() is an Arabic word meaning "counsellor" or "advisor". It is related to the word

shura Shura () is the term for collective decision-making in Islam. It can, for example, take the form of a council or a referendum. The Quran encourages Muslims to decide their affairs in consultation with each other. Shura is mentioned as a praise ...

, meaning consultation or "taking counsel". As an official title, it historically indicates a personal advisor to the ruler. In this use it is roughly comparable to the European titles of State Counsellor and

Counsellor of State Counsellors of State are senior members of the British royal family to whom the monarch can delegate royal functions through letters patent under the Great Seal, to prevent delay or difficulty in the dispatch of public business in the case ...

. In a military context, became associated with the idea of the ruler's personal counsellor or advisor on military matters, and as such became the highest rank in Arab countries and the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. It is used as the highest rank in most armed forces of the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

and

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

, for armies, navies, and air forces. It is therefore equivalent to the ranks of

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

and

Admiral of the Fleet An admiral of the fleet or shortened to fleet admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to field marshal and marshal of the air force. An admiral of the fleet is typically senior to an admiral. It is also a generic ter ...

Iraq

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

under the rule of

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...

, the

Iraqi Navy The Iraqi Navy (), is the naval warfare service branch of the Iraqi Armed Forces, Armed forces of Iraq. Formed in 1937, initially as the ''Iraqi Coastal Defense Force,'' its primary responsibilities was the protection of Iraq's coastline and off ...

maintained a fleet admiral rank known as . A Mushir was the most senior of all naval officers and the rank was rarely bestowed. The sleeve insignia was the same as a British

. The rank of Mushir in Iraq is known as "Muhib" and is used in all official and unofficial addresses. Saddam Hussein as commander-in-chief of the

Iraqi Armed Forces The Iraqi Armed Forces are the military forces of the Iraq, Republic of Iraq. They consist of the Iraqi Army, Ground forces, the Iraqi Army Aviation Command, Army Aviation Command, the Iraqi Air Force, the Iraqi Air Defence Command, Air Defence ...

was an honorary "staff muhib" () in the Iraqi army, and the uniform which he typically wore was that of a staff muhib. He was the only muhib in the

Iraqi Army The Iraqi Ground Forces (Arabic: القوات البرية العراقية), also referred to as the Iraqi Army (Arabic: الجيش العراقي), is the ground force component of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It was formerly known as the Royal Iraq ...

, for the minister of defence and the chief of staff held the rank of (), or "staff general". (Hussein never actually served in the Iraqi Army but commanded as ruler of Iraq.) After Hussein's fall in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the rank of Mushir became obsolete in the new Iraqi military.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

, the rank of Mushir is typically held ceremonially by the

House of Saud The House of Saud ( ) is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia. It is composed of the descendants of Muhammad bin Saud, founder of the Emirate of Diriyah, known as the First Saudi State, (1727–1818), and his brothers, though the ruling ...

, and translated as "First class Field Marshal".

List of Egyptian field marshals

Kingdom of Egypt The Kingdom of Egypt () was the legal form of the Egyptian state during the latter period of the Muhammad Ali dynasty's reign, from the United Kingdom's recognition of Egyptian independence in 1922 until the abolition of the monarchy of Eg ...

* Abbas I Hilmi Pasha (1813–1854) * Ibrahim Pasha (1789–1848) * Yahya Mansur Yeghen (1837–1913) *

Horatio Herbert Kitchener Field Marshal Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener (; 24 June 1850 – 5 June 1916) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator. Kitchener came to prominence for his imperial campaigns, his involvement in the Second Boer War, a ...

(1850–1916) * 20 December 1914 – Sultan Hussein Kamel (1853–1917) *

King Fuad I Fuad I ( ''Fu’ād al-Awwal''; 26 March 1868 – 28 April 1936) was the Sultan and later King of Egypt and the Sudan. The ninth ruler of Egypt and Sudan from the Muhammad Ali dynasty, he became Sultan in 1917, succeeding his elder brother Huss ...

(1868–1936) *

'Aziz 'Ali al-Misri Aziz Ali al-Misri (; ', known in Egypt as ', ''Abdelaziz Zakaria Ali''; 1879 – 15 June 1965) was an Egyptian Ottoman military officer of Circassian descent, and prominent political activist and member of the CUP. During the Second Mashrutiya p ...

(1879–1965) *

King Farouk Farouk I (; ''Fārūq al-Awwal''; 11 February 1920 – 18 March 1965) was the tenth ruler of Egypt from the Muhammad Ali dynasty and the penultimate King of Egypt and the Sudan, succeeding his father, Fuad I, in 1936 and reigning until his ...

(1920–1965) * 26 July 1952 – King Fuad II (born 1952)

Republic of Egypt

Abdel Hakim Amer Mohamed Abdel Hakim Amer (, ; 11 December 1919 – 13 September 1967), better known as Abdel Hakim Amer, was an Egyptian military officer and politician. Amer served in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and played a leading role in the military ...

(1952–1967): Active duty * November 1973 –

Ahmad Ismail Ali Field Marshal Ahmad Ismail Ali (; 14 October 1917 – 25 December 1974) was an Egyptian senior military officer who was Egypt's minister of war during the Yom Kippur War of 1973. He is best known for his planning of the attack across the Suez ...

(1917–1974): Active duty * Abdel Ghani Elgamasy (1921–2003): Active duty *

Fouad Mohamed Abou Zikry Admiral Fouad Mohamed Abou Zikry (; November 17, 1923 – January 26, 1983) was an Egyptian naval officer and the Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian Navy during the Six-Day War, War of Attrition and Yom Kippur War. He was also Vice Defense Minis ...

(1923–1983): Honorary *

Mohammed Aly Fahmy Mohammed Aly Fahmy (11 October 1920 – 11 September 1999) was an Egyptian field marshal, known as the "Father of the Egyptian Air Defense". Early life, education and early career Fahmy was born in Cairo in 1920. He received a degree in engineer ...

(1920–1999): Honorary *

Ahmed Badawi Ahmed Badawi Sayyid Ahmed (3 April 1927 – 2 March 1981; ) was an Egyptian Field Marshal (Mushir) and the Chief of the General Staff of the armed forces. Early life Ahmed Badawy was born in the coastal city of Alexandria in 1927. He studied co ...

(1927–1981): Posthumously * 1982 –

Abd al-Halim Abu Ghazala Muhammad Abd Al-Halim Abu-Ghazala (; 15 January 1930 – 6 September 2008) was Defense Minister of Egypt from 1981 to 1989. Abu Ghazala was seated next to Anwar Sadat when the president was assassinated. Early life and education He was born in Z ...

(1930–2008): Active duty * 1993 –

Mohamed Hussein Tantawi Muhammad Hussein Tantawi Soliman (; 31 October 1935 – 21 September 2021) was an Egyptian field marshal and politician. He was the commander-in-chief of the Egyptian Armed Forces and, as chairman of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, was ...

(1935–2021): Active duty * 27 January 2014 –

Abdel Fattah el-Sisi Abdel Fattah Saeed Hussein Khalil El-Sisi (born 19 November 1954) is an Egyptian politician and retired military officer who has been serving as the sixth and current president of Egypt since 2014. After the 2011 Egyptian revolution and 201 ...

(born 1954): Active duty

Rank insignia

Historic

KEgypt-Army-OF-10.svg, Royal Egyptian Army Ottoman-Army-OF-10.svg,

Ottoman Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire () was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. It was founded in 1299 and dissolved in 1922. Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the years ...

References

Military ranks of Egypt Military ranks of the Ottoman Empire Arabic words and phrases {{mil-rank-stub