Philosophers
30-521: Works An emirate is a territory ruled by an emir , a title used by monarchs or high officeholders in the Muslim world . From a historical point of view, an emirate is a political-religious unit smaller than a caliphate . It can be considered equivalent to a principality in non-Muslim contexts. Currently in the world, there are two emirates that are independent states ( Kuwait and Qatar ), one state ruled by an unrecognised emirate ( Afghanistan ), and
60-564: A believer could never go astray. Among the Zaydis , the title retained strong connotations with the leadership of the jihād , and was thus the right of any rightful Imam who stepped forth to claim his right by force of arms. The title was thus part of the titulature of the Zaydi Imams of Yemen until the end of the Yemeni monarchy. The Kharijites did not use the term, except for
90-466: A connotation of command in the jihād ( Arabic : جِهَاد , " holy war ") and has been used thus throughout history, without necessarily implying a claim to the caliphate. It was used in this sense by the early Ottoman sultans —who notably rarely used the caliphal title after they took it from the Abbasids in 1517—as well as various West African Muslim warlords until the modern period. The title
120-672: A member (usually styled emir ) of the royal family, as in Saudi Arabian governorates. Current emirates with political autonomy are listed below: These are the emirates that have either ceased to exist, are not recognized and hold no real power, or were integrated into another country and preserved as "traditional states". They are arranged by location and in order of the date of the first leader styled "emir." Emir Emir ( / ə ˈ m ɪər , eɪ ˈ m ɪər , ˈ eɪ m ɪər / ; Arabic : أمير ʾamīr [ʔæˈmiːr] ( listen ), also transliterated as amir ,
150-580: A military title. In the 9th century the term was used to denote a ruler of a state i.e. Italy 's Emirate of Sicily . In certain decimally-organized Muslim armies, Amir was an officer rank. For example, in Mughal India , the Amirs commanded 1000 horsemen (divided into ten units, each under a sipah salar ), ten of them under one malik . In the imperial army of Qajar Persia: The following posts referred to "amir" under medieval Muslim states include: In
180-463: A son of a hereditary monarch, and to a reigning monarch of a sovereign principality , namely an emirate . The feminine form is emira ( أميرة ʾamīrah ), with the same meaning as " princess ". Prior to its use as a monarchical title, the term "emir" was historically used to denote a "commander", "general", or "leader" (for example, Amir al-Mu'min ). In contemporary usage, "emir" is also sometimes used as either an honorary or formal title for
210-571: A state that consists of a federation of seven emirates (the United Arab Emirates ). A great number of previously independent emirates around the world are now part of larger states, as can be seen in Nigeria . Etymologically, emirate or amirate ( Arabic : إمارة imārah , plural: إمارات imārāt ) is the quality, dignity, office, or territorial competence of any emir (prince, commander, governor, etc.). In English,
240-480: Is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch , aristocrat , holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or ceremonial authority. The title has a history of use in West Asia , East Africa , West Africa , Central Asia , and South Asia . In the modern era, when used as a formal monarchical title, it is roughly synonymous with " prince ", applicable both to
270-576: Is derived from the Arabic root a-m-r , "command". Originally simply meaning "commander", it came to be used as a title of leaders, governors, or rulers of smaller states. In modern Arabic the word is analogous to the title "Prince". The word entered English in 1593, from the French émir . It was one of the titles or names of the Islamic prophet Muhammad . From the start, emir has been
300-875: Is the tomb of the Commander of the Faithful, Hussein bin Ali." In 1996, the title was adopted by the Taliban leader Muhammad Umar . Mullah Mohammed Omar was conferred the title in April 1996 by a Taliban-convened shura ( Arabic : شُورَىٰ , lit. 'assembly') of approximately 1000-1500 Afghan ulama in Kandahar , when he displayed the Cloak of Muhammad before the crowd. The title granted legitimacy to Omar's leadership of Afghanistan and his declared jihad against
