Sultan (; ', ) is a

position Position often refers to: * Position (geometry), the spatial location (rather than orientation) of an entity * Position, a job or occupation Position may also refer to: Games and recreation * Position (poker), location relative to the dealer * ...

with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic

abstract noun In grammar, a noun is a word that represents a concrete or abstract thing, like living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, and ideas. A noun may serve as an object or subject within a phrase, clause, or sentence.Example ...

meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the

verbal noun Historically, grammarians have described a verbal noun or gerundial noun as a verb form that functions as a noun. An example of a verbal noun in English is 'sacking' as in the sentence "The ''sacking'' of the city was an epochal event" (wherein ...

', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who claimed almost full sovereignty (i.e., not having dependence on any higher ruler) without claiming the overall

caliphate A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

, or to refer to a powerful

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

of a province within the caliphate. The adjectival form of the word is "sultanic", and the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

and territories ruled by a sultan, as well as his office, are referred to as a sultanate ( '). The term is distinct from king ( '), though both refer to a sovereign ruler. The use of "sultan" is restricted to Muslim countries, where the title carries religious significance, contrasting the more secular ''king'', which is used in both Muslim and non-Muslim countries.

Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

and

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

are the only

sovereign state A sovereign state is a State (polity), state that has the highest authority over a territory. It is commonly understood that Sovereignty#Sovereignty and independence, a sovereign state is independent. When referring to a specific polity, the ter ...

s which retain the title "sultan" 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

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

, whose monarch changed his title from sultan to king in 1957.

History of the term

The word derives from the Arabic and Semitic root ''salaṭa'' "to be hard, strong". The noun ''sulṭān'' initially designated a kind of moral authority or spiritual power (as opposed to political power), and it is used in this sense several times in the

Qur'an The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...

. In the early Muslim world, ultimate power and authority was theoretically held by the caliph, who was considered the leader of the caliphate. The increasing political fragmentation of the Muslim world after the 8th century, however, challenged this consensus. Local governors with administrative authority held the title of ''amīr'' (, traditionally "commander" or "

emir Emir (; ' (), also Romanization of Arabic, transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic language, Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocratic, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person po ...

", later also "prince") and were appointed by the caliph, but in the 9th century some of these became '' de facto'' independent rulers who founded their own dynasties, such as the

Aghlabids The Aghlabid dynasty () was an Arab dynasty centered in Ifriqiya (roughly present-day Tunisia) from 800 to 909 that conquered parts of Sicily, Southern Italy, and possibly Sardinia, nominally as vassals of the Abbasid Caliphate. The Aghlabids ...

and

Tulunids The Tulunid State, also known as the Tulunid Emirate or The State of Banu Tulun, and popularly referred to as the Tulunids () was a Mamluk dynasty of Turkic peoples, Turkic origin who was the first independent dynasty to rule Egypt in the Middle ...

. Towards the late 10th century, the term "sultan" begins to be used to denote an individual ruler with practically sovereign authority, although the early evolution of the term is complicated and difficult to establish. The first major figure to clearly grant himself this title was the

Ghaznavid The Ghaznavid dynasty ( ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a Persianate Muslim dynasty of Turkic ''mamluk'' origin. It ruled the Ghaznavid Empire or the Empire of Ghazni from 977 to 1186, which at its greatest extent, extended from the Oxus to the Indus Va ...

ruler Mahmud (r. 998–1030 CE) who controlled an empire over present-day

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

and the surrounding region. Soon after, the

Great Seljuks The Seljuk Empire, or the Great Seljuk Empire, was a high medieval, culturally Turco-Persian, Sunni Muslim empire, established and ruled by the Qïnïq branch of Oghuz Turks. The empire spanned a total area of from Anatolia and the Levant in t ...

adopted this title after defeating the Ghaznavid Empire and taking control of an even larger territory which included

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

, the capital of the

Abbasid caliphs The Abbasid caliphs were the holders of the Islamic title of caliph who were members of the Abbasid dynasty, a branch of the Quraysh tribe descended from the uncle of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib. The family came ...

. The early Seljuk leader

Tughril Bey Abu Talib Muhammad Tughril ibn Mika'il (), better known as Tughril (; also spelled Toghril / Tughrul), was a Turkoman"The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes by the Turkomans at the battle of Malazgirt (Manzikert) is ...

was the first leader to adopt the epithet "sultan" on his

coin A coin is a small object, usually round and flat, used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by ...

age. While the Seljuks acknowledged the caliphs in Baghdad formally as the universal leader of the

Muslim community ' (; ) is an Arabic word meaning Muslim identity, nation, religious community, or the concept of a Commonwealth of the Muslim Believers ( '). It is a synonym for ' (, lit. 'the Islamic nation'); it is commonly used to mean the collective comm ...

, their own political power clearly overshadowed the latter. This led to various Muslim scholars – notably

Al-Juwayni Dhia' ul-Dīn 'Abd al-Malik ibn Yūsuf al-Juwaynī al-Shafi'ī (, 17 February 102820 August 1085; 419–478 AH) was a Persian Sunni scholar famous for being the foremost leading jurisconsult, legal theoretician and Islamic theologian of his ...

and

Al-Ghazali Al-Ghazali ( – 19 December 1111), archaically Latinized as Algazelus, was a Shafi'i Sunni Muslim scholar and polymath. He is known as one of the most prominent and influential jurisconsults, legal theoreticians, muftis, philosophers, the ...

– attempting to develop theoretical justifications for the political authority of the Seljuk sultans within the framework of the formal supreme authority of the recognized caliphs. In general, the theories maintained that all legitimate authority derived from the caliph, but that it was delegated to sovereign rulers whom the caliph recognized. Al-Ghazali, for example, argued that while the caliph was the guarantor of Islamic law (''

shari'a Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on Islamic holy books, scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran, Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' ...

''), coercive power was required to enforce the law in practice and the leader who exercised that power directly was the sultan. The position of sultan continued to grow in importance during the period of the

crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...

, when leaders who held the title of "sultan" (such as Salah ad-Din and the

Ayyubid dynasty The Ayyubid dynasty (), also known as the Ayyubid Sultanate, was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultan of Egypt, Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate, Fatimid Caliphate of Egyp ...

