Spread of Islam

Mansur Shah, who had an interest in Islam, encouraged scholarship in Islamic theological studies, and studied

Sufism Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality ...

himself. He studied under Maulana Abu Bakar, who brought the Ab Darul Manzum scriptures to

Malacca Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has bee ...

. He ordered the translation of the scripture to Malay by Makhdum Patakan. Mansur Shah referred to scholars from Pasai on religious issues due to their expertise.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mansur Shah Of Malacca 1477 deaths Sultans of Malacca History of Malacca 15th-century monarchs in Asia