Agha
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Agha (or Aga) (Persian: آغا ) from Turkish Agha ‘leader’, ‘ruler’. Title for a civil or military officer, or often part of such title. As a title it was placed after the name of the certain military functionaries at the same time some Court functionaries were entitled to the agha title.
Military titles
In the Ottoman Empire, commanders of the different branches of military services were called aghas i.e. azap agha, besli agha, janissary agha: the commanders of azaps, beslis, and janissaries.This designation was given to commanders of smaller military units too, for instance the bulyuk agha, odzsak agha: the commander of a bulyuk and odzsak both meaning troops.
Civilian titles
- The Kizlar Agha was the Chief Black Eunuch; the Kapi Agha was the Chief White Eunuch- both held very important offices at the Sultan's court, within the Topkapi Seraglio
- Aga Khan is the title of the leader of the Shia Muslim Nizari Ismaili sect. The title Agha Khan was an honorific title bestowed by Qajar Shah Fath Ali Shah of Iran on his son-in-law Hassan Ali Shah (ca.1800-1881), the leader of the Ismaili Shi'as of Persia.
Other uses
Agha is both title and family name in Pakistan and Afghanistan.Honorific
Pakistan's former President Yahya Khan also had Agha as the hereditary title. In usage, the title followed the given name. Although the word serves as a non-hereditary title, English-speakers have commonly used Agha as if it formed part of a personal name, as for instance in Mohammad Agha.Sources and references
(incomplete)- [AllAboutTurkey]
- [RoyalArk- see each present country]
- [Ottoman empire site- original full version in German] (not yet exploited)
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