330-771: The Rustamid dynasty . The Kitáb-i-Íqán , the primary theological work of the Baháʼí Faith , applies the title Commander of the Faithful to Ali , the son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. A similar (but not the same) title was afforded to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth 's monarch as the Grand Duke of Lithuania by the Lipka Tatars , who used to speak a Turkic language. The title of sire
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#1732757975991360-517: The Sa'di dynasty and the current Alawi dynasty , also by virtue of their claimed descent from Muhammad —have also claimed it. The Constitution of Morocco still uses the term ʾAmīr al-Muʾminīn as the principal title of the King of Morocco , as a means to "[legitimize the monarchy's] hegemonic role and its position outside significant constitutional restraint". At the same time, the title has retained
390-530: The Second Fitna . Among Sunnis , the adoption of the title of ʾAmīr al-Muʾminīn became virtually tantamount to claiming the caliphate. As a result, the title was used by the great Islamic dynasties that claimed the universal leadership over the Muslim community : the Umayyads , Abbasids , and Fatimids . In later centuries, it was also adopted by regional rulers, especially in the western parts of
420-631: The Great , the Polish-Lithuanian monarch as the King of Poland was tasked with the protection of the rights of the Jews and other non-Christians. In James Joyce 's 1939 novel Finnegans Wake (page 34.6), an informer who is spreading nasty rumors about the main character is described as "Ibid, commender of the frightful". In the French comic series Iznogoud , Caliph Haroun El Poussah , one of
450-599: The Muslim world, who used the caliphal rank to emphasize their independent authority and legitimacy, rather than any ecumenical claim. The Umayyads of Cordoba adopted it in 928, whence it was also used by several other minor rulers of al-Andalus . From 1253, the Hafsids of Ifriqiya claimed the caliphate, and were followed by the Marinids of Morocco , following whom all successive Moroccan dynasties —the last two of them,
480-712: The connotations of wide-ranging and absolute authority over a region, the power to conduct relations with foreign states, the upkeep of the Sharia , and the protection of Muslim territory from non-believers. Timur (Tamerlane) also used the title. When Hussein bin Ali was buried in the compound of the Al-Aqsa Mosque as a caliph in 1931, the following inscription was written on the window above his tomb: Arabic : هَذَا قَبْرُ أَمِيرِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ ٱلْحُسَيْن بْنُ عَلِي , romanized : Haḏa qabru ʾamīri ʾal-mūˈminīna ʾal-Ḥusayn bnu ʿAlī , which translates to "This
510-414: The federation's president and prime minister. As most emirates have either disappeared, been integrated in a larger modern state, or changed their rulers' styles, e.g. to malik (Arabic for "king") or sultan , such true emirate-states have become rare. Furthermore, in Arabic the term can be generalized to mean any province of a country that is administered by a member of the ruling class, especially of
540-538: The former Kingdom of Afghanistan , Amir-i-Kabir was a title meaning "great prince" or "great commander". Muhammad Amin Bughra , Nur Ahmad Jan Bughra , and Abdullah Bughra declared themselves emirs of the First East Turkestan Republic . Amir al-Mu%27min ʾAmīr al-Muʾminīn ( Arabic : أَمِيْر ٱلْمُؤْمِنِيْن ) or Commander of the Faithful is a Muslim title designating
570-566: The government led by Burhanuddin Rabbani . Omar was still referred to as ʾAmīr al-Muʾminīn by his followers and other jihadists, notably al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri . Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor , the successor of Mullah Omar, was conferred the title in July 2015 upon his appointment as the new leader of the Taliban. Hibatullah Akhundzada , the third Supreme Leader of the Taliban ,
600-503: The head of an Islamic, or Arab (regardless of religion) organisation or movement. Qatar and Kuwait are the only independent countries which retain the title "emir" for their monarchs. In recent years, the title has been gradually replaced by "king" by contemporary hereditary rulers who wish to emphasize their secular authority under the rule of law. A notable example is Bahrain , whose monarch changed his title from emir to king in 2002. Amir , meaning "lord" or " commander-in-chief ",
