Bendahara

A bendahara (Jawi: بندهار‎) was an important administrative position within classical Malay kingdoms comparable to a vizier prior to the European colonisation of Southeast Asia during the 19th century. A bendahara was appointed by a sultan and was a hereditary post with candidates selected from the male descendants of the bendahara. The bendahara and the sultan often shared the same lineage, and the former could at times be more powerful than the sultan.