) led the confrontation against the

crusader states The Crusader states, or Outremer, were four Catholic polities established in the Levant region and southeastern Anatolia from 1098 to 1291. Following the principles of feudalism, the foundation for these polities was laid by the First Crusade ...

in the

Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

. Views about the office of the sultan further developed during the crisis that followed the destruction of Baghdad by the

Mongols Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...

in 1258, which eliminated the remnants of Abbasid political power. Henceforth, the surviving descendants of the Abbasid caliphs lived in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

under the protection of the

Mamluks Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-sold ...

and were still nominally recognized by the latter. However, from this time on they effectively had no authority and were not universally recognized across the Sunni Muslim world. As protectors of the line of the Abbasid caliphs, the Mamluks recognized themselves as sultans and the Muslim scholar Khalil al-Zahiri argued that only they could hold that title. Nonetheless, in practice, many Muslim rulers of this period were now using the title as well. Mongol rulers (who had since converted to Islam) and other Turkish rulers were among those who did so. The position of sultan and caliph began to blend together in the 16th century when 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 ...

conquered the Mamluk Empire and became the indisputable leading Sunni Muslim power across most 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 ...

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 ...

, and

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

. The 16th-century Ottoman scholar and jurist, Ebüssuûd Mehmet Efendi, recognized the

Ottoman sultan The sultans of the Ottoman Empire (), who were all members of the Ottoman dynasty (House of Osman), ruled over the Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental empire from its perceived inception in 1299 to Dissolution of the Ottoman Em ...

(

Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I (; , ; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the Western world and as Suleiman the Lawgiver () in his own realm, was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman sultan between 1520 a ...

at the time) as the caliph and universal leader of all Muslims. This conflation of sultan and caliph became more clearly emphasized in the 19th century during the Ottoman Empire's territorial decline, when Ottoman authorities sought to cast the sultan as the leader of the entire Muslim community in the face of European (

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

) colonial expansion. As part of this narrative, it was claimed that when Sultan

Selim I Selim I (; ; 10 October 1470 – 22 September 1520), known as Selim the Grim or Selim the Resolute (), was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. Despite lasting only eight years, his reign is ...

captured Cairo in 1517, the last descendant of the Abbasids in Cairo formally passed on the position of caliph to him. This combination thus elevated the sultan's religious or spiritual authority, in addition to his formal political authority. During this later period, the title of sultan was still used outside the Ottoman Empire as well, as with the examples of the

Somali aristocrats This is a list of Somali aristocratic and court titles that were historically used by the Somali people's various sultanates, Realm, kingdoms and empires. Also included are the honorifics reserved for Islamic notables as well as traditional leader ...

, Malay nobles and the sultans of Morocco (such as the

Alaouite dynasty The Alawi dynasty () – also rendered in English as Alaouite, Alawid, or Alawite – is the current Moroccan royal family and reigning dynasty. They are an Arab Sharifian dynasty and claim descent from the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his ...

founded in the 17th century). It was, however, not used as a sovereign title by

Shi'a Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor ( caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community ( imam). However, his right is understoo ...

Muslim rulers. The

Safavid dynasty The Safavid dynasty (; , ) was one of Iran's most significant ruling dynasties reigning from Safavid Iran, 1501 to 1736. Their rule is often considered the beginning of History of Iran, modern Iranian history, as well as one of the gunpowder em ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, who controlled the largest Shi'a Muslim state of this era, mainly used the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

title ''

shah Shāh (; ) is a royal title meaning "king" in the Persian language.Yarshater, Ehsa, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII, no. 1 (1989) Though chiefly associated with the monarchs of Iran, it was also used to refer to the leaders of numerous Per ...

'', a tradition which continued under subsequent dynasties. The term ''sultan'', by contrast, was mainly given to provincial governors within their realm.

Feminine forms

A feminine form of ''sultan'', used by Westerners, is sultana or sultanah and this title has been used legally for some (not all) Muslim women monarchs and sultan's mothers and chief consorts. However, Turkish and

Ottoman Turkish Ottoman Turkish (, ; ) was the standardized register of the Turkish language in the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extensively, in all aspects, from Arabic and Persian. It was written in the Ottoman Turkish alphabet. ...

also uses ''sultan'' for imperial lady, as

Turkish grammar Turkish grammar (), as described in this article, is the grammar of standard Turkish as spoken and written by the majority of people in Turkey. Turkish is a highly agglutinative language, in that much of the grammar is expressed by means of suffi ...

uses the same words for both women and men (such as

Hurrem Sultan Hürrem Sultan (; , "''the joyful one''"; 1505– 15 April 1558), also known as Roxelana (), was the chief consort, the first Haseki Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and the legal wife of the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, and the mother ...

and Sultan Suleiman Han (

)). The female leaders in

Muslim history Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraham (or ''Allah'') as it ...

are correctly known as "sultanas". However, the wife of the sultan in the

Sultanate of Sulu The Sultanate of Sulu (; ; ) is a Sunni Muslim subnational monarchy in the Philippines, Republic of the Philippines that includes the Sulu Archipelago, coastal areas of Zamboanga City and certain portions of Palawan in today's Philippines. H ...

is styled as the "panguian" while the sultan's chief wife in many sultanates of

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

and

are known as "permaisuri", "Tunku Ampuan", "Raja Perempuan", or "Tengku Ampuan". The

queen consort A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king, and usually shares her spouse's social Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and status. She holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles and may be crowned and anointed, but hi ...

especially is known as ''Raja Isteri'' with the title of ''Pengiran Anak'' suffixed, should the queen consort also be a royal princess.

Compound ruler titles

These are generally secondary titles, either lofty 'poetry' or with a message, e.g.: *''Mani Sultan'' – ''Manney Sultan'' (meaning the "Pearl of Rulers" or "Honoured Monarch") – a subsidiary title, part of the full style of the

Maharaja Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj; ; feminine: Maharani) is a royal title in Indian subcontinent, Indian subcontinent of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and Medieval India, medieval northern India, the title was equivalent to a pri ...

Travancore The kingdom of Travancore (), also known as the kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor () or later as Travancore State, was a kingdom that lasted from until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvanan ...

* ''

Sultan of Sultans Sultan of Sultans is the literal English translation of the Ottoman Turkish imperial title ''Sulṭānü's-Selāṭīn''. As with various other laudatory titles of Semitic origin, such as "King of Kings", Sultan of Sultans can express a claim o ...