630-473: The supreme leader of an Islamic community . Although etymologically ʾamīr ( Arabic : أَمِيْر ) is equivalent to English " commander ", the wide variety of its historical and modern use allows for a range of translations. The historian H.A.R. Gibb , however, counsels against the translation "Prince of the Believers" as "neither philologically nor historically correct". The title ʾamīr
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#1732757975991660-556: The term is pronounced / ˈ ɛ m ər ə t , - ɪər -, - ɪ t , - eɪ t / or / ɛ ˈ m ɪər ə t , - ɪ t , - eɪ t , i ˈ -/ in British English and / ˈ ɛ m ər ə t / or / ɪ ˈ m ɪər ə t / in American English. The United Arab Emirates is a federal state that comprises seven federal emirates, each administered by a hereditary emir, these seven forming the electoral college for
690-577: The title as part of their titulature, and in the Nizari branch of Isma'ilism, the ʾAmīr al-Muʾminīn is always the current Imam of the Time . In Nasir al-Din al-Tusi 's The Voyage ( Sayr wa-Suluk ), he explains that the hearts of the believers are attached to the Commander of the Believers, not just the Command (written word) itself. There is always a present living imam in the world, and following him,
720-521: The title became a fixed part of caliphal titulature. Indeed, it appears to have been the chief title of the early caliphs, and the actual title of caliph ( Arabic : خليفة , romanized : khalifa , lit. 'successor') does not appear to have been adopted until the reign of the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan ( r. 685–705 ), who adopted it as a means to strengthen his position, which had become shaky following
750-495: The title they positioned themselves as potential "caliphs-in-waiting", but for the moment, the title was simply the expression of their claim to an overarching "activist authority" over the areas they controlled. Twelver Shias apply the title exclusively to Ali , the cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad, regarded as the first imam by the Shia and the officially designated successor to Muhammad. The Isma'ili Fatimid caliphs used
780-429: The title's adoption marked a step in the centralization of the nascent Muslim state, as the ʾAmīr al-Muʾminīn was acknowledged as the central authority of the expanding Muslim empire , responsible for appointing and dismissing generals and governors, taking major political decisions, and keeping the dīwān ( Arabic : دیوان ), the list of those Muslims entitled to a share of the spoils of conquest. From Umar on,
810-793: Was also conferred the title upon his election in 2016 and became the Leader of Afghanistan in 2021. In 2005, the Islamic State leader Abu Umar al-Baghdadi adopted the title, nine years before the Islamic State proclaimed its caliphate in 2014. Abu Umar al-Baghdadi was conferred the title after his appointment in October 2006 by the Mujahideen Shura Council as the first Emir of the newly declared Islamic State of Iraq . As Richard Pennell commented, by claiming
840-609: Was used "Vatad", as in "homeland" ("Vatan"), which meant "defender of the rights of Muslims in non-Islamic countries." The Grand Duchy was viewed as a new homeland . Vatad was viewed as a variation on the name Vytautas in Lithuanian or Władysław in Polish, which was known in the diplomatic notes between the Golden Horde and the countries of Poland (Lechistan) and Lithuania (Lipka) as "Dawood". One can claim that, since Casimir
870-625: Was used by Aurangzeb , the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire . Muhammad Umar Khan of the Kokand Khanate took on the title. Abdelkader El Djezairi assumed the title in 1834. The Afghan ruler Dost Mohammad Khan likewise used it when he proclaimed a jihād against the Sikh Empire in 1836. According to historian Richard Pennell, this pattern reflects the use of the term ʾAmīr al-Muʾminīn for regional rulers with
900-603: Was used for Muslim military commanders during the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad . It was, for example, borne by the Muslim commander at the Battle of al-Qadisiyya . On his accession in 634, the second caliph Umar ( r. 634–644 ) adopted the title. This was likely not for its military connotation, but rather deriving from a Quranic injunction to "Obey God and obey the Apostle and those invested with command among you" ( Sura 4 , verses 58–62). According to Fred M. Donner ,
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