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76-417: Monarchs very often expected the more important nobles to spend much of the year in attendance on them at court. Not all courtiers were noble , as they included clergy , soldiers , clerks , secretaries , agents and middlemen with business at court. All those who held a court appointment could be called courtiers but not all courtiers held positions at court. Those personal favourites without business around

152-468: A fief , often land or office, under vassalage , i.e., in exchange for allegiance and various, mainly military, services to a suzerain , who might be a higher-ranking nobleman or a monarch. It rapidly became a hereditary caste , sometimes associated with a right to bear a hereditary title and, for example in pre-revolutionary France, enjoying fiscal and other privileges. While noble status formerly conferred significant privileges in most jurisdictions, by

228-640: A nobility that is almost as old as the country itself. Throughout the history of the Ethiopian Empire most of the titles of nobility have been tribal or military in nature. However the Ethiopian nobility resembled its European counterparts in some respects; until 1855, when Tewodros II ended the Zemene Mesafint its aristocracy was organized similarly to the feudal system in Europe during

304-413: A castle, well and mill to which local peasants were allowed some access, although often at a price. Nobles were expected to live "nobly", that is, from the proceeds of these possessions. Work involving manual labor or subordination to those of lower rank (with specific exceptions, such as in military or ecclesiastic service) was either forbidden (as derogation from noble status) or frowned upon socially. On

380-602: A century, ruling with the sanction of the Solomonic emperors. The last such Muslim noble to join the ranks of Ethiopian society was Mikael of Wollo who converted, was made Negus of Wollo, and later King of Zion, and even married into the Imperial family. He lived to see his son, Lij Iyasu , inherit the throne in 1913—only to be deposed in 1916 because of his conversion to Islam. The nobility in Madagascar are known as

456-731: A courtier were access and information, and a large court operated at many levels: many successful careers at court involved no direct contact with the monarch. The largest and most famous European court was that of the Palace of Versailles at its peak, although the Forbidden City of Beijing was even larger and more isolated from national life. Very similar features marked the courts of all very large monarchies, including in India , Topkapı Palace in Istanbul , Ancient Rome , Byzantium or

532-598: A courtier were likely the ša rēsi and mazzāz pāni of the Neo-Assyrian Empire . In Ancient Egypt a title has been found that translates to high steward or great overseer of the house. The courts influenced by the court of the Neo-Assyrian Empire such as those of the Median Empire and the Achaemenid Empire had numerous courtiers After invading the Achaemenid Empire , Alexander

608-710: A de facto aristocracy continued to exist. This process was further deepened during the Three Kingdoms period with the introduction of the Nine-rank system . By the Sui dynasty , however, the institution of the Imperial examination system marked the transformation of a power shift towards a full bureaucracy, though the process would not be truly completed until the Song dynasty. Titles of nobility became symbolic along with

684-551: A general expectation of deference from those of lower rank. By the 21st century even that deference had become increasingly minimized. In general, the present nobility present in the European monarchies has no more privileges than the citizens decorated in republics. In France, a seigneurie (lordship) might include one or more manors surrounded by land and villages subject to a noble's prerogatives and disposition. Seigneuries could be bought, sold or mortgaged. If erected by

760-465: A military class. It has also been common, notably in African and Oriental societies, for aristocrats to belong to priestly dynasties. Aristocratic status can involve feudal or legal privileges. They are usually below only the monarch of a country or nation in its social hierarchy . In modern European societies, the aristocracy has often coincided with the nobility , a specific class that arose in

836-716: A nobleman. In this respect, the nobility as a class has always been much more extensive than the primogeniture -based titled nobility, which included peerages in France and in the United Kingdom , grandezas in Portugal and Spain, and some noble titles in Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Prussia, and Scandinavia. In Russia, Scandinavia and non-Prussian Germany, titles usually descended to all male-line descendants of

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912-642: A stipend while governance of the country shifted to scholar officials. In the Qing dynasty , titles of nobility were still granted by the emperor, but served merely as honorifics based on a loose system of favours to the Qing emperor. Under a centralized system, the empire's governance was the responsibility of the Confucian-educated scholar-officials and the local gentry, while the literati were accorded gentry status. For male citizens, advancement in status

988-459: A third of British land is in the hands of aristocrats and traditional landed gentry . Nobility is a historical, social, and often legal notion, differing from high socio-economic status in that the latter is mainly based on pedigree, income, possessions, or lifestyle. Being wealthy or influential cannot ipso facto make one noble, nor are all nobles wealthy or influential (aristocratic families have lost their fortunes in various ways, and

1064-748: A title of baron or count (cf. peerage ). Neither nobility nor titles could be transmitted through women. Some con artists sell fake titles of nobility , often with impressive-looking documentation. This may be illegal, depending on local law. They are more often illegal in countries that actually have nobilities, such as European monarchies. In the United States, such commerce may constitute actionable fraud rather than criminal usurpation of an exclusive right to use of any given title by an established class. "Aristocrat" and "aristocracy", in modern usage, refer colloquially and broadly to persons who inherit elevated social status, whether due to membership in

1140-482: A working class of the time. The latter consisted mainly of agricultural peasants who spent most of their time working outdoors and thus had tanned skin, through which superficial veins appear less prominently. Robert Lacey explains the genesis of the blue blood concept: It was the Spaniards who gave the world the notion that an aristocrat's blood is not red but blue. The Spanish nobility started taking shape around

1216-482: Is a term that was coined for this spread of the Byzantine system in the 19th century. In modern English, the term is often used metaphorically for contemporary political favourites or hangers-on. In modern literature, courtiers are often depicted as insincere, skilled at flattery and intrigue, ambitious and lacking regard for the national interest. More positive representations include the role played by members of

1292-765: Is an exception. In a number of recent cases in Scotland the Lord Lyon King of Arms has controversially ( vis-à-vis Scotland's Salic law) granted the arms and allocated the chiefships of medieval noble families to female-line descendants of lords, even when they were not of noble lineage in the male line, while persons of legitimate male-line descent may still survive (e.g. the modern Chiefs of Clan MacLeod ). In some nations, hereditary titles , as distinct from noble rank, were not always recognised in law, e.g., Poland's Szlachta . European ranks of nobility lower than baron or its equivalent, are commonly referred to as

1368-400: Is derived from Sanskrit word Karyi which meant functionary. Other noble and aristocratic titles were Thakur , Sardar , Jagirdar , Mankari , Dewan , Pradhan, Kaji etc. In East Asia, the system was often modeled on imperial China, the leading culture. Emperors conferred titles of nobility . Imperial descendants formed the highest class of ancient Chinese nobility, their status based upon

1444-567: Is held by Kung Tsui-chang . There is also a "Sacrificial Official to Mencius" for a descendant of Mencius , a "Sacrificial Official to Zengzi" for a descendant of Zengzi , and a "Sacrificial Official to Yan Hui" for a descendant of Yan Hui . The bestowal of titles was abolished upon the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, as part of a larger effort to remove feudal influences and practises from Chinese society. Unlike China, Silla's bone nobles were much more aristocratic and had

1520-853: The Andriana . In much of Madagascar, before French colonization of the island, the Malagasy people were organised into a rigid social caste system, within which the Andriana exercised both spiritual and political leadership. The word "Andriana" has been used to denote nobility in various ethnicities in Madagascar: including the Merina , the Betsileo , the Betsimisaraka , the Tsimihety ,

1596-655: The Bezanozano , the Antambahoaka and the Antemoro . The word Andriana has often formed part of the names of Malagasy kings, princes and nobles. Linguistic evidence suggests that the origin of the title Andriana is traceable back to an ancient Javanese title of nobility. Before the colonization by France in the 1890s, the Andriana held various privileges, including land ownership, preferment for senior government posts, free labor from members of lower classes,