'' – the sultanic equivalent of the style

King of Kings King of Kings, ''Mepet mepe''; , group="n" was a ruling title employed primarily by monarchs based in the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. Commonly associated with History of Iran, Iran (historically known as name of Iran, Persia ...

* Certain secondary titles have a devout Islamic connotation; e.g., Sultan ul-Mujahidin as champion of

jihad ''Jihad'' (; ) is an Arabic word that means "exerting", "striving", or "struggling", particularly with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it encompasses almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with God in Islam, God ...

(to strive and to struggle in the name of Allah). * ''Sultanic Highness'' – a rare, hybrid western-Islamic honorific style exclusively used by the son, daughter-in-law and daughters of Sultan

Hussein Kamel of Egypt Hussein Kamel (; 21 November 1853 – 9 October 1917) was the Sultan of Egypt from 19 December 1914 to 9 October 1917, during the United Kingdom, British protectorate over Egypt. He was the first person to hold the title of Sultan of Egypt si ...

British protectorate British protectorates were protectorates under the jurisdiction of the British government. Many territories which became British protectorates already had local rulers with whom the Crown negotiated through treaty, acknowledging their status wh ...

since 1914), who bore it with their primary titles of

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

('; ) or

Princess Princess is a title used by a female member of a regnant monarch's family or by a female ruler of a principality. The male equivalent is a prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for ...

, after 11 October 1917. They enjoyed these titles for life, even after the Royal Rescript regulating the styles and titles of the Royal House following Egypt's independence in 1922, when the sons and daughters of the newly styled king (', considered a promotion) were granted the title , or

Royal Highness Royal Highness is a style used to address or refer to some members of royal families, usually princes or princesses. Kings and their female consorts, as well as queens regnant, are usually styled ''Majesty''. When used as a direct form of a ...

. *''Sultan-ul-Qaum'' – a title meaning King of the Nation, given to 18th-century

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

leader

Jassa Singh Ahluwalia Jassa Singh Ahluwalia (3 May 1718 – 23 October 1783) was a Sikh leader during the period of the Sikh Confederacy, being the supreme leader of the Dal Khalsa (Sikh Army), Dal Khalsa. He was also Misldar of the Ahluwalia (misl), Ahluwalia Mi ...

by his supporters

Princely and aristocratic titles

Nicolas de Nicolay- La grande dame turcque

By the beginning of the 16th century, the title sultan was carried by both men and women of the Ottoman dynasty and was replacing other titles by which prominent members of the imperial family had been known (notably ''khatun'' for women and ''bey'' for men). This usage underlines the Ottoman conception of sovereign power as family prerogative. Western tradition knows the Ottoman ruler as "sultan", but Ottomans themselves used "padişah" (emperor) or "hünkar" to refer to their ruler. The emperor's formal title consisted of "sultan" together with "khan" (for example, Sultan Suleiman Khan). In formal address, the sultan's children were also entitled "sultan", with imperial princes (Şehzade) carrying the title before their given name, and imperial princesses carrying it after. For example: Şehzade Sultan Mehmed and Mihrimah Sultan, son and daughter of Suleiman the Magnificent. Like imperial princesses, the living mother and main consort of the reigning sultan also carried the title after their given names, for example: Hafsa Sultan, Suleiman's mother and first

valide sultan Valide Sultan (, lit. "Sultana mother") was the title held by the mother of a ruling sultan of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans first formally used the title in the 16th century as an epithet of Hafsa Sultan (died 1534), mother of Sultan Suleima ...

, and Hürrem Sultan, Suleiman's chief consort and first

haseki sultan Haseki Sultan (, ''Ḫāṣekī Sulṭān'' ) was the title used for the chief consort of an Ottoman sultan. In later years, the meaning of the title changed to "imperial consort". Hurrem Sultan, principal consort and legal wife of Suleiman the ...

. The evolving usage of this title reflected power shifts among imperial women, especially between the Sultanate of Women, as the position of main consort eroded over the course of the 17th century, with the main consort losing the title of "sultan", which was replaced by "kadin", a title related to the earlier "khatun". Henceforth, the mother of the reigning sultan was the only person of non imperial blood to carry the title "sultan". In Kazakh Khanate a Sultan was a lord from the ruling dynasty (a direct descendants of

Genghis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; August 1227), also known as Chinggis Khan, was the founder and first khan (title), khan of the Mongol Empire. After spending most of his life uniting the Mongols, Mongol tribes, he launched Mongol invasions and ...

) elected by clans, i.e. a kind of prince. The best of sultans was elected as khan by people at

Kurultai A kurultai (, ),Derived from Russian language, Russian , ultimately from Middle Mongol ( ), whence Chinese language, Chinese 忽里勒台 ''Hūlǐlēitái'' (); ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; (). also called a qurultai, was a political and military counc ...

Military rank

In a number of post-caliphal states under

Mongol Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China (Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family of M ...

or Turkic rule, there was a

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...

type of military hierarchy. These administrations were often decimal (mainly in larger empires), using originally princely titles such as khan,

malik Malik (; ; ; variously Romanized ''Mallik'', ''Melik'', ''Malka'', ''Malek'', ''Maleek'', ''Malick'', ''Mallick'', ''Melekh'') is the Semitic term translating to "king", recorded in East Semitic and Arabic, and as mlk in Northwest Semitic d ...

amir Emir (; ' (), also transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or ceremonial authority. The title has ...

as mere rank denominations. In the

Persian empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the larg ...

, the rank of sultan was roughly equivalent to that of a modern-day

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in the West; socially in the fifth-rank class, styled ' Ali Jah.

Former sultans and sultanates

Sultanates in the Balkans, Anatolia and Central Asia

Ghaznavid Empire The Ghaznavid dynasty ( ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a Persianate Muslim dynasty of Turkic peoples, Turkic ''mamluk'' origin. It ruled the Ghaznavid Empire or the Empire of Ghazni from 977 to 1186, which at its greatest extent, extended from the Oxus ...

; its ruler,

Mahmud of Ghazni Abu al-Qasim Mahmud ibn Sabuktigin (; 2 November 971 – 30 April 1030), usually known as Mahmud of Ghazni or Mahmud Ghaznavi (), was Sultan of the Ghaznavid Empire, ruling from 998 to 1030. During his reign and in medieval sources, he is usuall ...

, was the first

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

sovereign to be known as sultan. *

Great Seljuk Empire The Seljuk Empire, or the Great Seljuk Empire, was a high medieval, culturally Turco-Persian, Sunni Muslim empire, established and ruled by the Qïnïq branch of Oghuz Turks. The empire spanned a total area of from Anatolia and the Levant ...

Sultanate of Rum The Sultanate of Rum was a culturally Turco-Persian Sunni Muslim state, established over conquered Byzantine territories and peoples (Rum) of Anatolia by the Seljuk Turks following their entry into Anatolia after the Battle of Manzikert in 1071. ...

Timurid Empire The Timurid Empire was a late medieval, culturally Persianate, Turco-Mongol empire that dominated Greater Iran in the early 15th century, comprising modern-day Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, much of Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and parts of co ...

* Kazakh Khanate

Caucasus

* Elisu Sultanate and a few others. A sultan ranked below a khan.

West Asia and North Africa

*in

: **Sultans of Baneh (In

Kurdistan Kurdistan (, ; ), or Greater Kurdistan, is a roughly defined geo- cultural region in West Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languages, and national identity have historically been based. G ...

, members of the Ekhtiyar al-Din family governed Baneh as Sultans defending against the Ottoman frontier) **

*in

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

: ** Ayyubid Sultans ** Mamluk Sultans *in

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

: **

Mamluk Sultanate The Mamluk Sultanate (), also known as Mamluk Egypt or the Mamluk Empire, was a state that ruled Egypt, the Levant and the Hejaz from the mid-13th to early 16th centuries, with Cairo as its capital. It was ruled by a military caste of mamluks ...

*in present-day

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

, various small sultanates of the defunct

Aden Protectorate The Aden Protectorate ( ') was a British protectorate in southern Arabia. The protectorate evolved in the hinterland of the port of Aden and in the Hadhramaut after the conquest of Aden by the Bombay Presidency of British India in January ...

and

South Arabia South Arabia (), or Greater Yemen, is a historical region that consists of the southern region of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia, mainly centered in what is now the Republic of Yemen, yet it has also historically included Najran, Jazan, ...

: *: Audhali, Fadhli, Haushabi, Kathiri, Lahej, Lower Aulaqi,

Lower Yafa Lower Yafa, Lower Yafa'i ( '), or the Sultanate of Lower Yafa ( ''),'' was a sultanate in the British Aden Protectorate ruled by the Al Afifi dynasty. Its capital was at Jaar. Lower Yafa was one part of Yafa'a, the other part being Upper Yafa. ...

, Mahra, Qu'aiti, Subeihi, Upper Aulaqi,

Upper Yafa Upper Yafa or Upper Yafa'i ( ''),'' officially the State of Upper Yafa ( '')'', was a military alliance in the British Aden Protectorate and the Protectorate of South Arabia. It was ruled by the Harharah dynasty and its capital was Mahjaba, ...

and the Wahidi sultanates *in present-day

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 ...

: ** Sultans of Nejd ** Sultans of the Hejaz *

– Sultan of Oman (authentically referred to as ''Hami''), on the southern coast of the Arabian peninsula, still an independent sultanate, since 1744 (assumed the formal title of Sultan in 1861) *in

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

: Sultanate of Tuggurt, Sultans of Tlemcen *in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

: ** Ayyubid Sultans ** Mamluk Sultans ** Sultans of the Muhammad Ali dynasty *in

, until Mohammed V changed the style to

Malik Malik (; ; ; variously Romanized ''Mallik'', ''Melik'', ''Malka'', ''Malek'', ''Maleek'', ''Malick'', ''Mallick'', ''Melekh'') is the Semitic term translating to "king", recorded in East Semitic and Arabic, and as mlk in Northwest Semitic d ...

(king) on August 14, 1957, maintaining the subsidiary style

Amir al-Mu'minin () or Commander of the Faithful is a Muslims, Muslim title designating the supreme leader of an Ummah, Islamic community. Name Although etymology, etymologically () is equivalent to English "commander", the wide variety of its historical an ...

(Commander of the Faithful) *in

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

: **

Darfur Darfur ( ; ) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju () while ruled by the Daju, who migrated from Meroë , and it was renamed Dartunjur () when the Tunjur ruled the area. ...

**Dar al-Masalit **Dar Qimr **

Funj Sultanate The Funj Sultanate, also known as Funjistan, Sultanate of Sennar (after its capital Sennar) or Blue Sultanate (due to the traditional Sudanese convention of referring to black people as blue) (), was a monarchy in what is now Sudan, northwestern ...

of Sinnar (Sennar) **

Kordofan Kordofan ( ') is a former province of central Sudan. In 1994 it was divided into three new federal states: North Kordofan, South Kordofan and West Kordofan. In August 2005, West Kordofan State was abolished and its territory divided between N ...

*in

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 ...

: **

Abbasid Caliphate The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 CE), from whom the dynasty takes ...

(autonomous provinces) **

Horn of Africa

Ajuran Sultanate The Ajuran Sultanate (, ), natively referred to as Ajuuraan, and often simply Ajuran/Ajur, was a Muslims, Muslim empire in the Horn of Africa that thrived from the Late Middle Ages, late medieval and Early modern period, early modern period. F ...

, in southern Somalia and eastern Ethiopia *

Adal Sultanate The Adal Sultanate, also known as the Adal Empire or Barr Saʿad dīn (alt. spelling ''Adel Sultanate'', ''Adal Sultanate'') (), was a medieval Sunni Muslim empire which was located in the Horn of Africa. It was founded by Sabr ad-Din III on th ...

, in western

Somaliland Somaliland, officially the Republic of Somaliland, is an List of states with limited recognition, unrecognised country in the Horn of Africa. It is located in the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden and bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, E ...

, southern

Djibouti Djibouti, officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to the east. The country has an area ...

, and the Somali, Harari and Afar regions of

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

Isaaq Sultanate The Isaaq Sultanate (, Wadaad's writing, Wadaad: , ) was a Muslims, Muslim sultanate that ruled parts of the Horn of Africa in the 18th and 19th centuries. The kingdom spanned the territories of the Isaaq clan in modern-day Somaliland and Ethiopi ...

, in Somaliland and the

Somali region The Somali Region (, , ), also known as Soomaali Galbeed () and officially the Somali Regional State, is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in eastern Ethiopia. It is the largest region of Ethiopia. The state borders the Ethiopian regions ...

of Ethiopia *

Habr Yunis Sultanate The Habr Yunis Sultanate (, ) was a Somali kingdom that ruled parts of the Horn of Africa during the 18th century. It spanned the territories of the Habr Yunis clan which is part of the wider Isaaq in modern day Somaliland and Ethiopia. The su ...

, in Somaliland and

of Ethiopia *

Majeerteen Sultanate The Majeerteen Sultanate (, ), or Majerteen Kingdom also known as Majeerteenia and/or Migiurtinia, was a Somali kingdom centered in the Horn of Africa. Ruled by Boqor Osman Mahamuud during its golden age, the sultanate controlled the areas co ...

(Migiurtinia), in northern Somalia * Warsangali Sultanate, in northern Somalia *

Sultanate of the Geledi The Sultanate of the Geledi (, ) also known as the Gobroon dynasty,Somali Sultanate: The Geledi City-state Over 150 Years - Virginia Luling (2002) Page 229 was a Somali kingdom that ruled parts of the Horn of Africa during the late-17th century ...

, in southern Somalia *

Sultanate of Aussa The Sultanate of Aussa was a kingdom that existed in the Afar Region in southern Eritrea, eastern Ethiopia and Djibouti from the 18th to the 20th century. It was considered to be the leading monarchy of the Afar people, to whom the other Afar ru ...

, in northeastern Ethiopia * Sultanate of Harar, in eastern Ethiopia *Jarso Sultanate *

Sultanate of Hobyo The Sultanate of Hobyo (, ), also known as the Sultanate of Obbia,''New International Encyclopedia'', Volume 21, (Dodd, Mead: 1916), p.283. was a 19th-century Somali Sultanate in present-day northeastern and central Somalia and eastern Ethiopia ...

, in central Somalia * Sultanate of Ifat, in Somaliland, Djibouti and eastern Ethiopia *

Sultanate of Mogadishu The Sultanate of Mogadishu (, ), also known as Kingdom of Magadazo, was a medieval Muslim Somali-Arab sultanate centered in southern Somalia.M. Elfasi, Ivan Hrbe"Africa from the Seventh to the Eleventh Century", "General History of Africa". Ret ...

, in south-central Somalia * Sultanate of Showa, in central Ethiopia * Bimaal Sultanate, in south eastern Somalia centred in

Merka Merca (, ) is the capital city of the Lower Shebelle province of Somalia, a historic port city in the region. It is located approximately to the southwest of the nation's capital Mogadishu. Merca is the traditional home territory of the Bimal c ...

Southeast Africa and Indian Ocean

Angoche Sultanate The Angoche Sultanate was a sultanate centered on the islands of Angoche, present-day Northern Mozambique coastline. Established in the late 15th century by dissidents from the Kilwa Sultanate, the sultanate arose during the decline of the Kilw ...

, on the Mozambiquan coast (also several neighbouring sheikdoms) *various sultans on the Comoros; however on the

Comoros The Comoros, officially the Union of the Comoros, is an archipelagic country made up of three islands in Southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city is Moroni, ...

, the normally used styles were alternative native titles, including Mfalme, Phany or ''Jambé'' and the 'hegemonic' title Sultani tibe *the Maore (or Mawuti) sultanate on

Mayotte Mayotte ( ; , ; , ; , ), officially the Department of Mayotte (), is an Overseas France, overseas Overseas departments and regions of France, department and region and single territorial collectivity of France. It is one of the Overseas departm ...

(separated from the Comoros)

''Maliki''

Apparently derived from the Arabic ''

'', this was the alternative native style of the sultans of the Kilwa Sultanate in Tanganyika (presently the continental part of Tanzania).

Swahili Coast

Sultanate of Zanzibar The Sultanate of Zanzibar (, ), also known as the Zanzibar Sultanate, was an East African Muslim state controlled by the Sultan of Zanzibar, in place between 1856 and 1964. The Sultanate's territories varied over time, and after a period of de ...

: two incumbents (from the Omani dynasty) since the de facto separation from Oman in 1806, the last assumed the title Sultan in 1861 at the formal separation under British auspices; since 1964 union with Tanganyika (part of

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

) ''Mfalume'' is the title of various native Muslim rulers, generally rendered in Arabic and in western languages as Sultan: *in

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

: ** Pate on part of

Pate island Pate (Paté) Island () is located in the Indian Ocean close to the northern coast of Kenya, to which it belongs. It is the largest island in the Lamu Archipelago, which lie between the towns of Lamu and Kiunga in the former Coast Province. ...

(capital also named Pate), in the

Lamu Archipelago The Lamu Archipelago is located in the Indian Ocean close to the northern coast of Kenya, to which it belongs. The islands lie between the towns of Lamu and Kiunga. It is a part of Lamu County. The largest of the islands are Pate Island, Man ...

Wituland Wituland (also Witu, Vitu, Witu Protectorate or Swahililand) was a territory of approximately in East Africa centered on the town of Witu, just inland from the Indian Ocean port of Lamu, north of the mouth of the Tana River in what is now Keny ...

, became a German, then

*in Tanganyika (presently part of

): of Hadimu, on the island of that name; also styled ''Jembe''

''Sultani''

This was the native ruler's title in the Tanzanian state of Uhehe.

West and Central Africa

*In

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

: ** Bamoun (Bamun, 17th century, founded uniting 17 chieftaincies) 1918 becomes a sultanate, but in 1923 re-divided into the 17 original chieftaincies. ** Bibemi, founded in 1770 – initially styled '' lamido'' ** Mandara Sultanate, since 1715 (replacing Wandala kingdom); 1902 part of Cameroon ** Rey Bouba Sultanate founded 1804 *in the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...

: **

Bangassou Bangassou is a city in the southeastern of Central African Republic, lying on the north bank of the Mbomou River. It has a population of 24,447 (2003 census) and is the capital of the Mbomou prefecture. It is known for its wildlife, market, and ...

created ; 14 June 1890 under

Congo Free State The Congo Free State, also known as the Independent State of the Congo (), was a large Sovereign state, state and absolute monarchy in Central Africa from 1885 to 1908. It was privately owned by Leopold II of Belgium, King Leopold II, the const ...

protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over ...

, 1894 under French protectorate; 1917 Sultanate suppressed by the French. **Dar al-Kuti – French protectorate since December 12, 1897 ** Rafai Sultanate, April 8, 1892, under Congo Free State protectorate, March 31, 1909, under French protectorate; 1939 Sultanate suppressed ** Zemio established; December 11, 1894, under Congo Free State protectorate, April 12, 1909, under French protectorate; 1923 Sultanate suppressed *in

Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...

