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The court of the Durrani Emirate of Afghanistan in 1839

An emir (/əˈmɪər, eɪˈmɪər, ˈeɪmɪər/; Arabic: أمير‎ ʾamīr [ʔaˈmiːr]), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is an aristocratic or noble and military title of high office used in a variety of places in the Arab countries, West Africa, and Afghanistan. It means "commander", "general", or "High King". The feminine form is emira (أميرة ʾamīrah). When translated as "prince", the word "emirate" is analogous to a sovereign principality.^[1]

Origins

Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi

HRH Crown Prince Farouk, amir of the Kingdom of Egypt and the Sudan, on ascension to the throne 1936 as HM King Farouk I

Amir, meaning "lord" or "commander-in-chief", is derived from the Arabic root a-m-r, "command". Originally simply meaning "commander-in-chief" or "leader", usually in reference to a group of people, it came to be used as a title for governors or rulers, usually in smaller states, and in modern Arabic is analogous to the English word "prince". The word entered English in 1593, from the French émir.^[2] It was one of the titles or names of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.^{[citation needed]}

Princely, ministerial and noble titles

Mohammed Alim Khan, emir of Bukhara, taken in 1911 by Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky

• The monarchs of Qatar, Kuwait and of the constituent emirates of the United Arab Emirates are currently titled emir.^[3][4][5]


• All members of the House of Saud have the title of emir (prince).^[6][7][8]


• The caliphs first used the title Amir al-Muminin or "Commander of the Faithful", stressing their leadership over the Islamic empire, especially over the militia. The title has been assumed by various other Muslim rulers, including sultans and emirs. For Shia Muslims, they still give this title to the Caliph Ali as Amir al-Muminin.


• The Abbasid (in theory still universal) Caliph Ar-Radi created the post of Amir al-Umara ("Amir of the Amirs") for Ibn Raik; the title was used in various Islamic monarchies; see below for military use


• Formerly in Lebanon, the ruling emir formally used the style al-Amir al-Hakim, specifying it was still the ruler's title. Note that the title was held by Druze and Christians as well.^{[citation needed]}


• The word emir is also used less formally for leaders in certain contexts. For example, the leader of a group of pilgrims to Mecca is called an emir hadji, a title sometimes used by ruling princes (as a mark of Muslim piety) which is sometimes awarded in their name. Where an adjectival form is necessary, "emiral" suffices.^{[citation needed]}


• 
  Amirzade, the son (hence the Persian patronymic suffix -zade) of a prince, hence the Persian princely title mirza.


• The traditional rulers of the predominantly Muslim northern regions of Nigeria are known as emirs, while the titular sovereign of their now defunct empire is formally styled as the Sultan of Sokoto, Amir-al-Muminin (or Sarkin Musulmi in the Hausa language).^{[citation needed]}


• The temporal leader of the Yazidi people is known as an emir or prince.^{[citation needed]}


• 
  Amīr al-Baḥr (أمير البحر, "commander of the sea") is considered to be the etymological origin of the English admiral, the French amiral and similar terms in other European languages.

Military ranks and titles

From the start, emir has been a military title.

In certain decimally-organized Muslim armies, Amir was an officer rank. For example, in Mughal India Amirs commanded 1000 horsemen (divided into ten units, each under a sipah salar), ten of them under one malik. In the imperial army of Qajar Persia:

• Amir-i-Nuyan


• 
  Amir Panj, "Commander of 5,000"


• 
  Amir-i-Tuman, "Commander of 10,000" http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/amir-e-tuman-commander-of-10000-men-a-military-rank-originally-used-by-the-il-khanids-in-the-7th-13th-cent
  

The following posts referred to "amir" under medieval Muslim states include:

• 
  Amir al-umara, "Amir of Amirs" (cfr. supra) or 'Commander of Commanders'


• 
  Amir al-hajj, "Commander of the Hajj [caravan]"


• 
  Amir al-ʿarab, "Commander of the Arabs [Bedouin tribes]"

In the former 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.

Other uses

• Amir is a masculine name in the Persian language and a prefix name for many masculine names such as Amir Ali, Amir Goul.


• Amir-i-Iel designates the head of an Il (tribe) in imperial Persia.


• The masculine Amir and feminine Amira are Arabic-language names common among both Arabs regardless of religion and Muslims regardless of ethnicity, much as Latin Rex and Regina ("king" and "queen," respectively) are common in the Western world. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the female name Emira, often interpreted as "princess", is a derivative of the male name Emir.

In popular culture

• 
  Abdul Abulbul Amir, both character and song


• Wat Tambor in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones took the title of Emir of Ryloth, having been appointed ruler of the planet Ryloth.


• Emir Karim, a character in Wild At Heart, a Latin American drama and sports


• Emir Shah in RuneScape
  


• Emir Ramila in Shaft in Africa
  

See also

Specific emirates of note

• List of emirs of Harar


• List of emirs of Kuwait


• List of emirs of Qatar


• List of emirs of Mosul


• Emirate of Afghanistan

Notes