Sultan (Arabic: سلطان) is an Islamic title, with several historical meanings. Originally it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", or "rulership", derived from the Arabic masdar سلطة sulṭah, meaning "authority" or "power". 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).

Muslim ruler 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 is not a religious teacher himself. Of course in constitutional monarchies, the sultanship can be reduced to a more limited role.

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 the shadow Caliph in Cairo bestowed the title "Sultan" on Murad I, the third ruler of the emerging Ottoman Empire in 1383; its earlier sovereigns had been (protocollary 'mere') Beys or Emirs.

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 (both sovereign nations), the Sultans of Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Pahang, Perak, Selangor and Terengganu (of constitutive states of the federation) in Malaysia, and some titular sultans in Insulinde, a few on the southern Philippines and Java (Indonesia) 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' (e.g. Malik in Arabic).

Compound ruler titles

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

• Mani Sultan = Manney Sultan, meaning 'the Pearl or rulers', or less poetically Honoured Monarch, was a subsidiary title, part of the full style of the Maharaja of Travancore
• Sultan of Sultans is the 'sultanic equivalent' of King of Kings
• certain secondary titles have a devout Islamic connotation, e.g. Sultan ul-Mujahidin as champion of jihad bis saif (holy war to establish Islamic rule)

Former Sultans and Sultanates

Middle East & Central Asia

• Ghaznavid Sultanate
• Sultans of Great Seljuk
• Seljuk Sultanate of Rum
• Sultans (becoming Padishahs) 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 authentic 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 facto 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

• in Algeria: sultanate of Tuggurt
• in (greater) Egypt:
• Ayyubid Sultans
• Mamluk Sultans
• in Morocco, till Mohammed V changed the style to Malik (king) on 14 August 1957, maintaining the subsidiary style Amir al-Mu´minin (Commander of the Faithful)
• in Sudan:
• Darfur
• Dar al-Masalit
• Dar Qimr
• Funj Sultanate of Sinnar (Sennar)
• Kordofan
• in Chad:
• Bag(u)irmi (main native title: Mbang)
• Wada'i (main native title: Kolak), successor state to Birgu
• Dar Sila (actually a wandering group of tribes),

West & Central Africa

• in Cameroon:
• Bamoun (Bamun, 17th cent. founded uniting 17 chieftancies) 1918 becomes a Sultanate, but in 1923 re-divided into the 17 original chieftancies.
• Bibemi 1770 founded- Rulers first style Lamido to ...., then Sultan
• Mandara Sultanate since 1715 (replacing Wandala kingdom); 1902 Part of Cameroon
• Rey Bouba Sultanate founded 1804
• in the Central African Republic:
• Bangassou created ca.1878; 14 June 1890 under Congo Free State protectorate, 1894 under French protectorate; 1917 Sultanate suppressed by the French.
• Dar al-Kuti - French protectorate since December 12, 1897
• Rafai ca.1875 Sultanate, 8 April 8, 1892 under Congo Free State protectorate, March 31 1909 under French protectorate; 1939 Sultanate suppressed
• Zemio ca.1872 established; December 11 1894 under Congo Free State protectorate, April 12 1909 under French protectorate; 1923 Sultanate suppressed
• in Niger: Arabic alternative title of the following autochthonous rulers:
• the Amenokal of the Aïr confederation of Tuareg
• the Sarkin Damagaram since the 1731 founding of the Damagaram state (later capital Zinder)
• in Nigeria most monarchies has a native title; when most in the north converted to Islam, Muslim titles were generally adopted, such as Emir- Sultan has been used in
• Borno (alongside the native title Mai)
• since 1817 in Sokoto, the suzerain (also styled Amir al-Mu´minin and Sarkin Musulmi) of all Fulbe jihad states and premier traditiobal Muslim leader in the Sahel (according to some once a Caliph)

East Africa & Indian Ocean

Sultan

• Adal Sultanate, in Eastern Ethiopia (also in Western Somaliland)
• Afar Sultanate of Awsa, in northeastern Ethiopia
• Angoche Sultanate, on the Mozambiquan coast (also several neighbouring sheikdoms)
• Harar Sultanate
• Ifat Sultanate in Eastern Ethiopia.
• Northern Somali sultanates
• Shewa Sultanate in Central Ethiopia
• various Sultans on the Comoros; however on the Comoros, the normally used styles were alternative native titles, including Mfalme, Phany or Jambé and the 'hegemonic' title Sultani tibe
• the Maore (or Mawuti) sultanate on Mayotte

