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Sultan () is an Islamic title, with several historical meanings. Originally it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", or "rulership". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain Muslim rulers who claimed almost full sovereignty in practical terms (i.e., the lack of dependence on any higher ruler), without claiming the overall Caliphate, or it was used to refer to a powerful governor of a province within the caliphate. It then developed some further meanings in certain contexts. The dynasty and lands ruled by the Sultan is called Sultanate (Arabic: سلطنة). In Hebrew, "shilton" or "shaltan" (Hebrew: שלטן, based on the root ש-ל-ט to control, rule) means "dominion" or "regime". [1]
The title carried 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.
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 religious validation of the title was 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 emerging Ottoman Empire in 1383; its earlier leaders had been Beys or Emirs. It was hence also used to refer to governors of provinces, or federated nations within the Caliphate.
At later stages, lesser rulers assumed the style "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, the Sultans of Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Pahang, Perak, Selangor, and Terengganu in Malaysia, and some titular sultans in the southern Philippines and Java 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 constructions 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'.
These are generally secondary titles, either lofty 'poetry' or with a message; e.g.:
This was the authentical style, commonly rendered as sultan, of the Islamic monarchs of the ruling house of Oman, in both its realms:
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 is the (Ki)Swahili title of various native Muslim rulers, generally rendered in Arabic and in western languages as Sultan:
See Sultans on the Comoros; several alternative native titles occur, including Mfalme, Phany and the 'hegemonic' title Sultani tibe
In China:
Most are however in the ethnically predominantly Malay countries:
In Indonesia:
In the Philippines:
In Thailand
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
In a number of post-caliphal states under Mongol or 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
Other Islamic titles
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