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1672-551: The British Raj , many members of the nobility were elevated to royalty as they became the monarchs of their princely states, but as many princely state rulers were reduced from royals to noble zamindars . Hence, many nobles in the subcontinent had royal titles of Raja, Rai, Rana, Rao, etc. In Nepal, Kaji ( Nepali : काजी ) was a title and position used by nobility of Gorkha Kingdom (1559–1768) and Kingdom of Nepal (1768–1846). Historian Mahesh Chandra Regmi suggests that Kaji

1748-541: The Caliphs of Baghdad or Cairo . Early medieval European courts frequently travelled from place to place following the monarch as they travelled. This was particularly the case in the early French court. But, the European nobility generally had independent power and was less controlled by the monarch until around the 18th century, which gave European court life greater complexity. The earliest courtiers coincide with

1824-736: The Dutch Republic (1581–1795), the Republic of Genoa (1005–1815), the Republic of Venice (697–1797), and the Old Swiss Confederacy (1300–1798), and remains part of the legal social structure of some small non-hereditary regimes, e.g., San Marino , and the Vatican City in Europe. In Classical Antiquity , the nobiles (nobles) of the Roman Republic were families descended from persons who had achieved

1900-725: The Emirate of Harar , and the Awsa sultanate . Ethiopian nobility were divided into two different categories: Mesafint ("prince"), the hereditary nobility that formed the upper echelon of the ruling class; and the Mekwanin ("governor") who were appointed nobles, often of humble birth, who formed the bulk of the nobility ( cf. the Ministerialis of the Holy Roman Empire ). In Ethiopia there were titles of nobility among

1976-459: The Mesafint borne by those at the apex of medieval Ethiopian society. The highest royal title (after that of emperor) was Negus ("king") which was held by hereditary governors of the provinces of Begemder , Shewa , Gojjam , and Wollo . The next highest seven titles were Ras , Dejazmach , Fit'awrari , Grazmach , Qenyazmach , Azmach and Balambaras . The title of Le'ul Ras

2052-732: The Middle Ages , but the term "aristocracy" is sometimes also applied to other elites , and is used as a more general term when describing earlier and non-European societies. Aristocracy may be abolished within a country as the result of a revolution against them, such as the French Revolution . The term aristocracy derives from the Greek ἀριστοκρατία ( aristokratia from ἄριστος ( aristos ) 'excellent' and κράτος ( kratos ) 'power'). In most cases, aristocratic titles were and are hereditary. The term aristokratia

2128-587: The Song dynasty , and by its peak power shifted from nobility to bureaucrats. This development was gradual and generally only completed in full by the Song dynasty. In the Han dynasty , for example, even though noble titles were no longer given to those other than the emperor's relatives, the fact that the process of selecting officials was mostly based on a vouching system by current officials as officials usually vouched for their own sons or those of other officials meant that

2204-783: The consulship . Those who belonged to the hereditary patrician families were nobles, but plebeians whose ancestors were consuls were also considered nobiles . In the Roman Empire , the nobility were descendants of this Republican aristocracy. While ancestry of contemporary noble families from ancient Roman nobility might technically be possible, no well-researched, historically documented generation-by-generation genealogical descents from ancient Roman times are known to exist in Europe. Hereditary titles and styles added to names (such as "Prince", "Lord", or "Lady"), as well as honorifics , often distinguish nobles from non-nobles in conversation and written speech. In many nations, most of

2280-475: The peerage , which also carries nobility and formerly a seat in the House of Lords , but never came with automatic entail of land nor rights to the local peasants' output. Nobility might be either inherited or conferred by a fons honorum . It is usually an acknowledged preeminence that is hereditary, i.e. the status descends exclusively to some or all of the legitimate , and usually male-line , descendants of

2356-589: The petty nobility , although baronets of the British Isles are deemed titled gentry . Most nations traditionally had an untitled lower nobility in addition to titled nobles. An example is the landed gentry of the British Isles . Unlike England's gentry, the Junkers of Germany, the noblesse de robe of France, the hidalgos of Spain and the nobili of Italy were explicitly acknowledged by