: ** Baguirmi (main native title: Mbang) ** Wada'i (main native title: Kolak), successor state to Birgu ** Dar Sila (actually a wandering group of tribes) *in

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

alternative title of the following autochthonous rulers: ** the Amenokal of the Aïr confederation of

Tuareg The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym, depending on variety: ''Imuhaɣ'', ''Imušaɣ'', ''Imašeɣăn'' or ''Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group, traditionally nomadic pastoralists, who principally inhabit th ...

** the Sarkin Damagaram since the 1731 founding of the

Sultanate of Damagaram The Sultanate of Damagaram was a Muslim pre-colonial state in what is now southeastern Niger, centered on the city of Zinder. History Rise The Sultanate of Damagaram was founded in 1731 (near Mirriah, modern Niger) by Muslim Kanuri ari ...

(

Zinder Zinder (locally, ''Damagaram''), formerly also spelled Sinder, is the third largest city in Niger, with a population of 235,605 as by the 2012 census. It is situated east of the capital Niamey and north of the Nigerian city of Kano. History ...

) *in

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

most monarchies previously had native titles, but when most in the north converted to Islam, Muslim titles were adopted, such as ''

'' and sometimes ''sultan''. ** in Borno (alongside the native title ''Mai'') ** since 1817 in

Sokoto Sokoto (Hausa language, Hausa: ; Fulfulde, Fula: , ''Leydi Sokoto'') is one of the 36 states of Nigeria, located in the extreme northwest of the country. It is bounded by Niger, Republic of the Niger to the north and west for 363 km (226 m ...

, the suzerain (also styled Amir al-Mu´minin and Sarkin Musulmi) of all Fulbe jihad states and premier traditional Muslim leader in the

Sahel The Sahel region (; ), or Sahelian acacia savanna, is a Biogeography, biogeographical region in Africa. It is the Ecotone, transition zone between the more humid Sudanian savannas to its south and the drier Sahara to the north. The Sahel has a ...

(according to some once a caliph)

South Asia

* Afghan Kingdom: Sultan had a different meaning. It was a high title of honour, superior to Amir and Sardar, but ranking below Shah. *

Bahmani Sultanate The Bahmani Kingdom or the Bahmani Sultanate was a late medieval Persianate kingdom that ruled the Deccan plateau in India. The first independent Muslim sultanate of the Deccan, the Bahmani Kingdom came to power in 1347 during the rebellio ...

: Bahmani Shahs *

Sultanate of Bengal The Bengal Sultanate ( Middle Bengali: , Classical Persian: ) was a late medieval sultanate based in the Bengal region in the eastern South Asia between the 14th and 16th century. It was the dominant power of the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta, ...

: Ilyas Shahi,

Ganesha Ganesha or Ganesh (, , ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva (Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in the Ganapatya sect. His depictions ...

, Habshi, Hussain Shahi, Muhammad Shah and Karranis * Sultanates of the Deccan: ** Adil Shahi of Bijapur ** Barid Shahi of Bidar ** Imad Shahi of Berar ** Nizam Shahi of Ahmednagar ** Qutb Shahi of Golconda *

Sultanate of Delhi The Delhi Sultanate or the Sultanate of Delhi was a late medieval empire primarily based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for more than three centuries.

, Khiljis, Tughlaqs, Sayyids and Lodis * Sultanate of Gujarat: Muzaffarids * Sultanate of Jaunpur: Sharqi dynasty * Sultanate of Kandesh: Faruqi dynasty * Sultanate of Malwa: three dynasties * Sultanate of Madurai *Sultanate of Laccadive and Cannanore: Arakkal Kingdom * Sultanate of Kashmir: Shahmirids and Chaks * Sultanate of Maldives * Sultanate of Hunnur

Southeast and East Asia

COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Pakoe Boewono XII de Susuhunan van Solo in de kraton TMnr 60052129

Sulu Sultan Mohammed Mahakuttah Abdullah Kiram

(formerly in the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...

): *On

Kalimantan Kalimantan (; ) is the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo. It constitutes 73% of the island's area, and consists of the provinces of Central Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, North Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, and West Kalimantan. The non-Ind ...

** Sultanate of Banjar **Sultanate of Berau **

Sultanate of Bulungan The Sultanate of Bulungan (, ) was a former independent sultanate and later a special territory of Indonesia located in the then existing Bulungan Regency (at that time covering all the territory that now comprises the North Kalimantan province ...

**Sultanate of Gunung Tabur **Sultanate of Kubu **

Kutai Kartanegara Sultanate Kutai is a historical region in what is now the Indonesian province of East Kalimantan on the island of Borneo. The region shares its name with the Ethnic groups of Indonesia, native ethnic group of the region (known as 'the Kutai people'), wi ...

** Sultanate of Mempawah **Sultanate of Paser ** Sultanate of Pontianak **Sultanate of Sambaliung **

Sultanate of Sambas The Sultanate of Sambas () was a traditional Malay state on the Western coast of the island of Borneo, in modern-day Indonesia. History At first governed by governors, Sambas became a kingdom in 1609 with the descendant of Sepudak. She marri ...

*On

Sulawesi Sulawesi ( ), also known as Celebes ( ), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the List of islands by area, world's 11th-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Min ...

** Sultanate of Buton ** Sultanate of Bone ** Sultanate of Gowa ** Sultanate of Luwu ** ** Sultanate of Wajoq *On

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

** Sultanate of Banten **

Sultanate of Cirebon The Sultanate of Cirebon (, Pegon: , ) was an Islamic sultanate in West Java founded in the 15th century. It is said to have been founded by Sunan Gunungjati, as marked by his letter proclaiming Cirebon's independence from Pajajaran in 14 ...

– the rulers in three of the four palaces (''kraton''), from which divided

Cirebon Cirebon (, formerly rendered Cheribon or Chirebon in English) is a port city on the northern coast of the Indonesian island of Java. It is the only coastal city of West Java, located about 40 km west of the provincial border with Central J ...

was ruled: Kraton Kasepuhan, Kraton Kanoman and Kraton Kacirebonan (only in Kraton Kaprabonan was the ruler's title Panembahan) **

Sultanate of Demak The Demak Sultanate () was a Javanese Muslim state located on Java's north coast in Indonesia, at the site of the present-day city of Demak. A port fief to the Hindu-Buddhist Majapahit kingdom thought to have been founded in the last quarter of ...

