Sultana (title)
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Sultana or sultanah (
Nomenclature
The term sultana is the feminine form of the word
Usage
Ruling sultana
Some Muslim female monarchs chose to adopt the title of Sultana/Sultanah when they ascended to the throne.
Africa
In Comoros, there have been several ruling sultanas.
Shajar al-Durr became the ruling sultana of Egypt on May 1250.
South Asia
Razia Sultana (r. 1236–1240) was a ruler of the Delhi Sultanate in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. She was the first female Muslim ruler of the Indian Subcontinent.
In Maldives, there have been six ruling sultanas:
- Khadijah (1347–1363, 1364–1374, 1376–1380)
- Raadhafathi (1380)
- Dhaain (1383–1388)
- Kuda Kala Kamanafa’anu(1607–1609)
- Amina I(1753–1754)
- Amina II(1757–1759)
Southeast Asia
Nur ul-Azam became the female sultan in Sultanate of Sulu.
In Samudera Pasai Sultanate (now part of Indonesia), Sultana Ratu Nahrasyiyah (r. 1406–1428) became the sole ruler.
Of the six female monarchs in Bone state (now part of Indonesia), three used the title sultana.
In
- Sultana Arabic, and Persian.
- Sultana Seri Ratu Nurul Alam Naqiatuddin Syah (1675–1678).
- Sultana Seri Ratu Zakiatuddin Inayat Syah (1678–1688).
- Sultana Seri Ratu Kamalat Syah (1688–1699). Replaced by her husband, under pressure from the Mufti of Mecca.
On 5 May 2015, Sultan
West Asia
Sati Beg issued coins using the title sultan or sultana.[1]
Sultana consort
Sultana is also used for sultan's wives. Between 1914 and 1922,
Sultana is also title for consort of ruler in some Malaysian states. Some consorts who hold this title are:
- Sultanah Kalsom, second wife of Ahmad Shah of Pahang. She became Sultanah of Pahangon 30 September 1992 until 15 August 2019.
- Sultanah Nur Zahirah, consort of Mizan Zainal Abidin of Terengganu. She became Sultanah of Terengganu on 5 June 2006.
- Sultanah Haminah, second wife of Abdul Halim of Kedah. She succeeded as Sultanah of Kedah after her predecessor's death on 21 November 2003 until 11 September 2017.
- Sultanah Maliha, consort of Sallehuddin of Kedah. She became Sultanah of Kedah on 12 September 2017 after her husband was proclaimed as the Sultan of Kedah.
- Sultanah Nur Diana Petra, consort of Muhammad V of Kelantan. She married with the Sultan of Kelantan on 30 October 2010 and officially proclaimed the title Sultanah of Kelantan by her husband on 2 August 2022.[3]
Claim
In the west, the title of sultana is also used to refer to many female Muslim monarchs who don't hold this title officially.
In medieval Egypt, Shajar al-Durr, a former slave of Armenian origin, ascended the throne in 1250.[4][5] Although several sources assert that she took the title of sultana,[6] The Cambridge History of Islam disputes the claim, stating that "a feminine form, sultana, does not exist in Arabic: the title sulṭān appears on Shajar al-Durr's only extant coin."[7]
Raziya al-Din, usually referred to in history as
Sultana was also often used to refer to women relatives of a sultan and other Muslim monarch or female members of Muslim dynasties, especially mothers and chief wives. In fact, many sultanates used other title for sultan's chief consort, some of which derived from non-Arabic language.
Permaisuri, a title for a chief wife of a sultan in many sultanates and Muslim kingdoms in southeast Asia, is derived from
In Brunei, official title for a chief wife of the sultan is Seri Baginda Raja Isteri, derived from Sanskrit raja (राजा, equivalent with "king") and isteri (equivalent with "women" or "lady"). The official title for sultan's mother is Seri Suri Begawan Raja Isteri.
Shahbanu, title for the wife of Iran's monarch, is derived from Persian shah (شاه, equivalent with "king") and banu (بانو, translated as "lady"). Upon assuming the title in 1967, Farah Pahlavi, the third wife of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, was the first shahbanu to be crowned in Iran since the Arab conquest of Iran in the 7th century. Shahbanu often translated in English as "empress".
Some Muslim monarchs also used the title malika (Arabic: ملكة), a feminine form of the word malik, for their wives. This title is still used in many Muslim kingdoms, like Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
Ottoman royalty
Since 16th century,
See also
References
- ISBN 978-0-300-17327-7.
In the Muslim world Sati Beg (r. 1338-39) issued numerous coins in Iran, mainly using masculine language (sultan but sometimes sultana).
- ^ Rizk, Yunan Labib (13–19 April 2006). "A palace wedding". Al-Ahram Weekly (790). Archived from the original on 4 May 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-27.
... Britain granted the rulers among the family the title of sultan, a naming that was also applied to their wives.
- ^ "Che Puan Nur Diana Petra styled Sultanah of Kelantan". New Straits Times. 2 August 2022. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
- ISBN 978-1-139-46327-0.
- ]
- OCLC 314792003. Retrieved 2010-03-01.
... Shajar al-Durr was proclaimed sultana (the feminine form of sultan) of the Ayyubid dominions, although this was not recognized by the Syrian Ayyubid princes.
- OCLC 3549123. Retrieved 2010-03-01.
- ^ Table of Delhi Kings: Muazzi Slave King The Imperial Gazetteer of India, 1909, v. 2, p. 368..
- ISBN 8129134136.
- ISBN 0-19-507673-7.