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2432-732: The (formerly) official nobility or the monied upper class. Blue blood is an English idiom recorded since 1811 in the Annual Register and in 1834 for noble birth or descent; it is also known as a translation of the Spanish phrase sangre azul , which described the Spanish royal family and high nobility who claimed to be of Visigothic descent, in contrast to the Moors . The idiom originates from ancient and medieval societies of Europe and distinguishes an upper class (whose superficial veins appeared blue through their untanned skin) from

2508-406: The 16th century by the House of Habsburg . Historically, once nobility was granted, if a nobleman served the monarch well he might obtain the title of baron, and might later be elevated to the rank of count. As in other countries of post-medieval central Europe, hereditary titles were not attached to a particular land or estate but to the noble family itself, so that all patrilineal descendants shared

2584-460: The 21st century it had become a largely honorary dignity in most societies, although a few, residual privileges may still be preserved legally (e.g. Spain, UK) and some Asian, Pacific and African cultures continue to attach considerable significance to formal hereditary rank or titles. (Compare the entrenched position and leadership expectations of the nobility of the Kingdom of Tonga .) More than

2660-636: The Americas such as Mexico and the United States , have expressly abolished the conferral and use of titles of nobility for their citizens. This is distinct from countries that have not abolished the right to inherit titles, but which do not grant legal recognition or protection to them, such as Germany and Italy, although Germany recognizes their use as part of the legal surname. Still, other countries and authorities allow their use, but forbid attachment of any privilege thereto, e.g., Finland, Norway, and

2736-471: The Ethiopian nobility as part of their quest for aggrandizement during the 1800s. To do so they were generally obliged to abandon their faith and some are believed to have feigned conversion to Christianity for the sake of acceptance by the old Christian aristocratic families. One such family, the Wara Seh (more commonly called the "Yejju dynasty") converted to Christianity and eventually wielded power for over

2812-560: The European Union, while French law also protects lawful titles against usurpation . Not all of the benefits of nobility derived from noble status per se . Usually privileges were granted or recognized by the monarch in association with possession of a specific title, office or estate. Most nobles' wealth derived from one or more estates , large or small, that might include fields, pasture, orchards, timberland, hunting grounds, streams, etc. It also included infrastructure such as

2888-697: The Great returned with the concept of the complex court featuring a variety of courtiers to the Kingdom of Macedonia and Hellenistic Greece . The imperial court of the Byzantine Empire at Constantinople would eventually contain at least a thousand courtiers. The court's systems became prevalent in other courts such as those in the Balkan states, the Ottoman Empire and Russia . Byzantinism

2964-525: The Middle Ages. For more than seven centuries, Ethiopia (or Abyssinia , as it was then known) was made up of many small kingdoms, principalities, emirates and imamates , which owed their allegiance to the nəgusä nägäst (literally "King of Kings"). Despite its being a Christian monarchy, various Muslim states paid tribute to the emperors of Ethiopia for centuries: including the Adal Sultanate ,

3040-465: The advent of modern governance, their members retain precedence of a traditional nature and are especially prominent during festivals. Outside of this, many of the traditional nobles of Nigeria continue to serve as privy counsellors and viceroys in the service of their traditional sovereigns in a symbolic continuation of the way that their titled ancestors and predecessors did during the pre-colonial and colonial periods. Many of them are also members of

3116-432: The annual crop yield from commoners or nobles of lower rank who lived or worked on the noble's manor or within his seigneurial domain. In some countries, the local lord could impose restrictions on such a commoner's movements, religion or legal undertakings. Nobles exclusively enjoyed the privilege of hunting. In France, nobles were exempt from paying the taille , the major direct tax. Peasants were not only bound to

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3192-425: The concept of the 'poor nobleman' is almost as old as nobility itself). Although many societies have a privileged upper class with substantial wealth and power, the status is not necessarily hereditary and does not entail a distinct legal status , nor differentiated forms of address . Various republics, including European countries such as Greece, Turkey, and Austria, and former Iron Curtain countries and places in