** Sultanate of Pajang ** Sumedang Larang Sultanate **

Sultanate of Mataram The Sultanate of Mataram () was the last major independent Javanese kingdom on the island of Java before it was colonised by the Dutch. It was the dominant political force radiating from the interior of Central Java from the late 16th cent ...

(was divided into two kingdoms: the Sultanate of Yogyakarta and Sunanan Surakarta) ***

Sultanate of Yogyakarta The Sultanate of Yogyakarta, officially the Sultanate of Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat ( ; ), is a Javanese monarchy in Yogyakarta Special Region, in the Republic of Indonesia. The current head of the sultanate is Hamengkubuwono X. Yogyakart ...

*** Sunanate of Surakarta (''

susuhunan Susuhunan, or in short version Sunan, is a title used by the monarchs of Mataram and then by the hereditary rulers of Surakarta, Indonesia. Additionally in Bali and Surakarta, so-called " Kings of kings" reigned with this title, while their k ...

'', a high-ranked monarch, equivalent to emperor) *In the

Maluku Islands The Maluku Islands ( ; , ) or the Moluccas ( ; ) are an archipelago in the eastern part of Indonesia. Tectonics, Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located in West ...

** Sultanate of Iha (Saparua) **Sultanate of Honimoa/ Siri Sori (Saparua) ** (West Seram) ** (Ambon) ** (Ambon) **

Sultanate of Ternate The Sultanate of Ternate ( Jawi: ), previously also known as the Kingdom of Gapi, is one of the oldest Muslim kingdoms in Indonesia besides the sultanates of Tidore, Jailolo, and Bacan. The Ternate kingdom was established by Momole Cico, ...

Sultanate of Tidore The Sultanate of Tidore (Jawi script, Jawi: ; sometimes ) was a sultanate in Southeast Asia, centered on Tidore in the Maluku Islands (presently in North Maluku, Indonesia). It was also known as Duko, its ruler carrying the title Kië ma-kolano ( ...

Sultanate of Bacan The Sultanate of Bacan (; ; ) was a state in Maluku Islands, present-day Indonesia that arose with the expansion of the spice trade in late medieval times. It mainly consisted of the Bacan Islands (Bacan, Kasiruta, Mandioli, etc.) but had periodic ...

Sultanate of Jailolo The Sultanate of Jailolo ( Jawi: ; ''Kesultanan Jailolo'') was a premodern state in Maluku, modern Indonesia that emerged with the increasing trade in cloves in the Middle Ages. Also spelt Gilolo, it was one of the four kingdoms of Maluku togeth ...

** (North Halmahera) *In the

Nusa Tenggara The Lesser Sunda Islands (, , ), now known as Nusa Tenggara Islands (, or "Southeast Islands"), are an archipelago in the Indonesian archipelago. Most of the Lesser Sunda Islands are located within the Wallacea region, except for the Bali pr ...

** Bima Sultanate on Sumbawa island *In the

Riau Archipelago The Riau Archipelago is a ''geographic'' term (as opposed to administrative region) for the core group of islands within the Riau Islands Province in Indonesia, and located south of Singapore and east of Riau on Sumatra. Before the province of Ri ...

: Sultanate of Riau-Lingga by secession in 1818 under the expelled sultan of

Johore Johor, also spelled Johore,'' is a state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. It borders with Pahang, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the north. Johor has maritime borders with Singapore to the south and Indonesia to the east and ...

(on Malaya) Sultan Abdul Rahman Muadzam Syah ibni al-Marhum Sultan Mahmud *In

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

Aceh Sultanate The Sultanate of Aceh, officially the Kingdom of Aceh Darussalam (; Jawoë: ), was a sultanate centered in the modern-day Indonesian province of Aceh. It was a major regional power in the 16th and 17th centuries, before experiencing a long pe ...

(full style ''Sultan Berdaulat Zillullah fil-Alam'') **

Sultanate of Asahan The Sultanate of Asahan () was a Malay sultanate from approximately 1630 until 1946. It was located in the north-east of the island of Sumatra, in what is now Indonesia and covered what is now the Asahan Regency. History The sultanate wa ...

** Awak Sungai, established 17th century at the split in four of Minangkabau, in 1816 extinguished by Netherlands East Indies colonial government **

Sultanate of Deli The Sultanate of Deli ( Indonesian: ''Kesultanan Deli Darul Maimoon''; Jawi: ) was a 1,820 km2 Malay state in east Sumatra founded in 1632 when a commander of the Aceh Sultanate, Gocah Pahlawan, conquered the area during the reign of Is ...

**Sultanate of Indragiri ** Sultanate of Langkat (previous style Raja) **

Palembang Sultanate The Sultanate of Palembang Darussalam ( Malay: كسلطانن ڤلمبڠ دارالسلام) was a sultanate in Indonesia whose capital was the city of Palembang in the southern part of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. It was proclaimed in 1659 ...

(Darussalam), also holding the higher title of

Susuhunan Susuhunan, or in short version Sunan, is a title used by the monarchs of Mataram and then by the hereditary rulers of Surakarta, Indonesia. Additionally in Bali and Surakarta, so-called " Kings of kings" reigned with this title, while their k ...

** Sultanate of Pagaruyung ** Sultanate of Perleuak ** Riau-Lingga Sultanate **

Samudera Pasai Sultanate The Samudera Pasai Sultanate (), also known as Samudera or Pasai or Samudera Darussalam or Pacem, was a Muslim kingdom on the north coast of Sumatra from the 13th to the 16th centuries. Little evidence has been left to allow for historical ...

** Sultanate of Serdang ** Sultanate of Siak In

: * In

Peninsular Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia, historically known as Malaya and also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, is the western part of Malaysia that comprises the southern part of the Malay Peninsula on Mainland Southeast Asia and the list of isla ...

, where all seven of the country's present sultanates are located: ** Sultanate of Perlis **

Sultanate of Johor The Johor Sultanate ( or ; also called the Sultanate of Johor, Johor-Pahang-Riau-Lingga, or the Johor Empire) was founded by Sultan of Malacca Mahmud Shah of Malacca, Mahmud Shah's son, Alauddin Riayat Shah II of Johor, Alauddin Riayat Shah ...

