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.

Muslim monarch ruling under the terms of shariah

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. 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.

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'.

Former sultans and sultanates

Middle East & Central Asia

  • Ghaznavid Sultanate
  • Sultans of Great Seljuk
  • Seljuk Sultanate of Rum
  • Sultans of the Ottoman Empire, the Osmanli
  • Ayyubid Sultans of Damascus (in Syria)
  • in present-day Yemen, various small sultanates of the former British Aden Protectorate and South Arabia:
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:

  • Oman — Sultan of Oman, on the southern coast of the Arabian peninsula, still an independent sultanate, since 1784, two years before the imamate lost temporal power in 1786 (assumed the formal style of Sultan in 1861)
  • Sultanate of Zanzibar two incumbents (from the Omani dynasty) since the de faco separation from Oman in 1806, the last assumed the style Sultan in 1861 at the formal separation under British auspices; since 1964 union with Tanganyika part of Tanzania)

North Africa

  • Ayyubid Sultans of Egypt
  • Mamluk Sultans of Egypt
  • sultanate of Tuggurt
  • in Morocco

East Africa

title Sultan

  • Comoros sultanates
  • Northern Somali sultanates
  • Angoshe on the Mozambiquan coast (also several neighbouring sheikdoms)

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:

  • in Kenya:
    • Pate island, in the Lamu archipel
    • Witu, came under German, then British protectorate
  • in Tanganyika (presently part of Tanzania): of Hadimu, on the island of that name; also styled Jembe

Sultani

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

Southeast Asia

  • Sultanate of Malacca, Malaysia
  • Sultanate of Johor, Perak, Terengganu, Malaysia
  • Sultanate of Aceh, one of many in Indonesia
  • Sultanate of Maguindanao, Philippines
  • Sultanate of Ternate, Indonesia
  • Sultanate of Tidore, Indonesia
  • Sultanate of Mataram, Java, Indonesia
  • Sultanate of Sulu, Philippines

South Asia

  • Bahmani Sultanate
  • Sultanate of Bengal
  • Deccan sultanates: Berar, Bidar, Bijapur, Golconda, Ahmednagar
  • Sultanate of Delhi several dynasties, the last (Mughal) became imperial Padshah-i Hind
  • Sultanate of Gujarat
  • Sultanate of Jaunpur
  • Sultanate of Kandesh
  • Maldives Sultanate
  • Sultanate of Malwa
  • Sultanate of Mysore

Contemporary sultanates

  • Brunei
  • Indonesia — Sultan of Yogyakarta is governor of that province
  • Malaysia
    • Note: Sultan is the title of seven ( Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Pahang, Perak, Selangor and Terengganu) of the nine rulers of the Malay states. The head of state for all Malaysia, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, is selected from among the Rulers, but is usually styled "King" in foreign countries. Political power, however, lies with Prime Minister. See also: Malay titles
  • Oman, an Arabian nation, formerly sultanate of Mascat (and Oman)
  • Philippines — Sultanate of Sulu

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.

  • The sons of Imperial Princesses, excluded from the Ottoman imperial succession, were only styled Sultanzada (given name) Bey-Effendi, i.e. Son of a Prince[ss] of the dynasty

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