3268-428: The continent. Most, such as those composed of the descendants of Shaka and those of Moshoeshoe of Southern Africa, belong to peoples that have been resident in the continent for millennia. Generally their royal or noble status is recognized by and derived from the authority of traditional custom. A number of them also enjoy either a constitutional or a statutory recognition of their high social positions. Ethiopia has

3344-418: The country's political elite due to their not being covered by the prohibition from involvement in politics that governs the activities of the traditional rulers. Holding a chieftaincy title, either of the traditional variety (which involves taking part in ritual re-enactments of your title's history during annual festivals, roughly akin to a British peerage ) or the honorary variety (which does not involve

3420-554: The court in the development of politeness and the arts. Examples of courtiers in fiction: Nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy . It is normally ranked immediately below royalty . Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteristics associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles or simply formal functions (e.g., precedence ), and vary by country and by era. Membership in

3496-402: The crown into, e.g., a barony or countship, it became legally entailed for a specific family, which could use it as their title. Yet most French nobles were untitled ("seigneur of Montagne" simply meant ownership of that lordship but not, if one was not otherwise noble, the right to use a title of nobility, as commoners often purchased lordships). Only a member of the nobility who owned a countship

3572-691: The dark-skinned enemy. Africa has a plethora of ancient lineages in its various constituent nations. Some, such as the numerous sharifian families of North Africa, the Keita dynasty of Mali , the Solomonic dynasty of Ethiopia , the De Souza family of Benin , the Abaza and Zulfikar families of Egypt and the Sherbro Tucker clan of Sierra Leone , claim descent from notables from outside of

3648-473: The development of definable courts beyond the rudimentary entourages or retinues of rulers. There were probably courtiers in the courts of the Akkadian Empire where there is evidence of court appointments such as that of cup-bearer which was one of the earliest court appointments and remained a position at courts for thousands of years. Two of the earliest titles referring to the general concept of

3724-565: The family of Empress Menen Asfaw who ruled over the mountain fortress of Ambassel in Wollo; Wagshum , a title created for the descendants of the deposed Zagwe dynasty ; and Shum Agame , held by the descendants of Dejazmach Sabagadis , who ruled over the Agame district of Tigray. The vast majority of titles borne by nobles were not, however, hereditary. Despite being largely dominated by Christian elements, some Muslims obtained entrée into

3800-518: The family's coat of arms ) extending back five generations (all 16 great-great-grandparents). This illustrates the traditional link in many countries between heraldry and nobility; in those countries where heraldry is used, nobles have almost always been armigerous , and have used heraldry to demonstrate their ancestry and family history . However, heraldry has never been restricted to the noble classes in most countries, and being armigerous does not necessarily demonstrate nobility. Scotland , however,

3876-928: The members of the various parlements , were ennobled by the king, constituting the noblesse de robe . The old nobility of landed or knightly origin, the noblesse d'épée , increasingly resented the influence and pretensions of this parvenu nobility. In the last years of the ancien régime the old nobility pushed for restrictions of certain offices and orders of chivalry to noblemen who could demonstrate that their lineage had extended " quarterings ", i.e. several generations of noble ancestry, to be eligible for offices and favours at court along with nobles of medieval descent, although historians such as William Doyle have disputed this so-called "Aristocratic Reaction". Various court and military positions were reserved by tradition for nobles who could "prove" an ancestry of at least seize quartiers (16 quarterings), indicating exclusively noble descent (as displayed, ideally, in

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3952-479: The monarch, sometimes called the camarilla , were also considered courtiers. As social divisions became more rigid, a divide, barely present in Antiquity or the Middle Ages , opened between menial servants and other classes at court, although Alexandre Bontemps , the head valet de chambre of Louis XIV , was a late example of a "menial" who managed to establish his family in the nobility. The key commodities for

4028-488: The monarchs of those countries as members of the nobility, although untitled. In Scandinavia, the Benelux nations and Spain there are still untitled as well as titled families recognised in law as noble. In Hungary members of the nobility always theoretically enjoyed the same rights. In practice, however, a noble family's financial assets largely defined its significance. Medieval Hungary's concept of nobility originated in