Sultanate of Kedah The Kedah Sultanate () is a Muslim dynasty located in the Malay Peninsula. It was originally an independent state, but became a British protectorate in 1909. Its monarchy was abolished after it was added to the Malayan Union but was restored ...

** Sultanate of Kelantan ** Sultanate of Pahang ** Sultanate of Perak ** Sultanate of Selangor **

Sultanate of Terengganu The Sultan of Terengganu (, Jawi: ) is the title of the constitutional head of Terengganu state in Malaysia. The current sultan, Mizan Zainal Abidin of Terengganu, is the 18th sultan and 13th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia from 2006 to 2011. ...

* Furthermore, the ruler of Luak Jelebu, one of the constitutive states of the

Negeri Sembilan Negeri Sembilan (, Negeri Sembilan Malay: ''Nogoghi Sombilan'', ''Nismilan''), historically spelled as Negri Sembilan, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia which lies on the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, wes ...

confederation, had the style Sultan in addition to his principal title ''Undang Luak Jelebu''. *

Sultanate of Malacca The Malacca Sultanate (; Jawi script: ) was a Malays (ethnic group), Malay sultanate based in the modern-day state of Malacca, Malaysia. Conventional historical thesis marks as the founding year of the sultanate by King of Singapura, Parameswa ...

Sultanate of Sarawak The Sultanate of Sarawak () was a Malay kingdom, located in present-day Kuching Division, Sarawak. The kingdom was founded in 1599, after the conquest of the preceding Santubong Kingdom and the later Sultanate of Brunei. The kingdom saw ...

: *

Sultan of Brunei The Sultan of Brunei is the monarchical head of state of Brunei and head of government in his capacity as prime minister of Brunei. Since independence from the British in 1984, only one sultan has reigned, though the royal institution dates bac ...

, Brunei (on Borneo island) In

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

: *

Dali, Yunnan Dali City (, Bai language, Bai: or ) is the county-level city, county-level county seat, seat of the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture in northwestern Yunnan, China. Dali City is administered through 12 Townships of the People's Republic of Chin ...

, capital of the short-lived

Panthay Rebellion The Panthay Rebellion (1856–1873), also known as the Du Wenxiu Rebellion (Tu Wen-hsiu Rebellion), was a rebellion of the Muslim Hui people and other (Muslim as well as non-Muslim) ethnic groups against the Manchu-led Qing dynasty in southwe ...

** Furthermore, the ''Qa´id Jami al-Muslimin'' (Leader of the Community of Muslims) of Pingnan Guo ("Pacified South State", a major Islamic rebellious polity in western Yunnan province) is usually referred to in foreign sources as Sultan. * In the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

: * Sultanate of Buayan *

Sultanate of Maguindanao The Sultanate of Maguindanao ( Maguindanaon: ''Kasultanan nu Magindanaw'', Jawi: كسولتانن نو مڬیندنو; Filipino: ''Kasultanan ng Mangindánaw'') was a Sunni Muslim sultanate that ruled parts of the island of Mindanao, in th ...

* Confederation of Sultanates of Lanao *

(Sulu, Basilan, Palawan and Tawi-Tawi islands and part of eastern Sabah on North Borneo) In

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

: * Sultanate of Patani * Sultanate of Singgora

Current sultans

Sultans of sovereign states * Sultan

Hassanal Bolkiah Hassanal Bolkiah Muiz'zaddin Wad'daulah (born 15 July 1946) is the List of sultans of Brunei, Sultan of Brunei since 1967, and Prime Minister of Brunei, prime minister of Brunei since its independence from the United Kingdom in 1984. He is one ...

, Sultan and Yang di-Pertuan Negara of Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace * Sultan

Haitham bin Tariq Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said (; born 11 October 1955) is the List of rulers of Oman, Sultan and Prime Minister of Oman. He acceded to the throne in January 2020 after being named successor by his cousin, Qaboos bin Said, Sultan Qaboos bin ...

, Sultan of the

Sultanate of Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

Sultans in federal monarchies * Sultan Ibrahim Ismail, Sultan and Yang di-Pertuan of Malaysian State of Johor, The Abode of Dignity and its occupied territories * Sultan Sallehuddin, Sultan and Yang-di Pertuan of Malaysian State of Kedah, the Abode of Safety *

Sultan Muhammad V Muhammad V (Jawi script, Jawi: ; born 6 October 1969) has been the 29th Sultan of Kelantan since ascending to the throne in 2010. He previously reigned as the King of Malaysia from 2016 until his abdication in 2019. He was proclaimed Sultan o ...

, Al-Sultan and Yang di-Pertuan of Malaysian State of Kelantan, the Abode of Bliss and its dependencies * Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin, Sultan and Ruler of Malaysian State of Pahang, the Abode of Tranquility * Sultan Nazrin Shah, Sultan, Yang di-Pertuan and the Ruler of Malaysian State of Perak, the Abode of Grace and its dependencies * Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, Sultan and Yang di-Pertuan of Malaysian State of Selangor, the Abode of Sincerity * Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin, Sultan and Yang di-Pertuan of Malaysian State of Terengganu, the Abode of Faith Sultan with power within republics * Sri Sultan

Hamengkubuwono X Sri Sultan Hamengkubawono X ( Hanacaraka: , also spelled as Hamengkubawana X, often abbreviated as HB X; born Bendara Raden Mas Herjuno Darpito, 2 April 1946) is the Sultan of the historic Yogyakarta Sultanate in Indonesia and is currently al ...

, Sultan and

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

of Indonesian Special Region of Yogyakarta

References

{{Authoritarian types of rule Heads of state Islamic honorifics Military ranks Royal titles Noble titles Positions of authority Titles Ottoman titles Titles of national or ethnic leadership Titles in Afghanistan Titles in Bangladesh Titles in Pakistan Titles in Iran Titles in Oman Filipino paramount rulers Filipino royalty

History of the term

Feminine forms

Compound ruler titles

Princely and aristocratic titles

Military rank

Former sultans and sultanates

Sultanates in the Balkans, Anatolia and Central Asia

Caucasus

West Asia and North Africa

Horn of Africa

Southeast Africa and Indian Ocean

''Maliki''

Swahili Coast

''Sultani''

West and Central Africa

South Asia

Southeast and East Asia

Current sultans

See also

References