23-455: Shahanshah is a title given to the Iranian Shahs (kings/emperors), meaning King of Kings (Shah of Shahs). Shahanshah or Shahenshah may also refer to: Shahanshah Shah ( / ʃ ɑː / ; Persian : شاه , Šāh [ʃɒːh] , lit. ' king ' ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies . It was also used by
46-687: A title dates back to the Middle Assyrian period as šar šarrāni , in reference to the Assyrian ruler Tukulti-Ninurta I (1243–1207 BC). Šāh , or Šāhanšāh ( King of Kings ) to use the full-length term, was the title of the Persian emperors . It includes rulers of the first Persian Empire, the Achaemenid dynasty , who unified Persia in the sixth century BC, and created a vast intercontinental empire, as well as rulers of succeeding dynasties throughout history until
69-931: A variety of Persianate societies , such as the Ottoman Empire , the Kazakh Khanate , the Khanate of Bukhara , the Emirate of Bukhara , the Mughal Empire , the Bengal Sultanate , historical Afghan dynasties , and among Gurkhas . Rather than regarding himself as simply a king of the concurrent dynasty (i.e. European-style monarchies ), each Iranian ruler regarded himself as the Shahanshah ( شاهنشاه , Šâhanšâh , lit. ' King of Kings ' ) or Padishah ( پادشاه , Pâdešâh , lit. ' Master King ' ) in
92-738: Is often used as an imprecise rendering of Šāhanšāh . For a long time, Europeans thought of Shah as a particular royal title rather than an imperial one, although the monarchs of Persia regarded themselves as emperors of the Persian Empire (later the Empire of Iran ). The European opinion changed in the Napoleonic era, when Persia was an ally of the Western powers eager to make the Ottoman Sultan release his hold on various (mainly Christian) European parts of
115-446: Is sometimes part of doublet forms with the components reversed. For example, masculine names include Šah-amir and Amir-šah, Šah-paron and Paron-šah, and Vahram-šah; feminine names include Šah-xat‘un and Xat‘un-šah, and Šah-tikin. Some examples of these compound names include masculine Šah-aziz and feminine Aziz-šah, masculine Sult‘an-šah and feminine Šah-sult‘an, and masculine Melik‘-šah and feminine Šah-melē/ik‘. These names, particularly
138-584: The Ottoman Empire , and western (Christian) emperors had obtained the Ottoman acknowledgement that their western imperial styles were to be rendered in Turkish as padishah . In the twentieth century, the Shah of Persia , Mohammad Reza Pahlavi , officially adopted the title شاهنشاه Šâhanšâh and, in western languages, the rendering Emperor . He also styled his wife شهبانو Shahbânū ("Empress"). Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
161-509: The "origin" suffix -iya is derived from a deverbal abstract noun * xšāy-aθa- 'rule, ruling, Herrschaft ' , from the (Old Persian) verb xšāy- 'to rule, reign'. The full, Old Persian title of the Achaemenid rulers of the First Persian Empire was Xšāyaθiya Xšāyaθiyānām or (Middle Persian) Šâhân Šâh , "King of Kings" or "Emperor". This title has ancient Near Eastern or Mesopotamian precedents. The earliest attestation of such
184-560: The 20th century and the Imperial House of Pahlavi . While in Western sources the Ottoman monarch is most often referred to as a Sultan, in Ottoman territory he was most often referred to as Padishah and several used the title Shah in their tughras . Their male offspring received the title of Şehzade , or prince (literally, "offspring of the Shah", from Persian shahzadeh ). The full title of
207-531: The Achaemenid rulers was Xšāyaθiya Xšāyaθiyānām , literally "King of Kings" in Old Persian, corresponding to Middle Persian Šâhân Šâh , and Modern 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
230-750: The collapse of the Achaemenid dynasty as a result of the Wars of Alexander the Great . The Fratarakas appear to have been Governors of the Seleucid Empire . The Seleucid dynasty gradually lost control of Persia. In 253, the Arsacid dynasty established itself in Parthia . The Parthians gradually expanded their control, until by the mid-2nd century BC, the Seleucids had completely lost control of Persia. Control of eastern territories
253-529: The feminine forms, sometimes vary in gender depending on the source. The name Artamšin, for instance, is based on *Artam from Old Iranian *R̥tāma-, interpreted as "having power of/from R̥ta." The auslaut of the Armenian name suggests a connection to the Iranian word for "king," šāh, found in various languages including Middle Persian and New Persian. In another example, the name Šaštʻi is interpreted as "Šah-Lady," with
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#1733086205582276-531: The key element Vali Ahad , usually in addition to shahzada , where his junior siblings enjoyed this style. List of monarchs of Persia This article lists the monarchs of Iran ( Persia ) from the establishment of the Medes around 678 BC until the deposition of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. Pharaonic titulary: Horus : Smatawy, Nswbty : Mesutire Note: Ancient Persia is generally agreed to have ended with