4104-409: The ninth century in classic military fashion, occupying land as warriors on horseback. They were to continue the process for more than five hundred years, clawing back sections of the peninsula from its Moorish occupiers, and a nobleman demonstrated his pedigree by holding up his sword arm to display the filigree of blue-blooded veins beneath his pale skin—proof that his birth had not been contaminated by

4180-406: The nobility by dues and services, but the exercise of their rights was often also subject to the jurisdiction of courts and police from whose authority the actions of nobles were entirely or partially exempt. In some parts of Europe the right of private war long remained the privilege of every noble. During the early Renaissance, duelling established the status of a respectable gentleman and

4256-519: The nobility have been untitled, and some hereditary titles do not indicate nobility (e.g., vidame ). Some countries have had non-hereditary nobility, such as the Empire of Brazil or life peers in the United Kingdom. The term derives from Latin nobilitas , the abstract noun of the adjective nobilis ("noble but also secondarily well-known, famous, notable"). In ancient Roman society , nobiles originated as an informal designation for

4332-499: The nobility, including rights and responsibilities, is typically hereditary and patrilineal . Membership in the nobility has historically been granted by a monarch or government, and acquisition of sufficient power, wealth, ownerships, or royal favour has occasionally enabled commoners to ascend into the nobility. There are often a variety of ranks within the noble class. Legal recognition of nobility has been much more common in monarchies, but nobility also existed in such regimes as

4408-417: The notion that nobles were "free men", eligible to own land. This basic standard explains why the noble population was relatively large, although the economic status of its members varied widely. Untitled nobles were not infrequently wealthier than titled families, while considerable differences in wealth were also to be found within the titled nobility. The custom of granting titles was introduced to Hungary in

4484-444: The original titleholder, including females. In Spain, noble titles are now equally heritable by females and males alike. Noble estates, on the other hand, gradually came to descend by primogeniture in much of western Europe aside from Germany. In Eastern Europe, by contrast, with the exception of a few Hungarian estates, they usually descended to all sons or even all children. In France , some wealthy bourgeois , most particularly

4560-405: The other hand, membership in the nobility was usually a prerequisite for holding offices of trust in the realm and for career promotion, especially in the military, at court and often the higher functions in the government, judiciary and church. Prior to the French Revolution , European nobles typically commanded tribute in the form of entitlement to cash rents or usage taxes, labor or a portion of

4636-531: The people being slaughtered by the Mongolian army, killing those who rebelled, and writing poetry ignoring their situation. Aristocracy (class) The aristocracy is historically associated with a "hereditary" or a "ruling" social class . In many states, the aristocracy included the upper class of people (aristocrats) with hereditary rank and titles. In some, such as ancient Greece , ancient Rome , or India , aristocratic status came from belonging to

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4712-426: The political governing class who had allied interests, including both patricians and plebeian families ( gentes ) with an ancestor who had risen to the consulship through his own merit (see novus homo , "new man"). In modern usage, "nobility" is applied to the highest social class in pre-modern societies . In the feudal system (in Europe and elsewhere), the nobility were generally those who held

4788-442: The rank of the empress or concubine from which they descend maternally (as emperors were polygamous). Numerous titles such as Taizi (crown prince), and equivalents of "prince" were accorded, and due to complexities in dynastic rules, rules were introduced for Imperial descendants. The titles of the junior princes were gradually lowered in rank by each generation while the senior heir continued to inherit their father's titles. It

4864-476: The revival of a Christian Andriana monarchy that would blend modernity and tradition. Contemporary Nigeria has a class of traditional notables which is led by its reigning monarchs, the Nigerian traditional rulers . Though their functions are largely ceremonial, the titles of the country's royals and nobles are often centuries old and are usually vested in the membership of historically prominent families in

4940-498: The right to collect taxes and rule over people. They also thought of the king as Buddha and justified their rule through the idea that status was determined by birth. However, this strict sense of social status gradually weakened due to the introduction of Confucianism and opposition from the lower class, and even in Silla, opportunities were given to people of low social status through Confucian tests such as '독서삼품과(讀書三品 科 )'. However,

