Emir

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Emir (

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.^[1]

Origins

Amir, meaning "lord" or "

• The monarchs of Qatar and Kuwait are currently titled emir.^[3][4][5]
• All members of the House of Saud have the title of emir (prince).^[6][7][8]
• The
  Shia Muslims, they still give this title to the Caliph Ali
  as Amir al-Muminin.
• The
  Ibn Raik; the title was used in various Islamic monarchies; see below for military use. In Iraq, the direct descendants of previous Emirs from the largest tribes who ruled the kingdoms before modern statehood, use the title of Sheikh or Prince as the progeny of royalty.^[9][10]
• Formerly in Lebanon, the ruling emir formally used the style al-Amir al-Hakim, specifying it was still the ruler's title. The title was held by Druze and Christians as well.^{[citation needed]}
• The word emir is also used less formally for leaders in certain contexts. For example, the leader of a group of pilgrims to Mecca is called an emir hadji, a title sometimes used by ruling princes (as a mark of Muslim piety) which is sometimes awarded in their name. Where an adjectival form is necessary, "emiral" suffices.^{[citation needed]}
• Amirzade, the son (hence the Persian patronymic suffix -zade) of a prince, hence the Persian princely title
  mirza
  .
• The
  Sultan of Sokoto, Amir-al-Muminin (or Sarkin Musulmi in the Hausa language).^{[citation needed}
  ]
• The temporal leader of the
  Yazidi people is known as an emir or prince.^{[citation needed}
  ]
• leader of the Taliban bearing the title Amir al-Mu'minin
  .
• Amīr al-Baḥr (أمير البحر, "commander of the sea"), a position in the
  Norman Sicily
  .

From the start, emir has been 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

• Amir-i-Nuyan
• Amir Panj, "Commander of 5,000"
• Amir-i-Tuman, "Commander of 10,000"

The following posts referred to "amir" under medieval Muslim states include:

• Amir al-umara, "Amir of Amirs" (cfr. supra) or 'Commander of Commanders'
• Amir al-hajj, "Commander of the Hajj [caravan]"
• Amir al-ʿarab, "Commander of the Arabs [Bedouin tribes]"

In the former Kingdom of Afghanistan, Amir-i-Kabir was a title meaning "great prince" or "great commander".

• Amir is a masculine name in the Persian language and a prefix name for many masculine names such as Amir Ali, Amir Abbas.
• Amir-i-Iel designates the head of an Il (tribe) in imperial Persia.
• The masculine Amir and feminine Amira are
  Arabic-language names common among both Arabs regardless of religion and Muslims regardless of ethnicity, much as Latin Rex and Regina ("king" and "queen", respectively) are common in the Western world. In Bosnia and Herzegovina
  , the female name Emira, often interpreted as "princess", is a derivative of the male name Emir.
• The masculine Amir and feminine Amira are Hebrew-language names that are relatively common in Israel. In Hebrew the word can also mean "bundle of grain" or "treetop" depending on the spelling.

See also

Specific emirates of note

• List of emirs of Harar
• List of emirs of Kuwait
• List of emirs of Qatar
• List of emirs of Mosul
• Emirate of Afghanistan

References