About Opentopia
Opentopia Directory Encyclopedia Tools

Sultan

Encyclopedia : S : SU : SUL : Sultan

A Sultan (Arabic: سلطان) is an Islamic title, with several historical meanings. Originally it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", or "rulership". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain Muslim rulers who claimed full sovereignty in practical terms (i.e. the lack of dependence on any higher ruler), without claiming the overall caliphate. It then developed some further meanings in certain contexts. The dynasty and lands ruled by the Sultan is called Sultanate (Arabic: سلطنة).

Contents

Muslim The title carries moral weight and religious authority, as the ruler's role was defined in the Qur'an. The sultan however was not a religious teacher himself. In the Byzantine Empire and the traditional spheres of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, a comparable unity of church and state in the person of the ruler is termed Caesaropapism. The last non-Islamic ruler with comparable authority was Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia, though formally (if not in practice) the British monarch represents a similar union of church and state, being both the head of state and the Supreme Governor of the Church of England; in practice, the Queen is merely the titular leader of church and state; this status is also under question as Charles, Prince of Wales has indicated he intends to rule as 'defender of the faiths' rather than 'defender of the faith'.

The first to carry the title of 'Sultan' was the Turkmen chief Mahmud of Ghazni (ruled 998 - 1030). Later, 'Sultan' became the usual title of rulers of Seljuk and Ottoman Turks and Ayyubid and Mamluk rulers in Egypt. In the later stages Sultan was used mostly for the wives of the emperor. The spiritual validation of the title was well illustrated by the fact that it was the shadow Caliph in Cairo that bestowed the title "sultan" on Murad I, the third ruler of the Ottoman Empire in 1383. The earlier leaders had been beys.

At later stages, lesser rulers assumed the styling "sultan", as was the case for the earlier leaders of today's royal family of Morocco. Today, only the Sultan of Oman, the Sultan of Brunei, and some titular sultans in the southern Philippines, Java, and in the former Malay States which are now part of Malaysia still use the title. The sultan's domain is properly called a sultanate. A feminine form, used by Westerners, is Sultana or Sultanah; the very styling misconstrues the roles of wives of sultans. In a similar usage, the wife of a German Field-Marshal might be styled Feldmarschallin (in French, similar consttuctions of the type madame la maréchalle are quite common).

Among those modern hereditary rulers who wish to emphasize their secular authority under the rule of law, the term is gradually being replaced by 'king'.

Compound ruler titles

These are generally secundary titles, either lofty 'poetry' or with a message; e.g.:

Former sultans and sultanates

Middle East & Central Asia

:Audhali, Fadhli, Haushabi, Kathiri, Lahej, Lower Aulaqi, Lower Yafa, Mahra, Qu'aiti, Subeihi, Upper Aulaqi, Upper Yafa, and the Wahidi sultanates
  • in present-day Saudi Arabia :
  • *Sultans of Nejd
  • *Sultans of the Hejaz

    • Hami

    This was the authentical style, commonly rendered as sultan, of the Islamic monarchs of the ruling house of Oman, in both its realms:

    North Africa

    West & Central Africa

    title Sultan

    Maliki

    This was the alternative native style (apparently derived from Malik, the Arabic word for King) of the Sultans of Kilwa Kisiwani, in Tanganyika (presently part of Tanzania)

    Mfalume

    This is the (Ki)Swahili title of various native Muslim rulers, generally rendered in Arabic and in western languages as Sultan:

    Sultani

    This was the native ruler's title in the Tanzanian state of Uhehe

    Indian Ocean island sultanates

    See Sultans on the Comoros; several alternative native titles occur, including Mfalme, Phany and the 'hegemonic' title Sultani tibe

    Far East

    In China: Most are however in the ethnically predominantly Malay countries: In Malaysia: In Indonesia: In the Philippines:

    Contemporary sultanates

    Princely and aristocratic titles

    In the Ottoman dynastic system, male descendants of the ruling Padishah (in the West also known as Great Sultan), enjoyed a style including Sultan, so this normally Monarchic title is used equivalent to a western prince of the blood: Daulatlu Najabatlu Shahzada Sultan (given name) Hazretleri Effendi; for the Heir Apparent however, the style was Daulatlu Najabatlu Vali Ahad-i-Sultanat (given name) Effendi Hazlatlari, i.e. Crown Prince of the sultanate. In certain muslim states, Sultan was also an aristocratic title, as in the Tartar Astrakhan Khanate

    Military rank

    In a number of post-caliphal states under Mongol of Turkic rule, there was a feudal type of military hierarchy, often decimal (mainly in larger empires), using originally princely titles (Khan, Malik, Amir) as mere rank denominations.

    In the Persian empire, the rank of Sultan was roughly equivalent to a western Captain, socially in the fifth rank class, styled 'Ali Jah

    See also

    Other Islamic titles Further

    Sources and references


    Forms of Government and Methods of Rule: Autocratic and Authoritarian
    Autocratic: Despotism | Dictatorship | Tyranny | Absolute monarchy (Caliphate | Despotate | Emirate | Empire | Imamate | Khanate | Sultanate | Other monarchical titles | Enlightened absolutism)

    		 Other Authoritarian (collective): Military dictatorship (often a Junta) | Oligarchy | Single-party state (Communist state | Fascist state (e.g. Nazism) | de facto: Illiberal democracy | transitional regime

     

    From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
    All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.

    Search Titles
    0123456789
    ABCDEFGHIJ
    KLMNOPQRST
    UVWXYZ?

    E-mail this article to:

    Personal Message: