Emir

A Mamluk emir (age 1878).

Mohammed Alim Khan, one of the former heads of the Belmeliani family (1880-1944), Emir de Bukhara. Photo taken in 1911 by Sergei Prokudin-Gorsky during his documentation work on the Russian Empire

Amir (Arabic: أمير‎ ʾamīr /ʔaˈmiːr/), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a monarch, aristocrat, holder of a high military or political office, or other person possessing royal or ceremonial authority. The title has a long history of use in the Arab world, East Africa, West Africa, Afghanistan, and the Indian subcontinent. In the modern era, when used as a formal monarchical title, it is roughly synonymous with "prince", applicable both to the son of a hereditary monarch and to the reigning monarch of a sovereign principality, that is, an emirate. The feminine form is emira (أميرة ʾamīrah), a cognate of princess. Before its use as a monarchical title, the term "emir" historically used to designate a "commander", "general" or "leader" (for example, Amir al-Mu'min). In contemporary usage, "emir" it is also sometimes used as an honorary or formal title for the head of an Islamic or Arab organization or movement (regardless of religion).

He was a governor who reported directly to the caliph of Damascus and who had full political, economic and administrative powers. He also exercised military power, being the highest authority in his territory.

Etymology

The title "emir" has varied in meaning throughout history. Although at the beginning of the hijra it designated the head of the Islamic world, after the titles of sultan and malik (king) were created, the title of emir was displaced to designate minor or official dignities.

With this military meaning, it was used in Egypt or Syria at the time of the Ayyubids and the Mamluks. The emirs commanded groups of 100 men and the emirs the royal guard.

This title is also used to designate all the descendants of Muhammad and currently designates the princes of the royal houses.

In al-Andalus, the Umayyad heads of state held the title of emir since 773. Abderramán I was the first to adopt this title, politically and administratively independent al-Andalus from the Abbasid caliphate, but maintained the religious unity that became It materialized in the recognition of the merely spiritual authority of the caliph. Only in 929, the emir Abderramán III adopted the title of caliph.

Sherifs are the descendants of Muhammad through his daughter Fatima az-Zahra. In the event that the sherif holds a position of high prestige, he is called an emir. By extension, any person of noble origin is called a sherif.

In the Arabian peninsula, during the transition from the British protectorate to independence in 1959, the Federation of Southern Arab Emirates was formed in southern Yemen, which actually consisted not only of emirates but also of sultanates and sheikhs. This federation was revolutionary eliminated in 1967. In 1961, the emirate of Kuwait became independent, followed by Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates in 1971. Bahrain was proclaimed a Kingdom by its ruler in 2002.

Origins

Emir Muhammad Abul Abbas of Sicily conquering the Messiana of Italy

The Court of the Emirate Durrani of Afghanistan in 1839

Emir de Kano, northern Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi

Amir, meaning "lord" or "commander-in-chief", derived from Arabic with a triconsonant root a-m-r, "command". Originally it simply meant 'commander', but it came to be used as a title for leaders, governors, or rulers of minor states. In modern Arabic, the word is analogous to the title of 'prince'. The word entered English in 1593, from the French émir. It was one of the titles or names of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.^{[citation required]}

In the Bible, in the book of Deuteronomy 26:18 and Isaiah 3:10, this word is used in Hebrew as a verb with a similar meaning.

Princely, ministerial and noble titles

• The monarchs of Qatar and Kuwait currently have the title of emir.
• All members of the House of Saud have the title of emir (prince).
• Afghanistan under the Taliban government is officially an emirate, and the Taliban head holds the title amir al-mu'minin.
• The caliphs first used the title Amir al-Muminin o "Comandante de los Fieles", underlining his leadership on the Islamic empire, especially on the militia. The title has been assumed by other Muslim rulers, such as sultans and emires. The Shiite Muslims continue to give this title to the Ali caliph as Amir al-Muminin.
• The Abbasid (in still universal theory) the Caliph Al-Radi created the post of Amir al-Umara ("emir of the emires") for Ibn Raik; the title was used in several Islamic monarchies; see later military use. In Iraq, the direct descendants of the former emirs of the largest tribes, such as the Shammar and Khuza'ah tribes, who ruled the kingdoms before the creation of the modern state, use the title of sheik or prince as the parent of royalty.
• Formerly in Lebanon, the ruling emir formally used the style al-Amir al-Hakimspecifying that it remained the ruler's title. It must be borne in mind that the title was also given by Druze and Christians.
• The word emir It is also used less formally for leaders in certain contexts. For example, the leader of a group of pilgrims A Mecca is called emir hadji, a title sometimes used by rulers (as a mark of Muslim piety) and sometimes given in their name. When an adjective form is needed, it is enough emiral.
• Amirzade, son (from there the Persian patronymic suffix -zade) of a prince, hence the princely Persian title Mirza.
• The traditional rulers of the predominantly Muslim northern regions of Nigeria are known as emires, while the sovereign holder of their now-disappeared empire is formally called the Sultan of Sokoto, Amir-al-Muminin (or Sarkin Musulmi in the hausa language).
• The temporary leader of the Yazidi people is known as emir or prince.
• Amīr al-Baḥr (أمير البحر, "Sea Commander") is considered the etymological origin of English admiralFrench amiral and similar terms in other European languages.