299-588: The north for over a century before finally falling to the Abbasid Caliphate. For more comprehensive lists of kings and sub-kings of this Era see: For more comprehensive lists of kings and sub-kings of this Era see: For more comprehensive lists of kings and sub-kings of this Era see: For more comprehensive lists of kings and sub-kings of this Era see: For more comprehensive lists of kings and sub-kings of this Era see: For more comprehensive lists of kings and sub-kings of this Era see: The Buyid Kingdom
322-450: The people of Isfahan after 16 days. and 1160–1161 Deposed by Inanj, Lord of Reyy and the court officials Killed by Khwarazm Shah Tekish An empire built from Khwarezm , covering part of Iran and neighbouring Central Asia. For more comprehensive lists of kings and sub-kings of this Era see: For more comprehensive lists of kings and sub-kings of this Era see: and 1376/1377–1381 Sources: Note: Medieval Persia
345-497: The realm of a shah (or a loftier derived ruler style), a prince or princess of the royal blood was logically called shahzada as the term is derived from shah using the Persian patronymic suffix -zâde or -zâdeh, "born from" or "descendant of". However the precise full styles can differ in the court traditions of each shah's kingdom. This title was given to the princes of the Ottoman Empire ( Şehzade , Ottoman Turkish : شهزاده) and
368-540: The second component reflecting the Arabic term sittī, meaning "My lady, lady." This name is found in a colophon from the Kołbay monastery as the name of a sister of Dawitʻ and priest Vardan. Overall, Armenian compound names containing the element "šah" provide insight into the linguistic and cultural interactions between Armenian and Iranian languages and cultures. Shahzade ( Persian : شاهزاده , transliterated as Šâhzâde ). In
391-457: The sense of a continuation of the original Persian Empire . The word descends from Old Persian xšāyaθiya "king", as it was compared to Avestan xšaθra- , "power" and "command", corresponding to Sanskrit kṣatra- (same meaning), from which kṣatriya - , "warrior", is derived. Most recently, the form xšāyaθiya has been analyzed as a genuine, inherited Persian formation with the meaning 'pertaining to reigning, ruling'. This formation with
414-409: The sovereign shah bahadur (see above) were by birth-right styled "Shahzada [personal title] Mirza [personal name] Bahadur", though this style could also be extended to individual grandsons and even further relatives. Other male descendants of the sovereign in the male line were merely styled "Mirza [personal name]" or "[personal name] Mirza". This could even apply to non-Muslim dynasties. For example,
437-507: The younger sons of the ruling Sikh maharaja of Punjab were styled "Shahzada [personal name] Singh Bahadur". The borrowing shahajada , "Shah's son", taken from the Mughal title Shahzada, was the usual princely title borne by the grandsons and male descendants of a Nepalese sovereign in the male line of the Shah dynasty until its abolition in 2008. For the heir to a "Persian-style" shah's royal throne, more specific titles were used, containing
460-803: Was divided into a number of separate emirates, of which the most important were Fars , Ray , and Iraq . Generally, one of the emirs held a sort of primus inter pares supremacy over the rest, which would be marked by titles like Amir al-umara (which tied them into the hierarchy of the Abbasid Caliphate ) and Shahanshah (which the dynasty revived as a sign of independence from the Abbasid caliphs). For more comprehensive lists of kings and sub-kings of this Era see: and 983–997 For more comprehensive lists of kings and sub-kings of this Era see: For more comprehensive lists of kings and sub-kings of this Era see: and 1160 Regained throne but then deposed by
483-619: Was permanently lost by Antiochus VII in 129 BC. For more comprehensive lists of kings, queens, sub-kings and sub-queens of this Era see: June 631 – June 632 (Second reign) Restored to the Sasanian throne, and later strangled to death by Piruz Khosrow Note: Classical Persia is generally agreed to have ended with the collapse of the Sasanian Empire as a result of the Muslim conquest of Persia . A Zoroastrian Persian dynasty that held power in
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#1733086205582506-463: Was the last Shah, as the Iranian monarchy was abolished after the 1979 Iranian Revolution . Armenian compound personal names often contain the element "šah," meaning "king" in Middle Persian and New Persian . These names can be found in both masculine and feminine forms and may include native Armenian or foreign components. The element "šah" can appear as either the first or second component and
529-637: Was used by the princes of Islamic India ( Shahzāda , Urdu : شہزاده, Bengali : শাহজাদা , romanized : Shāhozāda ) such as in the Mughal Empire. The Mughals and the Sultans of Delhi were of Indian origin and Mongol-Turkic origin but were heavily influenced by Persian culture, a continuation of traditions and habits ever since Persian language was first introduced into the region by Persianised Turkic dynasties centuries earlier. Thus, in Oudh , only sons of
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