Shah

Sah (Persian: شاه‎, šāh, pronounced [ʃɒːh]; «king») also written as sha, is the title they receive from the ancient times the monarchs of Iran, formerly known to the West as Persia. It was also adopted by some Islamic states such as the Ottoman or Mughal Empire, which used the derivative padişah.

From the time of the Median Empire to the middle of the VIII century a. C., Iranian monarchs have borne the title of Shāh. Later the title of Šâhanšâh (شاهنشاه, “king of kings”) also began to be used, which was used by the Achaemenid (550-330 BC) and Sassanid (AD 226-651) dynasties. It has also been used by other states such as the Afghan or Mughal Empire.

The female equivalent of sah is sahbanu (Persian شهبانو, “queen”) and it has only been used by three reigning queens: Boran and Azarmedukht, c. year 630, and Farah Pahlavi, wife of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, last Shah of Iran, dethroned in the Iranian Revolution of 1979.

Etymology and origin

The word is descended from Old Persian xšāyaθiya, originally from Media, which is equivalent to Avestan xšaθra- and Sanskrit kṣatra- & #34;power" or "command", and from which kṣatriya- is derived. These terms have their origin in the titles of the monarchs of Akkad (šarru) —since the xxivth century a. C.— Assyria (šar) —from the 18th century a. C.— and Babylon (also šar), —from the viii century B.C. C.—, in ancient Mesopotamia.

History

Jerks I (Xšayār.šā) the great Sha of Persia.

Šāh, or Šāhanšāh (King of Kings) to use the full term, was the title of the Persian emperors. It includes the rulers of the first Persian Empire, the Achaemenid dynasty, which unified Persia in the VI century BCE. C. and created a vast intercontinental empire, as well as the rulers of the dynasties that succeeded each other throughout history until the XX century. and the Imperial House of Pahlavi.

While in Western sources the Ottoman monarch is more often referred to as sultan, in Ottoman territory he was more often referred to as padishah and several used the title sha in their tughras. Their male offspring were given the title Şehzade, or prince (literally, "Scion of the Shah", from Persian Şâhzadeh).

The full title of the Achaemenid rulers was Xšāyaθiya Xšāyaθiyānām, literally "King of Kings" in Old Persian, corresponding to Middle Persian Šâhân Šâh, and Modern Persian in Persian: شاهنشاه‎ (Šâhanšâh). In Greek, this phrase was translated as βασιλεὺς τῶν βασιλέων (basileus tōn basiléōn), "King of Kings", equivalent to "Emperor". Both terms were often shortened to their roots shah and basileus.

In Western languages, Shah is often used as a loose translation of Šāhanšāh. The term was first recorded in English in 1564 as the title of the King of Persia and spelled Shaw. For a long time, Shah was considered by Europeans to be a private royal title and not an imperial one, although the monarchs of Persia considered themselves emperors of the Persian Empire (later the Iranian Empire). European opinion changed in Napoleonic times, when Persia was an ally of Western powers keen to have the Ottoman Sultan release his rule over various European (mainly Christian) parts of the Ottoman Empire, and the Western (Christian) emperors had obtained the Ottoman recognition that their western imperial styles were to be translated into Turkish as padishah.

In the 20th century, the Shah of Persia, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, officially adopted the title of شاهنشاه Šâhanšâh and, in western languages, that of emperor. He also called his wife شهبانو ( Shahbânū, "Empress"). Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was the last shah, as the Iranian monarchy was abolished after the 1979 Revolution.

Related terms

• Sátrapa, the term in the western languages to designate the governor of a Persian province, is a distortion of xšaθrapāvan, literally "guardian of the kingdom", which derives from the word xšaθra, a word of the ancient Persian which means "kingdom, province" and which is etymologically related to shah.
• Maqad-e-Šâh (مقعد شاه), phrase from which it is believed that derives the name of Mogadiscio, which means "sede of the sha", a reflection of the early Persian influence of the city.
• The English word Check-out derives in fact from "shah" (from the Persian through Arabic, Latin and French). Related Terms as chess and exchequer They also come from the Persian word, and their modern senses have been developed from the original meaning of the king's piece.

Other uses

Like many titles, the word "shah" it is also often used in names, with no political or aristocratic significance.

• Shah is a common name in India, especially in the Guyaratí and Kutchi languages. It can be found in Hindu, Jainist and Muslim communities. In these first two, the surname Shah usually represents the Bania caste.
• In India and especially in Pakistan, Shah also means "rey," but this title is added to the Muslim higher caste, which is the descendant of Mohammed. They are mostly Sunni and are called Syed (or Seyed) followed by their first name, adding shah.
• Shah is also a diminutive of Shahryar.