Military ranks and titles

From the beginning, emir has been a military title. In the 9th century, the term was used to designate the ruler of a state, for example the Emirate of Sicily of Italy.

In certain nineteenth-century organized Muslim armies, Amir was an officer's rank. For example, in Mughal India, emirs commanded 1,000 cavalry (divided into ten units, each under a sipah salar), ten of them under a malik. In the imperial army of Qajar Persia:

• Amir-i-Nuyan
• Amir Panj, Commander of 5,000
• Amir-i-TumanCommander of 10,000.

The following charges pertain to "amir" under the medieval Muslim states include:

• Amir al-umara"Amir de Amires" (cf. above) or "Commander of Commanders
• Amir al-hajj"Hajj commander [caravan]"
• Amir al-ventriculararab"Commander of the Arabs"

In the ancient 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.

Arabic Titles

Amir al-muminin

Amīr al-mu'minīn, Arabic: ʾamīr al-muʾminīn, in Arabic أمير المؤمنين, prince of the believers is usually translated as commander of the believers. It is the title given to the supreme representative of Muslims, carried in the early days of Islam by the caliph. The term was Latinized as Miramolinus, hence in French it is said Miramolin, while in Greek there is the form Améroumnis (Αµερουµνης) or even Mirmnis (Μηρµνης).

The King of Morocco today holds the title of Commander of the Faithful, but it is not recognized by any other Muslim country.

Amir al-muslimin

Amīr al-muslimīn, Arabic: amīr al-muslimīn, in Arabic أمير المسلمين, "prince of the Muslims" It is the title given to sultans and it means "prince of the Muslims". This title was used by Abû Yûsuf Ya`qûb ben `Abd al-Haqq Marinid sultan who in 1269 proclaimed himself "prince of the Muslims" (amīr al-muslimīn) not to take the caliphate title of "commander of the believers" (amīr al-mu'minīn).

Amir al-muslimin

Amīr al-'umarā, in Arabic: amīr al-ʾumarāʾ, أمير الأمراء , "emir of emirs" "Amir of the emirs" it was given in the X century to the commander of the armies of the Caliphate. It was then carried by the great Buyid emirs when they came under the tutelage of the Caliphate from 945. The title was assumed by the Seljuks when they took over from the Buyids in 1055.

Other uses

• Amir is a male name in the Persian language and a prefix name for many male names like Amir Ali, Amir Abbas.
• Amir-i-Iel designates the head of an Il (tribu) in the imperial Persia.
• Male Amir and the female Amira they are names of the Arabic language common to both the Arabs, regardless of their religion, and among the Muslims, regardless of their ethnicity, as well as Latinos Rex and Regina ("king" and "king", respectively) are common in the Western world. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the female name Emira, often interpreted as "princesa", is a derivative of the male name Emir.
• Male Amir and the female Amira are relatively common Hebrew names in Israel. In Hebrew, the word can also mean "grain-hand" or "tree-coup," according to spelling.

Emires

• Emir Timur (Tamerlan)
• Emir of the Bukhara Emirate
• Emir de Dubai
• Yazidi Emires
• Emir of Kuwait - Head of State in Kuwait

Emirate of Granada

The emirs of Granada came from the Nasrid dynasty. They ruled the Emirate of Granada from 1232-1492. The first emir of the Emirate of Granada was Muhammad ibn Nasr (1232-1273), the last was Boabdil. The emirs skillfully maneuvered between the Christian rulers and the Merinids of Fez, allowing them to maintain their positions in Granada, which became the center of Muslim culture in Spain. After the unification of Christian Spain in 1469 by the Catholic Monarchs and the Christian takeover of Granada in 1492, the last Nasrids fled to Morocco.

Emirates today

The following sovereign emirates have continued to exist in the Arab region since the end of British rule:

• of Kuwait since 1961
• the Emirate of Qatar since 1971
• United Arab Emirates since 1971

In addition, numerous sub-national emirates, such as the Emirate of Kano, the Emirate of Ilorin and the Emirate of Gwandu, continue to formally exist in northern Nigeria. The amirs who remained in office after the establishment of the British Northern Nigeria Protectorate. (1900) were left in office and were responsible for jurisdiction and sentencing until 1960.