This is a list of titles and appellations used in the Ottoman Empire. In place of surnames, Muslims in the Empire carried titles such as "Sultan", "Pasha", "Hoca", "Bey", "Hanım", "Efendi", etc. These titles either defined their formal profession (such as Pasha, Hoca, etc.) or their informal status within the society (such as Bey, Hanım, Efendi, etc.).
Contents
Usage by Ottoman royalty
The sovereigns' main titles were Khan, Sultan, and Padishah; which were of Turkic, Arabic and Persian origin, respectively. His full style was the result of a long historical accumulation of titles expressing the empire's rights and claims as successor to the various states it annexed or subdued. Beside these imperial titles, "Caesar" of Rome (Kayser-i Rûm) was among the important titles claimed by Sultan Mehmed II after the conquest of Constantinople.
Title sultan (سلطان), originally meaning "authority" or "dominion", used in an ungendered manner to encompass the whole imperial family, men and women, reflected the Ottoman conception of sovereign power as a "family prerogative". Male dynasty member carrying the title before their given name, with female member carrying it after. Nevertheless, when used to refer to female dynasty members and relatives, title sultan often translated to sultana in to outside Ottoman, possibly to distinguish them from the Ottoman ruler.
Hazretleri is honorific Arabic title used to honour a person. The literal translation of Hadrah is "Presence" and often translated as "Your Highness".
Sovereign
The sovereigns' main titles were Khan, Sultan, and Padishah; which were of Turkic, Arabic and Persian origin, respectively. His full style was the result of a long historical accumulation of titles expressing the empire's rights and claims as successor to the various states it annexed or subdued. Beside these imperial titles, "Caesar" of Rome (Kayser-i Rûm) was among the important titles claimed by Sultan Mehmed II after the conquest of Constantinople. The emperors' formal title consisted of Sultan together with Khan. This dual title symbolized the Ottomans' dual legitimating heritage, Islamic and Central Asian. Formal titles and styles:
"Sultan (given name) Han, Sovereign of The Sublime House of Osman, Sultan es Selatin (Sultan of Sultans), Khakhan (Khan of the Khans), Commander of the faithful and Successor of the Prophet of the lord of the Universe, Custodian of the Holy Cities of Mecca, Medina and Kouds (Jerusalem), Kayser-i Rum (Caesar of Rome), Padishah of The Three Cities of Istanbul (Constantinople), Edirne (Adrianople) and Bursa, and of the Cities of Châm (Damascus) and Cairo (Egypt), of all Azerbaijan, of the Magreb, of Barkah, of Kairouan, of Alep, of the Arab and Persian Iraq, of Basra, of El Hasa strip, of Raqqa, of Mosul, of Parthia, of Diyâr-ı Bekr, of Cilicia, of the provinces of Erzurum, of Sivas, of Adana, of Karaman, of Van, of Barbaria, of Habech (Abyssinia), of Tunisia, of Tripoli, of Châm (Syria), of Cyprus, of Rhodes, of Crete, of the province of Morea (Peloponnese), of Bahr-i Sefid (Mediterranean Sea), of Bahr-i Siyah (Black Sea), of Anatolia, of Rumelia (the European part of the Empire), of Bagdad, of Kurdistan, of Greece, of Turkestan, of Tartary, of Circassia, of the two regions of Kabarda, of Gorjestan (Georgia), of the steppe of Kipchaks, of the whole country of the Tatars, of Kefa (Feodosiya) and of all the neighbouring regions, of Bosnia, of the City and Fort of Belgrade, of the province of Sirbistan (Serbia), with all the castles and cities, of all Arnaut, of all Eflak (Wallachia) and Bogdania (Moldavia), as well as all the dependencies and borders, and many others countries and cities."
Imperial prince
Male descendants of a sovereign in the male line.
Imperial princess
Female descendants of a sovereign in the male line.
Sons and daughters of sultana
Imperial mother
Mothers of the reigning sultans
Imperial female consort
Consorts of the sultans and imperial princes
Imperial male consort
Husbands of the sultana.
During the time of Suleiman
Titles and appellations in the time of Suleiman the Magnificent, from Albert Howe Lybyer's book "The government of the Ottoman empire in the time of Suleiman the Magnificent":
Other titles
Other titles include: