Shamsuddin Yousuf Shah was the son and successor of Sultan Rukunuddin Barbak Shah

Rukunuddin Barbak Shah

Rukunuddin Barbak Shah was the son and successor of Sultan Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah. Barbak Shah was appointed the governor of the Satgaon region during the reign of his father...

. He ascended the throne in 1474 and assumed the title Shamsuddin Abul Muzaffar Yusuf Shah. During his reign he also took the titles of Khalifat Allah bil Huzzat wal Burhan, Sultan al-Salatin, Zil Allah fil Alamin and Khalifat Allah fil Ardin.

Patron of Islamic culture

Under his patronage poet Jaynuddin wrote his work Rasul Vijaya. A number of mosques were erected in his era. The most notable ones were the Sakomohan Mosque in Maldah, the Tantipara Mosque, the Kadam Rasul Mosque and the Darasbari Mosque of Gaur

Gaur

The gaur , also called Indian bison, is a large bovine native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. The species is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986 as the population decline in parts of the species' range is likely to be well over 70% over the last three generations...

. He put strict Sharia

Sharia

Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...

 law in order and prohibited drinking wine in his ruling kingdom.

He died in 1481.