Padishah
Padishah,
Badishah, or
Badshah is a very prestigious
title derived from the
Persian word
Pādishāh, which is based on the better-known title
Shāhanshāh and
Shāh "King", assumed by several
Islamic monarchs, notably these rulers, the first three commanding major Muslim empires:
*The
Shahanshah of
Iran (Persia), also recognized by
Shia Muslims as the rightful
Caliph (a claim of universal rule, as their
Zoroastrian Sassanid predecessors did often express by inserting in their title 'of
Iran and
Aniran (i.e. the rest of the world)').
*The
Great Sultan of the
Ottoman Empire, who also claimed the title of
Caliph (a claim of
religious authority, but only supported by
Sunni Muslims; his Persian archrival was Shiite).
*Over most of the
Indian subcontinent (where there also was a Sanskrit version,
Patisaha), the
Mughal Sultan of
Delhi as head of the vast (later
British Indian)
Moghul Empire. The title was also used by Muslim rulers over smaller parts of that subcontinent:
** His challenger
Tipu Sultan (in full
Padshah bahadur; the addition
bahadur, originally Mongolian for 'brave', always signifies a slightly higher rank, implicitely proclaiming himself the Mughal's
superior) in
Khudadad (in fact the realm of
Mysore, which his father and he took over from the Hindu Maharaja, and neighbouring conquests), respected by the British as a valid
military adversary but crushed (for siding with
London's
French rivals)
** A former
vassal of Delhi, the former
Nawab (i.e. Mughal governor, turned
hereditary prince) of Awadh=
Oudh, who assumed independence at the instigation of the
colonial paramount power, who in turn established a
protectorate over him, ended the Mughal rule (by then merely nominal) and finally would claim imperial rank in chief of India for their own royal dynasty;
** One ruler (predecessor styled
Amir i shariat, successors (Khan and)
Wali) of the tiny (one valley)
Pakistani North West Frontier state of
Swat from November
1918 to March
1926.
[1]*The
King of
Afghanistan:
Pādshah i-Afghanistan in Persian Dari, then De Afghanistan
Bacha in the
Pashto language, official from
1937; not constantly used (at other times
Emir (Amir al-Momenin) or
Malik=King), only under the Mohammadzay segment of the
Durrani dynasty.
[2]*The last
Basha bey of
Tunisia, Muhammad (VIII) al-Amin (ruling since
15 May 1943), adopted the
sovereign style
padshah 20 March 1956 -
25 July 1957.
The paramount prestige of this title, in Islam and even beyond, is clearly apparent from the
Ottoman Empire's dealings with the (predominantly
Christian)
European powers. As the Europeans and the
Russians gradually drove the
Turks from the
Balkans,
Central Asia, and the Caucasus, they insisted—even at the cost of delaying the end of hostilities—on the usage of the title 'Padishah' for themselves in the Turkish versions of their treaties with the
High Porte, as acknowledgement that their Christian
emperors were in all diplomatic and protocollary capacities the equal of the Turkish ruler, who by his religious paramount office in
Islam (
caliph) had a theoretical claim of universal sovereignty (at least among
Sunnites).
The compound
Pādshah-i-Ghazi 'Victorious Emperor' is only recorded for two individual rulers:
*H.M. Ahmad Shah Bahadur,
Padshah-i-Ghazi, Dur-i-Durran ('pearl of pearls'), Padshah of Afghanistan 1747 - 1772
*H.H. Rustam-i-Dauran, Aristu-i-Zaman, Asaf Jah IV, Muzaffar ul-Mamaluk, Nizam ul-Mulk, Nizam ud-Daula, Nawab Mir Farkhunda 'Ali Khan Bahadur [Gufran Manzil], Sipah Salar, Fath Jang, Ayn waffadar Fidvi-i-Senliena, Iqtidar-i-Kishwarsitan Muhammad Akbar Shah Padshah-i-Ghazi,
Nizam of Hyderabad 1829 - 1857
Note that as many
titles, the word was also often used as a name, either by
nobles with other (in this case always lower) styles, or even by
commonersIn Frank Herbert's
DUNE SF series, the
Padishah Emperor, also commonly referred to as "Emperor of the Known Universe" or "Emperor of a Million Worlds", is the supreme ruler of humanity, although his power was checked by the
Spacing Guild, the
Bene Gesserit, and the
Landsraad. The reign of the Padishah Emperors ended when
Paul-Muad'dib took control of
Arrakis and became the
Mentat Emperor, and was succeeded by his son
Leto II, the
God Emperor.
*
RoyalArk – Select present country, then choose dynasty from its menu
*
WorldStatesmen idem; more cases but less thorough