Maliki

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

Swahili sultan

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

• in Kenya:
• Pate on part of Pate island (capital also named Pate), in the Lamu Archipelago
• 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

Far East

In Brunei:

• Sultan of Brunei, Brunei (on Borneo island)

In China:

• Dali, Yunnan province, capital of the short-lived Panthay Rebellion

Furthermore, the Qa´id Jami al-Muslimin (Leader of the Community of Muslims) of Pingnan Guo ("Pacified South State", a major Islamic rebellious polity in western Yunnan province) is usually referred to in foreign sources as Sultan

In India:

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

In Indonesia (formerly in the Dutch East Indies):

• many on Sumatra, including
• Sultanate of Aceh (full style Sultan Berdaulat Zillullah fil-Alam) , which had many vassal states
• Asahan
• Awak Sungai, established 17th entury at the split in four of Minangkabau, in 1816 extinguished by Netherlands East Indies colonial government
• Deli since 1814, earlier Aceh's vassal Aru
• Indragiri
• Langkat since 1817 (previous style Rajah)
• Palembang Darussalam, also holding the higher title of Susuhunan
• Serdang
• Siak Seri Indrapura
• some of the many states on populous Java, including
• Banten
• the rulers in three of the four palaces (kraton) from which fractioned Cirebon was ruled: Kraton Kasepuhan, Kraton Kanoman and Kraton Kacirebonan (only in Kraton Kaprabonan the rulers title was Panembahan)
• Sultanate of Mataram,
• in the Moluccan archipelago:
• Sultanate of Ternate, in North Maluku
• Sultanate of Tidore, in North Maluku
• on Madura island: Pamekasan
• on the Riau archipelago: sultanate of Lingga-Riau by secession in 1818 under the expelled sultan of Johore (on Malaya) Sultan Abdul Rahman Muadzam Syah ibni al-Marhum Sultan Mahmud
• on Sumbawa: Bima sultanate

In Malaysia, all on the Malay peninsula:

• Sultanate of Malacca
• Sultanate of Johor
• Sultanate of Kedah
• Sultanate of Kelantan
• Sultanate of Pahang
• Sultanate of Perak
• Sultanate of Selangor
• Sultanate of Terengganu
• Furthermore, the ruler of Luak Jelebu, one of the constitutive states of the Negeri Sembilan confederation, had the style Sultan in addition to his principal title Undang Luak Jelebu

In the Maldives:

• Maldives Sultanate

In the Philippines:

• Sultanate of Buayan
• Sultanate of Maguindanao
• Sultanate of Sulu (Basilan, Palawan and Tawi-Tawi islands and part of -now Malaysian- Sabah on North Borneo)

In Thailand (Siam):

• Sultanate of Pattani

Contemporary sultanates

• Brunei
• Indonesia — Sultan of Yogyakarta Special Region 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 federal head of state for all Malaysia, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, is elected (de facto rotated) for five years by and among the hereditary state rulers, but is usually styled "king" in foreign countries; political power, however, lies with the prime minister. See also: Malay titles
• Oman, an Arabian nation, formerly sultanate of Muscat and Oman

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 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

Use in Western Popular Culture

The term Sultan is also used in modern pop vernacular to describe someone who has reached the peak of their profession, the elite of their class. For example, the premiere adult film star of the 1970's and 1980's, John C. Holmes was known as "The Sultan of Smut".

See also

Other Islamic titles

• Emir (Amir)
• Atabeg
• Bey
• Caliph
• Datu
• Ilkhan
• Khan
• Khaqan
• Malik
• Mir
• Padishah
• Shah
• Shahanshah

Further

• HMS Sultan (Royal Navy)
• Sultan, a GWR Iron Duke Class steam locomotive
• Sultanism (despotism)
• Sultans of Swing

Sources and references

• RoyalArk - see each modern nation, e.g. here the former Persian Empire
• WorldStatesmen - see each present nation

Forms of Government and Methods of Rule: Autocratic and Authoritarian Autocratic: Despotism | Dictatorship | Tyranny | Absolute monarchy | Caliphate | Despotate | Emirate | Empire | Khanate | Sultanate | Other monarchical titles) | Enlightened absolutism Other Authoritarian: Military dictatorship (often a Junta) | Oligarchy | Single-party state (Communist state | Fascist(oid) state) | de facto: Illiberal democracy