5016-502: The right to have their tombs constructed within town limits, etc. The Andriana rarely married outside their caste: a high-ranking woman who married a lower-ranking man took on her husband's lower rank, but a high-ranking man marrying a woman of lower rank did not forfeit his status, although his children could not inherit his rank or property ( cf. morganatic marriage ). In 2011, the Council of Kings and Princes of Madagascar endorsed

5092-466: The said re-enactments, roughly akin to a knighthood ), grants an individual the right to use the word "chief" as a pre-nominal honorific while in Nigeria. Historically Rajputs formed a class of aristocracy associated with warriorhood , developing after the 10th century in the Indian subcontinent . During the Mughal era , a class of administrators known as Nawabs emerged who initially served as governors of provinces , later becoming independent. In

5168-470: The still strict status order of Silla caused opposition from many people and collapsed when the country moved to Goryeo. In Goryeo, powerful families along with existing nobles became nobles, claiming a new lineage nobility. And in Goryeo, dissatisfied lower class people confronted the nobles and took power for a short period of time. Goryeo also had many hereditary families, and they were more aristocratic than Confucian bureaucrats, forcibly collecting taxes from

5244-460: The various subnational kingdoms of the country . Membership of initiatory societies that have inalienable functions within the kingdoms is also a common feature of Nigerian nobility, particularly among the southern tribes, where such figures as the Ogboni of the Yoruba , the Nze na Ozo of the Igbo and the Ekpe of the Efik are some of the most famous examples. Although many of their traditional functions have become dormant due to

5320-404: The word developed, it also produced a more political term: aristoi ( ἄριστοι ). The term aristocracy is a compound word stemming from the singular of aristoi , aristos ( ἄριστος ), and the Greek word for power, kratos ( κράτος ). From the ancient Greeks, the term passed to the European Middle Ages for a similar hereditary class of military leaders, often referred to as

5396-443: Was a custom in China for the new dynasty to ennoble and enfeoff a member of the dynasty which they overthrew with a title of nobility and a fief of land so that they could offer sacrifices to their ancestors, in addition to members of other preceding dynasties. China had a feudal system in the Shang and Zhou dynasties , which gradually gave way to a more bureaucratic one beginning in the Qin dynasty (221 BC). This continued through

5472-530: Was accorded to the heads of various noble families and cadet branches of the Solomonic dynasty , such as the princes of Gojjam, Tigray, and Selalle. The heirs of the Le'ul Rases were titled Le'ul Dejazmach , indicative of the higher status they enjoyed relative to Dejazmaches who were not of the blood imperial. There were various hereditary titles in Ethiopia: including that of Jantirar , reserved for males of

5548-409: Was allowed, ipso facto , to style himself as its comte , although this restriction came to be increasingly ignored as the ancien régime drew to its close. In other parts of Europe, sovereign rulers arrogated to themselves the exclusive prerogative to act as fons honorum within their realms. For example, in the United Kingdom royal letters patent are necessary to obtain a title of

5624-473: Was an accepted manner of resolving disputes. Since the end of World War I the hereditary nobility entitled to special rights has largely been abolished in the Western World as intrinsically discriminatory , and discredited as inferior in efficiency to individual meritocracy in the allocation of societal resources. Nobility came to be associated with social rather than legal privilege, expressed in

5700-454: Was first used in Athens with reference to young citizens (the men of the ruling class) who led armies at the front line. Aristokratia roughly translates to "rule of the best born". Due to martial bravery being highly regarded as a virtue in ancient Greece , it was assumed that the armies were being led by "the best". This virtue was called arete ( ἀρετή ). Etymologically, as

5776-584: Was possible via garnering the top three positions in imperial examinations. The Qing appointed the Ming imperial descendants to the title of Marquis of Extended Grace . The oldest held continuous noble title in Chinese history was that held by the descendants of Confucius , as Duke Yansheng , which was renamed as the Sacrificial Official to Confucius in 1935 by the Republic of China . The title

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